1853 . 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
271 
JBougliton’s Cultivator and Thistle-Digger. 
This implement, represented above, is of recent in¬ 
vention, and so far as we know, has been introduced 
as yet only to a limited extent, in western New York. 
Its efficiency as we have witnessed, and the favor with 
which it has been received, have induced us to give 
the above cut, from which its mode of operation may 
be easily understood. The cutting part consists simply 
of a sharp cast-iron blade in the form of a wedge, and 
w r hen fitted for operation the blade is lowered by 
means of the screws over the wheels, (shown in the fig¬ 
ure) so that it may run a few inches below the surface 
of the soil. It cuts, at each passing, a strip of soil 
four feet wide, three horses being usually required for 
its draught. Five acres may be easily worked with it 
in a day. There is no difficulty whatever, in using it 
on moderately mellow ground, or on any land that has 
been once plowed the same season. 
It operates in two ways—by pulverizing the soil, 
which it will do at any required depth by turning the 
screws; and by cutting off completely all thistles, 
grass, and other weeds, with which the land may be 
infested. On stony ground, where the stones are not 
too large for a plow to move, it operates with great ef¬ 
fect, cutting off and killing all herbage which in such 
soils is apt to escape the plow and harrow. As a de¬ 
stroyer of Canada thistles, nothing is equal to it—the 
thickest patch may be completely exterminated in a 
single season, and for this purpose it is greatly superior 
to the plow, which is not only much slower, but does 
not always accomplish the object on light and gravelly 
soils. Since the practice of plowing but once for wheat, 
and using the two-horse wheel-cultivator, has come so 
extensively into use, it is likely to prove of great value 
in the preparation of the soil, and it is already highly 
esteemed for this purpose, more particularly by those 
who have used the wheel-cultivator. It is made by 
E. Boughton, of Pittsford, N. Y. The price is $30. 
Cost of Labor. —It is estimated that in consequence 
of the greater cheapness of agricultural labor in Eng¬ 
land, when compared to that in America, there is an 
aggregate difference against the American farmer, in 
favor of the English, equal to fifty million pounds, or 
two hundred and fifty million dollars, annually. Or, 
taking another view of the subject,—American farm 
laborers get annually for their work, two hundred and 
y fifty million dollars more than they would get for the 
h same amount of labor in England—a large aggregate 
\ sum to be put into poor men’s pockets. 
Messrs. Editors —Believing that good results may 
follow from farmers becoming acquainted with the inodes 
and results of farming in various sections, I propose 
giving a synopsis of the state of agriculture in the south¬ 
western section of this state. We compliment ourselves 
with the belief that in no section of the Union is.farm¬ 
ing prosecuted with more skill and success than in this 
region, with the saving clause, that it might be great¬ 
ly improved. Our soil is various, though the clay and 
limestone so greatly preponderate that it may be called 
a limestone clay—of the tertiary formation, the strati¬ 
fication rocks and layers of earth perfectly horizontal. 
The face of the country is rolling, and the hillsides slope 
sogradually that nearly the entire surface is capable 
of cultivation. In consequence of the tenacious nature 
of the soil, it is but little liable to be washed off by the 
rains unless under very peculiar circumstances; conse¬ 
quently the sides and tops of the hills are quite as rich 
and productive as the bottoms or intervals, and the 
manures, animal and mineral, are preserved for the be¬ 
nefit of crop*3 instead of being absorbed by an open, 
hungry subsoil. 
The rotation of crops is vefy nearly uniform, viz, the 
sod or grass land is unusually broken up during the 
winter, for com, which is succeeded by oats, or as is 
most usual is cut off in time for wheat in the fall. Usu¬ 
ally it is succeeded by a second crop of wheat in order 
to get the soil into good condition for grass seeds, timo¬ 
thy seed being sown in the fall and clover in the.spring 
as early as possible. The period of keeping it in grass 
varies; many farmers believing that grass is more pro¬ 
fitable in the final result than grain-growing, permit 
their fields to lie in grass as long as it yields a fair 
amount of herbage. In the other case, where only a 
very small amount of stock is kept, it lies in grass only 
one year in four, this quality of the soil being kept up 
by heavy applications of manure and lime. On the 
the whole the mixed system is adopted, combining the 
raising and grazing of stock with grain-growing. In 
many sections a large amount of clover seed is grown 
for exportation; the first crop of clover being cut about 
the middle of June for hayf and the second for the seed, 
which usually is a very profitable crop, though varying 
very greatly in the yield. Although we have a large 
extent of bottom land, our farmers believe it more pro- 
fitable to put it through the same rotation as their up- 
land, depending for their winter provender upon corn 
