340 
THE CULTIVATOR 
Oct, 
Last fall, on clearing up about three acres of new land 
to sow some Mediterranean wheat, I found that a swale 
of about one-fourth of an acre was filled with a rich black 
mold, that had been perhaps 50 years accumulating, from 
decaying leaves, and the running of a small spring that 
spread around on the flat. In some places it was from 
one and a half to two feet deep, and while carrying ma¬ 
nure, and cultivating and plowing, for sowing the wheat, 
I drew 30 two-horse waggon loads of this mold to my 
garden and fruit yards, and added some lime, ashes, 
leached and unleached, and where the ground was clay¬ 
ey I added fine sand, washed into heaps on my premises 
in a great freshet. My vegetable garden and a sloping 
field of fruit trees, of about three-fourths of an acre, I 
dressed with this and other manure, and plowed it up in 
ridges in the fall, so as to enable the frosts of winter to 
pulverise and make it fine for early planting in the spring. 
A sufficient portion of that 30 loads, I preserved in heaps 
near my fruit yards and garden, and two small meadows 
set with trees, to be used the past spring to dress them, 
and put round the trees, fiower-beds, shade trees, shrub¬ 
bery. grapes and strawberry beds, as well as over tulip 
bulbs. And at no season have I ever had so fine a growth 
of tulips, crocuse.*?, crown-imperials, double and single 
Michigan roses, double and single Yellow Huron roses, 
and the Baltimore Belles’ and other varieties, and at this 
time my garden is alive with double and single sun-flow¬ 
ers, from black to white, as well as the Silesian Gold- 
flower, which blossoms twice a year, and often three 
times. At strawberry time we feasted on some half-do¬ 
zen varieties of fine strawberries, the last of which were 
the Ross’ Phoenix, Boston Pine, the Beehive and Hovey’s 
Seedling. The last one was larger than any of the oth¬ 
ers. I have other fine kinds, set last spring, obtained 
from Marshall P. Wilder’s garden, that I am satisfied 
will prove fine another year. This rich feast was follow¬ 
ed by rich treats of raspberries of different kinds, 
which are still bearing. 
I obtained last year, some fine dwarf pears on quince 
standards, that blossomed finely this year. They were 
imported from France by Thorp, Smith & Hfnchett, of 
Syracuse. Of 25 which I got of them, my neighbors 
got all away from me but ten. And of over 30 of simi¬ 
lar kinds, that I got this spring from Mr.Wilder’s garden, 
and 20 more from Thorp & Co., nearly all were taken 
by purchasers who were glad to get them at from 50 to 
56 cents each, because they were fine; and such a fine 
growing season as we have had, has, in connection with 
the dressing around my fruit trees, put them forward, 
and they are more fully loaded with fruits of numerous 
varieties, (over one hundred,)—especially my plum and 
quince trees, are overloaded, and apples, pears and peach 
trees, well filled. My choice cherry trees were young, 
and just beginning to bear, and the birds picked most of 
them this year. I have over 500 fine grafts—mostly 
whip grafted'—and a good many pears, whip grafted on 
small, thrifty quince sprouts, that are growing finely, 
and have several thousands of apple, pear, peach, cher¬ 
ry. and plum trees, that are in fine order for budding. 
The constant rain keeps a good flow of juice under the 
bark, and all yet budded bid fair to live. 
Excuse me for so long an epistle. But when I think 
of the ease with which our farmers could fill their gar¬ 
dens and fruit yards, with the healthy and delicious kinds 
of fruit, I can hardly stop describing them, and the easy 
mode of cultivation. They seem to me to be designed 
for the health, pleasure and happiness of the honest 
yeomanry of our rich agricultural Empire State.” A. 
M. Durham, August 10, 1851. 
46 Chess will turn to Wheat.” 
This maxim has been handed down from generation to 
generation, but the 'present day is one in which many 
facts are demonstrated by way of experiment, rather 
than by the traditions of our fathers. 
Last fall, I picked out, head by head, of the Hutchin¬ 
son wheat, three bushels, which I sowed on new land, 
a part of which was rather wet. It was sowed late—■ 
fore part of October—and produced alight crop—having 
all the circumstances favorable to the growth of chess; 
yet when I came to harvest it, there was not a head of 
chess to be found in the piece. 
And now, farmers, if you wish to raise a crop of chess, 
I advise you by all means to sow chess, and not calculate 
on making it out of wheat, for unless you have better 
success than I have had, you will certainly fail of a good 
crop. I am expecting to sow 20 acres of new land this 
fall, and should I receive the blessing of a good crop, I 
hope to be able another year to furnish a few farmers in 
this vicinity with the pure Hutchinson wheat, and nothing 
but wheat, and that, too, which I shall not be afraid to 
warrant will not turn to chess if sowed on new land. 
Solomon Leonard. Berkshire, Tioga county, N. Y., 
12 th August, 1851. 
- ►*, - 
Crops in Seneca County—Stage for Cutting Wheat. 
Eds. Cultivator —Having finished my wheat harvest, 
and being now about finishing the hay, I write you a few 
lines about crops. &c. Our wheat crop in this immedi¬ 
ate neighborhood, I think is a very good one; mine, I 
know, will turn out about the same as last year. My 
hay crop is the largest I ever cut—in fact it is immense, 
and I presume it must be the same throught Western 
New-York. Oats are also very good; barley is said to 
be excellent; corn, I think, from what I have seen, can¬ 
not make a good crop. 
I have noticed of late a strong desire in your corres- 
dents, and also in those of other agricultural papers, to 
induce farmers to cut their wheat before it is ripe. I am 
well aware that cutting wheat in a raw state makes the 
best and hansomest sample; but I notice some advise 
cutting it twelve days before it is ripe. Now it would 
be absurd to cut wheat in this country twelve days be¬ 
fore it is ripe—indeed the farmer had better have it de¬ 
stroyed by a hail storm, than cut it twelve days before 
ripe, because in that case he would save the expense of 
harvesting green wheat, which would be almost worth¬ 
less, as far as the grain was concerned. As the greater 
part of the wheat in this neighborhood is cut by reap- 
ing machines, there is no danger of farmers cutting it 
twelve days before it is ripe, as they could not do it with 
machines until nearly ripe. 
I notice a great deal said about saving from shelling 
when cut green, but let these men bind sheaves a week 
or two, and they will see that wheat cut even eight days 
before ripe, will shell in handling, more than when just 
