400 
THE CULTIVATOR 
Dec. 
farming district, and if that portion of the county which 
we saw is a fair representation of the whole, its reputa- 
tion is not undeserved. It may be pronounced an inter¬ 
esting section. Its surface, though comparatively level, 
is sufficiently diversified to afford a pleasant aspect, nu¬ 
merous streams of excellent water, and roads which are 
easy to he traveled over. The proportion of wood, and 
its situation with respect to the cleared land, is such as 
imparts an agreeable variety to the landscape, and with 
the general neat appearance of the farms, and large and 
substantial stone dwellings and barns, few sections of the 
country present more attractions in respect to rural en¬ 
joyment and comfort. 
From Mr. Adrian Cornell, Jr., we obtained some 
facts in regard to the agriculture of the neighborhood, 
and especially in regard to the agriculture and products 
of his own farm, which we think will interest and benefit 
our readers. His residence is about three miles from 
Newtown, and about twenty miles north from Philadel¬ 
phia. The place has been occupied by the ancestors of 
Mr. C-. for several generations; a portion of the dwelling 
house was built by his great grandfather, in 1745, and 
the remaining portion by his grandfather, in 1762. It 
was a well known mansion during the Revolution, and 
while the British army was encamped in the vicinity, 
was more than once subjected to search, from being sup¬ 
posed to shelter c: rebel” officers. 
The home farm consists of 144 acres, exclusive of 
wood-land. It is devoted to mixed husbandry, as are 
most other farms in this section, a system which is gen¬ 
erally found most profitable where circumstances are 
adapted to it, and especial so, where, as in this case, 
the products are regularly marketed from week to week. 
The soil is of very uniform character over the whole 
farm, and varies but little over a large extent of country 
from the Delaware river westwardly. The surface is 
mostly a fine, friable loam, underlaid, generally, with a 
grayish yellow clay, (probably impregnated with iron,) 
resting at various depths on sandstone strata. It is an 
excellent soil as regards mechanical relations; being 
easily tilled, not liable to pack closely under the effect 
of rains, nor to bake under the effect of drouth. This 
constitution renders the crops comparatively independent 
of the weather, as to wetness or dryness, and with good 
cultivation insures a certain return. We have before 
mentioned that a very protracted drouth had been ex¬ 
perienced here the past season—scarcely rain enough to 
soak the ground to the depth of two inches, having fallen 
from June to the 25th of October; and yet on Mr. Cor¬ 
nell’s farm, and some others which we visited, the crops 
were nearly all good. It should be understood, how¬ 
ever, that there appears to be an inexhaustible source of 
water through this district, at no very great depth in the 
earth, as is seen in numerous unfailing rivulets, and the 
abundant supply afforded by wells. 
Course of Cropping. —Mr. Cornell’s farm is divided 
into lots of 12 to 16 acres, each of which (except what is 
devoted to orcharding) is in regular rotation, brought 
into the same crop. This rotation is the following: first 
year Indian corn, second year oats, third year wheat, 
fourth, .fifth and sixth years clover and timothy—mowed 
two seasons and pastured one. 
The sod for corn is usually plowed in November and 
December. From five to eight two-horse wagon loads 
of manure are spread before plowing. The land is then 
plowed to the depth of three and a half to four inches. 
This will appear to many persons as much too shallow. 
Mr. C. defends his practice by the argument that the 
sod and the manure should be kept where the crop will 
derive most benefit from them, that is, as near the sur¬ 
face as practicable, without suffering loss from exhala¬ 
tion. But the suggestion may be worthy consideration, 
whether a deeper tillage, which could be effected by a 
sub-soil plow without burying any deeper the manure or 
surface soil, would not be beneficial. In spring, about 
the last week in April, the ground is thoroughly worked 
over with a large cultivator, which brings the soil into 
excellent condition for planting. The corn is planted 
the first week in May. Furrows are made four feet 
apart for the rows, and the seed is dropped in them with 
a hand drill. The drill does not cover the seed, and to 
do this a harrow is drawn, with the teeth upward, in 
such a way as to fill the furrows. When the plants are 
fairly started, they are thinned so as to leave one every 
nine inches. The crop is gone over once with the hand 
hoe; the rest of the work is done with the cultivator. 
Strict attention is paid to the thorough eradication of 
weeds. For the twelve years Mr. C, has managed the 
farm, he has made it a rule that no foul plants should be 
allowed to go to seed, and the effect has been to almost 
wholly prevent their appearance. In a cornfield of six¬ 
teen acres, scarcely a weed could be seen, and over the 
whole farm nothing of the kind obstructed the growth 
of crops. The corn is cut up and shocked, as soon as it is 
ripe enough to cure. The yield averages sixty bushels per 
acre, measured as husked in the field. The cost of cul¬ 
tivation is 20 cents per bushel. The price it brings in 
market is usually 624 cents per bushel. The fodder pro¬ 
duced on an acre, yielding as above stated, is reckoned 
worth $6- The fodder is all fed out in the barn-yard, 
in order that the waste parts may be converted into ma¬ 
nure. 
Oats follow corn—sown as early in spring as the soil 
will admit of plowing, three bushels seed, broadcast, to 
the acre. No manure is given to this crop. The average 
yield is 60 bushels per acre. The average price which 
this grain brings in market, is 40 cents per bushel. 
Wheat succeeds oats. The preparation consists in 
first spreading on the stubble, fifteen two-horse wagon 
loads of manure to the acre, which is immediately plow¬ 
ed in, three and a-half to four inches deep, harrowed, 
and left to rot till about the middle of September, when 
the ground is cross-plowed, about five inches deep. The 
soil is then reduced to a fine tilth by the harrow and rol¬ 
ler, and the wheat sown by a drill, two and a-half bush¬ 
els to the acre. The yield for the last ten years has 
averaged over 25 bushels per acre—has sometimes gone 
as high as 30 bushels per acre. The average price it has 
brought in market for the last ten years, is 110 cents per 
bushel. The kind raised by Mr. C., and almost the only 
kind raised in this part of the country, is the Mediter¬ 
ranean. It succeeds better against both the Hessian-fly 
and wheat-midge, and is also less subject to blight. The 
grain has improved very much in quality, since it was 
first introduced, but in acquiring this quality, it has lost 
something of the peculiar habit by which it was enabled 
to resist the Hessian-fly. The straw was formerly very 
stiff, and the husk or sheath which enveloped the stem, 
adhered so closely that the insect could not obtain a 
lodgment for itself. The subject is agitated of making 
a new importation of this variety of wheat, for the ob¬ 
ject of securing the property for which it was at first 
specially valuable. 
Clover and timothy seed are sown on the wheat at the 
close of winter, on a light snow, or early in spring, while 
the ground is very soft. Mr. C. likes the mode of put¬ 
ting in wheat by the drill—thinks the crop is usually bet¬ 
ter so than broadcast—but it has an objection in reference 
to the clover and grass, which is regarded as of some 
importance. The drill leaves the surface somewhat in 
ridges and furrows; the clover and grass-seed, though 
sown broadcast, tends to collect in the furrows, which 
causes it to grow in rows like the wheat, leaving the field 
imperfectly swarded over. The yield of hay is about 
two tons per acre. The whole amount of hay cut on the 
farm annually, is about 80 tons. Its average market 
value is $12 per ton. 
Fruit. —Mr. Cornell has about twelve acres devoted 
to apple and pear trees—three or four acres of which are 
set to an apple orchard, as yet too young to bear much. 
In general these fruits are an important item of farm pro- 
