THE CULTIVATOR. 
17!) 
wet to grow any thing but swamp grass, and its improvement was 
mainly brought about by under-draining. 
My account with this lot for the years 1835-6, stands thus. 
Dr. 
Lot No. 3—14 acres. 
Cr. 
1835, April 20—100 rods under¬ 
drain a 4s. $50 00 
6 days drawing stone «16s. 12 00 
300 loads manure «3s... 112 50 
4 ton plaster «$8. 4 00 
Grass seed,. 10 00 
July 20—Getting in hay, 31 50 
Interest on land,. 49 00 
To balance,.... 31 00 
1835, July 20—30 tons pretty good 
hay a $10. $300 00 
$300 00 
1826, March 17—50 loads 
manure a3s. 18 75 
Grass seed,. 2 50 
Aug. 2—Getting hay,.. . 37 50 
Interest on land,. 49 00 
To balance,.... 343 25 
Profit,. 31 00 
1836, Aug. 2—35 tons su¬ 
perior hay a $12... 420 00 
$451 00 
$451 00 
Profit,. 343 25 
Contrast this with the product of 1834. 
Labor getting hay, say. $20 00 
Interest on land,. 49 00 
$69 00 
Credit by 6 tons inferior hay, say $8. 48 00 
Actual loss,. $21 00 
The same result has followed all my efforts to improve my 
fields, and I am fully persuaded, that no amount of labor or money, 
can be expended in the cultivation of the soil, that will not return 
four fold to the granary, or the store house. Yet these facts are lost 
upon the mass of farmers, already too wise to learn—who are con¬ 
tented with obtaining from their lands, one third the quantity they 
are capable of producing—apparently contented too, to deprive 
themselves of the comforts, luxuries, and rural embellishments, that 
make a home pleasant, and life a blessing; and continue to joo- on in 
the path their fathers trod, turning neither to the right hand nor the 
left, though the bright goddess, plenty, with happiness and honor 
in her train, invites them at every step. 
I would recommend under-draining to the serious attention of 
every farmer. Without it, the richest portion of my farm would be 
unproductive, and I have observed many fine fields, not only lyino- 
useless, but disfigured by cat-tails, rank weeds, &c., which a few 
dollars expended in judicious draining, would make the most profita¬ 
ble and ornamental part of the farm. In making drains, I have dug 
a ditch 3'x feet deep and two feet wide, and filled half full, with round 
stones, taking care to leave a number of places for the water to pass, 
or else placing large stones upon each side and laying a flat stone 
across, leaving but one passage for the water, and fill up with earth- 
Both kinds appear to answer well, but I prefer the first, as by divid¬ 
ing the water into several streams, there is less fear of undermin¬ 
ing- 
My crop of ruta bagas has not been so large as some I have seen 
noticed in the agricultural papers, yet it has been extremely profita¬ 
ble, and as food for stock, has far exceeded my expectations. I have 
made no positive experiments in feeding, to ascertain its relative va¬ 
lue, but I have no doubt from what I have observed, that it is worth 
half as much as corn for fattening, and for milch cows and sheep, I 
know of no article of food that will compare with it. By the aid 
of the drill barrow and cultivator, the cost of raising, per acre is 
certainly not so much as corn, while the produce is about twenty 
times as much. I sowed the present year 2£ acres, the 20th June. 
The ground was laid in gentle ridges 2 feet apart, and the plants^ 
when thinned out, stood 10 inches from each other in the rows. I 
think 1 foot by 2) would have been better. At harvesting I mea¬ 
sured off 12 square rods, and found the product to be 100 bushels, 
which would give 1,333a bushels per acre. My average crop, how¬ 
ever, fell considerably short of this, owing to early drought and the 
insects ; yet this shows what may be raised, under favorable circum¬ 
stances. 
I cannot close this communication without urging upon every man 
who tills an acre of ground, the importance of takino- an ao-ricultu- 
ral journal. It has been of incalculable benefit to me, and much of 
my success in farming is to be attributed to the knowledge I have 
obtained from the pages of tfte Cultivator. 
Yours, with respect, 
L. CHANDLER BALL. 
Haosick Falls, Rensselaer County. 
NEW JERSEY HUSBANDRY. 
J. Buel, esq.—Dear Sir,— I subscribed for the Cultivator the se¬ 
cond year of its publication, and obtained at the same time the first 
volume, consequently being still a subscriber—I have the whole se¬ 
ries to the present time. Each successive number is received and 
read with interest, and I hope not without profit, and as Iona* as it 
contmues to maintain its present high character, I shall be a sub¬ 
scriber. I could earnestly desire that it might be widely circulated 
m this neighborhood, for I know no place in which it would be pro¬ 
ductive of more good, or in which an improved system of husbandry 
is more required, as a few details will suffice to show. I have re¬ 
sided here a little upwards of two years, and in that time have been 
much around the country. I have never seen manure applied to the 
giound in an unrotted state, and have seen but one farmer raise a 
crop of corn without tending it with the plough, both which cus¬ 
toms I understand to be condemned by almost every contributor to 
your valuable periodical. I firmly believe that at least one third of 
the manure is lost by leaving it in heaps until it is rotted. I would 
prefer to haul it out in its crude state, spread it on corn or root 
ground, and plough it in, let it rot under the surface of the soil, and 
then plough it up and harrow it through the soil. One way in which 
I have seen unrotted manure applied, appeared to be very beneficial 
both in the crop and the ground ; it is a practice pursued by at least 
two scientific farmers in Pennsylvania; I have not yet tried it 
but intend so to do, as soon as possible. The manure is saved' 
through the year in the barnyard, and kept well covered with straw 
until immediately after harvest, when it is hauled out and spread on 
clover, for corn the ensuing spring. The theory is, that more of the 
good qualities of the manure sink into the ground than rise in the 
atmosphere ; a rank growth of clover and weeds is produced, and is 
suffered to increase as long as possible in the spring, so as to get 
the corn planted in season. Two of the finest crops of corn I ever 
saw in Pennsylvania or this state, were raised in this way, and thev 
were followed by excellent wheat, except the last season, the wheat 
being cut off by the fly. 
Respecting the instrument called the Cultivator, I was quite amus¬ 
ed to see the manner in which it was used hero in one instance — 
After corn was planted and up, two cultivators were turned in, and 
the field tilled both ways (the corn being planted in hills) this was 
repeated at a proper interval, and the field was in beautiful order 
mellow and clean, not a weed to be seen; while in this condition 
two ploughs were put in, and the soil thrown to the corn both wav= 
and left so till the tune to sow rye; that being sown, the hills were 
narrowed down with the triangular corn harrow; mirabil dictu ' 
you are ready to exclaim, and well you may. By Ihrowino- earth to 
the corn the plant was necessitated to throw out fresh roots and 
then dragging away the earth again, these roots were rendered not 
only useless but positively injurious. Hilling corn also increases the 
effect of drought upon it, both by turning off the rain and by in- 
creasmg the depth that the rain has to penetrate to be beneficial 
i his region of country is well calculated to be one of the most 
productive in the state; it abounds in marl, both the green sand and 
calcareous, or shell marl; the former is dug in many places within 
iwo feet of the surface, and the latter generally about six feet • the 
first is sold at the pit for 31 j cents a load of 20'bushels, and the last 
at 50 cents per load. The application to the soil of both kinds is 
about the same in quantity, ranging from 5 to 25 loads per acre — 
1 he greatest distance to which they have hauled from this neighbor¬ 
hood is about 12 miles. The general use of marl here is quite re¬ 
cent, and no doubt as it becomes better known, the use of it will be 
greatly extended ; and the time will come when it will be as much 
an article of commerce as lime. This last spring I purchased a farm 
here of between 50 and 60 acres, entirely worn out; the soil of 
part of the farm is sand, and the rest gravel, no clay any where 
about it. The farm has once been productive, and I judge therefore 
that it can be made productive again. Up to this time I have 
spread marl (both kinds) over about one quarter of the farm, and if 
you think this communication worthy a place in the Cultivator I 
