20 
ed the grove and pitched our tent by the side of a spring. 
What could exceed the beauty of this spot! Why 
should we seek farther ? Here is every thing to indicate 
a healthy location, which should always influence the 
new settler. And here let me caution the emigrant al¬ 
ways to beware locating upon the banks of streams. 
After enjoying such a night of rest as can only be en¬ 
joyed after such a day, the morning helped to confirm 
ns that here should be our resting place. In a few hours 
the grove resounded with the blows of the axe, and in 
four days we moved into our “ new house.” 
“ Dear me,” do I hear some parlor-loving wife of an 
expectant emigrant say, “ where did you get your 
boards to build it with ?” My good lady, we were 40 
miles from a saw-mill, and of course the house was built 
and finished oif complete without a sawed board about 
it, and but very few nails, nor a brick or stone. The 
sides were round rough logs, not even the bark taken 
off, laid up by notching the corners together, the cracks 
well filled with clay, the chimney all clay and sticks ; 
the roof, floors, and door, all made of split boards, and 
the tables, bedsteads, and cupboards, all of the same 
materials. 
“ Oh dear! I never will go to the west, if I have got 
to live in such a house as that. Why, it ain’t as good 
as our hog-pen—-and only one room!” 
No mam, only one room—and we were very glad to 
get that just as winter was setting in upon us, 15 miles 
from neighbors, 40 miles from mill, store, farm, or post 
office. One room 16 feet square, in which have lodged 
16 persons, other emigrants like ourselves, night over¬ 
taken in winter, without other shelter, and in which my 
family spent a happier winter than I ever expect to see 
again. And although not as costly, madam, as your 
aristocratic hog pen, yet I can assure you, that even 
you could live comfortable in such a house, and if you 
come to the west, as you are now thinking of, you 
will be very likely to live in a similar one—and you 
will be very comfortable too, and if I should happen to 
call on you. you must not think you could not make me 
comfortable too, although you had but “ one room.” 
“ No neighbors—so lonely”—do you say. No, I as¬ 
sure you, Ave Avere not lonely—never less so than that 
winter. In the first place, there is a dozen “ honey- 
trees” to be cut and taken care of, and as there is no 
fruit nor vegetables, the deficiency is to be made up 
with cranberries. Then there is the A r enison, geese, 
ducks, grouse, quails, and squirrels, &c., to dress and 
eat ; and once in five or six Aveeks Ave had “ the news” 
from the post-office. There Avas no lack of employment 
in doors or out—no loneliness—no repining. We all 
came here Avith a full knoAvledge of Avhat Ave had to do 
and expect, and so there Avas no disappointment. 
And my dear reader, Avhen you come to the Avest, 
don’t expect too much ; humble yourself to neAV and 
strange things that your new circumstances Avill induce. 
And take my advice, if you cannot humble yourself to 
make a beginning in a humble log cabin, you had bet¬ 
ter Avait where you are, until some better pioneer has 
made a beginning for you. Don’t come here to be mis¬ 
erable, for generally we are a happy race, “ full, fat, 
and saucy; ” and some of us, after we have got a “ good 
beginning,” get a little lazjx Corn ari l hogs Avill groAv 
Avithout much Avork, and “ hog and hominy” Avill sup¬ 
port life ; and “ Avho Avould work Avhen he Avas able to 
do without it?” If you ansAver that you would, and 
that you and your family can “ make a beginning” in a 
log cabin, you may start for the west. But don’t forget 
the advice I gaA r e you in my first number, and don’t 
forget your Avell meaning old friend “ the squatter.” 
SOLON ROBINSON. 
Lake C. H., Ia., Nov. 1, 1840. 
legislative Aid to Agriculture. 
Messrs. Gaylord &, Tucker. —As e litors of the lead¬ 
ing agricultural paper published in this state, you can¬ 
not have been inattentive observers of the efforts Avhich 
have been made and are making in various parts of West¬ 
ern New-York, if not elsewhere, to organize Agricultural 
Societies, and to the success which has attended their 
organization in many counties ; nor can you feel un- 
Avilling to lend your aid and influence in sustaining and 
supporting them, as their object is the same as that 
you are endeavoring to attain, through the instrumen¬ 
tality of your valuable and useful paper, that is, the 
advancement and improvement of our hoi'ticultural 
and agricultural interests ; and my motive in addressing 
you is to solicit your consideration to some plan to ac¬ 
complish so desirable an object; anl what is more like¬ 
ly to do it than institutions, Avell regulate 1 and conduct¬ 
ed, of the kind above alluded to, and now struggling to 
claim public attention. If this view of their utility be 
correct, how easy is it for yourselves to invite that con¬ 
sideration for their support an l aid, Avhich the impor¬ 
tance of the subject requires. If you would but only 
say to your many readers, “ Noav is the time for 
action. Petition your representatives for an appro¬ 
priation for the improvement of Horticulture and 
Agriculture,” the Avork Avould soon be taken in 
hand. A sum necessary to animate, strengthen and 
sustain these interests Avould be granted. A large sum 
from the state treasury Avould not be Avanted ; not much 
more, if any, than one hundred dollars to each mem¬ 
ber of Assembly, or in the aggregate twelve thousand 
eight hundrel dollars, to be distributed countyxvise, 
throughout this great state, as each county shall organize 
a society, according to its representation, and raise a 
sum equal to its share of the fund appropriated, either 
by voluntary subscription or bv assessment by a vote 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
of its Board of Supervisors ; Avhich sum so to be ap¬ 
propriated and raised, to be expended and aAvarded by 
the county societies in premiums, payable in money, 
medals, agricultural periodicals, or such suitable evi¬ 
dences of merit as may be deemed expedient to encou¬ 
rage and improve the culture of such articles of horticul¬ 
tural and agricultural groAvth, as may be designated; and 
also of domestic manufactures ; an interest equally 
worthy of encouragement and protection ; and if this is 
too limited, ask a farther appropriation, so as to orga¬ 
nize a Board of Agriculture, or if it is preferred, ap¬ 
point a State Agricultural Commissioner, defining his 
or their duties by laAV, or even extend the applica¬ 
tion so as to be able to purchase tAVO experimental 
farms, connecting a seminary Avith them, one to be 
located on or near the North river, and the other in some 
part of the Genesee country. There are A'arious A r ieAvs 
of improving these great primary interests, Avhich if 
legislated upon, might be brought into co-operation, to 
aid in advancing the general object. I cannot but think, 
if the legislature should be approached in this matter, 
that it cannot avoid paying attention to the reasonable¬ 
ness of such an application ; urged as it Avould be by a 
decided popular voice in its favor. If a fund is required 
to be pointed out, from xvhence the necessary means 
can be spared, the re\-enue, unappropriated, of the Uni¬ 
ted States deposite fund, might be indicated. But the 
sum necessary to stimulate and invigorate the great in¬ 
terests mentioned, can readily be found among some of 
the many fiscal pockets into Avhich the redundant trea¬ 
sures of this great state are distinguished. I will not 
stop therefore to point out resources, but Avill close by 
simply asking of you to urge your readers, especially 
the agricultual portion of them, to make an efiort Avorthy 
of their vocation for its encouragement and improve¬ 
ment, and as the interest and Avelfare oftheAvhole state 
are involved in it, those to Avhom these trusts are con¬ 
fided Avill not disregard their reasonable claim. 
Your ob’t scrv’t, OLIVER PHELPS. 
Canandaigua, Dec. 15, 1840. 
Use of Ashes and Ldme. 
Messrs. Editors—I f in your opinion the folloAving 
account of successful and profitable farming Avill in any 
Avay benefit the public, you may make Avhat use of it 
you think proper. In the spring of the year 1834, 
Capt. Moses Van Inwigin, my neighbor, sowed about 
100 bushels of ashes on the quarter part of a field of 
about 10 acres of land, in rye, having previously seed¬ 
ed the Avhole field Avith clover and timothy. This field 
Avas part of a farm of fifty acres on the Never- 
sink Flats, mostly a sanely alluvium, and in much of it 
the sand greatly predominating. The Avhole so exhaust¬ 
ed that it Avould hardly pay the interest of $25 per 
acre. The part not ashed had been Avell manured the 
previous year. The result Avas, first, that on the part 
ashed the crop of grain Avas benefited to the full amount 
of the value of the ashes soAvn ; and the next season he 
moAved from the part ashed at the rate of tAvo tons of 
hay per acre, while on the residue there was a poor 
and stinted growth of grass, with much sorrel, hardly 
worth the expense of gathering. In the spring of 1835, 
he soAved on land in rye, and seeded with grass seed, 
about 900 bushels of ashes at the rate of 30 bushels to 
the acre. Here again he thinks the increase of his crop 
of rye paid all the expense of ashing, and it Avas fol¬ 
lowed the ensuing year Avith an equal growth of grass ; 
since which he has ashed annually on his 50 acre farm 
from 700 to 1000 bushels of ashes—generally at the 
rate of about 30 bushels to the acre, until by this, and 
acting generally on the correct principle that a “ Judi¬ 
cious liberality is the only true economy of Husbandry y” 
he has, by an outlay of not over $10 per acre, brought 
this poor and exhausted farm, which, before he com¬ 
menced his system of improvement, would little more 
than pay the expense of cultivation, to yield an average 
net profit amounting to more than the interest of $200 
per acre, and in the mean time realized a profit on the 
money expended amounting to several hundred per¬ 
cent. The precise amount, or rate of profit, it is diffi¬ 
cult to calculate. It should be borne in mind that the 
full amount of his outlays Avere generally returned with¬ 
in the year by the increased A'alue of his crops. If, add¬ 
ed to this, Ave consider that the profits of his farm have 
been increased from six to eight fold, it might at first 
view be supposed that its real v-alue had been increas¬ 
ed in that proportion ; yet this is not actually the case, 
inasmuch as the intrinsic value of the land consisted in 
its susceptibility of being made profitable by being pro¬ 
perly husbanded ; in like manner as any other kind of 
property is estimated valuable, not according to the pro¬ 
fit or advantage at any given time derived from it, but 
in proportion to the amount of profitable use it can be 
applied to. If this is a correct viexv, as I believe it is, 
then is not land, such as the Captain’s was, though 
then yielding little profit, actually Avorth from one to 
tAvo hundred dollars per acre? Yet much of equal va¬ 
lue, can be purchased hereabouts for from $25 to $50 
the acre. 
But to shoAV that this particular farm had no pecu¬ 
liar intrinsic advantages over others in this valley, I 
will notice the experience of Philip Swartwout, Esq. 
about three miles south, in the use and adAmntages of 
lime. His farm too, had been reduced by bad husband¬ 
ry until it produced comparatively no profit. Grass 
could hardly be made to grow on it, of a good quality, 
even with manure. Except Avhen tilled, it produced 
nothing valuable, and if tilled once in three or four 
years, it yielded very little, unless Avhen dunged. With 
an expenditure, in liming, of from six to ten dollars per 
acre, it noAV yields good crops of Avheat, and grass in 
abundance, of the best quality. Even on a sandy field, 
I visited Avhen he Avas gathering his hay, on Avhich he 
had hardly ever before seen grass enough to pasture a 
goose, he had now moAved a heavy burthen of excellent 
hay,—and this the effect of one liming at the rate of 60 
bushels to the acre; and that Avithout the use of any 
other manure. Noav it may be well to remark that the 
part of Shawangunk mountain next this Yalley is full of 
lime stone, with abundance of Avood, Avhile the Dela- 
Avare and Hudson canal runs through the hollow, and 
affords abundant facilities for burning lime at a cheap 
rate. Fine coal adapted to the burning of lime in Avhat 
are called perpetual kilns, can be furnished here very 
cheap. Slaked lime can also be brought on the canal 
from the neighborhood of Rondout, and delivered in the 
center of most of the farms for 6 or 7 cents per bushel. 
Noav I Avould ask whether the profits that may be real¬ 
ized by the purchase and proper use of these lands are 
not enough to gratify the most greedy speculator. And 
in Avhat business or by what device or management he 
could reasonably hope for a more favorable result. Not 
that I Avould encourage any to embark in farming from 
speculative motives. Farmers should be sober, work¬ 
ing men—not visionary schemeists. But I do aver that 
there is no business I knoAV of so Avell calculated to se¬ 
cure the greatest sum total of adA-antages and enjoy¬ 
ments as farming, if properly conducted. 
HENRY VAN KLEECK. 
Cuddebackville, Orange county, N. Y. 
FOUBUSTTK 
To the Editors of the Cultivator —Will you al- 
Ioav me the privilege of answering, through the medi¬ 
um of your Avidely circulated paper, a fexv of the nu¬ 
merous inquiries made in relation to the value of Pou¬ 
drette as a fertilizer, in comparison Avith other manures, 
as Avell as to the mode of application, transportation, 
cost, &c. ? 
Poudrette has been used in this country as a manure 
three seasons, by feAv persons and in small quantities 
only ; of course its comparative value Avith other ma¬ 
nures is known but to a limited number. There are 
many others, hoAvever, Avho, from report, entertain a 
favorable opinion of its virtues, yet who desire to obtain 
more definite information before they incur any expense 
in making experiments with it. 
During the past season about one hundred and fifty 
persons have used poudrette, prepared by the “ Ne.w- 
York Poudrette Company ,” under my management—from 
many of Avhom I have received reports highly favorable 
and satisfactory as to its comparatwe value as a ma¬ 
nure ; and others have promised reports of the result 
of their experiments which have not yet come to hand. 
It is my intention to publish, Avhen I shall have re¬ 
ceived further reports, another pamphlet, giving the 
results of three successive years, on the same farms, by 
several gentlemen, Avhose aim has been to give it a fail- 
trial ; but I desire hoav to ansiver a few of the leading 
questions frequently put to me, that those Avho wish, 
may be able to make experiments next season. The 
folloAving are more frequently asked than other ques¬ 
tions, A T iz : 
1st. On Avhat soils is it most beneficial ? 
2d. On Avhat crops may it be most profitably applied? 
3d. How much per acre is commonly used ? 
4th. How is it applied? 
5th. AVhat is its cost per bushel ? 
6th. Hoav is it ordinarily and most economically trans¬ 
ported ? 
In reply to the first question, “On Avhat soils is it 
most beneficial,” it may be justly said that its beneficial 
influences are visible on all kinds of soils where it has 
been used ; but most apparent on poor sandy or bar¬ 
ren soils, where little or nothing Avould grow Avithout 
powerful manure. 
2d. “ To Avhat crops may it be most profitably ap¬ 
plied ?” I can only say that it has been used by many 
of the Long-Island and several of the NeAA'-Jersey farm¬ 
ers on wheat, corn, oats, buckAvheat, turneps, and all 
kinds of garden vegetables, Avith great success ; and it 
has been satisfactorily ascertained, by several experi¬ 
ments, that excellent crops of grass follow wheat ma¬ 
nured Avith poudrette; and I am not aAvare that it has 
been found without value on any crop. 
3d. Upon this question, “ Hoav much is commonly 
used per acre?” much may be said Avithout ansivering 
it to the satisfaction of many. As, to ansAver it pro¬ 
perly, it is necessary to know the character and condi¬ 
tion of the soil where it is to be used ; but the folloAv¬ 
ing comparative statement of its relative value with 
other manures, Avill enable every farmer to decide what 
would be proper on his fields. 
One bushel of poudrette, prepared by the NeAV-York 
Poudrette Company, is estimated to be equal in value to 
18 bushels of city street manure—to 
14 bushels of coAv-yard manure—to 
10 bushels of horse-stable manure—to 
6 bushels of liog-pen manure—to 
3 bushels of ashes—and to 
1 bushel of crushed bones. 
Some Avho have used it, estimate it much more high¬ 
ly than the above statement, as will be seen by a refer¬ 
ence to the statement of Mr. L. Soper, at page 16 of the 
pamphlet sent hereAvith—where he says that he raised 
as good Avheat Avith 40 bushels of poudrette on an acre, 
as he did with 40 wagon loads of barn-yard manure on 
another acre. 
