164 
THE CULTIVATOR 
volumes in favor of the prosperity of this city and the high 
state of improvement of the country ; and that is, that nearly 
every one of the roads diverging from Lexington, is a complete 
Macadamized turnpike; 
Upon one of these; the Maysville road, I started yesterday at 
4 o’clock in the morning, and after passing over some 60 miles 
of a very fine country, (excepting the celebrated “Blue lick 
knobs,”) I was set down at 1 o’clock, P. M. at the mouth of 
Judge Beaty’s lane, and calling one of his black boys from a 
neighboring hemp field, to take charge of my baggage, I walked 
up to the house, which according to Kentucky fashion; is situa¬ 
ted in the middle of a 450 acre tract, about a half mile back 
from, and out of sight of the road. I found a venerable, good 
looking; intelligent old man, enjoying his book after dinner, un¬ 
der the shade of a noble old elm in the yard, and at once ap¬ 
proached and announced my name, and in five minutes I was as 
much at home as though under my own roof—and here let me 
and my readers take a short rest from the labors and remarks 
of their old friend; SOLON ROBINSON. 
National Agricultural Society. 
Messrs. Editors —I have been an attentive reader of the Cul¬ 
tivator, arid am much interested in the views of your able cor¬ 
respondents, Messrs. Garnet and Robinson, relative to a Na¬ 
tional Agricultural Society and National Agricultural School. 
I believe such a school would be productive of much good, not¬ 
withstanding the natural tendency such a national institution 
Would have to favor the aristocratic few; but I believe a 
much greater amount of gdod back numbers might done with 
the Smithsonian fund, by purchasing the back numbers of 
the Cultivator or some equally valuable agricultural jour¬ 
nal, and distribute full setts, except the current volume, 
to the head of every family engaged in agriculture that 
i3 not now a subscriber—not; Messrs Editors, that I pro- 
ose giving you a fat job; far from it—I propose that the work 
e stereotyped and furnished at as low a price as any publisher 
in the United States would undertake to do it—for I myself 
am but a poor farmer, but I am a much better one than I was 
five years ago, and I attribute my improvement to the Cultiva¬ 
tor, and I expect to improve further, either with or without the 
Cultivator. — 
Feeding Hay to Sheep. 
I am located in a very hilly country, and of course my sys¬ 
tem of farming is various, but my intention is ultimately to con¬ 
fine myself to raising fine wool. I have tried many ways of 
feeding sheep hay. I have spread it on the ground, which I con¬ 
sider the most slovenly and wasteful. Ihave fed in board boxes, 
or racks made about 2.§ feet wide anu from 12 to 16 feet long, 
with a roof to keep the hay dry ; they are made of boards about 
1 ft. or 15 inches wide,nailed on 4 inch scantlings in each corner; 
the bottom board to stand on the ground; the next course to be 
nailed on 8 inches above, leaving that space all round the box 
for the sheep to put their heads througn to the hay; but they 
will waste considerable hay fed in this way, if they are fed all 
they will eat. For the last two winters I have let my sheep 
run to the stacks, which may appear to be very wasteful and 
slovenly in theorv_, but I do not find it so in practice, owing to 
the manner in which I build my stacks. In the first place I take 
a pole about 5 inches diameter at the butt and about 3 at the top: 
blue ash is the best. I set this about 2.) feet in the ground and 
stamp the dirt firm around it; let it be long enough to project 
about 3 feet above the top of the stack, for convenience of the 
stacker in topping off: then take 4 blocks about IS inches high, 
sawed off a log about IS inches in diameter, place them around 
the pole, and on those blocks build a rail pen only three rails 
high; cover the ground with rails about 6 or8 inches apart to 
keep the hay off the ground, and in this pen and around the pole, 
build the stack in the usual way. I generally put from 2.) to 3 
tons in a stack; the sheep will eat out the hay under the rails 
clear into the pole, and the stack will settle down the pole, the 
bottom resting on the rail pen, until the sheep will eat it all up, 
With but little Waste. Such has been my practice for two win¬ 
ters past, arid I have this summer stacked all my hay intended 
for sheep in this mariner. My sheep are Saxony and grade sheep, 
and I have abont 750. I have tried various lengths for the 
blocks to build the pens on, and find about 18 to 20 inches the 
most suitable length; larger sheep would need higher blocks. 
Strawberries. 
I cannot but earnestly recommend every farmer to bestow 
more attention to the garden, both on the score of profit and 
comfort. I last year raised over 4) bushels of strawberries on 
a piece of ground measuring 38 by 39 feet. They were set out 
in hills two feet apart each way, and required but little labor 
in cultivation. Respectfully, NICHOLAS TITUS. 
Rutland , Meigs Co. Ohio , Aug. 4, 1841. 
“ Knowledge is Fewer.” 
The characteristic of the present day, is reformation and 
general improvement in the agricultural department—in the 
sciences and arts—by general diffusion of agricultural and sci¬ 
entific knowledge and by “ elevation and refinement of intellect .” 
Thus it is by a knowledge of the laws which govern material 
substances, that we are to become acquainted with their nature 
and composition. Our success, in performing experiments, de¬ 
pends on our knowledge of the substances. 
We can see a great deficiency among our most practical far¬ 
mers, in the department of scientific knowledge. 
There is a very erroneous idea, which is too extensively enter¬ 
tained among all classes of community and which has too 
long wound its serpentine coils around its abettors, and has 
been a mighty barrier to improvements in agriculture, that a 
farmer “ needs no more knowledge than is necessary for him to 
read and write and keep his account, ” &c. This might, perhaps, 
stand a better test a century ago, but in these days of intelli¬ 
gence, and in this enlightened age, we are taught dfferent. Our 
fathers, we know, had but poor facilities for acquiring know¬ 
ledge of any kind ; and they raised greater crops than we do at 
the present'day. There are many of our best farms, for wheat 
growing, that have been ‘‘under the plow,” as it is termed, un¬ 
til they have become completely impoverished; and then they 
are thrown aside as good for nothing. Therefore, under such 
circumstances, we must commence a renovating system. But 
how is this to be accomplished ? I answer by artificial aid. 
But this cannot be done by us, who consider ourselves good 
practical farmers, because we have been taught to follow in 
the footsteps of our predecessors—our fathers, who knew 
nothing of the ingredients of the soil. We have not knowledge 
to analyze the different soils, nor to learn what plants will 
thrive most vigorously on a given soil. If we attempt this, we 
find soon, we are incompetent to the task—and deficient in all 
the necessary knowledge upon which we may form a correct 
judgment or arrive at a correct conclusion. 
For every reflecting mind most know, that affter a farm be¬ 
comes so impoverished, by a series of exhausting crops, and 
exhausted of all its nutritious qualities, which artificial aid only 
will restore, that it requires all the knowledge and skill of the 
most profound scientific to restore, in part, the soil to the 
state that nature gave it; and even then, it requires the most sys¬ 
tematic and judicious course of management to accomplish such 
an undertaking. A farmer should have more knowledge. 
But I would not be understood that he should be a college 
learned man, nor have him pursue a classical course of study. 
But he should understand the sciences, particularly philosophy, 
chemistry, botany, geology, &e. By pursuing the sciences, the 
powers of the mind are unfolded and drawn out into action, and 
thereby we are rendered close and profound thinkers, critical 
and scientific investigators, and close and exact reasoners. 
And furthermore, there is a pleasure in pursuing the sciences, 
which cannot be described; and which none but those who 
have experienced it, know how highly to appreciate. If a per¬ 
son becomes well versed in the sciences, he enjoys many plea¬ 
sures, to which he who is contented to remain in ignorance, 
must ever remain a stranger. It matters not whether an indi¬ 
vidual designs to occupy some conspicuous station, or to fol¬ 
low the humble occupation of an agriculturist, he needs a well 
cultivated mind. He needs that knowledge, which will enable 
him to learn by actual experiment, what soils are better adapt¬ 
ed to the growing of wheat, &c. 
He should know by what means he can restore a worn out 
farm to its native fertility, which will be the least expensive. 
He should know the nature of every plant, and in what loca¬ 
tions they vegetate the most healthfully, what is the preponde¬ 
rating ingredient that composes them. 
The sciences unquestionably reflect a vast amount of light on 
these, which are, as yet ? unhidden laws to the majority of far¬ 
mers, which would if rightly appreciated, be productive of an 
infinite amount of good. And besides there always appears to 
a scientfic mind, even in the smallest plants something that is 
calculated to expand the mind, and which strikes it with awe. 
A. E. A. A. 
Lansingville, Tomp. Co. April 8, 1841. 
Experiments in the Culture of Potatoes. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —I have been a constant reader 
of the Cultivator from its first number, and have always es¬ 
teemed it a highly valuable periodical; but among the very 
many instructive communications in that valuable work, I oc¬ 
casionally find interspersed, articles which are not calculated 
to lead to any satisfactory result. I allude to such crack arti¬ 
cles as give the extraordinary weight of a calf, six months old, 
without telling us how many cows he sucked, and what other 
food he had received, and the great weight of a yearling short 
horned bull, without stating the amount of milk, meal, roots, 
&c., he had consumed. Now, if such correspondents had, at 
the same time, taken a calf of some other good breed and given 
him food, equal in quantity and quality with his pet, we might 
arrive at some conclusion as to the relative value of the two 
breeds; but my principal object in this communication, is a 
passing notice of some of the reports on the Rohan Potato,—as 
also an experiment made by myself, with the Rohan and three 
other varieties of the potatoe. 
I shall not undertake to write out the several reports on the 
Rohans ; several of them, however, run thus or nearly so : 
From 2 Tubers I raised 2 1-4 bushels. 
“ 1 “ “2 1-4 “ 
“ 1 “ “2 1-4 11 
ci l a “2 “ 
1 1 2 ii “2 “ 
In the above list of experiments, some have stated the num¬ 
ber of eyes in each tuber, and the number of hills planted; but 
have not stated the distance between the hills, so that the pro¬ 
duct per acre cannot be ascertained. Again, few describe the 
soil and the quantity and quality of manure applied, and none, 
that I recollect, have tried any other variety along side of them, 
with the same soil, manure and treatment: so that nothing 
can be decided as to the relative productiveness of the different 
varieties. Again, they generally give the amount of the pro¬ 
duct, from the amount of seed—now, before I begin with my 
experiment, allow me to state one, made by one of my neigh¬ 
bors, with the potato called the Irish Cups. It was not a trial 
for a great yield from a given quantity of seed; but to settle 
the question whether potatoes could or could not be pro¬ 
duced without the eyes of the potato. He took two tubers, 
of the Irish Cups, of medium size, cut them into thin 
slices, cut the slices crosswise, both ways, leaving the 
pieces about the bigness of a large pea, and planted them 
in a rich, moist, loamy soil, well manured. They were a long 
time in coming up, and when they did come, the plants were 
very small, and for some time apparently feeble; but they be¬ 
gan to grow and soon attained the usual size of potato tops; 
and when they were dug, the produce was fifteen bushels of 
Irish Cups, which is a greater yield from two tubers than any- 
recorded in the Cultivator. Still it proves nothing, for he 
never stated how much ground he occupied, nor did Mr. Jack- 
son, of Wellsboro, Pa., (last vol. Cult., p. 12,) whose increase 
was 214 fold. Now, if the two Irish Cups planted by my neigh¬ 
bor weighed a pound, which I presume they did not, the increase 
must have been 900 per cent or 900 fold, which puts Mr. Jack¬ 
son’s Rohans in the back ground j but all this only goes to 
show how illusory all such experiments are, without a com¬ 
parison w-ith other varieties, and with equal treatment. 
Now to my experiment. 1 purchased a farm tw-enty-five 
years ago, which is situated about seven miles from my resi¬ 
dence in Waterford, and have let it on shares ever since, (keep¬ 
ing the direction of it in my own hands.) I divided my wheat 
land into three equal portions as nearly as was convenient, 
leaving the residue of the farm for meadow, corn and other 
uses, and put my wheat land under a three years course of 
cultivation, i. e. one year under wheat and two years under 
clover, applying plaster to the clover during the two years 
pasturage, to which use it was constantly applied until plowed 
up for the wheat crop. Under this course of management, in a 
few years the land was brought from a state of perfect exhaus¬ 
tion to a pretty high state of cultivation. The plat of ground 
on which I planted my potatoes is on an elevation, and a part 
of one of the wheat fields, and had been under the above course 
of management for twenty-five years—it contains about three 
acres, is perfectly level, the soil loam, on a subsoil of marly 
clay, and was under two years sod. It had never received a 
shovel full of manure since it was cleared some fifty years ago, 
except the plaster which had been put on to it during the afore¬ 
said course of management, and what Was dropped by the cat¬ 
tle while feeding off the clover—there is not a shade on the 
plat, nor any locality to invite cattle to visit or beat upon one 
part more than another of the piece; the soil was therefore 
perfectly uniform. 
In May last, the ground was plowed, after the grass had 
been closely fed off, harrowed and furrowed both ways with 
the plow, as evenly as possible, and planted with potatoes, the 
seed roiled in plaster, or gypsum, to be a little more technical, 
and in the following order, to wit: four rows of Rohans through 
the middle of the plat, and in contiguous rows on each side, 
the three other varieties i. e. merinos, flesh colored and Orange 
potatoes. 
At the proper time, the plow was passed between the rows, 
both ways, and dressed out with the hoe once only. The sea¬ 
son was so dry that in our region the potato was considered 
but about half a crop. With my tenant, we dug and accurate¬ 
ly weighed 12 hills of each kind, and by an accurate measure¬ 
ment, ascertained the number of hills in a rod, and by the 
weight of the 12 hills ascertained that of the rod, and by 160 
rods, the weight on an acre. That weight divided by 60 lbs. 
gave the following results per acre : 
Merino-••. 364 4-5 bushels to the acre. 
Flesh colored. 336 11 “ 
Rohan. 322 4-5 “ “ 
Orange. 2S8 4-5 “ 
Thus, gentlemen, you have the result of my experiment, 
which was conducted with the greatest possible accuracy and 
care. Now, whether the proportions (of the yield) w-ould have 
been similar if they had been planted in other soil and heavily 
manured, I certainly cannot decide; all I go for is, that when 
experiments are made to test the relative productiveness of 
diflerent varieties of the potato, they should te put side by side 
and honestly treated alike. S. STEWART 
Waterford, March 22, 1841. 
Notes of a Traveler in Ohio—-Great Barn, 8tc, 
We had been riding all day among villages and rich looking 
tarms, in as lovely a farming country as the sun shines upon. 
Large Pennsylvania barns, extensive fields, numerous herds, 
anU landscapes of unrivaled beauty, met our admiring eve3 
at almost every turn. J 
I hardly know how many places I had picked out during the 
day, as we drove through portions of Richland, Wayne, and in¬ 
to Stark county, as being each in its turn the most desirable lo¬ 
cation we had yet seen, and where, if I were the possessor I 
would willingly end my pilgrimage, and settle down with scarce 
a thought or wish that would not be gratified in the scene 
around. 
I thought nothing could be found finer than what we saw in the 
neighborhood of Wooster. At Massilon we found a very worthy 
friend and a banker, at his cottage, some distance from town, 
upon a large farm, and in the midst of his harvest. He seemed 
to enjoy himself much more among his sheaves and stacks of 
wheat, than behind his counter, and surrounded by the irre¬ 
deemable currency, w-hichl am sorry to say, is found in one of 
the richest states in the Union. His cottage is a perfect gem, 
and so situated, that you looked out upon nearly a hundred acres 
of wheat then ready for the sickle. All about him bespoke the 
thorough and independent farmer. When we took our leave of 
him I could not help feeling that his, if any man’s, was a lot to 
envy. I thought we should find no more places to equal this, 
but, as we drove into the rich old town of Canton, I saw seve¬ 
ral which would have puzzled me much in making a choice 
With any of them a reasonable man must have been satisfied. 
Our business led us to a little village, some four miles down 
the river from Canton to a large milling establishment. In one 
of the proprietors I recognized an old friend, who some twenty- 
hve years ago, while exercising the functions of a pedagogue, 
had brought me in rather too close contact with his birch scep¬ 
tre. The smart was soon forgotten, though the person was well 
remembered. The evening passed rapidly away, and finding it 
late we abandoned our purpose of returning and put up with 
our friend for the night. The first thing I did in the morning was 
tq examine the barn, and in this land of agricultural monstro¬ 
sities, as Ohio may be called, I have seen nothing to compare 
with ‘‘that barn;” indeed I question whether for size and com¬ 
pleteness of its internal and external arrangements it has a 
superior, or equal, in the states. 
The building is 140 feet long by 50 wide : standing upon a 
stone basement 140 feet long by 42 feet wide, and 8 feet high. 
The basement is used exclusively for stables; and so divided 
that no room is lost. The upper part is divided into floors of 
nearly 24 feet in width, and two large doors to each of four of 
these floors. The manner of filling this barn struck me as ob¬ 
viating the principal, and to my mind the only objection to large 
barns, viz : the increased labor of stowing away hay or grain. 
The first 24 feet at each end is without door. The drive way is 
on the adjoining floor, and from this the first one is filled, giving 
a surface of only 24 by 50 feet to work over. When that is fill¬ 
ed the doors of that drive way or open floor are closed, and this 
is in turn filled from the adjoining floor, and thus on, until but 
one of the floors is left unfilled. Mr, Goodwill, the proprietor, 
is a good farmer, and the best evidence of it is the great pains 
he takes to save and make manure. His yards are so arranged 
that all the drainings are saved, and his straw is all washed in¬ 
to the manure heap. 
My observations in Ohio,among intelligent farmers,have made 
me a convert to earthen floors for stables for cattle or horses. I 
am so well convinced of their superiority, both in economy and 
health that I will never have any other. I questioned a great 
many farmers on the subject, and all had used them from one to 
twenty years, and their answer was uniform, that if they could 
have wooden floors free, they would not use them. Some have 
but recently taken out their plank floors and filled up with 
earth. Whenever they can be made dry I should recommend 
their use, by all means. 
When I commenced, I intended to have gone into some consi¬ 
deration of the condition of agriculture generally in the state, 
and of the condition of the finances, but I find so much of my 
sheet is filled by “that barn ” that I have not room, for which, 
perhaps, your readers will be thankful. Another day I may re¬ 
sume the subject. T. C. P. 
Saving Clover Seed. 
In.the 12th number of the 5th vol. of the Cultivator there is a 
plate and description of a clover machine used by Mr. L’Hom- 
medieu. In a subsequent number, No. 3 of the 6th vol., Mr. 
Saunders gives his experiment, and pronounces it a failure. 
From the remarks of that gentleman, I was almost deterred 
from making a trial, but knowing the advantages which w T ould 
result from a successful experiment, I determined to make the 
attempt, hoping an improvement might be made in the defective 
parts. Accordingly I had a machine constructed, agreeably to 
the plate and description, and soon found that the wheels were 
too high, for in depressing the teeth to a proper distance to¬ 
wards the ground, it elevated the hind part of the box too much. 
I had the wheels reduced two inches in diameter. The same 
objection existed, but in a less degree. On a smooth surface 
we could have gotten along pretty well, but when the ground 
was uneven, the jolting of the wheels prevented it from doing 
effective duty. The wheels were cast aside and runners of 
three inch scantling substituted, and I am pleased to say, it has 
met my greatest anticipations. More than twenty acres of 
clover have been passed over, and the heads gathered cleaner 
and in half the time, that would have been required to cut it. 
The advantages of this mode of collecting over the usual one 
of cutting, are several fold. 1st. The stalks are all left on the 
ground to benefit the land. 2d. The heads are immediately 
taken to the barn, ready for the hulling machine, without the 
delay and labor of separating the heads from the stalks by flails 
or tramping. 3d. A man with a horse can strip double the 
quantity in a day, that he could cut. 4th. The seed is better, 
inasmuch as the heads are taken to the barn and secured from 
the weather, the dampness of which frequently causes them to 
sprout when exposed in the usual rotting process, as it is 
termed. For the use of this machine, the clover ought to be 
permitted to get fully ripe, and if the spaces between the teeth 
become clogged, they can quickly be freed by a sharp spade or 
shovel, which the operator has with him, in shoveling the 
heads to the back of the box. 
In making another box, I would have the dimensions increas¬ 
ed from those in the plate, say six feet wide and five feet deep, 
because one horse could easily drag it, and it would take off 
more speedily. The runner ought to be about two inches deep¬ 
er behind, so as to elevate that part of the box and give the 
teeth a depression towards the ground. The teeth ought to be 
left flat on the top, and the two edges sharp,—underneath they 
should be bevelled dove tail fashion. Those made use of 
were of wood. I think a further improvement can be made, by 
having them of iron, and of the shape of a dirk blade. 
I have no hesitation in stating that with the alterations above 
mentioned, the machine has proven satisfactory, and will be 
continued in use on my farm. 
Brownsville , Pa., Sept., 1841. JAMES L. BOWMAN. 
