Horses. In rearing good horses there is some profit, and a certainty, too. I think it costs $60 to rear a colt till it is 3 years old. Taking into consideration the keeping of a mare purely for breeding, this is a low estimate. In ordinary cases-say $45 to $50, using the dam at the same time. Breed mares and colts should have free open air in winter, but a good shelter, when they wish it, at their control; good clean bedding there; a supply of water also at their hand, and plenty of hay, and some small supply of grain; ground or boiled oats are best. In summer, plenty of grass and good water, with a shelter to run to from sun and rain, and the pitiless storms of the spring and fall. This last is within the reach of all. Get some slabs to make a shed-can't you? To raise superior animals, I have found it best to breed every alternate year, giving the colts a full chance with their mothers till the early grass of the second spring; then weaning them. Of late, I prefer handling early colts; as there is nothing, in my opinion, to be gained, as was supposed, by leaving them till more mature in their spirits and carriage. That springs from other sources, and cannot be so easily accomplished by art. Wool growing is profitable; price, the present season, from 35 to 45 cents per pound. The large sheep for mutton; small for wool. I think there is no material difference in the cost of producing fine or coarse wool. What is lost in carcass is gained in wool, and vice versa. coarse are more prolific than the fine-woolled sheep. The Hogs.-Difference of opinion exists as much on this as on any other subject. I think the Berkshire the best. The cultivation of roots, as a field crop, is not resorted to to any great extent; and as for potatoes, I should beg to be excused-it is beyond my skill. I shall try planting in fall, and recommend early planting in all cases to bear a crop. Fruit.-I am happy to say, fruit is getting more attention from our farmers, and is a good remunerating crop. Manures.-The best plan of making manure, I must say, is not so often resorted to as it ought to be and merits. A good yard, well supplied with straw, and cattle kept there, and not allowed to run in the roads, as is too often the case, through the winter, will make and preserve it. A little gypsum used in the yard, after cleaning out of stables, adds greatly to the quality, and makes the premises more healthy and agreeable. This has swelled beyond my intentions, and will greatly outweigh its merits. I am respectfully, sir, your obedient servant, P. FALCONER. HILLSGROVE, SULLIVAN COUNTY, PA., SIR: An Agricultural Circular was received through the Hon. Joseph Casey some time since, soliciting such information on the above named subject as may be useful to embody in the Report for the present year. I do not suppose I will be able to give any information on this subject worthy of so prominent a place; but, as I have a deep interest in this branch of our national industry, I will give such suggestions as my limited experience will admit of. As the culture of potatoes is an important branch of agriculture, and one that is exciting considerable interest, owing to the prevalence of disease for the last few years among them, I would state a few facts from observation of several seasons: Those planted earliest and on light soil have done much the best, viz: from the 1st to the 10th of May. Light, sandy soil, without manure, has turned out a tolerable yield, with scarcely the appearance of disease among them; and being dug as soon as, or shortly after, the vines die, they have kept well through the winter; whilst the same kind of seed planted on rich mould, or planted with barn-yard manure, or stable manure, with the same kind of treatment in other respects, have nearly all decayed. But, under all circumstances, those planted earliest have been less affected with the rot than those planted latest. In those places where marl or peat is to be had, composted with a small quantity of lime, it is the best manure that can be used. Ground that has just been cleared, or new land, providing the soil is dry, is well adapted to the culture of this crop. Wheat.-In preparing the ground for wheat we choose fallow groundfrom which corn has been taken the previous year. The ground should be ploughed at least twice. The first time, the middle or last of June; then harrowed and cross-ploughed in August, and thoroughly pulverized; and the grain put in from the 10th to the 25th of September. The difference between once or more ploughing varies according to the previous condition of the ground and nature of the soil; if it is clay land,. with much weeds and grass on it, followed by a dry season, it will make nearly a third difference. Wheat put in with drills will give a much better yield than that sown broadcast under similar circumstances. But where drills are not used, the grain is not so apt to be frozen out if ploughed in as if harrowed. I usually sow about one and a fourth bushel per acre. My system of rotation of crops is to plant corn on the sod ploughed in the spring or fall previous; then sow oats on the same ground the next spring; and after the oats are harvested, plough the stubble and sow the wheat, putting the manure on the top, and put it in with the wheat; from 25 to 30 bushels being an average crop. One dollar per bushel is the price for wheat in this township and for some miles around, it being a lumbering county; but at Muncy, the nearest point where grain is shipped, the price since harvest has been from 75 to 80 cents. Manures.-Fifty bushels of lime are commonly put to the acre; but this, as with the application of other manures, should depend on the quantity of other fertilizing properties which the soil contains. Those containing much vegetable matter will admit of heavier applications than those that are poor and sterile-in which latter case it should be put on in smaller quantities and oftener; the same with marl and ashes. The best fertilizer for meadows and pasture lands, where it is to be had, is marl; but after frequent applications of this manure, which usually contains a proportion of sulphur, a light application of lime will be found of great benefit, as it neutralizes and continues with the sulphur accumulated from the marl, forming sulphate of lime. The cheapest vege table manure is to plough under clover. The actual cost of raising cattle to three years old is about $12, and that is the business to which this county is best adapted. Respectfully, yours, AUGUSTUS LIPPINCOTT. Hon. THOMAS EWBANK, Commissioner of Patents. BYBERRY, PHILADELPHIA COUNTY, PA., 1st mo., 17th, 1852. Having been much interested in the Patent Office Reports for several years, and feeling a desire that they should be continued, I will answer briefly the questions in the Circular sent me some months since. As the seasons have much to do with the success or failure of agricultural labor, I would say that we have been visited by a severe drought, commencing in June and continuing until October. There was scarcely any rain fell for some months, and the pasture fields, in many instances, were entirely parched up. The corn and potato crops were materially injured, and the turnip crop a total failure. At the present time more than half the wells in the neighborhood are dry, and some springs that have never failed before are entirely dry. The wheat crop is perhaps larger than for several years. I should think a full average crop of 20 bushels to the acre has been harvested. The price is 90 cents per bushel. The Mediterranean is universally sown; its early maturity being proof against the grain-worm, (a very destructive insect that feeds upon the grain whilst in a milky state.) The quantity of seed sown is from 2 bushels to 23 bushels per acre, from the middle of September to the middle of October, and the crop is generally harvested about the middle of July. Clover and timothy seeds are both sown with wheat, and the quantity of hay grown is about two tons per acre. The clover is generally fed on the farm. The timothy is carted to the Philadelphia market in loads of one ton each, where it has been worth, the present season, $18 per ton. Corn is perhaps the most important crop raised in this section. A timothy sod is ploughed, in April, five inches; is well harrowed and marked out with a plough four feet each way; and about the first of May the corn is planted, five grains in each hill, and covered, with a hoe, two inches in depth. Compost, made of manure, lime, plaster, and ashes, is applied in the hill. The corn is worked principally with the cultivator and hoe; three stalks are left standing in each hill; about the middle of September it is cut up and put in shocks of 36 hills each, which are firmly secured with a band of straw near the top. The husking is done the latter part of Oc>tober, the corn cribbed, and stalks tied up in sheaves and placed in ricks near the cattle-yards. In consequence of the drought the crop was below the average, though some farmers had sixty bushels to the acre; the stalks are worth $8 an acre. The price of corn at the mills is 70 cents per bushel. The gourd-seed is the most common variety; but I have obtained an excellent kind by mixing the gourd-seed, Cooper, and Oregon, in which are combined large ears, deep grains, and small cob. This is the best variety that I know of. The crop of broom corn was good, but the price is so low that many farmers will relinquish its cultivation another season. Oats are generally sown after corn, as soon as the ground can be put in order in the spring-3 bushels of seed to the acre-producing in some instances 70 bushels to the acre; average crop 40 bushels-worth at present 40 cents per bushel. The Dairy business is not extensively carried on; most farmers consider it more profitable to sell hay. A good cow will make 200 pounds of butter in a year, worth in Philadelphia 20 cents per pound. Fresh cows are worth $30 each. A few cattle are fed through the winter, and sold to butchers in the spring. Potatoes are not extensively cultivated; the crop was materially injured by the drought; 200 bushels to the acre is considered a good crop. Large potatoes are worth at the present time in Philadelphia $1 per bushel. Roots. The ruta-bagas (of all the root kind) are the best for feeding stock; but are very little cultivated. Turnips are sown among corn, and frequently large crops are grown in this manner; but, as I mentioned before, in consequence of drought, there were very few grown in this vicinity the present season. The best breeds of hogs are the Berkshire and Chester county, which will weigh, if well fatted, when one year old, 300 pounds. They are not much raised for market, but principally kept to consume the offal about the farm. Manure.-As I remarked last year, the main source of manure is the barn yard, where the straw, cornstalks, and refuse of all kinds are collected. Loam, leaves, &c., are hauled in through the fall and winter; and composts of muck, lime, and plaster are often made. Plaster is universally sown on clover in the spring with beneficial effects; and lime is applied generally on wheat stubble at the rate of 40 bushels per acre. Guano has been used in small quantities, principally on wheat, with good effect; but the high price prevents its coming into general use. Respectfully, JAMES THORNTON, JR. Hon. THOMAS EWBANK. NORTH WHITEHALL, LEHIGH COUNTY, PA., January 19, 1852. SIR: Your Circular, requesting information on the various branches of agriculture, was duly received. Permit nie to offer an enlarged plan of a barn, (with a slight variation to correspond to size,) which I built in 1850, with a view of housing everything that may be raised and grown on the farm-making the most and best manure, and at the same time promoting the health of the cattle. Fig. 1 represents a perspective of a barn calculated for a farm of 150acres, seen from the southeast, standing on the margin of a western slope running towards the south. The main building to be 92 feet in front, facing towards the south by 40 feet wide, and 18 feet high, with an addition on the northeastern corner of 22 by 72 feet, and likewise 18 feet high, which gives the eastern side a depth of 112 feet, with a cellar extending under the whole building, a portion of which may be partitioned off for a root-cellar for storing roots and vegetables; a portion may be used for storing wagons, sleds, and implements when they are not used; and a portion may be possessed by a stationary or other horse power for threshing grain, cutting cornstalks, hay, straw, &c.; and the residue for depositing manure. On the rear wall, in the middle of the building, a cistern should be constructed to receive the drainage of the manure pile; the bottom of the cellar in front should be nearly on a level with the ground on the open side, and sloped in such manner that all the liquid may readily run into the cistern. The manure is thrown through trap doors into the cellar, in the rear of the animals. On an improved farm there can always be more straw raised than can be used for litter. A surplus of straw will then be on hand to increase the manure pile, which should be spread evenly and at suitable intervals on the manure pile; and, as the urine voided by the animals will not be sufficient to moisten all the straw, frequent waterings will be found necessary; and where no hydrant or other running water can conveniently be had, cisterns should be constructed to provide for a sufficient supply of water. Young cattle may be kept, during winter, on the manure heap; and, indeed, I find it to be of great advantage to have cattle on the manure heap, especially when much straw is thrown on, to have it trodden in, as it will more readily absorb the liquid, and prevent the waste of gases. Fig. 2, shows the interior of the barn; AAA, the entry; B, horse stalls; C, cattle stalls; the animals stand on a platform six inches high, having a slope of two inches towards the rear of the animals, there forming a gutter to receive the manure; EE, &c., are trap-doors in the gutter which admit the manure to be passed into the cellar; DD, &c., doors; F, a trap-door admitting the surplus straw to pass into the cellar on the manure heap; GGG, three threshing floors, two of which may be used as bays for storing grain, hay, or straw; H, bay; I, granary. As regards the health of the cattle, I find this plan greatly preferable to the old fashioned bank, or Swiss barns, which have their cattle stalls in the cellar, or lower story, generally too damp to be wholesome, which, by following nature, may readily be recognised to be so; for example: in a warm summer season, cattle never show a disposition to go into their stalls in a bank or Swiss barn; while my cattle have, ever since I have stalled them in my new barn, every evening, summer and winter, manifested a disposition to go into their stalls, which are in summer cool and airy, and free from any pungent smell. I have made it a practice to clean the stalls daily, and strew loam on the floor, which absorbs the gas and other nauseous odors, rendering the apartment cool, and, by proper ventilation, airy, and thereby acquiring a valuable addition to the manure pile, which, especially in summer seasons, when cattle run in pasture, may be greatly augmented, as their excrement is then more watery, and, consequently, more loam and litter are required to be |