Rye, Barley, Peas, and Beans are but little cultivated in this county for export. Oats.-Great quantities raised; produces well, and is a profitable crop for feeding horses. I sow 2 to 3 bushels per acre; product, from 30 to 50 bushels per acre. Clover and Timothy, and their Seeds.-Clover is sown for pasture and the renovation of the land, and for seed. When intended for seed, the first crop is mown for hay, which crop will average 21 tons per acre. This crop is cut in the first part of June. The second crop is let grow for the seed, which is cut in September, and produces from 1 to 2 bushels to the acre. Clover makes the best pasture for horses of all grasses, but not so good for cattle or sheep. The hay is good for wintering sheep, and horses do very well on it; but cattle have no relish for it. Clover is mostly used in this county for the renovation of land. Butter and Cheese.-As to cheese, there is but little made; none for export. As to butter, there is considerable made and exported; but the yearly average product of butter per cow is something I have not experimented on. From observation of my own cows, I think a good cow will make 12 pounds per week, allowing her to give milk nine months. in the year, which would make 432 pounds in the year. Ten cents being the price of butter in Belleville and Mansfield, will make the valueof the butter from the cow in one year, $43 20; but the cow must be well fed during the year. Neat Cattle.-Cost of rearing till three years old, $6 a year, making $18; price at that age, from $16 to $24; value of dairy cows, from $12 to $20 in spring; but in fall there is no demand for them. The beef fattened in this county is made principally on grass, and on corn ground and fed dry. The amount of beef made by one hundred pounds of corn I cannot tell; for I have not made the experiment. But few oxen are *worked here, and I can give no information as to breaking steers to the yoke. Horses and Mules.-Of mules there are but few raised. Rearing horses is the most profitable business the farmer can pursue. On no kind of stock that we rear in this county can we make more net profit than on horses. The expense of rearing horses till three years old is $12 per year, which will make $36. There is no particular method of taking care of the brood mare; we put to the horse in the months of April, May, or June-working them moderately until the time of foaling. We let the colts run with the mare till five months old; we then take them from the mare and put them in a close stable till they forget their dam― feeding them, during this time, one-half gallon morning and evening, with good hay. We then turn them out in good pasture, and give them their usual quantity of oats till spring. They are then put to pasture, and kept there till cold weather. They are then fed their gallon of oats per day with good hay, and so on, till they are three or four years old. At five or six we think they are ready for sale, when we get from $70 to $100 per head. To break them, we commence when they are two or three years old, by putting gears on and leading them about, to accustom [* A cow well fed, and a good milker, will give 200 pounds per annum.] them to the jingling noise. We then hitch them into a two horse wagon, drive them for the first half day, then load in light, and increase until you have them properly broken. Keep them at light work till four years old, when they may be rode and broke to the saddle, and put to ordinary work. The best stock of horses for all work we have in this county, and adjoining counties, are Thunderbolt, Eclipse, Shylock, and the Bellfounder. There are many other fine horses, but these I consider the best and most sought after by eastern drovers-particularly the Thunderbolt stocks; they are of good size, very active, and spry. They are very high mettled, yet easy to govern. They are the fastest trotters, and cannot be beat as walkers. They sell here at from $10 to $20 more than any other horses reared in this county. Wool.-Wool is considered the most profitable business of the farmer by some, even as much so as that of rearing horses. This may be so, but my choice is the horse for profit. However, keeping such sheep as will produce fine wool is profitable; and it is allowed to be a good business to rear them for mutton; but slaughtering sheep ought to be discountenanced by every well-wisher of his country, as we rear beef and pork enough for the consumption of our country; and it is well known that there is not enough wool made in the United States to supply and keep in operation our woollen factories one half the year; and, as long as that is the case, we will be flooded with the foreign woollen goods, which is a constant drain of our gold and silver. (I would wish to say more on this subject, but it is running into political affairs.) In the cost of growing either coarse or fine wool per pound, I do not consider any difference; because the fine-woolled sheep that I now have produce more, (being from five to eight pounds per head,) are as easily raised, increase as fast, are equally hardy, their wool of readier sale, and that at a higher price, than the old coarse-woolled sheep. It is true that the coarse-woolled sheep is the best sale to the butchers, because they have the largest carcass, and stand driving best. I shall close on the subject. of sheep by saying, were it in the power of the authorities to put a stop to the slaughtering of sheep, it would be well for the people of these United States. Hogs.-The most profitable hogs we can raise are those that are of full size at the youngest age; and, for this purpose, the best are the Leicestershire, Bedford, Berkshire, Chinese, and Calcutta; these all arrive at full growth at 18 and 20 months old, (provided they are well kept.) We know of no cheaper and more profitable method of keeping and fattening pork than to feed mush, as we call it, viz: have your corn ground, boil it to the thickness of mush, mix with it, when cool, all your spare milk and the swill of the kitchen. After clover is in head, let them run on it for pasture. Hogs raised and fattened in this manner will save to the owner at least 33 per cent. over the old method of letting hogs run at large through the summer, and in the fall putting them up in open pens and fattening them with corn in the ear. Yet most of the pork in this county is made after the old method. As to the amount 100 pounds will make, I have never as yet made the trial, but will say, through my own experience, that a saving of at least 33 per cent. will be made by cooking their feed as above recommended. As to the best method of putting up pork and curing hams and bacon, I do not pretend to know any other method than the old plan of salting and smoking. Fruit Culture.-The culture of fruit is receiving increased attention; the value of apples grown on an acre of ground is certainly of more value, either for table use or feeding, than any crop of grain cultivated in this county. As to the comparative value of apples and potatoes, I cannot say, but should think one and a half bushel of sweet apples is equal to at least one of potatoes for feeding stock, &c. The best keeping apples we cultivate are Romanite, golden pippin, green pippin, winter yellow pippin, Robinson apple, signify, seek-no-further, Esopus Spitzenberg, French or Newark pippin, and many others that I might enumerate-all very fine fruit, which thrive well in this county; but the fruit of all kinds failed this season. No apples are exported from this county, on account of its inland locality. We know of no remedy for the blight on pear trees and apple trees; but few of our fruit trees are affected by it in this county. Our peach trees are somewhat affected with the yellows, but no remedy is known with us. The best manner of transplanting fruit trees is, to stake off your ground so that the trees will be 33 feet apart, then dig a hole 20 inches deep and 4 feet in circumference, mix 4 bushels of fine, well-rotted manure with as much of the ground you threw out of the hole you made for the tree as will fill the hole and plant your trees in. Place a post beside the tree, and keep the tree tied to it at as many places as necessary; a small band of straw is best to tie with. Potatoes. But few sweet are cultivated here. The Irish potato is cultivated to some considerable extent, but principally for domestic use. The average yield per acre is 200 bushels; the cost of producing, per bushel, (at that yield,) is 13 cents; the most profitable varieties are the blue Mashonock and the Baltimore blue, for table or cooking; but, for stock-feeding, the merino or red Mashanock and pink-eye are the most profitable, on account of their great yield. The best system of planting, tillage, and manuring is as follows: On 1 acre, put 30 two horse wagon loads of well rotted barn-yard manure; plough it under 8 inches deep in the month of October, before you want to plant; immediately after ploughing, harrow it well both ways; let it lay till about the 15th of May; stir it as deep as you broke it the fall before; harrow it till the ground and manure are well mixed and well pulverized; furrow it out about 3 feet 6 inches apart; drop the potatoes (those of a medium size I think the best) 2 feet apart, with two in a place; cover them so as to make the ground level; when they are 6 inches high, plough 2 furrows in a row; then, with a corn-hoe, draw a small quantity around each hill; let them stand for 10 or 12 days; then plough them out by 3 furrows between each row, and draw with your hoe plenty of ground around each hiil; then let them stand till fit to dig, and put into the cellar. If they should become affected with black rot, dig them as soon as possible, and spread them on your out house or barn floor, so that they may become dry; let them lie till cold weather before you put them in your cellar. If the potato bug should infest your patch, in the cool of the morning take a handful of slacked wood-ashes and sprinkle it in the centre of the hill, and the depredators will scamper for parts unknown; but keep watch, for in a few weeks they, or a new set, will come again, when like process is necessary to drive them off. I have saved my potatoes for two years from rot by the above process, and likewise saved them from the ravages of the potato bug by the above means. Manures.-The best plan of preserving manures: It would be out of place in me to give any particular method, as the only plan with me, and, as far as I know of, my neighbors, is to pile our straw in the barnyard; let the cattle tear it down and lie on it; if we have stable manure, we throw it on the straw; in the spring we scatter corn plentifully over it, and let the hogs at it; they will soon root the straw up in search of the corn, and by the next fall it will be in good order to put on the field. I am aware that there is a better way of making our straw produce more manure; but the time has not come that we want it, as our land is yet fresh, and we are in the habit of keeping it in such order as to produce fair crops, by ploughing down heavy crops of red clover; yet I well know that our crops might be much increased by using manure plentifully. But, necessity being the mother of invention, I am of the opinion that the best manner of making and using manures will not be sought for till necessity compels us to try all manner of experiments. Lime is not used in this county as a fertilizer, on account of its scarcity and high price, as there is no lime-stone in the county; what is brought here is for the purpose of building; it is worth, when slacked, from 25 to 40 cents per bushel. Plaster is used to some extent on clover and Indian corn, and found to be of great benefit; it is sown on clover in the month of May, and we use it by rolling our seed-corn in it; by making as much stick to it as we can, it will cause the corn to vegetate and come up quick, with a black-green color, which it will retain if well tilled. Guano is not used here. When sown on new Cotton, Rice, and Hemp are not cultivated here. Tobacco is but very little cultivated. Roots.-Turnips.-There are a few raised. land they produce well, and are a profitable crop to feed stock. Carrots.None are cultivated here. Beets are cultivated in our gardens, but only for table use. The mangel-wurzel is somewhat cultivated, and is said to be the best kind of food for milch-cows; their yield is very great, but what per acre, I cannot say. If you should find anything that may be a benefit to agriculture, or to the country generally, in the above answer to your Circular, you are at liberty to place it in your valuable Report. Hon. THOMAS EWBANK, Commissioner of Patents. JOHN YOUNG. BUCYRUS, CRAWFORD COUNTY, OHIO, SIR: Your Circular, of the 18th October last, was duly received. Want of leisure has prevented an earlier reply; and I sincerely regret that reliable data, from which to obtain the information you ask, is so difficult to obtain. The annual Reports from your Office have become of such importance, and are so much sought after by all classes of citizens-particularly the farming and mechanical portions-that it would appear of sufficient im-portance to induce the different State legislatures to make some provi sion for collecting all such information, and having returns made of the same to some one of the county officers in each county. This could be done in our State-with but little additional trouble or expense-by the different township assessors, and could be attended to at the time of making their yearly assessment; from which returns reports could be made to your Office, which would be of vast benefit to all classes. Under present circumstances, much of the information furnished you must necessarily be very imperfect. I herewith annex replies to the different inquiries contained in your Circular, giving all the information in relation to the same which I have been able to obtain; and it is as correct as circumstances would allow, although I am aware it is, in many respects, very imperfect. Very respectfully, your most obedient servant, Hon. TнOS. EWBANK, Commissioner of Patents. To enable those who are not acquainted with the size of our county to form a proper estimate of its productions, as compared with those of other counties, it might be proper to state that it contains barely the constitutional limits of 400 square miles, which is smaller than most counties in the State; and that a part of the county was, but a few years since, purchased from the Wyandot Indians, and is, as yet, but thinly settled; and the whole county is new, as compared with the eastern portion of the State. Articles listed for taxation in Crawford county, Ohio, for the year 1851, as returned to the auditor's office. $810,968 Total value of taxable property, moneys, and credits, exclusive of lands The amount of wool exported from this county for 1851, from 250,000to 300,000 pounds, at an average price of 37 cents per pound. As the wool passed through but few hands, the transactions in this article could be ascertained with tolerable certainty. Principal Crops.-The principal crops are wheat, corn, oats, cloverseed, timothy seed, and hay. |