Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1868-11-06
Agricultural Survey Of Delaware
County-A Prize Essay by Hon.
Thomas G. Jones.


A pamphlet Of A pages, bearing the
above title, is before Us. We make the
following extracts:
| tsDeIaware was organized in 1905 The
| territory was included within the limits
/ of Franklin county, and, at an earlier
| period, had formed a part Of the county
/ of Ross. The name is derived from the
] Delaware Indians, who at one time had
/ two villages, and cultivated large crops
/ of corn where the town Of Delaware
| the county seat, now stands.
'fThe Scioto river runs through the
| county from north to south, within
three to five miles Of its western border
/ Five or six miles east Of this we nave
/ the Olentangy river, tributary OF tne
/ SeiotO, and running parallel ana uni
ting with the main stream near Colum-
/ bus About the same distance east of
/ the Olentangy, we have Alum Creek,
and still further east Big Walnut, or
lCfahanna, which unite a short distance
southeast of Columbus, and enter the
| SeiOto in the northern border OF Pioka-
| way county.
sfUpou those four streams, with their
numerous trit utary branches, we have
| a large portion ofbOttom lands of very
good quality. Those upon the Scioto
are the most extensive and fertile. The
formation here, and of all the territory
west of the Olentangy. River, is cliff
limestone; in the centre 1t IS black
/ shale; and from Big Walnut east it is
| tWaverly sand stone The black shale
/ (sIate1 is said to be $50 to 800 feet in
/ in thickness at Alum creek, whose
/ banks, in many places, are from so to
/ 100 feet high, and so regular and per-
/ pendicular as to appear like artificial
/ walls.
ssThe limestone here is darker than at
/ the Columbus Quarries, and for build
]
1 and is easily accessible in e1haustless
quantities. The water power of all
| these streams is used for Touring and
saw mills-that upon the OIentangy
/ quite extensively. The power upon
/ this stream is better than on the main
| Scioto-a stream which here, as above
and below the limits Of our county, has
I very little fall.
| s.iFhe soil west of the Olentangy is,
1 for the most part, undulating, friable
/ and naturally Well-drained. The dis
1 tinguishing timber is hickory, sugar
! tree, white, black and red oak, walnut,
ash, cherry, sycamore, buckeye, ETC.,
/ etc. The out-crops of the limestone are
seen all along the Olentangy and the
/ Seioto, and the rock is near the surface
of most of the territory between these
/ two streams. We have here, also, a l1D-
eraI supply of limestone gravel. The
soil. as the intelligent reader would in
1 fer from these indications, is well adap-
ted to the production of grain and clo-
yer, and is largely devoted to these
crops.
The original population here was
| largely from Pennsylvania, Virginia,
and from Wales. The largest and best
township of this district, the best, per-
haps in the county, was originally set
tied, almost exclusively by emigrants
from Wales. The LANDS we're mostly
owned by DIR. Jones, of Philadelphia.
/ He called the township RadnOr, and di-
rected his agent in making sales, to
give the preference to Welshmen.
The first settlement was made by
] Henry Perry, as early as 1903.
The farms in this section are general
" small, and the object of the farmer is,
first of all, to raise the products that aIe
required to support his family and his
stock. There is no leading staple grown
for export, as is usually the case in sec
tions divided into large farms. Large
crops of wheat and corn are grown, and
in this form a good share OF the surplus
Of the products of the farm is taken tC
market, The system of farm manage
ment is simple enough, and much the
same as prevails in many of the cOun-
ties in the central and western part Of
the State. A clover, or eIouer and tim
othv sod is broken up for CORN. The
best farmers do this in the fall or WIN
ter. There is no doubt whatever, but
great benefits result from this.
The corn is planted as soon after the
10th of April as the weather is warm
enough to make 1t grow, and the work
is mostly done by the Goth of May. II
is dropped by hand, and the number o.
grains, three to four, are deposited, thai
are intended to grow in the hill. the
best farmers agreeing upon this poini
with a distinguished statesman of the
Scioto Valley, who, we are told, in
structed his dropper in loud and decIa-
matory tones, in these memorable
words: ffWhen you come to the inter
section of the furroW, there do you stop,
and stand there to the day of judgment
if necessary, until you deposit three
grains. Mark you-not three TO SIX
grEins-but THREE GRAINS, no more
nor less.'
The feed must be good. There is no
excuse for planting bad seed. If the
ripest ears are gathered as soon as the
corn is hard, in the fall, and hung up
in dry. place, we shall be sure of sound
seed, that will all grow. This practice
will never fail. If too much seed is put
in the hill, there will always be toe
many stocks allowed to grow there
however determined our resolution tC
thin it out may have been.
| If the ground is clOddy, it is rolled
soon after the corn is up, this puts the
ground in fine condition for the cultiva-
| tor, which is the next implement used.
After this, we take the double-shoyel
we wish to accomplish in cultivating
this crop, better than any other imple-
ment.
/ 1t can be worked about as deep as the
single shovel, aud rather closer to the
the plants, while it moro thoroughly
| pulverizes the ground between the
! rows. Some farmers still use the single
shovel in slaying by3' the crop, for the
reason that it throws the earth up bet
ter about the hills, which is some pro-
lection against the crop being blown
/ bv storms. 1t is also better for the land
! especially if it be clay soil, to be kept
! in ridges through the winter, than to al
low the surface to remain fiat, as we
have better drainage and greater bene-
/ fit from the action of the frost. In the
early settlement .of the county, corn
was very generally husked upon the
standing stock, or pulled, ,"and hauled
into large heaps, to be husked by the
neighbors, who assembled upon moon
light nights with high cheer for the
frolic-or tHusking Bee." But our
farmers now cut up the crop, and put ii
IN shocks ten hills square; which work
we usually commence about the middle
of September. .
Occasionally wheat is sown as soon
as the corn Isl scut up.
Upon the cup lands" that is, those
that are not classed as bottom or black
lands, the practice is to take but a sin
gle crop of corn, and the following
spring to SOW to fax or oats, and after
| this crop is removed, to apply all the
barn-yard manure that can be spared,
and SOW to wheat and timothy Seed
The clover seed is applied in the spring.
In the western district, of which we are
now speaking, very little timothy is
sowed without clover being added. 1t
is believed that this mixture, about
half Of each. makes the best of hay
The crop is much easier managed than
| when the clover is grown without the
timothy, and the land is perhaps near
ly as much benefited as if the clover
| were grown alone; while it may be
said to be very doubtful whether a
crest" in timothy meadow is any bene-
| fit at all to the soil.
THE WHEAT is usually sowed with a
drill, at the rate of a busheI and peck,
to busheI and half, to the acre. The
/ seed should be deposited about two
i inches below the surface. Actual ex-
periments have demonstrated this to
be the proper depth. If we were sure
of enough moisture, a shaIlower plan
ting might be better. The seed would
certainly come up sooner. But at the