The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1872-06-27


leaving track, 40 feet wide, of plowed
ground. On the heavier soil, the process
is somewhat different. An eight horse
team moves four gang plow, and gets
over about six acres per day. The seed
is then sown by machine which scat.
ters it 40 feet, and sows rs to 100 acres
in day, and the ground is then harrow
ed and cross narrowed. When the far,
mer, in this Valley, has done his winter
sowing, he turns his teams and men into
other ground, which he is to summer fal.
low. This he can do from the first of
March to the middle of May and by it
he secures a remunerative crop for the
following year, even if the season is dry.
This discovery is of iuestimable import.
ance to the farmers on the drier part of
these great plains. Experience has de.
moustrated conclusively that if they plow
their land in the spring, let it lie until
the winter rains come on, then sow their
wheat and harrow it in, they are sure of
crop; and the summer will have killed
every weed, beside.
VOLUNTEER CROP
After the summer following is done,
the teams have a rest The horses aud
mules are turned out to grass for some
weeks, and about the 4th of July the har-
vest begins. 1t is then the rainless sea
son and the farmer gets his teams, his
headers, his grain wagons, his thresher
and his sacks and men into the field, and
on the light soil cuts, threshes, and puts
Ipf fO caotc tho IL
$50 acres per day. Three "hcaders," I"
which cut of only the heads of the wheat
stalks, leaving the straw standing, and
nine wagons to take the heads from the
headers to the thresher, require to work
them % men aud SO horses. With this
force they get in $50 acres per day The
grain put into sacks is left on the fields
until time and teams can be got to haul
it to the railroad or often until it is sold
1t does not sweat nor mould, and there is
no fear of rain. As soon as the crop is
harvested, the teams are hitched to
brush-six horses to a twenty foot brush,
which goes over the field at the rate of 40
acres day. The brush scatters the gran
which has been dropped in the fields and
sometimes little more seed is added =
When it has been brushed it is powed
two or three inches deep-to cover the
seed aud from this comes, without fur
ther care, what is called "volunteer"
crop, which is often better than first, and
Is as certainly counted on Now the
horses and men have another interval of
rest until the rains begin and blowing re
commences. Thus, as one farmer pointed
out to me, they have work for their teams
almost the whole year, aud have no horses
eating their heads off la idleness. In the
heavier soils, the volunteer crop is put in
with the harrow instead of the brush
and this is followed by "chisel cultiva
tor, having from seven to thirteen teeth,
four inches deep. If these leave the
ground rough, it is again narrowed
DIFFERENCE IN SOIL.
at would astonish you to see how small
a crop pays the farmer on this sandy soil"
said an intelligent man with whom | rode
over his fields. He told me that from
700 acres, last year, he got but bushel
aud half per acre, beside the feed of his
teams while they were harvesting They
header-wagons, which is wastelu act, |
should say. But, after all, from the small
crop he made $500. At FIVE bushels per
lcre, if wheat brought 50 so bushel, the
farmer on the sandy plains makes So so
per acre, clear of every expense. This
result, which seemed to me incredible, | |
saw demonstrated by figures of the cost |
IF the crop, which were satisfactory to !
whole room full of farmers. But if you
will remember that it is no uncommon
hing for farmer to put in three or four
thousand acres, you will see what money
hey make, even with small crop, il the
price happens to be good, as it often is
n bad year. Two and half cents is,
If course, high price, and cent and
quarter is Il more usual price in good
1ears But at that rate crop of 10 bush
lis per acre pays so we'll on the sandy
,lains that farmers down here count con.
identity on making large fortunes this
'ear. | was fortunate enough to find
myself, one afternoon, among a dozen far
ners, some having sandy soil, and some
he heavier loan and after discussing
nc cotD pd'dti'c CoSt vi cuiti'a'iou, WHICH
s nearly double on the heavy land, and
he product, which is as 10 bushels to
rom 20 to %, listened to an earnest
rgument concerning the relative merits
f sand and clay. | must say that the
and had the best of it, very much to my
urprise, for it is not only sand, but it
las, am told, an impenetrable hard pan,
rom foot to three feet below the sur
ace In spite Of this, which would seem
0 make it worthless, it was admitted that
he sand did not show as much sign of
exhaustion as the clay, and that, taking
tx or esght years together, it was as pro
table as clay. A very intelligent man,
rho ownes and worked 1000 acres Of clay
nd loan, said, at the close of the discus
ion, "The sand has many merits it can