EAST OXFORD SOCIETY. 25 



driving and better feed, which consisted of four quarts of carrots 

 per day the first winter, afterward kept as other stallions in gen- 

 eral. I valued him at fifteen hundred dollars. The best two years 

 old colt was raised in Bethel by J. Estes. Sired by Rising Sun. 

 The dam is of Morgan descent. But one entry of sheep was made. 

 These were sheep raised by Mr. D. D. W. Abbott. He has his 

 lambs come late enough to avoid exposure. to the cold weather so 

 common the last of March and first of April, turns them out to 

 pasture as soon as there is sufficient feed, salts them once a week 

 during the summer, gives them a warm place in winter, and feeds 

 on good English hay, sometimes a few beans, or other provender. 

 The pasture is upland with plenty of sweet feed. He thinks the 

 cost of raising will not exceed two dollars and fifty cents per head. 



Premiums were awarded on potatoes for 216 bushels per acre ; 

 on wheat, for 43| bushels on two acres ; on Indian corn for 85 

 bushels of ears. 



The principal crops grown within the limits of this Society, are 

 Indian corn, rye, oats and potatoes. Very little wheat is raised 

 except on burnt land and upland. Barley is also raised in consid- 

 erable quantities at the present time. 



It seems to be the prevailing opinion of farmers, that their labors 

 are bestowed upon too much land, consequently lessening the 

 profits on the amount of labor bestowed. One man will raise a 

 larger crop on an acre of land, than his neighbor will on an acre 

 and ahalf of the same kind of soil. Instances of this kind have 

 come under my own observation. The cause is obvious. Better 

 care and moi-e labor is bestowed upon the same amount of land 

 and yet not so much on the acre as on the acre and a half. The 

 result is, that labor and the use of the half acre of land is thrown 

 away and the crop diminished. One gentleman informed me that 

 in ninety days from planting, he harvested and carried into his 

 chamber a good crop of sound corn. This is considerably sooner 

 than is common among farmers in this section. His method was 

 as follows : Spread a good coat of manure on grass land, and turn 

 it under. Then harrow lengthwise of the furrows until mellow, — 

 never harrowing crosswise — mark out the rows, and deposit in 

 each hill a table spoonful of ashes and plaster ; after which drop and 

 cover as usual. His theory is, that the ashes and plaster warm 

 and nourish the corn until it has attained sufficient growth to drive 

 its roots to the manure below, which, added to the sward which is 

 by this time decomposed, furnishes sufficient nourishment for the 

 corn until harvested. 0. W. Blanchard, Secretary. 



