No. 85.] 103 



neat and well arranged. We must not omit to notice the garden, 

 which we found in much better condition than on any other farm 

 which we visited. One hundred and fifty rods of under drain, and 

 fifty or sixty of open drain have been made, which has greatly im- 

 proved the farm. Your committee will here say that they, in common 

 they have no doubt, with every good friend of agriculture, would 

 gladly welcome thousands of such foreigners as Mr. Barnes to our 

 country, and learn from them the improved modes of husbandry. 



OSWEGO COUNTY. 



The following extracts are from the Farm Report made to Oswe- 

 go County Agricultural Society: 



Your committee first visited the farm of John Becker, which is sit- 

 uated in the town of Parish, and contains 150 acres, the whole of 

 which is improved land, divided into suitable fields, with houses, barns 

 and out-buildings, in good condition and mostly new. This farm was, 

 most of it, originally a hard stony farm, and its former owner in 

 speaking of the good qualities of his farm, said, " he could build a 

 stone wall on somie parts of it without being to the trouble of draw- 

 ing any stone." We found the farm at the present time in a good 

 condition, and well fenced with 1,002 rods of good stone wall, most- 

 ly whole wall, and 50 rods of board fence ; the remainder of the fen- 

 ces good rail fence. Mr. Becker also has on his farm J 60 rods of 

 blind ditch, and 225 rods of open ditch. In the management of his 

 farm, Mr. Becker has adopted the system of rotation of crops. 



The division of the farm this year, with the quantity of crops, is 

 as follows : 10 acres of wheat, yielding 185 bushels; 5 acres of corn, 

 averaging 35 bushels per acre ; 18 i acres of oats, averaging 40 bush- 

 els per acre; 1^ acres of buckwheat; 5 acres of potatoes, and 10 

 acres of fallow, which are sown to wheat; 45 acres of meadow, av-' 

 eraging 1 1 tons of hay per acre, and 55 acres of pasture on which 

 was kept 20 cows, 21 head of young cattle, 4 horses, 1 yoke of ox- 

 en and 21 hogs, besides 10 cows taken in to pasture for others. 



The farm of Mr. Becker exhibits the untiring industry of its own- 

 er, and the result is converting what may with propriety be called a 

 hard farm.) into a productive one. 



The committe next called on Arvin Rice, of Hannibal, and exam- 

 ined his farm, situated east of Hannibalville, on the Oswego road. 

 This farm contains 185 acres, 150 acres of which are improved, the 

 remainder woodland, enclosed by good rail fences. The whole farm 

 is divided into suitable fields with 350 rods of good stone wall, 200 

 rods of board fence, the remainder of the fence on the farm is good 

 rail fence. 



The improved land was divided, as follows : the present year 

 50 acres in grain and root crops, 30 acres of meadow and 70 acres of 



