SECRETARY'S REPORT. 235 



Product on third fourth — manure cultivated in, was 745 pounds of 

 corn and stover, 253 pounds of corn and cob. 



Product on other fourth — manured on the surface^ was 651 

 pounds of corn and stover, 212 pounds of corn and cob. 



Previous to 1859, the land had been cropped with hay, and had 

 become exhausted. It was turned over in June, 1859, one hun- 

 dred and fifty pounds per acre of guano applied, and a light crop 

 of oats taken off. 



The third and fourth sections appeared best during the summer, 

 and the corn on these was better ripened than on the first and 

 second. The season has been dry, much less than the usual depth 

 of rain having fallen during the corn season, and the ground be- 

 came dry far below the surface, yet this corn did not sufier from 

 drouth ; and I find on referring to the weather register that rain in 

 small quantities fell frequently, nine days being the longest time 

 without rain from May 20th to October 20th, and the surface has 

 not been so dry as the subsoil. The season, on the whole, has not 

 been unfavorable to surface manuring, though at first thought it 

 would appear so. 



Report of an experiment in the application of manure upon one 

 acre of land, tried in 1860, by William Grinnell, of Exeter, Penob- 

 scot County. 



Character of the soil and subsoil — a gravelly loam and a coarse 

 subsoil. 



Amount and character of manure applied — 10 cords of green 

 manure from the barn cellar spread on, five cords old manure scrap- 

 ed up in the yard the fall before, put in the hill. 



Crop grown — corn. 



Product on the first fourth — manure plowed under eight inches 

 deep : Thirty-one bushels of ears. 



Product on second fourth — manure plowed under four inches 

 deep : Thirty-two bushels of ears. 



Product on third fourth, manure cultivated or harrowed in : 

 Thirty-two bushels of ears. 



Product on other fourth — manured on the surface : Thirty-three 

 bushels of ears. 



The land was quite poor — was planted with potatoes the year 

 before. The season was very dry, though we had showers that 

 prevented the surface from parching up. 



