8 MASSACHUSETTS • AGRICULTURE. 



every animal and crop can also be very nearly estimated. 

 The result would be, that the yearly income from one cow 

 would be found to be thirty or forty dollars, that of another 

 seventy-five to a hundred; one yoke of oxen would have 

 depreciated in value twenty-five or thirty dollars, while an- 

 other would have gained as much; it would be seen that 

 two old broken-down horses would be less serviceable than 

 one good one well kept ; and so on. 



A short time since, in talking with a smart, active New- 

 Hampshire farmer, he said to me, " I can raise corn at thirty 

 cents per bushel." Being asked if he reckoned the loss to 

 his land, interest, taxes, &c., he replied, " No : if you reckon 

 all these, there is no profit in any crop." But they should 

 all be taken into the account ; then, if it is found there is no 

 "real profit, it shows the need of still closer observation and 

 care. ' 



Recently, at a very pleasant dinner-party given by a gen- 

 tleman of this county, supposing he had owned his farm but 

 a few years, I asked him ho w long he had lived upon his es- 

 tate. His reply was, " Two hundred and fifty years." This 

 he immediately qualified by saying, " Perhaps one hundred 

 and fifty years, or ever since the settlement of the countr}^" 

 Friends, many of you have lived upon your farms a hundred 

 and fifty years ; and as you look back, and see the work that 

 your fathers have accomplished, will you rest satisfied with 

 your present attainments? The world moves forward in 

 science, in art, in agriculture ; and those of you who will oc- 

 cupy these farms a hundred and fifty years hence, will, or 

 ought to be, as much in advance of us of the present day as 

 we are ahead of our fathers of a hundred and fifty years ago. 



Make improvements; commence at home. Is there noth- 

 ing about your house which can at a trifling expense be made 

 more attractive and beautiful? — a new coating of paint, the 

 old chimneys modernized and repaired, a bay-window here 

 to contain the flowers, or a portico there both for comfort 

 and ornament. Have your family all the conveniences they 

 require and deserve? Are the best modern improvements 

 in kitchen, pantry, and living-room? Is a good supply of 

 dry fuel always on hand in a convenient place ? Is pure 

 healthful water accessible at all times to the house and sta- 

 ble ? Have you carefully examined the drainage about your 



