62 



MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



Massachusetts white corn, and thinned to three stalks in 

 hill; applied ten bushels of ashes just before the corn came 

 up ; cultivated twice ; topped three-fourths of it as an experi- 

 ment, but did not see as it made any difference in the sound- 

 ness of the corn, as he had no soft corn on either portion ; 

 shelled in four hours by putting on barn-floor, and riding 

 horses over it ; fanned and weighed. Result, 6,141 pounds 

 of clean corn, or 109 bushels 37 pounds ; had 6,000 pounds 

 of fodder, and 1,104 of cobs ; corn weighed fifty-eight 

 pounds to bushel, and at Mr. W.'s rates of reckoning labor, 

 fertilizer, etc., cost thirty-five cents per bushel. 



Charles Williams of Deerfield harvested 399 bushels of 

 corn, worth seventy cents a bushel ($279.30), from seven 

 acres ; the whole cost of cultivation, etc., being $1 60.1 7. 

 The fodder weighed 19,370 pounds, which, at five dollars a 

 ton, was worth $48.20 ; the husks sold brought 815.78, which 

 made the total income of the seven acres $343.28 : this sum, 

 minus the cost ($160.17), leaves a net income of $183.11. 

 The crop yielded fifty-seven bushels to the acre, and its cost 

 was twenty-four cents and one-tenth per bushel. 



T. J. Field of Northfield gave a statement of his field of 

 twelve acres and a half of Early Dent corn, which took the 

 second premium at the three-counties fair at Northampton. 

 The soil was a not heavy 'ilaj loam ; and in 1878-79 the crop 

 was grass, and no manure was used. Ploughed in May 

 about six inches deep, after which the manure was drawn, 

 spread, covered with a wheel-harrow, and then cultivated 



with a Thomas harrow, 

 the account : — ■ 



The following is the debtor side of 



Ploughing six days and a half at three dollar 



Harrowing and cultivating five days 



Manure (one-half charged to corn-crop) 



Hauling manure fourteen days 



2^ bushels of seed 



Planting two days, with horse 



Cultivating three times 



Iland-hoeing eight days 



Cutting and stooking sixteen days 



Husking at four cents per basket . 



Drawing fodder to barn 



There were harvested 1,520 baskets, wh 



ch weighed on 



