FARMS. 75 



often covered too deep? Take a quantity of the liquid which 

 has leached from your dung heap, thick and strong, and let it 

 leach through eight or ten inches of sand or soil, and you get 

 water clear as that from the brook ; all the fertilizing parts 

 having been retained in the eight or ten inches of soil in the 

 leach tub. Being satisfied that this is true, would it not be 

 wise to leave the manure near the surface, to be dissolved and 

 carried down by the rains ? Plough deep, save all your manure, 

 and leave it near the surface of the field. 



T. R. Boutelle, Chairman. 



Statement of Lemuel Pitts. 



The farm I offer for your consideration I bought in the spring 

 of 1854, and commenced operations about the 20th of April. 

 My former business having been in Boston during the past 

 twenty-five years, I consequently came entirely ignorant of 

 farming operations ; I thought, as most city people do, " that 

 any fool cpuld make a farmer." But I found myself much 

 mistaken before the first season was over. My greatest object 

 in purchasing a farm was for the benefit of my family, particu- 

 larly my boys, and my expectations have been realized ; they 

 have done much better than I expected for boys brought up in 

 the city. 



The farm contains sixty-nine acres of naturally good land, 

 but had been owned by a physician some eight years or more, 

 who did not prescribe much nourishment ; consequently it was 

 somewhat reduced under his treatment. The year previous to 

 my purchase, it only produced sixteen tons of hay. It is divided 

 into pasture, mowing and tillage, say thirty-five acres pasture, 

 twenty-two mowing, and twelve in tillage. The grass lands 

 have not been improved so much as I should like, owing to my 

 attention being turned to the cultivation of an orchard. I 

 think that is of the first importance in farming : get a good 

 orchard started, and take care of it, and it will be sure to pay. 



After the first year we have set out about two acres each 

 year to apple and peach trees, and now have six acres covered, 

 and we think they look well. I intend to increase my orchard 



