82 



MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



injured most of the corn in this vicinity very much. It was 

 not injured much, if any, by the frost. We prefer planting 

 early : we had rather be cut by the frost in the spring than in 

 the fall. The corn was harvested the last of September and 

 the first of Octol)er, and there were two hundred and thirteen 

 baskets of sound corn and eleven of refuse (considered equal 

 to five of good corn), — making two hundred and eighteen 

 baskets from one acre and thirty-four rods, being at the rate of 

 109.15 per acre. We had selected what we thought before 

 'harvesting to be the best acre, which we kept by itself, and 

 carefully weighed, and there were 109.89 bushels. 



Value of the crop : — 

 109.89 bushels of corn, at $1, 

 1|- ton of stalks, 

 2 " husks and butts, 



Cost of crop : — 

 Interest on land, $200 per annum. 

 Taxes, about ..... 



8^ cords manure, two-thirds exhausted. 

 Ploughing, ..... 



Spreading manure and harrowing. 

 Manuring in the hill and planting. 

 Hoeing, ...... 



Cutting and housing stalks, 

 Harvesting and husking, . 



Profit per acre, 



$139 89 



$88 30 

 $56 59 



In the above statement, we have put the value of the corn 

 at one dollar per bushel, which is about eight or ten cents 

 below the present value. But of this as well as the other esti- 

 mates the committee can judge for themselves. The labor, 

 although higher than many reports that we have seen, we think 

 is as low as we should be willing to do the same for any other 

 person. 



Milton, Nov. 9, 1855. 



