FARMING IN HAMPSHIRE COUNTY. 151 



ably with the training received under the watchful and inter- 

 ested care of parents. Should a person go to the West to follow 

 farming, he cannot expect such educational advantages as he 

 would enjoy in New England, and especially in this State. In 

 the South the case is still more strongly marked, for while good 

 schools here are the rule, there they are the exception. 



A lack of churches is another thing very keenly felt by a per- 

 son going from the East to another section, and unless one is 

 fortunate enough to obtain a farm near some city or town, he 

 must deny himself the privilege, or contribute liberally to build 

 up and maintain such a society as suits him. Still another dis- 

 advantage which is met by persons not living in a well populated 

 region, is the want of society; it will be the more unpleasant 

 from the fact that a farmer's habits and mode of life, tend to 

 make him enjoy the company of others, and be of a free and 

 hospitable disposition. 



With regard to the animals on the farm, he should be so sit- 

 uated as to continually improve them by judicious breeding. It 

 is hardly probable that a young man will have capital enough 

 to permit him to buy thoroughbred stock, so he must locate 

 where he can avail himself, as far as possible, of blooded stock. 

 Now having enumerated some of the requirements of the farmer, 

 let us see where the most of these can be satisfied. Let us 

 begin in the same order as before, first with the soil. It is a 

 recognized fact that there are few, if any, sections, where a per- 

 son can get a soil adapted to such a variety of crops, as that of 

 the Connecticut River Valley, and especially that part in Hamp- 

 shire County. We hear of the large crops of the West, in 

 grain, hay, tobacco, etc., but here we get a larger crop per acre, 

 as we shall presently see. 



Taking the figures as given by a recent writer on the subject, 

 and comparing the common crops of both regions, we reach the 

 following results. Beginning with corn : in the year 1867 the 

 corn crop of Massachusetts, compared with that of Ohio and 

 Texas, was 35 bushels for Massachusetts, and 28 bushels for Ohio 

 and Texas. The value of an acre in Massachusetts was from $50 

 to $54, in Ohio, from $20 to $23, and Texas, from $17 to $22. 

 For wheat, the average yield in Massachusetts was 16 bushels, 

 Ohio, 15 bushels, Texas, 9 bushels ; while the wheat of Massa- 

 chusetts was worth $2.75 per bushel, or $44 per acre, that of 



