166 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



WORCESTER NORTH. 



From the Report of the Committee. 



Only two farms were entered to compete for the society's pre- 

 miums ; one by Daniel S. Eaton of Fitchburg, the other by Al- 

 den Derby of Leominster. These farms have been visited by 

 your committee annually, and inspected in their various depart- 

 ments, that we might have a general knowledge of their man- 

 agement. But the two farms are so dissimilar and require a 

 management so unlike each other, that we shall be excused for 

 entering more minutely into detail. Mr. Eaton's farm contains 

 sixty acres and is well fenced with stone-walls, and is managed 

 by his own labor, and when he finds it necessary to have some 

 additional help, he exchanges and works for his help to pay 

 them, so that no part of the income of his farm has to be appro- 

 priated to pay running expenses for labor, which circumstance 

 is of very rare occurrence nowadays. He has unearthed the 

 boulders and smaller stones from his fields, made the rough 

 places smooth in his mowing lots, so that the mower will run to 

 advantage on all his grass lots, with a very small exception. He 

 cultivates wheat, barley, Indian corn, potatoes, turnips, beets 

 and other vegetables, keeps his fields clean of weeds, keeps four 

 or five cows, makes butter for the market, has an apple orchard, 

 keeps swine, some for market, also about three dozen hens, sell- 

 ing one hundred dollars' worth of eggs in a year, has pears, 

 grapes and peaches, sufficient for his family use. 



Living on " Alpine Hill," any one looking around from his 

 stand-point might suppose him to be " monarch of all he sur- 

 veys." We noticed a nice field of German sweet turnips grow- 

 ing beside ruta-bagas ; the sweet turnips are much more thrifty 

 than the bagas, showing a decided superiority over them, with 

 the same culture. Also, we noticed this year a prolific field of 

 the common flat turnips adjoining the above. 



We might go on and make an extended report of Mr. Eaton's 

 farming operations ; but his written statement accompanying 

 this report, will amply suffice. 



Mr. Derbv's farm contains about one hundred and seven acres 

 and is managed in a manner that requires much extra help. 

 Mr. Derby is reclaiming a large swamp, by ditching extensively, 

 that is covered with bushes that " require more hands than his 



