212 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



consequently requiring twenty-nine rows to* complete the acre. 

 This land was in grass from 1860 to 1870, and during that 

 period no dressing was applied. In the spring of 1870 I 

 ploughed nineteen twenty-ninths of the field, and manured with 

 barnyard compost in the hill, and planted with potatoes ; gave 

 them good care, and received a good crop. The remaining ten 

 twenty-ninths was in grass until the second day of May, 1871, 

 when I ploughed it about seven inches deep, then rolled it with 

 a one-horse wooden roller. I then applied equally upon the 

 acre a dressing of compost, made by mixing the droppings of the 

 cows during the winter with loam, &c, which were carted into the 

 barnyard the season of 1870. The dressing applied to that 

 portion of the land planted in 1870 was ploughed under to the 

 depth of five inches, and harrowed ; at the same time the dress- 

 ing upon the remaining portion of the acre was worked into the 

 soil as much as possible with a Bucklin harrow. I then passed 

 a bush over the entire acre. May 13th, the rows were marked 

 lengthwise, three feet six inches distant from each other, and 

 about the same distance crosswise. The corn was planted the 

 15th day of May. The ground being very dry, the corn did not 

 come up well. After hoeing the first time, I replanted the 

 vacant hills ; received but very little corn from those hills, and 

 that was of little value, but received a great increase of stover, 

 which was injurious to the crop of corn, in my judgment. Cul- 

 tivated and hoed three times ; the field was quite free from weeds 

 during the seasou. The cost of harvesting was increased some 

 in consequence of the corn having been blown down during a 

 shower, in the early part of September, and the corn crop some- 

 what injured. The nineteen twenty-ninths of the field, which 

 were planted to potatoes in 1870, produced much more corn, 

 proportionately, than the ten twenty-ninths which remained 

 unploughed until May, 1871. Thursday, Oct. 19th, cut and 

 carted corn to the barn ; finished husking it Monday, Oct. 23d. 



EXPENSES OF CROP. 



Ploughing, applying dressing and harrowing, . . $14 25 



Bushing, rolling, marking, ..... 1 80 



Seed, planting, crow line, ..... 5 07 



Cultivating, hoeing three times .... 9 75 



