256 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



with good success by various parties. Onions, tomatoes, 

 asparagus, cucumbers, melons, cauliflower, cabbages, beans, 

 pease, and sweet-corn are in particular mentioned. 



One measured acre produced, in one instance, G,800 pounds 

 of hay ; one acre of oats yielded forty-three bushels, and, in 

 case of rye, thirty and one-half bushels. The second premium 

 at the Plymouth-county Fair was received for that acre of 

 rye. Hay in barn sold at twenty dollars per ton ; oats at 

 retail sold for fifty-five cents per bushel, and rye at about 

 one dollar per bushel. 



The previously stated yields of different crops per acre, 

 although somewhat exceptional, deserve particular notice 

 on account of the circumstance that they are obtained with- 

 out the aid of any fertilizer : they are a practical illustration 

 of the fitness of these reclaimed marshes for a remunera- 

 tive cultivation. This gratifying result receives still more 

 significance from the fact that the production of satisfactory 

 crops is by no means confined to a comparatively small area, 

 but has been observed upon the most extensive portion of the 

 reclaimed marshes. Wherever, either by natural advantages 

 or by a judicious management, the saline character of the 

 soil-waters has been weakened, the crops have been satisfac- 

 tory, provided the season, and the selection of the crop with 

 reference to the mechanical condition of the soil, have fa- 

 vored the enterprise. The preparations for the coming sea- 

 son have been more general than in previous years. JNIuch 

 confidence is placed in preparing the surface, by mere harrow- 

 ing, for grass and grains. Red-top and rye have been largely 

 sown, and are apparently taking the lead : oats will follow 

 next in importance. The prospects for the season, on the 

 whole, are considered very good. Less than ten acres are 

 reported having changed ownership during the past year. 

 An attempt has been made during the past year, by the own- 

 ers of the reclaimed marsh-lands and the constructors of the 

 dike, to induce the State Legislature to protect their enter- 

 prise against claims of damages for alleged injuries to the 

 harbor. The Legislature has referred the question to the 

 Supreme Court as a court of equity: no action has been 

 taken. The present unsettled legal aspect of the matter 

 cannot do otherwise than exert an unfavorable influence on 

 the adoption of a more thorough system of improvements, 



