46 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



edly witnessed the benefits of the application of fertilizing 

 liquids, much after the manner mentioned in the well-drawn 

 statement of Mr. Page, of the meadow improved on the Danvers 

 town farm. If, as he proposes, the surplus fluids from the hog- 

 yard and the receptacles of fertilizing materials about the 

 dwellings, can be conducted and diffused over the two or three 

 acres of grass land near by, we cannot doubt they will be amply 

 sufficient to keep these lands in a condition capable of growing 

 three or four tons of grass to the acre annually. We have 

 seen, the present season, a field of ten acres, adjacent to a 

 stable, where a large stock of animals was fed and stationed, 

 so fertilized by the liquids accumulated in these stalls, as to 

 add to the burden of grass at least one and a half tons to the 

 acre — that is, to cause the entire field to yield three tons to 

 the acre, when heretofore it has yielded only half this amount. 

 This was on the beautiful farm of Richard S. Rogers, in Dan- 

 vers, who, while he expends from his ample fortune freely on 

 his greenhouses and his fences by the way, exhibits discrimi- 

 nating judgment upon his cultivated fields, and produces crops 

 in great abundance. 



One of the most interesting operations that has come to our 

 observation on meadow lands the present season, was on the 

 farm of Thomas E. Payson, in Rowley. He has fifty acres or 

 more, adjoining, where the peat or mud is from three to seven 

 feet deep, so situated as to be capable of being drained so as 

 to admit a wagon with a common load of hay to pass on any 

 part of it. Mr. Payson has cut narrow ditches about five feet 

 apart, and thrown the mud on the beds between, and planted 

 these beds with potatoes. In the autumn, when the potatoes 

 were gathered, he threw the vines into the ditches, levelled the 

 ground and sowed grass seed. Where he pursued this course 

 last year, on about three-quarters of an acre, he cut three tons 

 of good English hay to the acre the present season. In this 

 way he contemplates bringing the whole into English mowing. 

 The failure of the potato crop this year, by reason of the- rot, 

 prevented his forwarding his statement. 



It will be observed that this improvement proceeds without 

 carrying any material from the upland upon the meadow, except 

 a common dressing of manure to start the potatoes. Consc- 



