PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IN FARMING. 43 



one that has been referred to will be efficient. I most 

 heartily indorse the sentiment expressed by Mr. Flint, and 

 hope every gentleman will unite in asking the National 

 Legislature to aid us in this great and important work. 



The Chairman. Gentlemen, you have heard the inter- 

 esting remarks which have been made, and have matter for 

 intellectual digestion, which you can take and store away 

 until after we have heard Mr. Slade's essay on his experience 

 on the farm. I have the pleasure of introducing Mr. AvERr 

 P. Slade, a member of the Board of Agriculture, and a 

 practical farmer. 



MY FARMING EXPERIENCE, AND SOME OF THE LESSONS IT 



HAS TAUGHT ME. 



BY AVEBY P. SLADE. 



In 1844 I came into possession of a farm containing forty 

 acres of land. Ten acres, being wet, stony, and sterile, had 

 never been ploughed. The balance had been ploughed, 

 planted, and literally skinned by constant cropping, for a 

 period of seventy years ; while all the manure or fertilizing 

 material that was ever returned to the soil was dropped by 

 the cattle as they grazed in the pastures in summer, or 

 around the stacks where they received their scanty rations 

 in winter. 



The farm has an easterly slope. The most of the soil lies 

 on a clay bottom, and was originally well adapted to grass. 

 The original proprietor of the farm took possession in 1732. 

 He was a ship-carpenter, and worked at his trade. He, how- 

 ever, built a house and barn. The work on the farm was done 

 by ten slaves. They dug stones, and built about two miles 

 of stone wall. They also set an apple-orchard of about two 

 hundred trees, the most of which was natural fruit, and in 

 due time made a hundred barrels of cider per annum, all of 

 which was supposed to have been drunk on the premises. 



These constituted the bulk of the improvements during 

 the lifetime of the first owner. In 1760 he died, the slaves 

 were freed, and improvements ceased. The farm was inher- 

 ited by a son, who followed in- the footsteps of his illustrious 

 ancestor. He ploughed and planted without manure, and 

 yet, I am told, raised fair crops, — crops rather above the 



