FARMERS' REGISTER— HERDS GRASS 



467 



this ancient town. The impression seems to be 

 that it IS peculiarly barren, a mere sand-lieap, un- 

 susceptible of veoetation, and that our lathers 

 truflired over a depth ol" sand, like snow-drif s, 

 and subsisted on lobsters, eels, and cbuus. This 

 may have been soniethirii^ near the truth in their 

 *days of small things,' but however unlbrtunate 

 in their location were our pilgrim lathers, it is clear 

 that their cntcr|)rising posterity have successfully 

 applied a remedy to some of the embarrassments 

 with which those good men were afHicted, and 

 meliorated the condition of things far surpassing 

 the conception of the original settlers. True it is, 

 that a tract of land in the vicinity of the town con- 

 .sists of unproductive sandy pine hills, but border- 

 ing on the shore, our well cultivated soil Avill com- 

 pare with the best in New England. The first 

 crop of rata baga produced in this county, if not 

 in New England, was raised in this town, and ob- 

 tained the premium in 1819. Wheat and rye 

 have been produced from our soil at more than 

 thirty-three bushels per acre, both of which have 

 obtained premiums; of the latter article, forty-three 

 bushels were raised on one acre and seven rods, 

 by an industrious tanner in this town, a faw years 

 since, for which a premium was awarded by the 

 Plymouth Agricultural Society. But the /ollow- 

 iug example, it is believed, sets at defiance the ri- 

 valry of the most improved agriculturist. Dr. 

 Charles Cotton, of tliis town, occupying a piece of 

 reclaimed swamp, has, by judicious management 

 the past season, produced more than four tons of 

 hay, clover, and herd's grass, 1o the acre. The 

 hay was thoroughlj- dried, and accurately weigh- 

 ed by the town weigher, and the land surveyed 

 with the view of a premium, but no premium was 

 oflered for ha_v by the Plymouth Agricultural So- 

 ciety. The land measured one acre and a half 

 and nine rods, and the hay weighed six tons eight 

 hundred and ten pounds, being four tons two hun- 

 dred and fourteen ]iounds to the acre. The se- 

 cond crop of grass standing on the meadow, was 

 estimated at more than tv.i-o tons, but was not 

 mowed. Fruit trees flourisli well here, excepting 

 the peach, which generally sufiers essential injury 

 from spring frost, and cold easterl}^ winds. In 

 some instances, however, we have witnessed 

 abundance of fruit from peach trees in favorable 

 eeasons and situations in our gardens. 



* # # # # 



Our attempts to cultivate the foreign vines have 

 in general been unsuccessful; but the Isabella is 

 very productive, and the fruit is delicious, when 

 well matured and free from disease. It is much 

 to be desired that some person whose experience 

 and observation entitle him to confidence, will di- 

 rect us to the most })roiitab!e method of cultivat- 

 ing this vine. In one instance, within my obser- 

 vation, a vine extends its numerous branches to 

 the roof of a high building, and spreads 'in differ- 

 ent directions several hundred feet. This vine is 

 abundantly productive, but its fruit is not lar^-e, 

 and is every year more or less aflected with mil- 

 dew; whether this is to be ascribed to any peculi- 

 arity of location, I am unable to decide. In other 

 instances, where the vine has been sulijected to 

 moderate pruning, all superfluous and unripened 

 Avood cut away, and the whole extent confined to 

 12 or 15 feet, I have observed the largest and best 

 matured fruit, but very close pruning is, according 

 to my judgement, always injurious. Iliaveyothad 



no opportunity to ascertain Avhether the Catawba 

 graj)e will attain to a mature stale of ripeness in 

 our climate: I hope you or some correspondent will 

 inform us. It appears in the Farmer of October 

 22d, that James flicArihus, Esq. raised the past 

 season, the extraordinary quantity of sixteen 

 bushels of grapes, in the cold climate of the Slate 

 of Maine; if that gentleman has adopted any 

 method of culture, ditierent from the common 

 practice, the [)articulars would be accejitaljle. 



In your paper of the 5th instant, Mr. Editor, 

 you tantalised your readers by a notice of an ex- 

 traordinary large Angouleme pear, which measured 

 a foot round, and took eight gentlemen to eat it. 

 It is hoped that (his will serve to encourage the 

 cultivation of this excellent fruit more generally 

 among us. 



Now I hope your readers will excuse me if I 

 recur to some reminiscences to show that fat oxen 

 of extraordinary size were not unknown in former 

 times. In Ajiril, 1773, a fat ox, raised by Lieuten- 

 ant Joseph Baker, of Westborough, when seven 

 years old, weighed 2,501 pounds, v/as five feet 

 eleven inches high, measured nine feet three inches 

 round, twelve feet two inches from his nose to hia 

 rump, and five fi^et from the top of his weathers 

 to the bottom of his brisket. 



Still larger. June 24, 1779. I have just had 

 the satisfaction of viewing the largest fat ox per- 

 haps ever seen. He is^^ix fl^et seven inches high, 

 and weighs on the hoof 3,500 pounds. This noble 

 animal was presented by some gentlemen in Con- 

 necticut, to His Excellency General Washington; 

 it would seem therefore that at one period they 

 were free fi'om starvation at head quarters. I pre- 

 sume that our agricultural societies with all their 

 commendable improvements, cannot boast of an ox 

 of equal weight and measure to tlie one above de- 

 scribed. 



I subscribe myself, very respectfully. 



Your humble servant, 



JAMES THACIIER. 



N. B. I am just informed that a fiiend at 

 Kingston has recently taken a pear from his tree, 

 a Boa Chretien, which measures eleven inches and 

 one third of an inch round. 



GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON IMPROVEMENT, 

 AND QUERIES ON HERDS GRASS. 



To tlie Editor of tlie Farmers' Register. 



Agriculture lies at the foundation of every thing 

 useful, or comfortable, or desirable in human life. 

 It is therefore a subject of the utmost importance, 

 not only to the agriculturists themselves, but to 

 the whole community, tha.t a gradual system of 

 improvement of the soil and of its production, 

 should be encouraged, and those having immedi- 

 ate interest therein, stimulated by all the informa- 

 tion possible to be obtained on the subject. I am 

 happy to sa}^, and be able to bear witness, that 

 your valuable periodical has had, and continues to 

 have, a very desirable effect in that way. It has 

 given more light on the subject, and caused more 

 emulation and energetic exertion, than all the ag- 

 ricultural papers ever published in this country. 

 It has been the means of arousing our far- 

 mers from their indolence and supineness, and 

 causing them to look around themselves for the 



