415 



" The small plat of ground which yon saw when at Groton, 

 contains one and a half acre ; about one half of which is mead- 

 ow bottom, deeply gravelled more than thirty years since. I 

 mowed the grass about twelve years, and once in three or four 

 years gave it a light dressing of common manure. Finding it 

 to yield much more hay than was necessary for a cow, and 

 wishing to save the trouble and expense of pasturage, perhaps 

 a mile or more from home, I appropriated one half acre for that 

 purpose. It produced a good supply for five years ; when I 

 gave it a light dressing of compost manure, and reduced the 

 pasture to sixty-eight rods by accurate survey. It has for the 

 last four years supplied my cow with an abundance of feed, 

 from early turning out to September first. The pasture is low 

 ground bordering on meadow, and is always moist. I have 

 never noticed a dry spot, even in the driest seasons. 



" The adjoining acre, about two-thirds of which is meadow 

 bottom, has with common usage, produced from two to two 

 and a half tons of hay annually. It might be made to produce 

 a much larger quantity." 



14. I will add but one among many examples of admirable 

 management on a small scale, which came under my notice, 

 all of which would illustrate in the strongest manner the almost 

 certain results of industry, united with the strictest temperance 

 and frugality. 



This farm consists of 36 acres, and is devoted to raising wheat, 

 corn, barley, potatoes, and other customary crops. The farmer 

 began life $900 in debt ; he has brought up a large family, and 

 given one son $500. He has earned usually in the winter 

 $125 by shoemaking. He owns his farrn, and his debts do not 

 exceed $100. The farm has been his only resource excepting 

 the products of his winter labor as above. 



XYHI. Agricultural Implements. — The farming utensils 

 in the county have nothing peculiar in their construction. Wm. 

 Buckminster, of Framingham, has invented a corn-planter, 

 which I have seen used with great advantage both for ruta-baga 



