106 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



batter. Several of the cows were not only handsome, but 

 evidently very profitable. 



On the 26th of June the committee, by invitation, visited 

 Dover, meeting at the farm of Calvin Richards. On this occa- 

 sion, as well as several other appointments, the state of the 

 weather interfered with the arrangements. Rain fell copiously 

 during the preceding night and during the morning of the day 

 of our visit. This rendered walking over farms — particularly 

 through tall grass and grain — much less agreeable, to say the 

 least, than it would have been in dry weather. 



Mr. Richards' farm consists of 160 acres. It is mostly rather 

 stony, but much of the soil is strong and good for grass, which 

 is the leading crop. He uses tlie Buckeye mowing-machine, by 

 which he is satisfied he can cut grass cheaper than by the 

 scythe ; and thinks farmers, on rough and stony land, should 

 endeavor to bring their fields into such a condition that the 

 grass crop can be readily cut with machines. He prefers barley 

 as a crop to " seed down " with, as being better for the grass 

 than any other grain. It is also a good crop in reference to the 

 grain and straw which it furnishes. Mr. Richards' barley fields 

 appeared promising. 



Mr. Richards has commenced the improvement of old pastiire 

 land. On a tract near his house he has cut bushes, dug stones, 

 drained a wet basin, and ploughed — the land having never been 

 ploughed before. The crops growing on the land, at the time 

 of our visit, were chiefly corn and potatoes, which looked well. 

 On another tract Mr. Richards has cut the bushes, with a view 

 of eradicating them and encouraging the growth of grass. But 

 these experiments have not been carried on for a sufficient 

 length of time to justify a positive conclusion in regard to their 

 advantage. 



The committee made a very brief call at the farm of Ephraim 

 "Wilson. He has commenced the reclamation of a piece of swamp 

 land, by draining and applying to a portion a coating of gravel. 

 The grass appeared well, but we had not the opportunity to 

 examine the lot thoroughly. 



Our next call was at the residence of Benjamin Newell, 

 Charles River Village. Mr. Newell is a manufacturer of paper, 

 and only occupies about twenty acres of land. He, however, 



