60 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



HAMPDEN. 



Statement of William Mattoon. 



Sand-Plain. — I send you a statement of the management 

 of 4| acres of old, worn-out, sand-plain land, which I offer for*a 

 premium. 



I bought the land in the spring of 1871, with some 15 

 acres more of the same kind. The last crop, before I pur- 

 chased it, was rye, and the owners did not harvest any por- 

 tion of the crop, upon this part of the field, and the other 

 part I do not think yielded to exceed five bushels to the acre. 

 In the fall of 1872, I ploughed the land as near ten inches 

 deep as I could by measurement with a rule, upon the land 

 side, and the next winter I hauled 150 loads of brick clay, of 

 42 feet to the load, and 521 cords to the acre. The clay lay 

 in piles through the winter ; and the next summer, when it 

 was in a condition to crumble up fine, I spread it with a two- 

 horse team and common road-scraper, and finished up by 

 using a long levelling scraper, so that it was very uniform, 

 without using any hand-labor. I then rolled the ground very 

 thoroughly with a large, heavy roller; then harrowed with a 

 Shares' harrow ; then rolled again ; then harrowed with a fine 

 harrow ; then bushed it thoroughly with a large heavy bush. 

 I had it now fine and mixed with the original soil (if it be 

 called soil) to the depth of three to four inches. That fall I 

 hauled on, of manure made from cattle, horses and hogs, six 

 cords to the acre, and ploughed it in in the fall. In the spring 

 of 1874, I hauled on one cord of the meat to the acre, which 

 came from a bone-boiling establishment, and I calculated the 

 dry weight at 1,600 pounds per cord. I then ploughed the land 

 seven inches deep, and put on three cords of the same kind of 

 manure, which was made during the winter. It was hauled 

 out as it accumulated, and forked over thoroughly, about three 

 weeks before using, and was fine when used. Spread the 

 manure from carts, then harrowed, rolled, harrowed again, 

 bushed. Then ridged with a tobacco-ridger. Set the land in 

 tobacco about the 25th of June, and had one of the best 

 crops in the country. In 1872, I had 5 acres of tobacco 



