104 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



posts 24 feet high, was erected bj Mr. C. in 1861, and in con- 

 nection with its appurtenances, is one of the best in the county 

 — we might say, in any part of the country. There is a cellar 

 under the whole of it, 9^ feet deep, the bottom of which is 

 overlaid with hydraulic cement. The cellar opens to the 

 south-east, on which side, and attached to the whole length of 

 the barn, is a row of pens for swine. The floor of the pens is 

 several feet above that of the cellar. Sections of the pens can 

 be readily raised by pulleys to admit the passage of teams to the 

 cellar. The cellar is divided crosswise by plank partitions, 

 extending from the divisions between the pens to the rear wall. 

 This gives to the inmates of each pen a portion of cellar-room. 



The main object of this arrangement is to keep the hogs, for 

 a certain portion of the time, on the manure made by the stock, 

 wliich is kept in the barn above. By this means the hogs mix 

 with the manure the materials which are thrown in to absorb 

 the liquids, thus saving a large portion of the labor which would 

 otherwise be required in composting. It will be seen that from 

 the tightness of the bottom of the cellar, nothing can be lost 

 from it. The liquid and solid excrements of the cattle and 

 horses, together with those from the swine, are here combined, 

 and the quantity of strong manure thus made is 250 cords a year 

 — a quantity which must soon produce a striking effect on the 

 productions of the farm. 



The live stock kept consists of four oxen, thirty cows, ten 

 young cattle, seven horses, thirty breeding sows, and two boars. 

 The milk of the cows is sold at South Dedham. An average of 

 250 pigs a year are sold before they reach the age of three months. 

 The pens are so constructed that they are warm in winter. They 

 have glass on one side to admit the sun's rays, and young pigs 

 thrive well here, even in cold weather. The pigs bred are chiefly 

 Suffolk boars with strong, well-made sows. Mr. C. is now using 

 the noted boar " Slierman," imported by Mr. Stickney, of 

 Watertown. 



In 1861, Mr Clap commenced the reclamation of a tract of 

 bog, comprising ten acres. It was then totally unproductive, 

 and as unsightly a spot as could be imagined. Ditches have 

 been cut round and through it, and already the change for the 

 better is quite obvious. A portion of it — about three acres has 

 been set to cultivated grasses, and produced this year from 



