192 WORCESTER SOCIETY. 



tops of a portion of the crop were in some degree blasted. In 

 some of the rows, there was a deficiency of roots. He has 

 since found, that the blast had diminished his crop to a greater 

 extent than he had expected, and consequently has made no 

 return. 



From there we went to Harvey Dodge's, and spent some 

 time in viewing the improvements he is making on his farm, 

 He is largely underdraining his land, which he is doing in a 

 very judicious manner, and obviously to great advantage. He 

 has the work done by contract, and at a price much lower than 

 the committee supposed such work could be done. We exam- 

 ined the land where the drains had been made in previous 

 years, and compared it with the undrained land in its vicinity, 

 and the benefits were very obvious. His carrot crop looked 

 well. He showed us his ruta baga field, which had failed to 

 yield a fair crop, in consequence of the bad quality of the seed. 

 The products more nearly resembled kale, than ruta baga. We 

 were shown another portion of a carrot field, on which the 

 manure had been spread on the grass ground, then turned 

 under deep with the turf, and the carrot seed sowed on the 

 surface. The carrots on the land thus prepared, looked finely, 

 and promised a large crop. 



The committee then proceeded to view the crops of William 

 S. Lincoln. The carrots looked well, but in some of the rows, 

 "they were few and far between." The occasion of this de- 

 ficiency of roots was said to have been the bad quality of the 

 seed. The crop of William A. Wheeler looked better, in the 

 opinion of the committee, than any they have seen in the same 

 ground, which is the seventh consecutive crop of carrots from 

 the same land. The crop of Nathaniel P. Gates promised a 

 good yield. 



Mr. Dodge's statement gives on his one-half acre lot, 365^ 

 bushels ; and on his one-quarter acre lot, 194f bushels ; and 

 also a quantity of beets and ruta bagas, having also, fruit trees 

 on the same land. Mr. Lincoln's statement gives, on his one- 

 quarter acre, 184J^| bushels. Mr. Gates returns, that he raised 

 226 bushels of carrots on one-quarter of an acre of land, on 

 which he put seven loads of manure, and expended eight days 



