W. BUCKMINSTER'S ADDRESS. 419 



Practical Hints on Farming. 



[Extracts from an Mdress by William Buckminster, Esq., at the last Fair of 

 the Barnstable County Jlgricxdtural Society.] 



Farmers in this country cannot too often reflect on the ad- 

 vantages they here enjoy, compared with the condition of the 

 farmers of Great Britain, All the land there is owned by a 

 few people, and the number of owners is annually diminishing. 

 They have not half so many owners of land now, as they had 

 at the time of our revolution. British legislators must look to 

 this in time. When the number of owners is still farther re- 

 duced, it will be more difficult to sustain the smaller number 

 by positive laws. In our own country, our statutes of distri- 

 bution have an important effect ; and if England does not adopt 

 a similar system ere long, it will be too late to remedy the 

 evil by peaceable means. Violence will be resorted to with 

 the greater hope of success, when the number of interested 

 landholders is farther reduced. In our own happy land the 

 improvements that we make on our farms, are all our own. 

 We sit under our own vines and trees, and have no landlords 

 to molest or make us afraid. We hold our own ploughs and 

 drive our own teams. Farmers who can live by their own la- 

 bor, can thrive here, if any where. 



In regard to the crops most suitable for this part of Massa- 

 chusetts, Indian corn is entitled to precedence. This plant is in 

 its native country here. It thrives best in a hot summer and 

 on a warm soil. It is fond of sandy loams, and is not much in 

 fear of perishing with thirst. It is the surest and safest crop 

 that is grown in Massachusetts. We have had but two sum- 

 mers — 1816 and 1836 — in the last sixty years, which did not 

 produce good crops of corn ; and it is more secure from slugs 

 and insects than any plant that is generally cultivated. And 

 when we add, that more grain per acre is produced, than from 

 any other that is known to the civilized world, we shall not 

 fail to set a high value on Indian corn. 



Potatoes have been the article most relied on by Massachu- 

 setts farmers for fattening their animals. But potatoes will 



