ESSEX SOCIETY. 67 



been produced by careful attention, in selecting such for seed 

 for several years. I raise my own seed, and am particular 

 to set such only for this purpose, as I wish to raise. In this 

 way, I find their form can be modified nearly as I prefer it 

 to be. 



The land on which they grew, is part of a field of thirteen 

 acres, on Collins's plain, in Danvers, a light soil, free of stone. 

 For ten years it has been under good cultivation, and freely 

 manured ; — most of the time this parcel has yielded onions. 

 Barn manure, compost, ashes and muscle-bed, have been the 

 principal applications. Ordinarily, when I plant onions, I ap- 

 ply five or six cords of manure to the acre. In 1849, finding 

 the crop to fail on this field, yielding short of three hundred 

 bushels to the acre, I thought it needed some other nutriment, 

 and as soon as the crop was gathered, I sowed it with oats, 

 using a cultivator to cover them. These grew luxuriantly, and 

 late in the fall, just as the ground was about to freeze, I turned 

 them under, using a side-hill plough,* and running the furrows 

 about eight inches deep. The entire crop was buried by the 

 furrow, and so laid until spring ; on examining it then, I found 

 the oats as sound as when turned in, consequently I could not 

 plough the land without disturbing the straw. I went over it 

 several times with a cultivator, and then applied a moderate 

 dressing of manure from my hog yard to the surface, say about 

 two and a half cords to the lot, and mingled it with the soil as 

 well as I could, taking care to remove all obstructions to the 

 even distribution of the seed, and then planted with a machine 

 in the usual way. It came up evenly, and grew well through 

 the season, being kept entirely clear of weeds. The appear- 

 ance of the plants through the season was uncommonly good, 

 manifestly deriving much aid and support from the decaying 



* Within a few years, the use of the side-hill plough has come into much favor, among the 

 gardeners in this neighborhood. It is thought to possess many advantages 5 among these 

 are the following : 



1. It leaves the land free of ridges and dead furrcws ; incident to the use of the com- 

 mon plough, 2. It saves travel at the end of the furrows. 3. It leaves the land true and 

 even at the ends of the furrows, both as they set in and come out. 4. It requires less draft, 

 as it keeps clean and bright, and leaves the land in better condition for cultivation. 3. So 

 much do I esteem tliesc ploughs, that I would sooner pay Ji/iij dollars for one for my use, 

 than take a common plough for nothing. 



