1894.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 239 



9. Eeport on General Farm Work (1893). 



The lands assigned for the use of the Massachusetts State 

 Agricultural Experiment Station cover an area of fifty acres. 

 Ten acres are natural woodlands, and forty acres, including 

 the space occupied by the buildings, are used for the raising 

 of farm crops. At present from fifteen to sixteen acres are 

 under cultivation, and from sixteen to seventeen acres are 

 permanent grass lands. As every portion of the laud is at 

 present serving for some special experiment, the general 

 management of the farm is to a controlling degree subjected 

 to the requirements of the work called for in connection with 

 the various questions under investigation. The adoption of 

 a thorough mechanical pre^^aration of the soil, supported by 

 a careful, clean cultivation of the crops raised, has brought 

 the lands into a fair condition for field experiments. Each 

 field has had for years its own system of manuring, and 

 becomes thereby from year to year more valuable for experi- 

 mental purposes. Wherever circumstances have been favor- 

 able, forage crops have been chosen, for the purpose of 

 studying the influence of various systems of fertilization and 

 cultivation on their growth and special character. This 

 practice has resulted already in the successful introduction 

 of some valuable forage plants new to our locality, and has 

 also materially assisted us in an economical support of quite 

 extensive experiments in stock feeding. The beneficial effect 

 of many of these crops on the ph3^sical and chemical condi- 

 tion of our cultivated lands is everywhere noticed, when 

 compared with their previous general condition. 



During the past season several varieties of soja bean, vetch 

 and oats and buckwheat have been raised. The vetch and 

 oats was fed in part green and in part as hay to dairy cows. 

 The soja bean was fed as hay. 



Twenty tons of corn have been put into the silos, and the 

 remainder has been fed in part as fodder corn, or has been 

 harvested when matured, and the corn stover obtained will 

 serve for the support of dairy stock in place of hay. 



