FARMS. 71 



in 1860, less than three quarters of a ton of poor hay. The 

 blasting has been done principally by myself, and required 

 over seventy pounds of powder. When I commenced on this 

 farm, I had no experience in farming, having spent my time 

 previously mostly at mechanical jjursuits, and went to farming 

 on account of ill health. I had done no work of any amount 

 since the spring of 1857, and was far from well when I began 

 farming. I commenced a series of accounts with different 

 crops to see which was the most profitable to raise, and have 

 kept accounts on crops five years, and on farming up to the 

 present time. The first four years' work, as will be seen by 

 my expenses, was done at a loss, but since then there has been 

 some improvement. My losses have been partly on experi- 

 ments, of which patent manures have formed a prominent 

 part, as I have tried all the different kinds which I heard 

 recommended, from Pacific guano down to poudrette, which I 

 found expensive experimenting, though it may be profitable in 

 the end. In experimenting on crops I found out some things 

 that did not correspond with views I heard expressed by those 

 who claimed to be posted in farming, and very different from 

 what I had myself supposed. To convince some of this, I 

 have planted crops *side by side in the different ways. I have 

 labored under a great inconvenience sometimes in help, as it 

 was a hard task to get the sleight-of-hand way of doing work 

 as practised in some parts of Maine and New Hampshire, out 

 of their heads. Some think it profitable to half hoe, half 

 manure, and half do work generally, but I do not. I think it 

 more profitable to take care of one acre well tlian to have two 

 acres half taken care of. I have been over all of the farm 

 thoroughly, taking out stone, under-draining, &c., excepting 

 about twelve acres of pasture, which I intend to improve as 

 fast as I can, taking up some each year. I have under 

 cultivation about eleven acres this year, and cut from the bal- 

 ance of the field land (estimating 525 feet for a ton in bays,) 

 some over thirty tons of hay, and have fed three horses with 

 hay since June 26th. In expenses of farm, is reckoned taxes, 

 interest, depreciation of stock, wear of tools, board of help, 

 blacksmith's and other bills ; and in income from the farm all 

 crops, milk, labor done from farm by help, mowing, &c. I 

 have set out 450 pear trees at a cost of 1420, and 280 apple 



