MIDDLESEX SOCIETY. 91 



E. A. <$f A. Lawrence's Statement. 



Our farm contains 100 acres, — soil, slate, and gravelly loam ; 

 35 acres mowing and tilling, the remainder pasturage. We 

 plant about six acres ; ploughing our grass-ground soon after 

 haying, for corn. We plough in about 50 loads compost ma- 

 nure, from our barn-cellar. We also use ashes, or plaster and 

 ashes, putting a small handful in the hill, which we consider 

 beneficial to the crop ; average yield, from 50 to 60 bushels per 

 acre. We have improved about 20 acres of pasture land by 

 planting it with potatoes, manuring in the hill with compost 

 manure, mostly peat or plaster ; but, on mowing land, prefer to 

 plough with manure, as for corn ; average yield, about 150 

 bushels per acre. We lay down to grass our upland with grain 

 crops in the spring : meadow and lowland we sow to grass 

 after haying. We have reclaimed three acres of meadow, and 

 five acres of rough pasture land, which produce about two tons 

 per acre : top-dress mowing land, which is too wet to plough. 

 We cut about 30 tons English hay. We winter 20 head of cat- 

 tle, and sell about $60 worth of hay. We keep a number of 

 swine to increase our manure, and save the wash of the dairy, 

 windfall apples, &c. We dug a cellar under our barn, 25 by 70 

 feet, connected with the hog-yard by a covered drain for hogs 

 to pass and repass, which, by carting in sods from the roadside, 

 and peat, and keeping the cows in the barn all the nights of the 

 season, increases the quantity and improves the quality of our 

 manure. The fences were poor when we came upon the farm ; 

 we have built 350 rods of stone wall, and 70 rods of half-wall ; 

 have grafted most of our old apple trees ; set out 300 peach 

 trees, 200 apple trees, and 78 pear, plum, cherry, and quince 

 trees; have 75 peach trees \% bearing; put ashes around the 

 peach trees, and wash our trees with strong lye. Have used the 

 spring-tooth horse-rake, the past summer, which saved much 

 labor. Our usual help is, to have a boy, and hire labor to the 

 amount of about $50 yearly. • 



Pepper ell, Sept. 14, 1847. 



