FARMS. 13 



year ■will be more than tliree times the amomit of the first 

 year's product. I have enclosed about eight acres for a per- 

 manent garden, in which I have set out one and a half acres with 

 choice strawberry vines, also half an acre with nine thousand 

 asparagus roots, two years old, the balance in vegetables of all 

 the various kinds, and which will yield large crops. The two 

 fields of corn containing twenty or more acres, had no manure 

 pul on tlie land. After the ground was furrowed for planting, 

 I put to each hill a table-spoonfal of Mexican guano and plaster, 

 well mixed, one-fifth guano, four-fifths plaster. A little earth 

 was put over this with the foot, before the corn was dropped 

 so that it did not come in immediate contact with the compost. 

 The upper field, which is a light soil, was hoed but once, owing 

 to hurry of farm work. I do not see but it is quite as good as 

 the other field and the product will be as heavy. From the 

 various experiments I have made for the last two years in the 

 use of Peruvian and Mexican guano, I have the highest opinion 

 of their great value as fertilizers. For some crops, I think 

 the Mexican equal to the Peruvian, and for any crops, I think 

 half of each, mixed with plaster as above, will produce as good 

 crops as Peruvian alone. The improvements made to my old 

 house, (part of which is one hundred and seventy years old,) 

 you have seen and can judge of their convenience. I would 

 not be willing to exchange it for any farm or mansion-house in 

 the State however costly it may be. 



CoNCOKD, October 4, 1853. 



WORCESTER. 



The farm of the Messrs. Meriam is all well cultivated, but 

 not so much better than many of our good farms as to justify 

 the awarding of a premium. But their improvements upon 

 swamp and meadow land present strong claims. Their state- 

 ments of their proceedings will accompany this report, and need 

 not be here repeated. The results, as stated by them, the 

 committee believe to be correct. The committee saw some 

 parts of their meadow land which had not undergone the pro- 

 cess of improvement, and some parts of their swamp land 



