1 54 



^[]t faxmtfs il\o\\\\)b} lUeitor. 



'hinke, lioui'ver, llint the iicciinicy of lliis slute- 

 ineiit m;iy be coll^i<ll^;■t'll doubilnl. 



An iiislam;e is iiientioiieil u Ijcic u iiiiiii iuSiis- 

 eex, John rijirr, who occupied tour a<!iLS, jind 

 krjpt two cows, woiktil one of tlie cows in a Ciiit, 

 liy whiih lu: ninlu's an iinnuul Kiivinf,' of Sii4. 

 , Notwithstainlirig ihe cow is workf.'d, " she makes 

 ■eigid pounds cf biuic'r per wci.'k, besides furnish- 

 I in<f some inilk for tlio family." 



Great [>aiiis arc taken in all cases to save the 

 '■ manure. Nothing is wasted. Tlie animals arc 

 \ stalKid, and only im-iied into a yard a few Lotus 

 a day for exercise. Brick or stone tanks, well 

 cemented, are smdi near the cow stables and 

 pigsties, for the rereplion of,all the lii)iiid nia- 

 iime. "The cojitenis of these tanks, on becoui- 

 iiig full, ure pumped into a small cart with a 

 eprinklin-j box att/u-.hed to it, like that used for 

 watering,' streets in cities, and distributed over the 

 crops, always with the greatest advantage, ai-.d 

 vvitiieftectsimmr-dialfly perceptible." All which 

 Mr. Colmau saw, couvinced luui that there is no 

 necessity of impoverishing the soil, but that un- 

 der the riglit iii:ina:4'i-'mBnl, it will keep itself in 

 tondiiiou, and be ever iirijiroving. — Am. Fanner. 



From tl,c N. 11. Patriot and Stale Gaz<lli". 

 ItlCrrimach County AgricnUural Society. 



HEPORT OF THE COJIMITTEE ON FARMS; &C. 



The viewing eoiniai'tne on farms, gardens, crops, 

 &o., submit the foilowiag report; 



The Muiuber of entries this year v!us unusiially large. 

 The comuiittt'c met at this village, Tuesdny 2'Jlh of 

 .^n'v, and first viewed a piece of wheat ami the garden 

 I . ..ajamin Siaipson. There was an acre of very 

 good wheat, hat somewhat snjulted. Ihe g.u'den was 

 very good, containing, in great abnnilance, aliiiosfevcry 

 kind of sauce and esculents, usually foimd in country 

 gardens, besides a lare quantity of onions, which he 

 raises for market. Last year, from a less quantity of 

 ground, he sold 23 bushels. He had a, very good pieie 

 of corn, bat not entered for p.'endum. A more liberal 

 use of the hoe would have been beneficial. .Vbs. Snap- 

 son graluitouslv admilted us to her poultry house; and 

 , a fine lot she had, of clHi;kens half or two-thirds grown. 

 We did not learn whether she counted her chickens 

 befi>re they were hatched; but she told us she did after 

 they were, and she had 113. When we saw then], 

 there were 110 — what we thought was good evideuee 

 of her b'.-ing a first-rate nurse. 3irs. .•^. informed as 

 that she readily obtained 9 cts. a pound for her chick- 

 ens. Her five score and ten chickens, at that rate, 

 will do much towards supplying a prudoutvvouiau wjjli!^ 

 pin money. | 



The garden of Jeremiah Kimball, at Fishersviirc, 

 next came under our notice. It exhibited a j'nost lux- 

 uriaut growth of the vegetables usually cultivafed in 

 our gardens. II is heels and carrots were of great size, 

 liis garden was well laid flat, and very free from weeds. 

 Your comnnttee noticed, not only in this, bril in nearly 

 every garden they saw, 'tlie, general luult of loo many 

 plants on a given piece of ground. 



We next viewed a piece of corn, owned by Reuben 

 Johnson^ there was about one and a half acre in the 

 piei;e, most of it very heavy, and promised a large crop, 

 although some pari of il \v;:S sulfering liu- want of rain. 

 We next cxamiued the noble firju of W. li. (j'lige, 

 formerly knOwAas the Col. Chandler plai'.e. Air. (Jage 

 has Setwcen five and six hundred acres land — about 

 100 acres of intervale, suitable for the plough and 50 

 acres of low intervale, or what is called luitural mead- 

 ow. There was a field of about six acres of torn, 

 well hoefi and free trom weeds; the (!orn crop vv;is 

 heavy, aiul proniiso'd a good, a very good crop — one 

 and a half acre of wheat, and, notwithstanding its be- 

 ing upon iht intervale, it had snfi'ered very little from 

 the weevil or r; st. 'i lie oat crop, soiiu; Si or !* aci'es, 

 was very good, as also liia potatoes and beans. His 

 crop of hay was uLoul as good as usual. 'J he farm i.t 

 in a high stnte of cultivation. His barn, corn house 

 and out h'jus^'.', corretpond with the farm. Rir. Gage 

 entered his crops but not ihe firm. 



I'Vom Mr. Gage's, we next visited the farm of Copt. 

 David I\forrill, in Canterbury. This farm contains 

 about ISO acres of land; alaige portion cf it lies gently 

 sloping to the south. One field of 2;i acres, liom wdii'di 

 they were ttildng the hay whcMi we. wert! ibcrc, ivas 

 originally stony, with many large rocks upon it; but 

 by the pel severing labor of forty years, they havi; all 

 been removed, and the whole field was as clear IVoin 

 them as a piece of pine plain. He had -L acres of 

 wheat, very even, and <'[ heavy growtji. Ills corn had 

 sullered much by worms. Capt. .M. hi:s paid iiiach at- 

 tcnlion to the cultivation cf the chuiixst fruits, and is 

 now enjoying the rewanls of his labors. His trees 

 were thiilly, and bespoke good coiidiliuii. 'I'here are 

 many good and substantial gales upon his farm, which 

 are much more convenient than Imrs, uspoulally where 



there is frequent occasion to pass and repass with a | 

 team. Capt. Morrill is some over 70 years of age; I 

 lut he possesses all the jollity and buoyancy of spirits 

 of a voulli of 20. "May his shadow never be less." 



Nc.vt hi course, canie the firm of the Hon. Amos 

 Cogswell. It is beautifully situated, some two luiles 

 north of the Shaker V'illage. It contains about 100 

 acres. He had 2.J acres of wheat, and l.J of corn.— 

 flis hay crop had fallen short from last year. While 

 rambling over his farm, there came up a shower; and 

 not wishing to keep any of ihe rain olf of his farm in 

 that dry time, we fled for the house, and did not ex- 

 amine his firm so much as we should, had the rain not 

 come on. if any one \vishes to see a stone wall tO 

 feet thick and 80 rods in length, wo advise him to call 

 upon .Mr. Cogswell. 



We next called at the Hon.' A. P. Gate's, in Notth- 

 field. Very much to our regret, we found his " door 

 shut, and tile li'tcli-string pulled in." Upon iiiqii.iry, 

 we letrned he, with his fmiily, had gone to Hanover. 

 However, wc found his corn, and a right smart piece 

 of corn it was too. It rained while we were there; 

 the corn v.-as so thick and full of leaves that we did 

 not go over the whole ground; but saw enough, not 

 only to .'satisfy us that h" uiiderslant's the practice of 

 farming, but the sr-icnoe of it too, as he had availed 

 himself of the refuse matters from a lanyard in the 

 village, as a manure for his corn. The hair, flesliings, 

 lime, &c., of a lanyard, are among the very Lc\f ar.d 

 most durable fertilizers of the soil. 



We next viewed the crops of Abraham Brown, Esq., 

 of Nortlifield. He had 4 acres of corn, planted upon 

 good land, and sloping to the south, il was well hoed, 

 free from weeds, and very hea\y, with the exception 

 of a few experimental rows in difl'erent parts of the 

 field. His ground was well manured, and when his 

 corn was planted, a teaspoonfull of plaster of Paris W'cs 

 dropped into each hi!!, with the exception of the few 

 rows before referred to. The difference in the plastcr- 

 ed»and unplastered was so great, as to astonish your 

 committee — the corn that had the plaster, being nearly 

 twice as heavy as the other. He had 3A acres of wheat 

 the earliest we saw in our travels; it had sufti^red .some 

 from ivant of rain, but was very good; and twoacres of 

 pBtaloes, the best we saw. '1 he fields upon this firm 

 are large and well laid out; originally somewhat rocky, 

 but they have been cleared of iheni by the labor of 

 himself and two sons, and laid up into as handsome 

 walls,' as any other farmer can show in ihe count}'. 



From Mr. Brown's, we next \isited Ihe farm of Mr. 

 Enoch (lerrish, of Boscawen. This is a large farm, 

 contaiuHig 600 acres. It was late in the afternoon 

 when we anived there; and fatigued as your commit- 

 tee were, to make a very close inspection of a farm, 

 having between six and seven miles of stone wall on it, 

 was out of the question. However, we strolled over 

 f.gme part of it, saw his S or •! acres of wheat, which 

 iwaspiv.lty good, as also his large. field of corn, .'ihe 

 buildings upon this farm are first rate; a large and well 

 finished aiid furnished house, .and probably the niost 

 expensive barn in the cotjijty, it is iOO feet in length, 

 and 40 feet wide. The drive-way is on the east end, 

 and goes in o\ er the girths, making it very easy uiiload- 

 iiig the hay from the cart. Jt is v,-ell shingled and 

 clapboarded, and painted red, with p„iinelled docss al 

 the west end. There is a long shed on the west side 

 of the yard, that corresponds in finish with the barn, 

 and an abundant supply of water in the yard. 



Your cuiiiinitcee were of the opinion, that a rnaii 

 with such a farm, should not long remain a bachelor: 

 and we took the libertv cf just hinting to him our opin- 

 ion in this matter, but have not yet learned what ctiect 

 it has had upon him. 



Nathan 1'. Ames entered afield of wheat. 'I here 

 were about three acres of it; very good, and the com- 

 mittee thought the best they had seen, it was the Tea 

 wheat. 



.Mr. I.aban J.I. C'badwick'swheat and corn next came 

 under our cognizanro. Ilis corn was go.od, and free 

 fi'om weeds, Init planted closer than anv piece we ex- 

 aiirined. j. .is wheat was of. a new kind of A/»c/.- sen 

 w'tcat, beardless, and proillised a good crop. 



Capt. Samuel Chadvvic.k entered his crops fiir pre- 

 mium, ills corn and wheat were prelly good, lie 

 h id a field of cats, it part of it sown with seed trom 

 \ermont. U'he straw was \cry heavy, but it was as 

 smutty as.a cliimney-sweep; while the other, by the 

 side of it, was free from smut. While we were at 

 Ca|il. Chadwick'p, his ywing man went to mowing; 

 and he liiuial a *' gemmaii of colot" wal'lowing uown 

 the gra.ss, and die way he let iiiio hiiu was a caution 

 to all snakes to keep olf of Capt. Chadwick's firm. — 

 Had there been a prcmiuni on killing black snakes, 

 this young man would have been entitled to il, as the 

 one he killed was decidedly tlie tallet:l one wc saw in 

 our cruise, as it measureil about 5 feet. 



We iifxt paid our respeilH to Major Silas Call, who 

 had eiiti;red hi:i ciops for examination, .Maj. Call had 

 I large field of ciuii, and the whole <if it was an ex- 

 perimeolal field; as he bad tried a grcul many dillcrciil 

 kinds of manure upon it, and had carefully marked 

 each, it will be a pretty safe guide for him in future 



practice. We hope he will furnish the public, Ihrotigh 

 the press, with an accurate detail of the whole csperi- 

 nienl. and the results. A large field of wheal Was ex- 

 amined. It was very fair and clean. His fields are 

 well cultivated, and exhibit every where a neat and 

 good farmer like appearance, JI.ij. Call is a little old 

 fashioned in some tlungs, and we liked him none the 

 worse for that. In his family, he keeps the old-f ishiou- 

 ed musical instrument?, the wheel and the looni ; and 

 the beautifulw'colen blankets that liji daughters exhib- 

 ited at our hist show, are good evidences that the busy 

 hum of Ihe wheel and flj of the shuttle, are not clean 

 gone from lh:il fiirfn hoii.^e. He has several cords of 

 wood in his shed prepared for heating the oven, that 

 has lain there 30 years. KoIouioD, or Dr. I'rauklin, 

 or some other wise man, has said, an "old store is au 

 old sore." I have known a great many good house- 

 wives, however, that would been glad of just guch an 

 old sure, as 30 years' slock of ovenwood on hand. — 

 We look a little cider, there. It was only seven yeiirs 

 old, but as good as wii^e. We thought it ample proof 

 of the major's btjing a. strong temperance man, as every- 

 body knows that a man can't keep his cider and drink 

 it too. .\nd fin::lly, if you have got a more s'iillful and 

 belter firmer here in Bos'-awen tlcin Maj. Call is, I 

 should be h::ppy to make his acquaintance. 



Our next slopping pliice was at the beautiful farm of 

 Benjamin Walker. Ills house is situated upon the 

 north side of a large and berutiful swell of good land, 

 .^t the sonth-west is a fine sheet of water, and on the 

 west a large nicad'ow. His buildings are good, and he 

 had just finished a large corn-house, iho best your coin- 

 mitlee had ever seen. There are two sets of slats, the 

 outer ones fuxed on rolls, so that they can be rolled 

 bacl-iwards and forwards, and in storjiiV weather the 

 outer ones can very easily be made to break joints, 

 and then all is light and safe. The 2d crop of grass 

 was the best on his farm of any we saw. \Ve judged 

 th;il he sows more clover seed thin niOst farmers do. 

 If so, we think, or at least one of the comtjiittee does, 

 that Mr. Walker understands what is for his interest. — 

 His field of 2.', acres of corn was prime, as also his 2 

 acres of wheat. Mr. \Valker is hi the practice — and a 

 very good practice it is too — of burving the useless 

 rocks anil stones of his fields in wet spots of ground, 

 and thereby conterring upon himsi.'lf a double benefit. 



From Mr. Walker's, the committee separated into 

 two parties. A part went to Mr. Enoch Little's to look 

 at his crops. He had 5 acres of wheat, very fair, and 

 a large field of corn, ^c. The hind on Little's Uil! is 

 No. !., and 5' r. Little's is the best part of il; and if he^ 

 is dissatisfied with his lot, we do not think him entitled 

 to the sympathy of any one. . 



Mr. Wilkius and others, of iho committee, called to 

 look at a piece of corn entered by Little Burbank. — 

 Mr. 'I'Vilkins iiflerwards informed me by letter, "that 

 Mr. linrbank's corn was smaller than any other piece 

 we saw. " ' «r'. 



Mr. Wilkins also visited 'the gardrti of Mr. Mil 

 Hulchins. He informed me by letter, that it was well 

 planned and laid out, and free from weeds. His vines 

 r.nd onions not so good as some otheis we saw, hut 

 there was a fine lot of tomatoes and winter squashes Sic 



C. [it. '\",h!ople, of Dunbarion, entered his tiirm for 

 preiiiiuni, but iioin the great number of entries, it was 

 inconvenient for the committee to visit him, and we 

 deputed .^bram Brown !:sq., of f'opl-inton, to visit 

 Capt. Whipple. Fsq. Brown infor.acd me that Mr,- 

 M hippie's corn suflered very Ijiuch by the wire worm. 

 One aire, he siid, was "completely demolished.'" — 

 I'c li:;d about three iicre.c ef wheat, which ihr) were 

 cradling at ihe lime f"sq. B. was there; not so heavy 

 straw as some jiieces wc saw, but very good. 



In the close ef Fsq. Brown's letter to me he ob- 

 serves: " You ivould doubtless be mach surprised and 

 gratified to witness the renovation taiccn place on his 

 farm j^nce you saw il. in place of rod wide hedge- 

 rows of bushes, ure seen now wheat :ind grass grow- 

 ing. Instead of cart-loads of stones thrown promis- 

 ■cuons!>* bv the side of V-rush fcti"e, i^oed stone walls, 

 10 Ihe extriit of nearly iOo rod^^." .All of wliirh wo 

 might expect from that energetic and, enterprising far- 

 mer, Capt. Whipple. 



We have not told you where we ate our dinners, 

 nor where we took our /en — but must say we every- 

 where mel with what they call in Scotland, a right 

 "Highland welcome." And would further s;iy, if 

 there are any here lb. I wish to enjoy a pleasant excur- 

 sion, and a iVw days of good ealiii j; next summer, to 

 make laily applicaliim to get on to the vicw'iiig roni- 

 mittee; for the sun does not shine upon a class of bet- 

 ter livers, a class that possesses more genuine hospital- 

 ity, than the substantial and independent, farmers of 

 .Merrimack coiupl 



Your coinm 

 miumii: 



0:> Fiirms. 



'i'oCnpt. David Motrill,of C: ntctliiry, the first pro- 

 miuin of lour dollars. 



'I'o Benjamin Walker, the second, of three dollars. 

 On General Crops. 



To Win. W. Gage, of Boscuwen. three dollars. 



iltte'e lune awarded the following pre 



