vll)c i\ai-mci'0 iHoutl)lj) bisitor. 



151 



caitle Iliron;;!! the lio>r y.ii'il, or riitlier thni luiit oH 

 i' <ullfcU'cl ui llic wiiilei-. in Hit? .-|iiiii;; ;iil his 

 iiiuiiiiif, of liiiir, lioix", III. (I callle, is rnixtil li>- 

 finlior ;iiiil siitl'.Ti-il to fiTiniMil, jiiid llieii is ,-|>iimiI 

 mill iilciiiiiheil ill iiiiiiiedmtcly. 'I'lio L-licrl «iis 

 fjocid. 



111! till!? (loni! sr)iiielliiii;r l>y t(>|) diHssiii;; — li_\ 

 |>lnii^liiii<; in (iiiis: it is not limc \i\ to knmv tlie 

 result. Ill' is |iii_\iii!; <'iuisi(liiiil>li: ;iIti'iinoii to 

 llie iirm>iii;; ol Iriiit. Tin; |iriis|)ert looks liivor- 

 nhle Till' last yi'iir lit; iiiiiili- iisi' of |il.isler v\iili 

 lory yiiod Kliecl — lit- sinvt:d it hioiid-rasl on his 

 |)nsiiire iiinl inowin;; (irids. Hi> thinks In: has 

 ivalizwl !i doiililn iro|). Ill- also ri|i|>lifil plaslrr 

 mid ashes to his corn and |iolali><'s at tint lime ol 

 |iliiniiii;> — a siiooiilid to the hill — wiili liood el'- 

 lect. Ill- hasa|i|ili.'d ashes to his Iriiit trees iviih 

 the liesl risnii. We ealled too late to see his 

 rorn, it lieinir lianesled ; hnt ih we slioiihl jiiiJL'e 

 liy the size tuid iniilli|ilieiiy of the weeds, he had 

 a hiMiriaiii ;<rinMli. 



Siejiheii rrein-h, Jr. has u tiirni of seventy 

 iieres. He rnliivutes twenty — tills live and a hall 

 lines, lie a|i|ilies eoin|iost inannre allo;;eilier — 

 s(iri-ad meiilv loads |>er aere to the eorn, on the 

 potatoes Ivielve Iliads |iiit ill the hill. It was a 

 coin|iosl ol sail, lime and liiiid — |iotaloes sound. 

 'I'lie eorn is v'ikiiI. He cms iilionl loiirteeii Ions 

 ol r'lijilish hay, and ten ot meadow — keeps leii 

 head ol caiile — raises some Iriiit for the market. 



S^o lar as we are alile to j'ld:;"', in viewiiiii' the 

 various larms, their ;;eiieral iis|>eel, and llieir |iro- 

 diiel and mana^emeiil, we are led to helieve that 

 tlie ;;ieat f.mll, i!' we are alloweil lo call it a liinll, 

 is lliat we ciillivate too iiinell land lor onr in iii- 

 ine. We eoneeive it lo lie ol'liille tise to spread, 

 or put on in any other way, a tiw cart loads of 

 inannre liir an acre ol' land, a.s we fielierally lind 

 liind. We ihink it liir heiter to rnllivate a less 

 lininlmr of acres, and apply tlie same, or even a 

 {.'leairr ninomil of inannre. Wo are also of the 

 opinion that we .soinetiines apply or use the 

 uroiiL'kind of inannre. A jireat deal is to he 

 pained hy ascertainiiiir what kind of manure a 

 certain kind iif land may ni'eO. No one will 

 contend thai the li::hl, gravelly kiiidl wants the 

 came iipplli-alion as the low, Minkeii swamp. 

 Kvery liiriner in Bedliird nii;;lit increase his ina- 

 nnre heap one-lliird at least hy roinpostinsr. The 

 dirtereiii iiietliods of comimsiiiif; manure, we 

 shall leave to the various views of iiidividtials. 

 Lime, frvpsiim, and ashes are ihe iiiosi common 

 additions; and «e think eiiheror all of these 

 Hill answer every demand il judiciously applied 

 to the heap. Thousands of dollars are weekly 

 expended at Maneliesler and iis vicmily for the 

 products of the farm ;»aiid it is left lo the people 

 of 15edf ird to say whether they will have their 

 share of these thuiisai. ds, or «liellier it shall go 

 to some heiter and more inilnsnioiis comiiiuiiily. 

 I have lieen an iiihahilanl ol Hedlord more than 

 thirty years, and 1 lliinU can safely say no man 

 in or out of the town knows ils situation and re- 

 sources heiier than I do ; and it is my laiiilid 

 opinion that no town adjoiniii!; IMaiicliester is 

 ahle to put forth more physical strenylh and 

 liienlal appliealion to a;;rieiillin'e than this town. 

 No town is so well located — no town adjoinin,2 

 Maneliesler has the variety ofsoil, ami the means 

 wiihin themselves of iiiakin;; the improvement. 

 Only let the fanners of Uedford he united in ap- 

 [il\inir the srieiices and llie arts to e{;ricnllnie, 

 and tens of thousands will flow into Bedford 

 yearly. 



DTK. BROOKS SUATTUCk's REPORT. 



The first farm we visited was Mr. Ralph Hol- 

 liroiik's; found him difr^'iii:,' potatoes. Mr. llol- 

 lirook cnliivates ahont four and a half acres — t«o 

 in corn, the remainder in potatoes anil liop.s. His 

 method is to plough twice mid harrow helbre 

 planlini;; spreads part of his manure — puts a 

 little in the hill lo ;;ive the seed a start — applies 

 nlioiit si.Meen carl loads lo the acre of yard ina- 

 liine, Inn does nol feel satistied with this way ; 

 liisoorii yields ahont iliiriy-lliree hushels per acre 

 — potato yield one liundred and twelve busliels — 

 mows over .-ihoiit twenty acres of upland, and 

 cuts by estimation ei^jliteen Ions of hay. Mr. 

 Ilolhrook has paid considerahle attention to the 

 raisin;; of apples for the mark"t — has pickeil and 

 barrelled the present season sixty-eivdit barrel.s 

 which he thinks is the most profitable crop he 

 can raise. His system in re^^ard to the lironnd, 

 is to cultivate and frequently turn in irreeu crop-s 



&c. iMr. Holhrook's trees are of his own ^irow- 

 m^', budded or j,'ralied hy Ins own hand, and 

 most of I hem ma uruwiii;; anil fliiirishin;: coinli- 

 lioii. We noticed one s'aiiiho^ near Ihe road x\ itli 

 !i lid', sinooili sin lace hark reseiiihliii;; soint.-wlial 

 ill .-iitiness and coh>r the liai k ol the >oim;; « line 

 pine. This trie, if wu remeiohei ri;;hl, he ^.'railed 

 ahiint ten years a;;o ; hnt hy .-nine nccidinl, three 

 ■ lour ', ears tini'e, it was nearly desiro\eil li\ 

 ihe two main blanches beim: rent asunder to a 

 considerahle ilislanee into ihe main trunk. The 

 o«ner, desirous of saving his tree, bored a hole 

 a lillle below wli*;re the hianches diver;;e from 

 Ihe iriiiik, lliroiii;li which was put mi iron bolt 

 i\iih head and screw nut, by which the braiches 

 w>re bioii;.;lil lo;;etlier a^ain ; and from what ue 

 could see the tree had not received much injiiiv, 

 as the new wood had prelly iniich covered the 

 nut and head of ill ' boll. We have seen old 

 bioken-dovx n mai'liiiiery repaired in this way, hut 

 it IS the lir.-l lime we have seen ihe boll and mil 

 applied to the repairing; of broken-down li nil 

 Irees. La.sl year tin.' tree bore tell bushels of 

 early apples, lor which he received one dollar 

 per linshel. W-' showlil judge iMr. Holhrook lo 

 lie a ;>ood' prai'lical larmer, who baldly lell satis- 

 fied wiih Ins pieseiil kimwledye. Inn is desirous 

 to read, retie.-i and learn. 



Tlie next house ai which we called was Tho- 

 nas llnlhi oiik's. He' being' Iroiii home, wi* did 

 not get all the inloriiialion that was desirable; 



d whal few liieis we gained were from his 'hel- 

 ler hall.' Mis. Ilolhrook inliirmed lis that they 

 had raised a good piece of com the present sea- 

 son ; that her hushand had applied plaster when 

 pl.'iiiled lo about one liall^ to the other half he 

 applied the plaster w hen hoed the first lime ; and 

 lliat the part plasteieil when planted was much 

 the largest corn. We set Mr. Holhrook down as 



good larmer. 



The next farm we visiteil was tliat of (iardner 

 Neveiis, lisq. Mr. Nevens cultivates ahiint four 

 acres — two In corn, and two in potatoes; plants 

 a mixture of the eight, ten and twelve rowed 

 corn; thinks his com will average filiy busliels 

 per acre ; keeps his ground up but one year ; his 

 polalo \'ielil was one hiiiidrt'il and ten bushels 

 per acre ; thinks the Rohan a good kind lo cul- 

 tivate lor cattle or the table use. iMr. Nevens we 

 set down as one of onr industrious and progres- 

 sive liirineis. 



Books Shattuck's firm consists of about one 

 hundred mid forty acres. He cnliivates ahinit 

 eleven acres — three in corn, six in potatoes, the 

 remainder in peas, beans, and ihe various roots 

 and vines. He piepares his ground nearly alike 

 for all his crops, vines excepted. He phnighs 

 twice — once belore sprerdiiig the maiim'P, once 

 afler, and snb^oiling. He has used plaster the 

 tun past seasons with apparent good ellecl. For 

 his vines, he digs a hole three leet deep, two in 

 diaineier, filling up the hole again wiih loam and 

 compost manure. He had a good crop noiwilli- 

 standing the dry weather and black bugs. He 

 has paid considerable atlention to ihe making of 

 iiiamire. His iiieilidd has been to cart muck and 

 loam into his cattle yard in the spring and siiiii- 

 iiicr. In the spring, as soon as the frost is out, 

 throw up ill heaps and mix in the droppings of 

 ihe cattle, leiling the heaps lay till the materials 

 begin to heat — then apply ing it to ihe ground and 

 ploughing it in as soon as possible. His crops 

 look well. He keeps twelve cows, sells his milk 

 at Manchester, and all his surplus produce. 



([^ If the editor of the Visitor wa.sduly to ac- 

 knowledge all the presents which flow in upon 

 him from various direction.s, it would present 

 him as a still more and already (piite-eiiongh 

 conspicuous object in the coliimiis of his paper. 

 .\s he formerly had a nice present of scythes 

 from the great (Slahlishiiient "away down E.ist " 

 ill Wayne, Kennebec coiinly, M.iiiie, which es- 

 tablishment may be said in part Ki have emaii- 

 aled Ironi that of Gov. Colby in New Londiili. 

 N. H., he is now bound to acknow ledge a second 

 present of scythes for next year's use, from Col. 

 M esse r, of the tiriii ot Philips, Colby and Messer, 

 who miller an enlarged eslahlishmeut at that 

 place, will this year make three tlioiisatid do7.eii.<, 

 fiir wliicli the hit'h repiitaliou of their sejthes 

 has already secured them llie market. As in the 

 maiiufaciiire of almost every other kind of agri- 

 cnliiual implement, there is an improvemenl in 

 the making of s<;ythes, a» well in their i-ixe and 



shape as in the maieiid of which they are com- 

 posed ; the scyihes of fnriiier \ears would now 

 be r.jecied as next In wnrtldes.s. The saving of 

 hand labor by vai ions new inventions enables the 

 makers of scythes to torn out the belter urlicla 

 at even less than the old prices. 



\V haiever we may think ol Gov. Colby ill liis 

 present ofticial posiiion, we must do him the 

 justice to say, that li:w men ill the State have set 

 a heller example than he has done mid is still 

 doing, both as a practical firmer and inannfac- 

 Inrer. At the lliriii upon the beaiililiil swidl of 

 land in New London, long the residence of his 

 father, who was many years known as one of the 

 most opiileni farmeis of old Hillsborongli, work- 

 in;; always when at home wiih his own hands, 

 Giiv. Colby conilniies lo raise every year crops of 

 excelleni spring wheat: he informed us the oilier 

 day al the coimiy exhibilion, that he had never 

 purchased a barrel of southern or western flour 

 liir his own use. That would have been consid- 

 ered in his father's lili; lime as a sort of misprision 

 of treason. 'I'he scyihe c^tablislmient is in an- 

 other part of New London, upon a branch of the 

 IJIackwaler, If-d by a large iiond, which takes ils 

 course towards the .Merrimack, giving, at a point 

 not fir from llie oiillel, a more steady water 

 power than the mills receive upon the several 

 hr;iiiclies united several miles lower tloW'ii. New 

 London lies upon ihe dividing ridge of land be- 

 twei'li the two river.s. Lillle Simapee, flowing 

 west, is a short distance only from the lake sup- 

 plying the water eastward: there are water fills 

 between the Lillle .Siiiiapee and Great Simapee: 

 the latter sheet of water is said to resemble in 

 size and ill scenery the lake of Geneva, cele- 

 brated in the Alpine regions of I'^^nrope. Out of 

 the larger Sunapee, lluough a small lake or ai in, 

 flows the main branch of SiiL'ar river, which fur- 

 nishes the water power to which the rich town 

 of Claremoiit is indebted for its inanuliicluring 

 esiablishmenls, w liicli it is hoped are greater ill 

 prospect than has been yet realized. 



In addition to the scythe establishment upon 

 the stream riiiining down upon the north side of 

 Keaisarge iiioiiiitain, Gov. Colby has erected 

 buildings and placed fixtures liir the maiiuficiure 

 of woi'lens, the materials for which being pro- 

 duced in abundance by the surrounding liirmers, 

 which are going into operation the present sea- 

 son. The valley through which ibis stream rims 

 opens over the town of Wilmot, in which Ihe 

 villa;!e called Wilmot flat has grown tip within a 

 few years. The whole extent of the stream will 

 be accommodated with an up and down coimtiy 

 transport by the depot in the upper part of An- 

 dover, so soon .ns the Noriliern railroad shall be 

 completed in the course of next season. 



The Most Expensive Cnltivution not the Least 

 Profitable. 



As one of the results of the business and 

 wealth flowing into the <:oniiiiercial capital of 

 New England, business and wealth now brought 

 in from afar as well as near, from the ceiiceiilia- 

 tion of the most profitable railroads in the union, 

 has been the ereciion of linndreds of cottage 

 country seats and villas within the disiance nf 

 six to leu miles sinroniiding Boston. A (iieiid 

 offered lis the ride with horse and gig of some 

 twenty miles from the south-west to the soiiih- 

 east of the city, over the Brighton, Brookline, 

 Roxbiiry, Dorchester and South Boston heights : 

 this was a year ago, before the frost,« had broken 

 in upon the vernal season — nollilngin nature can 

 be conceived more charming than the appear- 

 ance of the fruits and flowers, the groves in inii- 

 ta'ion of ihe irregularity of ihe nalinal tieesand 

 .■scenery, with avenues leading lo the cottage 

 biiililings which peeped out from under the trees. 

 Here were villas beaniifully laid out according lo 

 the means and the tastes of the owner and oc- 

 cupant, some of them may he at the expense of 

 an hundred thousand, and some at the piobable 

 cost of a single thousand ilollai.s. Bolh plebeian 

 and patrician may live here in the eiijo\meiil of 

 erpial privileges, and all of them measured not 

 fo much by the amount of proppity as by the 

 moral worth for which either had gained a repii- 

 laiion. One feature of this beauiilul addition lo 

 the embellishmeiits of the commercial empoii- 

 iiin, is the fine roads and streets winding around 

 and among the hills, the nature of the ground 

 hard and rocky, making them at all seasons 

 I stnootti almoat as a newly jMived wooden aimeot 



