1836.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



723 



extremely well in some parts of them; and so 

 have flax, hemp, and other productions suited to 

 the different qualities of the soil. In some places 

 I have sowed, at different times, several sorts of 

 trees, such as the oak, the beech, the chestnut, the 

 fir, and others, all of which thrive wonderfully. I 

 have likewise planted new vineyards, and find 

 them answer perfectly well. All these trials con- 

 vince me more and more, that the. very best way 

 of preparing land, is by burning it, as I have al- 

 ready said more than once. Those who were for- 

 merly the readiest to blame my undertakings, now 

 see their error, and commend them. 



"During this same year 1752, as well as in the 

 course of the following, I drained several marshes, 

 and improved other pieces of uncultivated ground, 

 which not being of the heath kind, or proper for 

 paring, were broken up, and fitted for their respec- 

 tive crops, whether of corn, or of other plants, as 

 will be more fully related in the second part of this 

 account. I likewise sowed in these, as I had done 

 before in other places, trees of every kind, some of 

 which have succeeded, and others failed, accord- 

 ing to the soil, and the manner of preparing it. 

 This also will be more fully noticed herealter, 

 when I shall speak particularly of the different 

 methods of raising trees from their seeds; and of 

 the means of obviating the three chief difficulties 

 which must of necessity be guarded against or re- 

 moved, before one could properly set about break- 

 ing up any sort of ground; these are, water, 

 etones, and large roots; each of which I have 

 found it necessary to get rid of, before 1 could 

 rightly begin any of my improvements. 



"I endeavored this year to make some progress 

 towards perfecting my instruments of husbandry; 

 my new buildings went on according to the plan 1 

 had laid down, and were extended from time to 

 time, in proportion as the products of my enlarged 

 improvements, and the increase of my stock of 

 cattle, required more room. I likewise tried to 

 mend the breed of horses in this country, where 

 their chief fault is, that they are too small. 



"My sheep were also of too small a size, and 

 yielded but little wool, which indeed is the case 

 throughout this province. I therefore got from 

 Lower Poictou, in the year 1753, two fine rams, 

 of the large kind, called Flemish; by which 

 means my lambs are much stronger than any 

 other in these parts. Several of the males are al- 

 most as large as their sires, and I have give some 

 of them to my neighbors for rani6. They have 

 produced a bastard breed, which increases apace, 

 and, though not so large as the Flemish, yields 

 more and better wool than our former breed. 1 

 got rid of all my old sheep by degrees, and have 

 now a well sized flock: nor do I doubt but that if 

 I could conveniently have purchased a whole 

 flock of these large sheep, their breed might have 

 been preserved without degenerating, and in- 

 creased so as to supply the place of our present 

 inferior species: for our uncultivated lands would 

 feed a much greater number of sheep than we 

 even attempt to raise. 



"In 1755, [ discovered limestome upon my own 

 land. This proved a considerable saving; for I 

 had hitherto been obliged to fetch my lime from a 

 distance of near twelve miles. This stone, if pro- 

 perly searched for, may often be found in places 

 where it is not suspected to lie. It is easily known 

 by putting a piece of it into the fire till it be cal- 



cined, and then dissolving it in water. This dis- 

 covery, inconsequence of which I built a proper 

 kiln, has enabled me to carry on my buildings 

 with less expense than before, and is of signal 

 service in affording an excellent manure for my 

 land. 



"I began this year to give premiums for agricul- 

 ture to the inhabitants of my estate. They" were 

 instituted the year before; and I had long used 

 my best endeavors to inculcate a general love of 

 industry, and a relish for improvements. My 

 success had induced several others, both landlords 

 and farmers, to follow my example, as well in 

 amending their already cultivated lands, as in tho 

 breaking up of new grounds. 1 assisted them in 

 their undertakings, giving instructions to some, 

 lending seeds to others, and money and tools to 

 such as were honest, and wanted them. The 

 better to encourage them all, I had given rewaida 

 every year to those who distinguished themselves 

 most, and allowed my tenants sixteen shillings for 

 every acre of new ground broken up by them: a 

 regulation which still subsists. 



"To fix these people in the industrious disposi- 

 tion to which I at length had brought them, no 

 method seemed to me more proper than to take 

 them on the weak side of almost all mankind, in- 

 terest and vanity. Accordingly, I notified in the 

 month of January 1754, that I would distribute 

 every year, begining on the next ensuing festival 

 of the Assumption, two premiums ior agriculture; 

 one, to the person who should raise the finest crop 

 of wheat, and the other to him who should have 

 the best field of rye. Each of these premiums 

 consist in a sum of money, not inconsiderable for 

 the country where it is given, and a silver medal, 

 engraved for the purpose, of the size and value of 

 a crown piece. These were, I believe, the first 

 premiums ever proposed in France for this most 

 useful object; though many have been given for 

 much less interesting concerns. On one side of 

 this medal is a sheaf of corn, with two sickies, a 

 scythe, and a flail; over which are the words, 

 premium for agriculture, and underneath, the 

 date. On the other side are my arms, with this 

 inscription round them; to excite to industry the 

 inhabitants of, fyc. I would not put the goddess 

 Ceres of the ancients, or any emblematical figure 

 upon this medal, because, in the first place, the 

 ignorant peasants would not have understood its 

 meaning, and in the next, some of them might 

 perhaps, hereafter, take it for the representation of 

 a saint, and honor it as such; by which means, 

 what I intend only tor an object of utility, would 

 become a source of superstition or idolatry. 



"A candidate for these premiums must have at 

 least two acres of land sowed with either wheat 

 or rye: they are given to the finest crop as it 

 stands, to avoid all tricks; and if two crops are 

 deemed equally good, the worst soil has the pre- 

 ference. When both the crops and the soils are 

 alike, the largest extent of ground is entitled to 

 the reward. The inhabitants of the place, in ge- 

 neral, meet at the parish church on the day ap- 

 pointed; and, after divine service, choose from 

 among themselves five who are not candidates, 

 to inspect all the fields of corn, and mark those 

 which they think the finest. On the next Sunday 

 or holiday, they make their report to the same as- 

 sembly. If any one complains that his corn has 

 been unjustly passed over un-noticed. proper per- 



