188 



^l)t iTavmci's iHcinlI)li) lltGitciv. 



ploLij;liHi] ill. The oilier wus fine riiiiniire, |iliiccfl 

 U|ioii tlie top, iitter llie fi^lil liiid li(>uii |iloiif;li(;(l 

 iiijil liaiiowe'l ill. 'Die whole iifiio'iiil oriiiiiimre 

 used w;is iihoiit .sixty-five " ciiii hiick lo.i<ls" to 

 the iioie. It w;is |il,iiited ulioiit the 20lh of Miiy 

 — foMi' Ueincis ill .-i hill — hills three iiiul a hall' 

 feet, liy two and a hall' apait. The soil is a irrav- 

 eliy loam. The seed was rolled in (ilasler oC 

 Paris, lieCore I'lantiii^. And, if your coiiiniittee 

 are not ini,*ial<eM, the suckers were all removed 

 from the hills ahniit the time of the last hoeinji. 

 The product of that portion of tlie crop which 

 was entered Cor premium, was at the rate ot one 

 hundred and ri^-ht hishets and four quarts to an 

 acre; which every one must a<lmit to he a very 

 extraordinary yield ; and the Committee regret, 

 exceedingly, that the rules of the Society wilt 

 not aflmit of a premium heing awarded. The 

 qualUtj of this corn was superior, in the opinion 

 of your Commiilee, to any exhihited. The ker- 

 nels were large, anil the ears weM filled, hnj too 

 short to be productive, under ordinary ciicumstan- 

 ces. 



The Massachusetts Premium Farm. 



In 1843, the IMassachnsetls Slate Agriciilliiral 

 Society awarded a premium of $200 to .Mr. Ben- 

 jamin Poor, of West Newluiry, lor "the liest cul- 

 tivated fiirm" within the State. We condense 

 tlie folfmving from i\ir. Poor's account of his 

 farm, a.s published in the New England Farmer. 

 The (arm ts known as the "Iinlian Hill Farm." 



.V((Hi6e/- of acres. — Exclusive of wooillaiid, 

 salt, marsh, &c., there are 1215 acres, three of 

 which are enclosoil as a garden and nursiiry, and 

 between siv and seven acres planlrd with forest 

 trees. There are six acres of mowing land which 

 have not heeii drained, because his neinhhor, 

 through whose land the drain would have lo 

 pass, prefers to have his meadow in i^nturaf frmss 

 — leaving SGIacres, which are about eipially divi- 

 ded into iipanil and meaflow ; the latter all re- 

 claimed ill n most |^ermallen^ manner, and divi- 

 ded into fields nmnbered from 1 lo 14, which is 

 found vi'ry convenient for reference in the jour- 

 nal alwavs kept on the fiirin. 



.\~itiire of the soil. — The highlands art?' giav- 

 ellv loam, ivsling on a clay pan, and crops are 

 seldom injured by wet or dry weather. OC the 

 meadows, some portion is a siroiig clay that 

 would make bricks — others rich, black, alluvial 

 .soil. Tlie.se were of no value till diaineil. It 

 was fir.->l feni-ed lo keep oif the c.itlle, that they 

 might not iit-l mired in going on to feed on the 

 coarse wild grass wiiicli grew there, it is now 

 so h:;id that a leain may he driven over it wiili- 

 oiit any difficulty. About sixteen years ago, iVIr. 

 Poor eniploxed :i Scolch farmer, whose kno'tvl- 

 cdge and experience in ilraining, proved of much 

 adv.-iiiiage. 



Dc;ilh nf ploiighriig. — The precise dipth is not 

 mentioned, ami we are left a little to conjecture 

 how deep Mr. Poor means when he s;iys,-'we 

 always plon;:li deep, and are well satisfied deep 

 ploughing nevi-r injured oiir lauds.'' 



Kinds of crops cuUivnled — About iO acres of 

 Indian emn and potatoiis. Corn produces 72 

 l>ushels perjicre. IMr. Poor thinks ryeshoulil he 

 sown early, say in Au::i).*t, or late, ,*ay in October. 

 Two biislieU of rye are sou n to the acre. Com 

 and potuioes are cultivated entirely in drills. 

 The argmnenls ill favour of this mode are, ihal 

 less manual labour will produce a crop. A double 

 mould board plough is used in digging potatoes. 

 Ploughing in autumn is preferred^the earlier 

 ihe belter. The long barn-yard manure is ii.-eil 

 in a green slate, put in the drills where the corn 

 and potatoes are planted. When the crops areii- 

 moved in auiiimn, the land is throun'iulo reilges 

 by the double moutd hoard plough. Spring 

 crops are oats and barley. Wheal was formerly 

 soAii.biit laiter jears has not prodneeil well. 

 Tin- manure is chiefiy n.-ed witi'i tile corn and 

 )ioialiie crop, and not much on laying' the land 

 down with small grains and gias--, as it tends to 

 produci! too rank a growth of straw, ff ]op 

 dressings are used, compost is preferred. The 

 fiehls are cnirnaied as near as pos.?ible in roiaiiou. 

 Made last year 3G3 loads, 30 cubic Ccet to ihe 

 load, of compost niannre. 



.Wanhcr of acres mowed for hai/. — Mr. Poor 

 mows 86 acres, commencing early in the season, 

 as the hor.-cs are kept np all the year, and the 

 uxeii at least three riiiariers of the year — there- 

 fire a portion of the grass is used for soiling. 



Estimaling the hay on hand the first of August, 

 at 500 cubic leet to the Ion, at which rate it is 

 sold, there was on band 157 tons. 



Flooding grass lands. — Twenty acres of Timo- 

 thy meadow were flowed in the winter of 1842- 

 3. The result was an injury to the grass. The 

 waler, it is supposed, laid loo long-. The experi- 

 ment will he repealed — letting the water remain 

 on only two or three days at a time, 



Oats and barley. — The Scotch two rowed bar- 

 ley, anri Scotch jiotato oat are preferred. Three 

 bushels of oats, and three lo three and a half 

 of barley, are sown to the acre. 



Laying down meadow lands to graes. — After the 

 hay crop is taken off Ihe lend is ploughed, lay- 

 ing the i'lirrews flat, tnul rye and grass seed sown, 

 with a liberal topdressing and then rolled. A 

 linshel, and in some casits a hnshel and a half of 

 grass seed — kind not mentioned— is sown per a- 

 cre. 



Saiing and maJtmg manure. — .Maiiure is saved 

 in every way that it can be obtained. Compost 

 is made from the p;iriiigs ol ditches, leaves, mea- 

 dow-muck, &c. In iiildilion to the ordinary 

 means of saving the manure of the stock, a cis- 

 tern for saving the urine has been constructed, 

 and is thus described. "It is thirteen I'eet in di- 

 ameter, and fifteen feet deep, constrneled of stone 

 and cement ; inio this run the stale from the sta- 

 ble, ox house, cow bouse, and idl ihe liquid from 

 the i-ow yard, the suds and wash from the dwell- 

 ii:g; over are the water closets oC Ihe dwelling, 

 two ill Ihe basement, two on the ground floor, 

 and two in the chamber; these are connected by 

 passages lo the dwelling; in the sectmd story is 

 a place feu- putting down loam or any material 

 wrshed for compost, whicli ue do weekly; back 

 of Ihe building and under the basement, is a con- 

 venieiil place to throw out the compost, which 

 we do semi-annually. There is noiliing ofl'en- 

 sive in Ihe smell, and we think too high an esti- 

 mate cannot be placed upon this appendage to 

 the farm." 



Live stock. — The stock kept on the farm, are 

 six oxen, ten cows, and from four lo six horses. 

 The catlle are Dnrhams, '-which" says fllr. Poor, 

 "for our farm we think has noerpial. The calves" 

 are put to drink as soon as dropped. Someiioies, 

 when a very fine one is dropped out of season, 

 it is allowed to run with the cow. Mr. Poor 

 considers this an expensive mode of rearing 

 calves, hut says the prices he has often obtained, 

 fully jusiily it. 



No chee.se is made of late years — the milk be- 

 ing sold, except what is wanted for family butter 

 at ihe house. 



Swine. — From six to fifteen, tit ilifl^erent seasons, 

 are kept. They are mainly supported by wash 

 from the house, and unsaleable vegetables. The 

 manure of the horses and callle in the smnnier, 

 is thrown i;ito their yards, and they are kept well 

 supplied in tnrf parings, soiis, young v\eeds, &c., 

 which are often removed to the compost heap, 

 and a licsli supply iiiveii in return. 



Orchnrds, ^-c. — Then' are 347 apple Irees, from 

 which ilnre were formerly made 75 barrels ol 

 cider. Recently the Irees liiive been headed 

 down. Of pear, peach, plum, apr'rcot and 

 cherry-trees, liiereare 1,200 planted out at differ- 

 ent times williin ihe last ten years. 



Laborers. — There tire three dcp irtmenl,^. The 

 nunier and three assislaiits, iind two boys — the 

 L'ardener and one ussistaut and the machinisfs, 

 department, which is coniposed of one black- 

 smith, one stone m.ason and wall builder, one 

 » heel- Wright and carpenter. They all keep sep- 

 arate accounts, and when one exchanges time n 

 is repaid the same as if wiili a neighbor. Since 

 1826, Mr. Poor has had a Seolehnuiii ;is foreman, 

 and with the exception ol' oni^ Dutchman and 

 one Welchmaii, riie laborers have been Scotch, 

 English, or Irish. Foreigners cannot do as much 

 work ill <uie day as the Americans, but they do 

 more in one month, and infinitely more in a year. 

 They are not afraid ol' wet or cold, anil having 

 been brought up to labor, are content to labor. 

 The foreman being a foreigner, can manage them 

 better. They also prefer him, as lliey can work 

 as they have been accustomed. Mr. Poor says, 

 "having' made a rule thai when lliey were deser- 

 ving, to provide belter siliiations for them after 

 ttiey had become aecuslomed lo the climate and 

 manlier of farming here, I can at any lime, froin 

 the neighborhoods oC those who have faithfully 

 .-ervcd me, sujiply myself, at sixty days' notice, 



with any number of fanners or meebaiiics, at 

 Ihe country w.itres, which do not exceed upon 

 the average £12 per annum, for farm .servants, 

 or £20 per annum, t'or inecliaiiics. In addition, 

 board, washing, and lodging, if single — and use 

 of cottage and garden, andoneqnait of milk per 

 day, and boarj iheinselves, if married. I wish 

 no better men than I obtain at these prices." 



Barns. — The main barn i.s 120 feet long and 42 

 wide. In the liaseinent or cellar — though mostly 

 above gioniid— are horse stables, oxhouse, thresh- 

 ing mill' I'ider pre.«s, hay press, and vegetable cel- 

 lars, which are filler! by rising batches In the 

 floor above, 'i'liere are also two wings, 80 feet 

 eai-b, one of which is a cow house tiud a wood 

 house in Ihe basement or cellar — the other a 

 piggery, and over it a carriage house, work-shop, 

 hen-house, &c. The barn is devoted to bay and 

 straw, and all the cattle are Veil, by pulling hay 

 down in the racks. The callle are lied by chains. 

 The floor of the cowhouse, oxhoiise, and st.ables, 

 is of paved stone, and gutters cut from stone, lead 

 to the cistern. The entire barn, stables, cisterns, 

 &c., were erected at an expense of $2,000, The 

 basement is c(UistrnL"ted entirely of stone. Split 

 stone is used for door posts, supports in cellar, 

 &c. The roofs are covered with tin, which Mr. 

 Poor .says costs in the first instance, one-iliii<l 

 more than good shingles; but it has been on 

 eleven years, and shows no signs of rust or 

 decay. 



The cow-yard, or barn-yard, is filled with mud, 

 earth, leaves, &c.' in the fill, which are put into 

 heaps ill spring, when the yard is again filled — 

 ihe droppings of the cows and manure from the 

 stables in summer, is put in with the hogs under 

 cover, and removed to the compost heap every 

 convenient opportunity, when properly worked. 

 — Cultivator. 



Landlord and Tenant. 



The holdings of many of the Scotch farmers 

 are very huge ; and their farms are generally 

 held under leases of iiineleen and Iweniy-oiie 

 years, 



I shall perhaps excite some surprise in stating 

 my belielj that ibe manner in which (iirms are 

 held here on hire for a year, or on lease fiir a 

 leriii of years, rather than being owned by the 

 occupants, is itself a powerful instrument or in- 

 i-enlive to agi icnilnral iinprovemenl. In the Uni- 

 ted States, where farms are owned by the occu- 

 pant, the fuinerseklom keeps any account, and 

 it matters not much to him what is the result of 

 ihe year's niaiiagenieni. The efl^'ect of this is to 

 reiiiler a man negligent and indift'erent to suc- 

 cess or loss. But when at the end of every six 

 months, Ihe rent must be paid, it is not a matter 

 of indifference whether his farming Inrns out 

 well or ill ; for not only the labor employed is to 

 be paid for, but the rent of the firm must be 

 |umctnally discharged. This coiis."quently com- 

 pels him to make every exertion, iiy \\ liicb he 

 may be assisted to meet his obligations, he finds 

 no room for idleness or neglect ; <md the conlin- 

 iiance ol his possession depends upon ids good 

 iiianagcineni and the punctual payment of his 

 rent. This prompts to watchCubiess, experiment 

 and improvement ; and especially it gives to 

 Carming a conimercial or mercantile character, 

 ;ind oliligis the firmer lo keep account,-', and so 

 lo Iwirn Ihe exact pecuniary result oC his opera- 

 lions — a matter in which Ihe liuiners oCthe Uni- 

 ted Slates, as tiir as my observalion goes, who are 

 ihe owneis oC ihe Carms which they occupy, are 

 almost imiver.sally deficient. The strict respon- 

 siliiliiy to which the liuniers are here held by 

 iheir landlords, is undonbledly a imilerial ele- 

 ment in Iheir success. At ihe same lime, where 

 ibe occiipalioii is Crom year to year, and leases 

 are reCnsed on the [lart of the landlords, as is 

 ;!enerally the case in England— though in Scot- 

 land leases are almost univer.sal — the efli'ect must 

 he lo prevent or discoiirai;e sub.-tantial improve- 

 ment!", as lew persons will be inclined to make 

 such improveini'iits with an nncertainty of con- 

 tinuance. It is a Diet, however, which may tn'e- 

 ate smne surprise, that many firmers are iiuwil- 

 ling to take leases when landlords would be wil- 

 ling togiiint them. But ihis happens only when 

 there is a perfect confidence on both sides; ihe 

 liMiant has entire reliance upon the honor and 

 liberality «i' the landlord, and the laudloid is 

 iipially confident of the good conduct and maii- 

 ageinetit of his tenant. An excellent hindlord in 



