76 



worth one dollar per bushel, and labor costs twenty-five cents 

 per hour, to cut with the cradle and bind and thre^i with the 

 flail, as we must do to save the straw, it will take a large part 

 of the grain to pay for harvesting and threshing ; if there is 

 any riiargin above the cost, it must be upon the straw. Al- 

 though rye may be grown upon comparatively poor soil, yet 

 when the graiix and straw are both sold from the farm it must 

 be an exhausting crop. 



We had no entry for wheat, oats or barley, and but one for 

 Indian corn. 



Lafayette Day, of Bradford, entered a crop of corn. The 

 chairman was alone in his examination of this crop, but will 

 take the responsibility of recommending the award of the 

 premium of $10 and diploma to Mr. Day. 



This field is near the Merrimac River ; the soil appeared to 

 be a sort of alluvial deposit, where corn can be grown as 

 cheaply as in any part of the county. 



From his statement we find the cost of growing the corn per 

 acre, for manure, thirty-two dollars, - - - <|32 00 



Ploughing, $6, harrowing, $3, seed, .70, planting, $6, 15 70 

 Cultivating, $15, cutting stalks, 7, harvesting, 26, - 48 00 



Cost, 



83 bushels of corn, entire stock. 

 Value of fodder, thirty dollars. 



Total profit, $31 70 



For the Committee—Win. R. Putnam. 



STATEMENT OF LAFAYETTE DAY. 



Bradford, Mass., Nov. 7th, 1873. 

 Mr. Preston : 



Dear Sir . — The Committee on grain crops have visited my 

 premises and requested me to hand the report to you. I will 

 now make a statement concerning the land. It is one acre 

 and a half in size, the soil is loamy. In 1871, it produced a 

 grass crop, in 1872 a corn crop. The dressing I used was 

 twenty oxcart loads of barn-cellar manure per acre. 



