314 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



APRIL,?. E 41. 



an insprclion, either personally or by an agent, of 

 the farms which may be offered for premium. 



The person or persons making; the inspection, 

 will require of the re-pective owners or occupants 

 of fiirrns, answers to the followinir inquiries: 



Of liow much land does your farm consist, ex- 

 clusive of wood land? 



What is the nature of your soil ; does it consist 

 of sand, gravel, clay, loam or peat ? 



If of a" part or all of the above kinds, what do 

 you consider the best method of improving them ? 

 How many acres do you till, and how many 

 cartloads of manure, (moaning by cartloads 30 bush- 

 els at least,) do you {renerally put on an acre ? 



Is your manure applied in its long, or green 

 state, or in compost ? 



Do you spread and plough in your manure, put 

 upon fields to be planted with corn or potatoes, or 

 put it into the hills ? 



What is your method of ploughing and cultiva- 

 tin"' green sward ? 



How many acres of upland do you mow, and 

 what is the average quantity of hay upon an acre ? 

 How many acres of grass land do you irrigate; 

 at what season and how long do you allow the wa- 

 ter to flow your land, and what is the effect? 



Do you manure the land irrigated, or any other 

 land you mow, how much to an acre, and what 

 kind of manure do you put on ? 



How many acres of low land, not suitable for 

 the plough, do you mow, and what is the quality 

 and quantity of the hay cut the present year? 



What is your method of reclaiming low, bog or 

 peat lands, and what has been your success ? 



How many acres of corn have you planted the 

 present season ; what was your mode of preparing 

 the ground and the seed, the kind and quantity of 

 manure used to an acre, the manner of applying it, 

 and the quantity of corn raised to an acre ? 



How many acres did you plant with potatoes the 

 present year; what was your method of planting, 

 your manner of cultivating, and what the average 

 quantity raised on an acre, and what kinds did you 



plant. 



What number of acres of other vegetables did 

 you plant, what kinds, and how many bushels of 

 produce had you to the acre, and to what use shall 

 you apply them ? 



How many acres of grain did you sow the pre- 

 sent year; what kind of grain and at what times; 

 how was the ground prepared ; what quantity of 

 seed did you sow on an acre ? If you have raised 

 wheat, of what kind ; the nature of the soil, and 

 was it sown with or without using lime ? | 



How many acres have you laid down to grass the j 

 present season ; at what time in the year did you 

 BOW it; how much seed to the acre; and was it 

 sowed alone or with a grain crop ? 



What are your means and what your manner of 

 collecting and making manure ? 



How many oxen, cows, young cattle, horses and 

 sheep do you keep through the year? What is 

 the size of your barn or barns, and h;ive you a cel- 

 lar under them ? Is your manure covered ? 



Are your cows of native, foreign, or mixed breed? 

 What is your management of calves intended to 

 be raised ? 



How much butter did you make this year, and 

 how many cheese, and what proportion of it new- 

 milk ? 



How many sheep do you keep, and of what breed ? 

 How many pounds of wool do you get from your 

 sheep ? What is your manner of housing, penning. 



rearing and feeding them, especially in winter and 

 at the time of laubing? At what time do your 

 sheep lamb ; and what proportion of their young 

 die, and from what causes? 



How many swine did you keep, what quantity 

 of pork did ynu make, and of what breed were your 

 swine ? 



What do you feed them upon through the sum- 

 mer months, and on what do you fatten them ? 



How many cartloads of manure do ytiu take from 

 your hog-styes in a year, and of what materials is 

 it made ? 



What number of hands is employed on yimr 

 farm, and what do yon pay for labor ? 



What is the number of your apple trees ? Arc 

 they of natural or grafted fruit? What use do 

 you make of the fruit ? 



What number of fruit trees have you exclusive 

 of apple trees ? 



Have your trees been attacked by canker worms 

 or borers, and what is your method of destroying 

 them ? 



In the cultivation of your farm, do you allow the 

 use of ardent spirits ? 



The trustees are desirous that these questions 

 should be answered with as much particularity as 

 possible. The applicant will not, however, be re- 

 quired to answer them under oath, but according 

 to the best of his knowledge and belief. 



The Trustees hope and believe that by the meth- 

 od proposed, many important facts may be elicited, 

 and the farming community enabled to derive much 

 useful information from the skill and experience of 

 practical farmers. 



N. B. Claims to be addressed to Benjamin 

 Guild, Esq., in Boston, before the first day of Oc- 

 tober next. 



(Form of the Application.) 

 To Benj. Guild, Esq., Boston. 



Sir, — The subscriber, living in the town of 

 hereby makes known his intention of applying for 

 a premium for the best farm, and offers the same 

 for inspection. 



Rolntion of Crops. 



For the best rotation of crops on the same land, 



not less than two acres, for three or four years in 



succession, commencing when it is in grass, $7;> 



Premium to be claimed in December, 1841 or 



1842. 



It is expected the applicant will state the quali- 

 ty and condition of the land, when he first ploughs 

 or breaks it up ; the manner of preparing it each 

 year, specifying the times of ploughing, the quan- 

 tity and kind of manure used, the seed, whether 

 potatoes, Indian corn or other grain, planted or 

 sown, and the kind and quantity of grass seed, the 

 time when sown, and whether with grain or alone, 

 and the quantity or produce each year, including 

 the last. The applicant's own statement, signed, 

 but not sworn to, is all that will be required. 



Vegetable and Grain Crops. 

 For the greatest quantity on an acre — 

 Of potatoes, not less than 500 bushels, 



' carrots, 



' ditto on half an acre, 



' mangel -wurtzel, 



' ditto on half an acre, 



' sugar beet, 



' ditto on half an acre, 



' nita baga, 



' ditto on half an acre, 



' cabbages, free from earth when weighed, 20 

 ' ditto on half an acre, 10 



For the greatest quantity of vegetables (grain, 

 peas, beans excepted) for home consumption and 

 not for sale: raised for the keeping of stock, re- 

 gard being had to the size of the farm in proportion 

 to the crop, and to the number of the stock kept ; 

 and also to the respective value of the vegetables 

 as fond, and the expense of raising the same, $30 

 For the greatest quantity on an acre — 

 Of Indian corn, (not less than 80 bushels, 75 lbs. 

 in the ear to be considered a bushel,) $30 

 ' wheat, liot less than 25 buslicis, 20 



' barley, not less than 45 bushels, 20 



' rye, not less than 30 bushels, 20 



' dry peas, either broadcast or in drills, 25 



' dry beans, not less than 10 bushels, 25 



' mustard seed, _ ■^" 



It is to be understood that the quantity of land 

 specified above, is in each case to be in one piece. 

 And the claimant of any of the above premiums, 

 shall, with one other person, make a statement ac- 

 cording to the best of their knowledge and belief, 

 to the following particulars, and shall obtain a cer- 

 tificate of the measurement of the land by some 

 sworn surveyor. 



The particulars are — 



1. The ccmdition of the land in the spring of 



1841. 



2. The product and general state of cultivation 

 and quality of manure used upon it the preceding 



year. 



3. The quantity of manure the present season. 



4. The quantity of STed used. 



5. The time and manner of sowing, weeding, 

 and harvesting the crop, and the amount of the pro- 

 duct ascertained by actual measurement, after the 

 whole produce for which a premium is claimed, is 

 harvested, and the entire expense of cultivation. 



C. At least forty bushels of the vegetable, for 

 which a premium is claimed, (except onions and 

 common turnips,) are to be weighed, and ."ni pounds 

 free from dirt, will be considered as a busiiel. 



.$30 

 30 

 15 

 30 

 15 

 30 

 15 

 30 

 15 



Experiments, Discoveries and Inventions. 

 For an effectual and satisfactory mode of extir- 

 pating the worm that attacks the locust tree, $100 

 For a new, effectual, and satisfactory mode (jf ex- 

 tirpating the borer which attacks the apple tree, $50 

 For t°he experiment of turning in green crops as 

 a manure, on a tract not less than one acre, and 

 proving its utility, giving an account in writing, of 

 the process and the result; and particularly de- 

 scribing the condition of the ground before turning 

 in the crop— the kind of crop— when sowed and 

 when ploughed in, v^" 



For any newly invented agricultural implement 

 or machine, superior to any designed for the same 

 use, a reward not exceeding 50 nor less than 10 

 dollars, according to the importance of the inven- 

 tion. 



To the person who shall prove to the satisfaction 



of the Trustees that his mode of rearing, feeding 



and fattening neat cattle is best, $20 



Manures. 



For the best dissertation on different manures, 



and on their practical application to the various 



soils in this Commonwealth, $100 



Apple Oi chords. 



For the best apple orchard, in any county of the 



Commonwealth, planted out not le.ss than two, nor 



more than ten years before April, 1841— regard be- 



