sira^r 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



^ 



PUBLISHED BY JOSEI'H liKKCK & CO., NO. 52 NOKTH AIARKKT rtlKEET, (Agbicultubal Wabehocse.) 



VOL, X\ I. 



HUSTON, WEDNIiSDAY EVENING, MAY 2, 1838. 



N« . 43. 



A03aiS^'IS?Ig,'!2'W]&^a,a 



RE.VIIUMS OF MASS \CHUSE ITS AGRI- 

 CtJLI'UKAL SOCIETY. FOR 1838. 

 The best cultivated Farms. 



The Trustees, with a hope of Anther awakening 

 e atteiitiiin of tlie faiineis of Alassaohiiseita to a 

 use of tiie iinpoilaiice of good cuhivalion, anil at 

 e same titne of excitiiii;; an ho Kiial)le competi- 

 in for exhihitinji the liest cuhivated farms, have 

 cided to appropriate to this olijecl sir hundred 

 liars of the funds entrusted to tliein, the j)reseni 

 ason, as follows : 



For the liest cMiltivated farm of not less than 70 

 res exrhisive of wood land, regard lieing had to 

 B quantity of produce, tlie manner and expense 



cultivation and tlie general a|ipiarance of the 

 ™. $-200 00 



For the next best, 175 00 



For the next hest, , 150 00 



For the next hest, 75 00 



To ohviate the ol)jections wliich some claimants 

 ■ preminiiis may have to making a written 

 tementof the condition, products and manage- 

 ;nt of their respective farms, as heretofore re 

 ired, the Trustees p.opose to relieve them of 

 s trouhle hy an inspection, either personally or 



an agent, of the farms which may be offered 



premium. 

 The person or persons making the inspection, 

 11 re<piire of the respective owners or occupants 

 farms, answers to the following inquiries : 

 Of how much land dot^s your farm consist ex- 

 sive of wood land .' 



^Vhat is the nature of your soil; does it consist 

 ?and, gravel, clay, loam or peat ? 

 If of a part or all of the above kinds; what do 

 1 consider the liest method of improving them ? 

 How many acres do you till, and how many 

 t loads of manure (meaniiig by cart loads 30 

 hels at least,) do you generally put on an acre ? 

 B your manure applied in its long or green 

 e, or in conijiost ? 



)o you spread ami plough in your manure, put 

 in fields to be planted with corn or potatoes, 

 <ut it into the hills ? 

 Vhat is your method of ploughing and culti- 



ng green sward ? 



low many acres of upland do you mow, and 



It is the average (Quantity of liay iipoo an 



a? 



low many acres of grass land do you irrigate ; 



what season and how long do yon allow the 



er to flow your land, and what is the efTect ? 



)o you manure the land irrigated, or any other 



1 you mow, how much to an acre, and wliat 



I of manure do you put on ? 



low many acres of low land, not suitable for 



plough, do you tnow and what is the quality 



quantity of the hay cut the present year ? 

 ilVhat is your method of reclaiming low, bog or 

 If 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 01 

 iiiamire used to an acre, the manner of applying 

 it, and the quantity of corn raised to an acre? 



How many ac-res did you p'ant with potatoes 

 the present year; what was your method of |)lant- 

 ing, your manner of cultivating, and what the av- 

 erage quantity raised on an acre, and what kind.s 

 dill you plant ? 



What number of acres of other vegetables did 

 you pant, what kinds, and how m.-rny bushels of 

 produce had you to the acre, and to what use 

 shall you apply them ? 



How many acres of Winter or Spring grain 

 did you sow the present year ; how was the ground 

 prepared ; what quantity of seed did you sow on 

 all acre ? — if you nave raised wheat, of what kind ; 

 the nature of the soil, and was it sown with or 

 wi;liout using lime ? 



How many acri;s have yon laid down to grass 

 the present season, at what time in the year did 

 you sow it, bow 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 tnamire • 



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 have you 

 a cellar under them ; is your manure covered ? 



Are your co«s 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 much cheese, and what proportion of it new 

 milk ? 



How many swine did you keep, what quantity 

 of pork did you make and of what breed were 

 your swine ? 



U'hat do you feed thein upon through the sum- 

 mer months and on what do you fatten them ? 



How many cart loads of maniue do you take 

 from your hog styes in a year, and of what mate- 

 rials is it made ? 



What number of hands is employed on your 

 farm and what do you pay for labor ? 



What is the number of your Apple trees and are 

 they of natural or grafted fruits? 



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 tlie cultivation of your farm, do you allow 

 the use of Ardent Spirits? 



'J be Trustees are desirous that these questions 

 should be aniwered with as much particulai ity as 

 po.ssible. Tlie 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. 



much useful information from the skill anil expe- 

 rience of practical faimers. 



N. B. Claims to be addressed to Benjamin 

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

 tober next. 



Form of the Ap/ilication. 

 To Benjami.v Guild, Esq., Boston. 



Sir, — The subscriber, living in the town of , 



hereby makes kninvn bis intention of applying for 

 premium for the best farm, and offers the same for 

 inspection. 



(From Transactinns of llie Kssex Agricultural Soclely ) 



REPORT ON FARMS. 



The Committee of the Essex Agricultural Society, 

 on Farms, having attended to the duties assign- 

 ed them, respectfully submit the fodowing Rs- 

 PORT : ^. 



In offering premiums for the best cultivated 

 farms, the Essex Agricultural Society Ijas t\YO 

 principal objects in view ; first, to induce individ- 

 ual farmers to pay a more pariicular and syste- 

 matic attention to the manner of cultivating and 

 improving their land, and second, to collect a 

 mass of'valuafde practical information on agricul- 

 tural subjects, by requiring that each candidate 

 for the preuiiiiiiissiir.il furnish a written statement 

 of the character of his farm, and his method of 

 tiding it, together with any improved modes of 

 cultivation which hia experience may have taught 

 him. 



That these objects have been, to a certain ex- 

 leiii, successfully attained, must he aufficienily ob- 

 vious to any one who will read the successive re- 

 ports of thi.s Society, and who will corrifwre the 

 present state of the farms in this Covinry, witli 

 their condition several years ago- At the same 

 time, it is equally certain, that the benefits con- 

 templated by the Society,, and which might rea- 

 sonably be expected, have fieen but very partially 

 accomplished. The conimiitee on I'ailns have 

 lieen compelled to regret, year after year, that so 

 few farmers have been induced to become coiiipe, 

 titors for the pcemiu^ms. ofl'ered by the Society, 

 In the years 1834 and 1833, only a single fariu 

 was entered, and (he uuiubci; has not generally 

 exceeded two or three. 'J his ajipears the moro 

 lemarkable, when we consider the number and 

 value of the premiums. 



Two farms have been entered fbr premiums, 

 the present year, one by Joseph Howe, of Me- 

 thuen, and the other by Erastus Ware, of Marble- 

 head. Both these gentlemen deserve much credit 

 for th3 flourishing state to which they have brought 

 their farms, compared wiih their condition when 

 they came into their hands. They have been par- 

 ticularly successful in reclaiming sonie swamp laiui 

 which Inrmeily disfigured their farms. By drain- 

 ing off the water, externiiiiating bushes, and sink- 

 ing the slones beneath the surface, they liave 

 caused these unproductive swamps to produce 



heavy burdens of English hay. It will be seen 

 and the farming community enabled to derive 1 i,y , heir statements, that Messrs Howe and Ware 



