346 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



MAY 9. I8-!S. 



Fof the greatest quantity of liiitian Corn 

 on an acre, not less than 80 bushels, (75 

 lbs. in the ear to lie considerec) a bushel,) 30 00 



For the >;reatest quautity of Wheat on 

 an acre, not less than 30 bushels, "20 00 



For the fireatest quantity of Bailey on I 



an acre, not less than 45 bushels, 20 00 



For the fjreatest quantity of Rye on an 

 aere, not less than 30 bushels, 20 00 



For the jireatest quantity of dry Peas, 

 cither brcjad cast or in ilrills, on an acre, 25 00 



For the ^r atest quantity of dry Beans, 

 not less than 10 bushels, on an acre, 25 00 



For the greatest quantity of Mustard 

 seed, 20 00 



For the (greatest quantity of dressed Flax, 

 not less than 500 lbs. from an acre, 20 00 



For llie greatest quantity, and best qual- 

 ity of Hemp on an acre, 40 00 

 It is to be understood that the quantity of land 

 Bpecilied above, is, in each cnse, to be in one 

 piece. AnrI the claimant of any of the above pre- 

 miums, sliall, with one other person, make a 

 stateinent according to the best of their knowledge 

 and belief, to the follo-wiug particulars and shall 

 obtain a certificate of ihe measurement of the laud 

 by sotne sw(n"n surveyor. 

 The particulars are — 



1. The condition of the fand ii! the spring of 

 1838. 



2. The product, and general state of cultivation 

 and quality of manure used u|)on it the preceding 

 year. 



3. 'liie.quantity of manure the present season. 



4. The quantity ol' seed used. 



5. The time and mannei' of sowing, weeding, 

 ntid harvesiiiig the crop, and the amount of the 

 product ascertainied by actual measurement, after 

 the whole produce for which a pretnium is claim- 

 ed, is Hiarvested, and tlie entire expense of culti- 

 vation. 



6. Of Indian Corn, the entire crop of the acre 

 to be oftered for preujium, is to be nutnsured and 

 weighed in the /iresence of the daxmitnt, who is to 

 si^n the slalemtnt made by the person or persons 

 who did hitrvest and measure il ; and lo be measured 

 between the fifteenth of JVuvember, 1838, and the first 

 of January, 1839. 



7. At least forty bushels of the vegetables, for 

 which a premium is claimed, (e.xcept onions and 

 common turnips.) are to be weighed, and 56 

 pounds free from dirt, will be considered as a 

 bushel. 



(From Transactions of the Gssex Agricultural Sociely.) 



ON IMPROVEMENT OF WET MEADOWS. 



The Committee on Improving Wet Meadow and 

 Swamp Lands, consisting of N. W. Hazen, Asa 

 T. Newhall, and Amos Sbeldeii, 

 Have received upon the subject referred to 

 them, the twocommunicatious which are anne.xed. 

 These sufficiently attest the facility with which 

 such improvements may be made, and the rich 

 benefts wlm-li, those may expect who undertake 

 to prosecute them judiciously. The committee 

 undeislood Mr Dalrynqile to state that the aver- 

 age cost of his mea<low land, which is that spo- 

 ken of in his statement, including the price which 

 lie paid for it, and all the expenses of cultiv.ition 

 for the first crop, would not exceed $25 00 per 

 acre,- and il appears, from the interesting narrative 

 which he has furnished, that he obtained for the 



p-oduce of a single acre in one year, the sum of 

 $100 50. 



It is striking to reflect bow many thousands 

 have emigrated to the wilds of the West, leaving 

 behind them New Kiiglaiid, with all its social ad- 

 vantages, and thousands of prairies just like this 

 di»covere<l by Mr Uairymple, in the very centre 

 nearly of the populous town of Lyun, — in pursuit 

 of lands that will allbrd a profitable cultivation : 

 quilting the homes and graves of their fathers 

 with an indift'erence, which wuuhl sometimes 

 seem to indii^ate that the cold calculations of in- 

 terest had impaired the force of some of the betier 

 feelings of our natures, in |iursiiit of a chea|)er 

 and more fertile soil, which the same enterprise, 

 better directed, would have taught them to find in 

 the " Wet Meadows and Swamp Lands " of their 

 own native farms. Add to the pro<luciiveness of 

 Mr Dairy mple's meailow the value which the 

 high privileges of New England confer upon all 

 the land situate within her borders, and be may 

 safely challenge Illinois, and even the bank.s of 

 the Rf.d River, for an instance of cultivation equally 

 profitable. 



The example afforded by the expeiiment of 

 Mr French, is scarcely less valuable to be pre- 

 sented to the farming interest, than that of Mr 

 Dalrymple. It is upon a small.-r scale, and such 

 as a majority of the farms in the county probably 

 atfi'rd an opporluniiy for cultivation. And Mr 

 French I'mtiier informs us, .that the necessary la- 

 bor was ilone at intervals afl'orded by the other 

 business of the farm. 



It would not be easy, by any commentary, to 

 add to the impressions which the statements of 

 Messrs Dalrymple and French cannot fail to make. 

 The Committee submit them without further re- 

 nifirk. They award the liighest premium of 

 twenty dollars to Orin Dalrymple, and the next of 

 ten dollars to Moses French. 



N. W. HAZEN. 

 For the Committee. 



December, 1837. 



ORIN DALRYMPLE'S STATEMENT. 

 To the Trustees of the Jls;ricullural Society for the 



County of Essex : 



Ghntlf.men — In my far.ii in Lynn, I have a 

 meadow of 70 acres, which eight years ago bore 

 irotbing but meadow hay, and produced about one 

 ton to the acre, of a poor quality. The meadow 

 was mostly filled with liassoes. I cut a ditch of 

 8 feet wide and 4 deep, through the centre of t!ie 

 meadow, and many other smaller ditches lo ilrain 

 the water into the large ditch. The length of all 

 the ditches is about four miles. The whole 

 meadow is covered by a soft black mould, from 6 

 to 9 inches, and then a greyish substance, I call 

 peat, from 9 to 15 inches deep, upon a pan of 

 clay and sand. 



Eight years ago the last fall, I (doughed 7 acres 

 of this meadow, and in the following spring I 

 sowed 3 acres with oats, 3 1-2 to 4 bushels, 1-2 

 bushel and 1 peck red top and 1 pound clover 

 seeil to the acre. In the summer following, I 

 harvested 50 bushels of oats to the acre. In the 

 Winter following, when the ground was frozen, 

 I carried on 10 cords of compost manure to the 

 acre. This compost contained two cords of night 

 manure, 4 cords of yellow loam, and 4 cords of 

 gravel, and was spread evenly over the ground in 

 the Spring, us soon as the frost was out. The 



following Summer I cut on an average, 3 tons to 

 the acre, of good, merchantable English hay. T be 

 following year the 7 acres produced 2 1-2 tuns to 

 the acre, and the third year two tons to tin 

 acre. The winter after the third cutting, I 

 top dressed the same land with the like compost, 

 ten cords to the acre. The next year the grass 

 was ei|ually good as the first year's mowing, b,ii 

 decreased in quanlity the two following years in 

 the same ratio as at the first inanuriu". 



Two years after my experiment upon the seven 

 acres, I went over about 3 acres of the same mea- 

 dow, while frozen, jind cut off all the hassocs, so 

 as to leave the ground sniuotli, and hauled off the 

 hassocs. In the \\ inter 1 carried on to the land. 

 10 cords to the acre, of manure from the slau"h- 

 ter house yard, where ] kept 8 or 10 hogs. Ea'riy 

 in the Spring, this manure was well spread upon 

 th<! land, anil I then sowed to the acre the like 

 kind and the same quantity of grass seed as I tlid 

 on the seven acres. The following summer 1 

 mowed the three acres twice. On one acre whicii 

 I measured, and about as good as tiny of the three 

 I cut the first time three tons of hay, which I sidt 

 at $25 the ton, the second cutting 1 1-2 ton, whicT 

 sold at $17. The whole ipiantity of hay upon onf 

 acre that year, amounted to $100 50. 'I he second 

 year I had an equally good crop on this land at 

 the first, but I ilid not cut the second crop, 'j'hc 

 third year the crop decreased, as the crop of thf 

 third year upon the seven acres. The winter af- 

 ter the third summer 1 carried upon this land ten 

 cords to the acre of the like compost as upon tht 

 seven acres. The next summer the crop wHi 

 equally good as the first crop upon the 7 acres, 

 but decreased the two following years, and kepi 

 pace with the 7 airres. i am well satisfied that nij 

 meadow should be manured, as I have done, and 

 with like quantity of manure, every winter aftei 

 the third cutting or third summer, and by this 

 management my meadow will continue to pro- 

 duce good crops of grass w ithout any other culti- 

 vation, except keeping the ditches v/ell cleared 

 out. [ consider this experifnent upon the tliree 

 acres the bist, considering the amount of labor j 

 and should have continued it tipim the reinaiiiinu 

 portion of my meadow, had the surface been 

 smooth and even, but It was very rough ntid un- 

 even, so that 1 was compelled to plough it. 



In the exact manner 1 treated the 7 acres the 

 three excepted, I have my whole meadow of 70 

 acres in good grass cultivation, all but 15 acres 

 which I ploughed last fall in order for sowing iai 

 the spiing. My crops ol oats and grass have beem 

 uniformly good as upon the 7 acres. The last 

 summer my oats were sown late, and I cut theni 

 for fodder. 



1 am, gentlemen, with due respect. 



Your humble servant, 

 ORIN DALRYMPLE. 



MOSES FREiNCIl'S SIATEMENT. 



To the Committee on the Improvement of Wet Mea- 

 dow and Swamp Lands. 



GeiNtle.ven — I submit for your consideration! 

 the following sialemenl. In 1822 1 bought one. 

 half of a lot of land containing between 6 and 7 

 acres, for whicii I gave the sum of 30 dollars, 

 and had the use of the other half, for the rent of 

 which no definite sum was fixed, hi 1827, i gav« 

 the owner ol the other half the sum of 45 dollar* 

 for a deed of the same, and in lull lor the use 'o| 

 tlio land up to that time. 1 



