100 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



Feb. 



to yield 35 to 40 bushels to the acre, of fine Middlesex, 15 bushels, $9,50, crop one-third less 

 grain, and this on a rocky, shallow soil. It was on account of drought ; Worcester, 25 bushels, 

 done by thorough plowing — 9 to 12 inches, — and Wheat — Essex, 12 bushels ; Middlesex, 18 ; — 

 liberal application of manure, of home manufac- 1 Worcester, 15; Berkshire, 17; Hampden, 15; 

 ture. The crop of straw often yields $10 or $15 Franklin 15. 



per acre. Of wheat, any man, with good culti- 

 vation, can raise 30 to 40 bushels per acre ; this 

 had been demonstrated by Mr. Poor, of Andover. 

 Oats, too, may be cultivated to good advantage ; 

 he had known 50 bushels per acre to be raised. 

 All these grains can be raised advantageously, 

 with good cultivation — the ground well pulver- 

 ized and manured. He did not believe lands 

 could be manured well, except with that made on 

 the farm. 



Mr. Dodge, of Sutton, said tliat cereals had 

 not proved a profitable crop in Worcester coun- 

 ty. Ten years ago, 50 or 00 bushels of barley 

 per acre were obtained, but of late years, no 

 grains could compare with grass as regards pro- 

 fit. He would like to know if there was any 

 method by which they could secure good grain 

 crops in that county. He thought the rye crop 

 might be made profitable to farmers, on account 

 of the demand for the straw. He did not think 

 lime could be used in Massachusetts. It is a 

 deadly enemy to the manure heap, dissipating 

 the ammonia which it contained, and if used on 

 land in connection with other manures, would 

 produce the same effect. 



Col. Newell said that a few years ago, bar- 

 ley died out in Essex county, but last year he 

 raised 50 bushels to an acre, and he thought it 

 was coming round again. 



Mr. Jenkins made the same remark in regard 

 to barley, and rye, also. He considered rye the 

 most profitable grain crop which can be raised in 

 the eastern part of the State. He would like to 

 hear this revivification of crops explained. Was 

 it owing to the soils or the atmosphere ? He re- 

 ferred to the fine wheat crops of Mr. Poor, al- 

 luded to l)y Mr. Proctor, and remarked that he 

 had seen them. Other farmers in the place had 

 equally good crops, but for the last few years, 

 and since Mr. Poor sold his farm, good crops have 

 not been raised, and the crop seemed to have left 

 them. He wished farmers to try experiments on 

 a small scale with lime and other manures, to see 

 if the small cereal grains could not be raised with 

 a certainty of good crops. 



Mr. Flint, Secretary of the Board of Agricul- 

 ture, read some statistics collected by him the 

 past year, showing the average crop of certain 

 grains in different counties of the State the past 

 season. Of oats, in Essex, an average of 35 

 bushels to the acre, at a cost of $11, not including 

 manures. Worcester, 25 bushels, at a cost of 

 $9. Barley — Essex, 28 bushels, at cost of $11, 

 crop one quarter less, on account of drought ; 



Mr. Fay, of Essex, made some interesting re- 

 marks in i-egard to the culture of grain in this 

 country and in England. He thought that the 

 decline in the production of wheat in this State 

 was owing to the system of cultivation which had 

 been pursued. We began by cutting down the 

 forests and raising wheat without manure, until 

 those qualities required by it are exhausted ; and 

 this system is still being pursued all over the coun- 

 try. In England and Scotland, where he had 

 travelled extensively, the same system was at 

 first pursued, getting large crops at the outset, 

 and then rapidly diminishing. To remedy this 

 evil, they resorted to underdraining, high culti- 

 vation, and rotation of crops, and by this means 

 their exhausted lands have been made the finest 

 in England. Lime is there considered an essen- 

 tial ingredient, and it has been applied to all 

 these lands. Our lands can be brought to the 

 same high state of cultivation, by a proper rota- 

 tion of crops and high manuring, and he was con- 

 fident that Massachusetts could grow wheat as well 

 as any other State in the Union, when we pursue 

 the right course in this respect. He knew of no 

 better land anywhere for growing wheat than the 

 valley of the Merrimack. Drilling is the only 

 mode of planting grain in England, and almost 

 every other crop is planted in the same way, a 

 machine being used which manures the ground 

 and drops and covers the seed at the same time. 

 The crops are also hoed Avhile growing, which 

 adds greatly to the yield. The wheat crop in 

 England and Scotland, is a certainty, on account 

 of systematic cultivation. Mr. Fay thought the 

 great variation in the yield of wheat on the same 

 soil in this country, was owing wholly to a varia- 

 tion in its cultivation. It had not failed in 

 Egypt for 900 years, and need not here if the 

 land is properly cultivated. 



After a few remarks from ^Ir. Proctor in re- 

 gard to manures, the meeting, at a few minutes 

 past 9 o'clock, adjourned. 



Wire Fences. — Charles Cowley, Esq., of 

 Lowell, the Agent of the Manufacturers of Wire 

 Fences, has prepared a lecture or two on the sub- 

 ject of fences, which he will deliver upon invita- 

 tion. He lios drawings to illustrate his subject, 

 and will be able to give some startling facts with 

 regard to the cost offences in the State, as well 

 IS to suggest how the object of fencing may be 

 effected at a less cost, and with infinitely more 

 beauty and harmony with the natural scenery of 

 the farm. 



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