1855. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



187 



hill, he might have what he could get in this 

 way. He was glad of the job, and made good 

 wages. The rest were left to grow, and the pro- 

 duce, notwithstanding the late planting, the 

 natural dryness of the spot, (a gravelly knoll,) 

 and the fact tliat so much of the strength of the 

 manure was withdrawn by the stalks cut for fod- 

 der, was as handsome corn as you would wish to 

 see. 



Some potatoes planted with the corn, and in 

 the same way, were among the very best I raised. 



Agricola. 



AGRICULTURAL PREMIUMS. 



Every observing person, as he passes through 

 the various sections of our State, cannot fail to 

 notice that very important advances have been 

 made in the art of agriculture during the last 

 ten years. Improvements are evident in many 

 particulars ; and a prominent one, observable 

 everywhere, is the reclamation of low meadows, 

 heretofure sacred to frogs, flags and febrile dis- 

 eases, partially inundated, and covered with a re- 

 luctant growth of moss-enveloped trees, in a 

 state of decrepitude from their youth, and al- 

 ways appearing entirely too old for their age. 

 Beyond affording a few berries in summer, a lit- 

 tle coarse herbage for cattle during extreme 

 droughts, and sundry loads of black alders, hact 

 ma tack or swamp maples for fuel, they were of 

 no use to the farmer, save as "a receptacle of 

 things lost upon earth." They were an offence to 

 the nostrils, a foul blotch upon the landscape, and 

 a plague to their possessors. But, lo! see what In- 

 dustry, aided by the fair hand of Science has 

 done. From this chaos of materials, and these 

 Stygian rivers, we may see not only the greeneiSt 

 lawns in April, and the full harvest in July, but 

 the most delicate garden products, whose roots 

 find rich pasturage in the light, porous, and con- 

 genial soil, drained, lightened and penetrated by 

 the cheering rays of the sun. Not only the more 

 hardy vegetables, but the delicate celery, broccoli, 

 the strawberry and choice flowers of tiie garden, 

 find a position and aliment which they like, and 

 from which they present their most perfect organ- 

 izations. 



Now, redeemed from their "reign of terror," 

 thou-sands of acres of these bogs, once worth from 

 five to twenty dollars per acre, will sell at from 

 fifty to two hundred dollars, according to the po- 

 sition which they occupy. It is now ascertained 

 that they are among our most profitable lands ; 

 tliat when once reclaimed and brought into "good 

 heart," they will yield a fair profit, for a greater 

 number of years, than any other lands we pos- 

 sess. 



The Draining of uplands, has also brought 

 many tracts of cold, springy land, into a warm 

 and friable condition, and capable of producing 

 the finest grain and grass crops. But though 



productive of excellent results, already, the prin- 

 ciples of this art are not generally understood, 

 and consequently much valua1:ile labor is lost for 

 want of a proper direction. 



Another obvious improvement is in the division 

 of lands. Instead of dividing fields into lots of 

 one, two, three, or four acres, farmers are taking 

 out fences, and giving themselves ample scope in 

 extended fields, and thus cutting off the "unprof- 

 itably gay" furzes, and mulleins and burdocks, 

 that "hug the walls," and find moisture and 

 warmth under their protecting sides. At the 

 same time these generous fields give an air of am- 

 plitude and character to the homestead, which is 

 gratifying to the possessor, and pleases the travel- 

 ler of taste as he passes along. 



The appearance of the rural gardens of the 

 State shows that the teachings of the agricultu- 

 ral papers and the farmers' clubs have not been 

 uttered in vain. 



Better plowing, better modes of planting, and 

 harvesting, and a truer taste in the architecture 

 of the farm buildings, all attest that there is a 

 spirit of inquiry awakened among the people, and 

 that healthful progress will follow. 



But none of these were the particular points 

 upon which we intended to remark when we 

 began this article. In looking over some of the 

 premium lists of the present year, an unusual 

 liberality in the sums appropriated to premiums, 

 and a wider range of objects introduced, was no- 

 ticed, than we remember to have seen Ijefore. 

 It led us to notice how systematic and complete 

 are the operations of our county societies, and 

 how their arrangements are calculated to reach 

 everybody, the small farmer, remote from the 

 large towns, as well as the amateur and exten- 

 sive cultivator. 



These attempts by the farmers themselves to 

 "improve the soil and the mind," incites good 

 men to offer still further inducements to progress; 

 so we find in Essex county that the Hon. Ricu- 

 ARD S. Fay, of Lynn, has generously placed at 

 the disposal of the Trustees of that county the 

 sum of two hundred dollars, for the following 

 purposes, viz. : — 



1. For the best and most satisfactory experi- 

 ment with a mowing macliine, operated by two- 

 horse power, on not less than fifty acres, on any 

 farm or farms within the county, $50,00. 



2. For the best and most satisfactory experi- 

 ment with a one-horse mowing machine, on not 

 less than twenty-five acres, on any farm or farms 

 within tlie county, $25,00. 



3. For the licst mowing machine, $25,00. 



4. For the best and most useful agricultural 

 implement, not being a mowing machine, $20. 

 Second best do., $15. Tiiird best do.. $10. 

 Fourth best do., $10. Fifth best do., $10. Sixth 

 best do., $10. Seventh best do., $5. Eighth 

 best do., $5. Ninth best do., $5. Tenth best 

 do., $5. Eleventh best do., $5, 



