300 



ii (a sja © w a a ^ 3 129 



RE P O RT S 



MASS. AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY IN 1850. 



Continued from page '2'Sd. 

 DESTROTNO BEE MOTH. 



10. Mr John Stone, of Sudbury, in flliddlesex, 

 lias made known his nietliod of securing his bee- 

 hives from the beo-moth. The committee re- 

 commend the publication of this statement, con- 

 sidering every iiint on this subject as wortliy of 

 notice ; but as the same in substance has been re- 

 commended by others, they do not think it merits 

 the premium. 



I, Jolin Stone, of Sudbury, in tlie county of 

 Miihllesex, and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 

 do testify and say, that I have kept bees, for the 

 term of ten years last past ; that for several years 

 my bees were much injured by the beemoth, so cal- 

 led ; I lost two hives of bees, which were wholl) 

 destroyed by them ; every bee was killed and ali 

 the honey and cnnib consumed, and the hive filled 

 with web. In the spring of 1824 or 182.5, about 

 the first of April, I raised my hives about § of an 

 inch, by putting a small block of that thickness^ 

 under each corner of the hive ; immediately the 

 bees commenced the work of destruction upoi; 

 the moth-worm, and entirely cleared the hives of 

 them. I have followed the practice ever since 

 and have never received any injury from the bee- 

 moth, the worm having been invariably destroyed 

 by the bees, and brought out of the hives. The 

 hives have remained in this situation till the month 

 of October, when I have taken away the blocks 

 and let them down. Johjt Stone. 



EXTIRPATING BORER. 



11. Mr David Prouty, of Hanover, Plymouth 

 County, has sent a letter to the Trustees, dated Oct. 

 19, 1830, on the subject of the Apple Borer, which 

 the committee advise to have published with this 

 report. They fear, however, that no effectual 

 remedy has yet been formed to extirpate this most 

 mischievous worm. They invite further attempts 

 to destroy this enemy of our favorite fruit tree. 

 Respectfully submitted, 



P. C. Brooks, Chairman. 



To the Trustees of the Rfassachusetts Agricultural Society. 



Ge.vtlemen — The cheapest and most effectu- 

 al mode of extirpating the Borer that attacks the 

 apple tree, which has come to my knowledge is 

 the application of sharp, coarse gravel, applied as 

 follows : viz. dig off" the'tiirf about 4 inches deep, 

 6 inches to a foot from the tree ; spread about 

 half a common cart-load of the afore described 

 gravel, so as to come in close contact with the 

 tree — this article the borer dislikes, and immedi- 

 ately makes his escape ; — this has been entirely 

 and completely successful in my orchards for 

 three years past ; it may have been tried by others, 

 l)ut I have seen no account of it. I would re- 

 commend a general trial the ensuing year, having 

 the fullest confidence in its entire success. 

 Very respectfully. 



Your most obedient and himible servant, 

 Damel Proutv. 



Hanover, Oct. 19, 1830. 



ON THE BEST CULriVATED FARMS. 



The Committee appointed by the Trustees to 

 examine and consider the claims for premiiuiis for 

 the best cultivated Farms, submit the following 

 Report. 



NE\\ ENGLAND FARMER, 



The Committee have been disappointed to find 

 only two applications for premiums, for the best cul- 

 tivated Farms. They flatter themselves, however, 

 that this has not happened through any indifference 

 to the subject, among our intelligent and respecta- 

 ble farmers, but to its novelty, and their not receiv- 

 ing notice in season to comply with the conditions 

 pre.scribed. They are the more confirmed in this 

 opinion, from finding that one of the applicants 

 states, that he received information that such a 

 premium was oiTered, only two days before he 

 tnade out his statement on the IStli of October. 



The public will perceive, that the Trustees have 

 appropriated a considerable portion of their income 

 to this object. It was done after much considera- 

 tion, and a full persuasion that it would prove 

 useful. The only doubt they have ever enter- 

 tained of its expediency arose, from the district, 

 over which the society extends, being so large that 

 it would not be practicable for the Trustees, per- 

 sonally, to visit and inspect the farms of the ap- 

 plicants. In this respect, the local or county soci- 

 eties have a great advantage over ours. They 

 can inspect the farm of every applicsnt, and ver- 

 ify or disprove his statements with their own eyes. 

 Premiums for this object have been granted by 

 some, if not all of these societies, for several years 

 past, and in the judgment of your committee, 

 are among the most profitable to the public that 

 can be proposed. 



To remedy these disadvantages on the part of 

 this society, as far as possible, the Trustees accom- 

 panied their offer of premiums, with a require- 

 ment of a full and particidar statement by every 

 applicant, of the number of acres in his farm, 

 the quality of the soil, the proportion of tillage, 

 mowing, and pasture, his manner of making ma- 

 nure, the quantity and manner of using it, the 

 rotation of crops he found most successful, and 

 the quantities of those crops, and other particulars 

 specified in their publication, in January last, an- 

 nouncing the premiiuns they proposed to give. 

 These statements, it was intended, should, like 

 specifications anne.xed to patents for manufactures, 

 be so full and particular, as to enable any intelli- 

 gent farmer who should read them, to adopt the 

 whole, or so much as he thought applicable to any 

 of them, in the management of his own farm. 

 Applications, it was expected, v/ould be numerous, 

 and the statements accompanying them, when 

 published, it was thought would impart to agricul- 

 turists information adapted to their case, and on 

 which they might with safety rely. By these they 

 might learn the opinions and practice of skilful 

 and practical farmers, who cultivated the same 

 kinil of soil, and paid like prices for labor with 

 themselves. The high character of om- respecta- 

 ble farmers for veracity and fairness, was consid- 

 ered a sufficient pledge against any intentional mis- 

 representations or misstatements ; and if it shoidd 

 happen that some of the statements should be a 

 little exaggerated, it was thought the evd could 

 not be great ; since at worst it would be the state- 

 ment of a good farmer of what he considered the 

 best way of cultivating such land, or perhaps a 

 slight exaggeration of his crop. Even this might 

 be more safely trusted, and he more useful, than 

 a mere theoretical essay of an inexperience'l man. 



The Trustees were sensible, that in requiring 

 this particular statement from ap|)lieants, they im- 

 posed on men sotne care and trouble, but it was 

 believed they would not be unwilling to submit to 

 a necessary degree of both, for the benefit of thei' 



April 6, 1831. 



brethren ; and that they might also justly 

 some gratification in exhibiting to the public this 

 way and means by which they successfully pur* 

 sued the most honorable and useful calling of o 

 citizen. They intended, moreover, by the libera! 

 premiums they offered, to bestow a bounty oni 

 the successful candidates. 



These are some of the motives and views whicl^ 

 influenced the Trustees in establishing preniiurai 

 for the best cultivated farms ; and they still cherj 

 ish the expectation that a generous competitioi 

 for tlieni in future years, will render them a su 

 cessful means of conveying practical inforniatioi 

 founded on actual experiments, to the agriculturist! 

 of our country, 



]\Ir E. Ware who for several years past has beei 

 tenant of a farm in Salem, belonging to the hei: 

 of the late Col. Pickman, has claimed a preniii 

 um fi)r this farm. By his statement, which wi; 

 he published, it appears that the farm containi 

 428 acres, ofwhicli 300 are rocky and broken lam 

 and used as a pastui'e ; 63 are English mowingj 

 44 salt marsh and meadow, and 21 tillage, 



This farm is situate near a market town, Sa-, 

 lem ; and the principal object of the tenant is 

 |)roduce milk to supply that market. He appea 

 also, to derive a considerable profit from appleSi 

 He enjoys, moreover, the advantage of purchasi 

 ing manure when needed ; and what is better, 

 making it from eelgrass, kelp, and rockwee 

 which he gathers from the beach, and the formei 

 eelgrass, jjutsinto his hogpen and cowyanl,and th< 

 latter spreads green on his grass land. Bog nind 

 he likewise carts into his barnyard, and mixes with 

 other manure. 



Mr Ware lias not given so particular an account 

 of his rotation of crops as could be wished, but' 

 as his purpose was to keep as many cows as his? 

 farm woidd support, it is to be presumed he kept' 

 his land up no longer th^n was necessary to sub- 

 due, mellow, and renovate it. 



His potatoes were principally raised on land 

 newly broken up, on which manure, at the rate 

 of eight or ten cords to the acre, taken from the 

 barnyard, and composed of litter and deposits of 

 the cattle, was spraad and ploughed under the sod. 

 He states that he has found fresh or loner manure 

 best for corn and iiotatoes, and the old and rotten ' 

 for small vegetables, especially tap rooted articles.' 

 This, it is believed, is no new or uncommon^ 

 opinion. Mr Ware also, says, that he never putsf 

 manure of any kind on his land the year he sows* 

 with small grain, that he usually lays it down with< 

 barley in the spring, and that he has often been •' 

 successful in taking ofli'a crop of early potatoes ii»' 

 the fall, and sowing grass seed alone upon the land 

 tlie same year. The crop must be gathered ear- 

 ly, to render this advisable. His pi-actice, he says 

 has been to sow a peck and a half of herdsgrass, 

 and three pecks of redtop to the acre. These 

 quantities, we believe, are greater than are usual-' 

 ly sown, but his crop of grass, nearly two tons to 

 the acre, for more than sixty acres together, seems 

 to prove that the seed was not unprofitably expen- 

 ded. In many parts of the state, it is to be leap- 

 ed, farmers suffer from being too sparmg of their 

 seed. 



It'is worthy of remark, that it is the opinion of 

 Mr Ware, founded on considerable experience,- 

 that Indian corn derives no sup])ort to the stalks, 

 nor any other advantage from hillitjg, and that the 

 roots will be bettor nourished, and the corn less 

 likely to be injured by the drought or wind, where 



