Vol. v.— \o. 1(!. 



NKW ENGLANS) FAEli\JESL 



12H 



un\bcrs, anJ for curly potatoes, &c. First plant 



; beds with early potatoes ; iit the same time 



"^fe iv ratlish and lettuce seeds, mixed together. — 



lion the railishcS are pulled, tliiii the lettuce, 



ivinjj a sufficient nuautity for a crop ; !)y the 



lie the lettuces aro tit for cuttinjx, the potatoes 



iu to cover the bod. After the lettuces are all 



t, you should put .some of tlie leixf-uiould close 



to the steuis of the i)0tatoos, whicii will run 



ry fast into the fresh manure, and produce a fine 



irly crop. When you have dug up the potatoes, 



te off all the fine vegetable mould, till you come 



the leaves that are not y.t rotten ; then with a 



)rk turn up tlie leaves, adding some fresh leaves 



I the same time, which will cause a fresh heat to 



ome up in the bed ; when this is done, put on the 



"■hts, and keep them close for three or four days : 



f the weatiier be fine and clear, there will, by 



lat time be a fine sweet gentle heat.* " You 



lay then sow or plant melons or cucumbers in the 



eds. 



When the heat begins to decline, and the fruit 

 o swell, put u fresh lining of leaves, two feet and 

 half broad round the beds. The beds may be 

 )ro'.;°n up the second wiater ; by which time you 

 vill find the top part of tlism rotted to a fine black 

 egetablo mould, which will be the best manure 

 or tiees. 



A good cent of manure once in two or three 

 years vviU be .^utficient for the borders where the 

 wall trees stand,and much better than dring,which 

 I by no means approve of for trees, unless it be 

 perfectly rotten and mixed up with mould. 



Some of the leaves will be found not quite rot- 

 ten at the bottom of the beds ; these may be mix- 

 ed up with fresh dry leaves from the park, garden, 

 &c. and used for making new beds." — CobbetTs 

 Edition of Forsi/th on Fruit Trees. 



It has long been a complaint of agriculturists 

 that potatoes of the best quality can hardly be rais- 

 ed excepting on what is called new land, or land 

 lately ckare J from the woods which covered it in 

 a state of nature. Such land we know has been 

 manured with leaves and probably for centuries. 

 It is tlien a very likely supposition that leaves ap- 

 plied as manure to old land, may apply the kind of 

 food most congenial to the potato ; and give to 

 fields long under cultivation the power of produc- 

 ing as fine potatoes as those ;i6!e lands which have 

 just been reclaimed from the aboriginal forest. 



The Vieunng Committee of the Hartford County 

 Agricullurid Society, respectfully make the follow- 

 ing R. port. 



We entered upon our duties at the farm of Capi. 

 Grant, of Wintonbury. Tliis is now v.ell known, 

 as a large farm, which has for several years, been 

 in a train of improvement, principally, by the Vv'ell 

 directed labor of our state paupers. Most of the 

 improvements made upon the farm, with its pecu- 

 liar management, have been already reported by 

 your Committee ; we would, therefore, only say, 

 that it still presents a very enlivening view of the 

 various operations of Agriculture, Horticulture, 



' * What is here said about the use of leai^es in 

 the course of their rotting is not altogether appli- 

 cable to America ; but it will be very useful for 

 the American phinter to know, that rotten leaves 

 are so useful, as he can always get enough of 

 tiiem. Nor would hot-beds of leaves be altojreth- 

 er useless in America for spring lettuces, cucum- 

 bers, radishes, &c. 



and .several of the mejhatiic arts. A well arrang- 

 ed .system is mlopted in all the operations of the 

 house, the farm, and the work shop. More atten- 

 tion is paid to collecting and saving manures, 

 here, than we have seen elsewhere ; some of the 

 lands ore judiciously irrigated ; and, by passing 

 through the hog pen, every weed that grows upon 

 the borders of the iields, or the skirts of the farm, 

 is made to contribute to the nourisiiment of some 

 valu'ible crop. 



The farmof JNIr Aaron Goodman, which we next 

 examined, lies in West Hartford, on the .\lbuny 

 Turnpike. It is of a kind, easy soil, naturally not 

 very productive, and rendered less so, by misman- 

 agement or neglect. Most of the land which we 

 examined, had, until recently, lain for several 

 years, iu very poor pasturing, or indifterent mow-; 

 ing. Mr Goodman has made a thorough and lib- 

 eral use of the plough, and has, already, begun to 

 reap t'rom it, important benefits. His fences are 

 excellent, and his whole farming concerns are 

 mai'.aged in such a manner, as to siKJW a hand- 

 some profit. 



The 1 jrm of Mr Preserved Marshall of Farming- 

 ton, was viewed by your Committee, last year, and 

 for some valuable improvements upon his moun- 

 tain lands, he received the second premium of the 

 Society. His exertions appear still to be unre- 

 mitted, and his example seems to be effecting a 

 desirable change among farmers in this neighbor- 

 hood. 



The practice of renovating exhausted lands, by 

 clover, and that of keeping them in a productive 

 state, by a rotation of crops, which appear to be 

 gaining ground, in that part of the county, may 

 be attributed to those who, with Mr Marshall, 

 have proved their utility, and their practical re- 

 sults. 



We next looked at the farm of Mr Edward 

 Jt oodruf, also of Farmington, which consists of 

 about four hundred acres of mountain land. In 

 different parts of the farm, we saw, upon a few 

 patches, marks of very good farming ; with these 

 exceptions, we have hardly seen a more rough or 

 forbidding tract. In justice to Mr Woodruff, wo 

 would state, that he entered his farm, not for a 

 premium, but that its present situation might be 

 seen, and known ; as he is about commencing a 

 system of operations for reclaiming this wide 

 waste. Of his plan, we know nothing, wo cannot 

 therefore judge of its practicability ; but regard 

 with peculiar interest, a young man displaying a 

 degree of energy and enterprise, sufficient for 

 such an undertaking. The \s hole family present 

 in all their concerns, a cheering example of indus- 

 try and economy. 



The farm of Mr Moses Goodman has been fa- 

 vorubly noticed in former reports. The most val- 

 uable part of i;is farm has been reclaimed from an 

 unsightly and unproductive swamp, and rendered 

 one of the most fertile and beautiful meadows in 

 the county. This and the light lands adjacent 

 have been greatly improved by a judicious inter- 

 change of sods, each contributing, in an important 

 degree, to the Tertility of the other. Mr Good- 

 man's time and attention have, for many years, 

 been exclusively devoted to his farm, and every 

 inch of it bears marks of the hand of industry, 

 guidfcl by good taste and sound judgment. 



Most subjects connected with good fanning ap- 

 pear to have received a due share of kis attention. 

 The stock is unusually fine, and the dairy of the 

 very fir.st order. In his old age. Deacon Goodman 



is in the full enjoyment of health, and compciencs 

 — the natural consequences of a life of hard labor 

 and temperate living. 



Mr IVard H'ond'.>rid;.;e has been in possession of 

 his farm, in West Hartford, about three years : 

 and, in tiiat sliort time, more than half of it consis- 

 ting of ninety acres, has been converted, from cold, 

 sour low lands, nnd a worn out ridge, into beauti- 

 ful and productive fields, Johnsv.ort is followed by 

 a lu.xuriaut growth of corn and potatoes ; Hard- 

 hack has given place to Timothy ; and miserable 

 serpentine fences are superseded by substantial 

 ones, wliich are a fine specimen of neatness and 

 accuracy. The buildings are neat and convenient, 

 and the barns are constructed with a commenda- 

 ble degree of attention to the important subject of 

 manure. 



We rejoice to find scientific men engaged in our 

 favourite pursuit, with the zeal which is here evin- 

 ced; and doubt not that, under the directing hand 

 of its proprietor, aided, as he is by the manual 

 skill of Mr Tuttle, the present tenent, this farm 

 will soon become a model of systematic husband- 

 ry. 



The farm of Mr Harvey Marshnll is on the 

 Wethersfield road a mile south of Hartford. — 

 When it came into the hands of Mr Marshall, two 

 years since, it was, and for many years had been 

 improved as a pasture ground. Although natural- 

 ly of a rich, warm soil, the crop was poor both in 

 quantity and quality. With this Mr Marshall ad- 

 opted a course somewhat novel, but completely suc- 

 cessful. By a very abundant top dressing of man- 

 ure in the fall with herdsgrass seed, and a free 

 usf? of the harrow, he now cuts two large crops of 

 the first quality of hay. Situated as he is, the 

 same labour' and manure could in no way have 

 been converted to so ready a profit. In the result 

 of this experiment, he has not only a pecuniary 

 jeward, but a more important one arising from a 

 consciousness of having made more than " two 

 spires of grass grov/ where but one grew before." 



While on our tour, we have seen among farmers 

 whom we have visited, very pleasing and we think, 

 increasing marks of industry, — more attention to 

 improved modes of culture, and a wiser appropria- 

 tion of lands, than heretofore, — and an increasing 

 attention to the important principles of profit and 

 loss ; and congratulate the County on having so 

 many examples of that true independence, which 

 of right belongs to " the lords of the soil." 

 By order of the viewing cQinmittee, 

 SAMUEL S. STEBBINS, Chairman. 

 The award on Farms was as follows : 



To Moses Goodman, of Hartford, for the best 

 cultivated Farm. .$.30 



To David Grant, of Windsor, for the Second 

 best do, 20 



To Ward Woodbridge, of Hartford, for the 

 third best do. 10 



So plentiful is the crop of apples and pears, that 

 we understand several, gentlemen on the eastern 

 side of Stirlingshire are now actually feeding their 

 pigs with the abundant fruit. [Stirling Journal.] 



The British ports have been opened for the ad- 

 mission of foreign rye, oats, peas and beans. In 

 consequence of this, grain has risen on the conti- 

 nent of Europe, and in this country. Flour has 

 advanced iu New York from 25 to 37i cents per 

 barrel. Canal flour is worth from $5,25 to .$5,37. 

 Wheat $1,03, and more is asked. 



