66 



THE FARMERS MONTHLY V I S 11 O K 



May, 1842. 



side-hill above, cleared off fiom tlie ground now 

 converted into pasture or from a field ploughed 

 up to be laid down to S'nss. have been disposed 

 of out of sight. These covered rocks extending 

 in all directions cany off the redundant cold 

 water, and the soil stirred to a good depth by the 

 plough, have made the land highly productive in 

 hay. It probably will continue to jirodiice lor 

 ages with no other than u surface application of a 

 few loads of compost manure once in a half a 

 dozen years. 



High u|) the hill is the pasture ground produc- 

 ing where the ground hns been cleared of a por- 

 tion of the rocks, abundance of summer feed for 

 the cows: lower down is the highly productive 

 inowing field: at the bullom, is the sunken mo- 

 rass, on which an interesting experiment has 

 been made by ditching. Here the effect of two 

 operations is seen. There are several owners of 

 this low swamp. One or more of them have 

 tried the experiment of ditching, turning oyer 

 the bogs and applying rich manure. A portion 

 of the swamp belonging to the Asylum has been 

 prepared by ditching — by paring and burning or 

 carrying away the upper sod and supplying its 

 place with a "surface of saud and gravel brought 

 from no very great di-^tance, mixing witli these 

 and the black swamp soil some eight or ten loads 

 of barn or compost manure to the acre. Tlie 

 swamp treated in this way produces eicellent 

 herds grass and red-top hay at the rale of more 

 than two Ions to the acre, while the other land 

 yields comparatively little. Tlie swamp evident- 

 ly wants the warming influence of sand and 

 gravel to counteract the extreme cold sourness 

 of the black soil, which of itself is too cold to 

 force vegetation without the aid of a stimulant. 



The superior farming and gardening at the 

 Worcester Asylum has undoubtedly contributed 

 much to awaken the farmers in and near llie 

 beautiful village of Worcester, now approximat- 

 ing a city in its elegant laiildings and in its in- 

 creasing business, to that point of improvement 

 which is every where a|)parent. That tlio.se 

 who make the improvements do well for them- 

 selves is evident to ;ill who look about their pre- 

 mises, and conclude from the fair exterior that 

 comfort and intlupendence find their welcome 

 residence along side of industry and diligence. 



Cold Water Song. 



UV riKRPONT. 



Air — " Auld Lang Syncr." 

 Shall e'er cold water be forgot 



When we sit down to dine ! 

 O no, mj' friends, for is it not 



Poured out by hands divine ? 



Poured out by h:inds divine, my friends. 



Poured out by hands divine ; 

 From springs and wells it (tushes forth. 



Poured out by hands divine. 



Cold water too, (tho' wonderful, 



'Tis not loss true, again)— 

 The weakest of all earthly drinks 



Doth mike the strongest men ; — 



Doth ninke Ihe strongest men, my friends, 



Doth make the strongest men : 

 Then let us take that we.akest drink 



.■Vnd grow the strongest men. 



And as the bulls of tulip turn. 



To drink the drops that fell 

 I'rora Summer clouds ; — then why should not 



The two lips of a belle ? 



The two lips of a belle, my friends-, 



The two lips of a belle, 

 What sweetens more than water pure, 



The two lips of a belle ? 



The sturdy oak full miny a cup 



Doth hold up to the sky. 

 To catch the rain ; then drinks it up. 



And thus the oak getn high ; 



'Tis thus the oak gets liigh, my friends, 



'Tis thus the oak gets hinh ; 

 By having water in its cupi". 



Then why not you and 1 ? 



Then let cold water armies give 



Their banners to the air ; 

 So shall the boys like oaks be strong, 



The girls like tulips fair ; 



The girls like tulips fair, my friends, 



The girls like tulips fair. 

 The boys shall grow like sturdy oaks. 



The girls like tulips fair. 



For the Farmer's Monthly Visitor. 



Mr. Hill— Si> ; You will recollect that some 



timesince Imenlioned toyou that I had been 



oporatinj upon some meadow hollow.; or low 



lands, and suggested ihat I might furnish some 

 account in writing of my experiments and the 

 results. 



A few years since I purchased about fifteen 

 acres of land bordering on the northerly bank of 

 the Bradford branch of the Contoocook, nearly 

 all of which was in its natural state, and a part 

 of it was low swampy land, but so located tluil it 

 could be drained by ditching. About liulfof the 

 whole is now under some sort of cultivation. — 

 But it is mainly my purpose at this time to speak 

 of my operations upon the low lands. The 

 growth of wood in these places was principally 

 ash, hemlock, and alders, and after the wood was 

 cut off, the produce was fire weed, brakes, f^ags, 

 and sundry other sorts of wild herbage lor which 

 I am unable to furnish names— and not at all 

 comely to look at nor proiiiisiug as to |)roHt. — 

 Under such circumstances 1 set about reclaiming 

 these waste places. I would here mention that 1 

 have had with me, this being the third season, a 

 son of Erin, ([uick and sensitive when he suppo- 

 ses himself crowded upon but true and faithful 

 when he is satisfied that he is well treated, who 

 has been a prominent operator in this busines.s. — 

 In a dry season of ihe year I had ditches dug of 

 sufficient depth to dniin off the water— then lUig 

 around and drew off the stumps and roots- 

 took off the old wood which was on the surface 

 or embedded in the mud and also the brake ham- 

 mocks— then dug up the soil with a large hoe 

 look out the pieces of old wood aud wild roots, 

 and after the clods were sufficiently dried, level 

 ed the surface with the hoe and rake, and then 

 before the fall rains, scattered on herds grti.ssaud 

 clover seed with a liberal hand. The soil being 

 composed principally of decayed vegetables aud 

 wash from the neighboring high lands, 1 drew on 

 no manure nor any additional soil — but I should 

 think that meadows which cannot he sufliciently 

 drained, would require some such addition. I 

 had large crops of grass last year, and the pros- 

 pect is, that they will be still better this year. — 

 On one piece there was last year lierdsgrass 

 and clover taller than I ever saw before. I have 

 inctiri-ed considerable outlay iu this business, but 

 I ihink the crops will pay good interest on th 

 invi!,-itmcnt. Be tliisa.s it may, I have the gratifi 

 cation of seeing thousands of spears of valuabl 

 grass now growing where formerly there was 

 none. If you lia|i(>«n to pass this way soon, you 

 may see a small piece of the reclaimed land of 

 whu'.b 1 have spoken, on the southerly side of the 

 post road between the north meeting houL-e and 

 the iiiill village iu Bradford ; aud you will not 

 perhaps find a more verdant spot between Con- 

 cord and Claremont. 



ir iu what I have written you find any fiict or 

 sugL'c.siiou which may be of any service to the 

 agririiltural inteiost, 1 have no objection to your 

 making it know!) to the public through the col- 

 umns of your valuable Monthly Visitor. 



W. TAPPAN'. 



Bradlbrd, N. II., May, I84'3. 



From tlie Cheshire Republican. 

 The Agricultoral School. 



.\t a meeting of the Cheshire County Associa- 

 tion tor the improvement of Agriculture and the 

 Mechanic Arts, hnlden at the Cheshire House in 

 Kecuc, on Tuesd:iy the a5tli day of Jan., 1842— 

 John Conant, Es(|., one of the Vice Presidents, 

 was called to the chair by the President. 



Mr. Smith, chairman <if the cominitlee appoin- 

 ted at the annual meeting in October last to con- 

 ti'r with John Conanl, Esip, of Jatfiey, relative to 

 the donation of his tiuin to the Asscn-iatioii lor 

 ihe establishment of an Agricultural School, pre- 

 sented the report of said committee, which was 

 adopted after some pertinent remarks by Mr. 

 Prentiss, of Keene. 



The resolutions accompanNing the report of 

 Col, Smith were then taken up, and on motion of 

 Mr. Page of Keene, were axlopted. 



Fb/edf, That, in order to carry into effect the 

 .second resolution, a committee of three be rais- 

 ed to call the Central Committee, with power to 

 appoint a siib-commillee, consisting of one from 

 each town in the county. 



In accordance with a vote of the Association, 

 Messrs, Bitmap of Nelson, Baker of Troy, and 

 Farr of Westmoreland, were appointed by Ihe 

 chair to nominate the Central Cnuimittef, who 

 reported 



Beiuiiah Cooke of Keene, Saniiicl Wondwnrd 



of Gilsum, and Abel Blake of Keene, for said 

 committee, which report was adopted. 



John K. Smith of Dublin, Calvin Page of 

 Keene, and John Felt of Jaffrey, were apjiointed 

 to cany into effect the third resolution. 



Voted, That the report of Col. Smith be pub- 

 lished, with the proceedings of this meeting, in 

 the papers pulilislied in Keene, and in the Farm- 

 er's flloiilhly \ isitor. 



Voted, To adjourn sijie die. 



SAMUEL WOODWARD, Sec'y. 



The committee appointed at Ihe last annual 

 meeting of the Cheshire County Associaliou for 

 the promotion of Agriculture and the mechanic 

 arts, to lake into consideration the proposition of 

 John Conant, Esq., of Jaffrey, to make a dona- 

 tion of the liirm on which he now resides to said 

 Association lor the purpose of establishing a 

 School in which scholars may be instructed the- 

 oretically and practically in Agriculture and in 

 the natural sciences connected "therewith, and al- 

 so be qualified for superior usefulness as teach- 

 ers in common schools, 



REPORT, 

 That, in pursuanci; of tlieir appointment, the 

 committee met at the farm aforesaid on Tuesday 

 the 7th day of December ult,, and made such ex- 

 amination of il, as, at that season of the year, 

 was practicable. It occupies a high swell of 

 land about a mile and a half north of the centre 

 village of Jaffrey on the road to Dublin. Its ele- 

 vated posilion cominaiuls a fine prospect towards 

 the south and east, while on the west and north- 

 west, the lotly Monadiiock, 



'■ Lilts up its bald suuimit in pride to the sky," 

 giving a crandeur and beauty to the landscape, 

 rarely equalled, and affording a high gratification 

 to the lover of iiatinal scenei-y. 



The farm appeai-s to be of a strong, deep, fer- 

 tile soil, is w.'ll adapted to lillageor graziiig,and, 

 under the skilful management of its present pro- 

 prietor, hns liberally repaid the expense of culti- 

 vation. From accounts of the annual sales of 

 stock and produce of the farm, for the last nino 

 years, it appears that the gross amount has varied 

 iiom five hundred to eleven hundred dollars per 

 amium. The firm is also well watered, wooded 

 and fenced. The fences are mostly of suhstaii- 

 tial .stone wall and in good condition.^ The 

 buildings consist of a two story bouse, of wood, 

 30 by 40 feet on the ground anil well finished ; 

 three barns, wood-house, carriage-house, cider- 

 mill, anil piggery, all of which are in good re- 

 pair. From Ihe examination, and from informa- 

 tion obtained in the vicinity, your committee ad- 

 judge Ihe farm and appurtenances to be worth at 

 least fiiur thousand dollars. 



At this meeting Mr. Conant renewed bis offer 

 in writing of which the Ibllowing is a copy, viz: 

 " Be it remembered that I, John Conant of 

 Jaffrey, in the county of Cheshire and stale of 

 New Hampshire, feeling a deep interest in the 

 advancement of Agriculture and the iinprove- 

 ineiit of Primary Schools, did. on the eighth day 

 of October last, offer, as a donation, the firm on 

 which I now reside, in Jaffrey, containing about 

 two hundred aud thirty acres of land, with tho 

 buildings thereon .tnd the privileges and appur- 

 tenances thereunto belonging, (not meaning to 

 include the Gibbs furm, so called, nor about ten 

 acres of pasture and woodland situated north of 

 est of the road, nor a small piece of land 

 about three-fourths of an acre on which the dis- 

 tillery stands, nor my cultivated meadow consist- 

 ing o"f about six acres,) to the Clieshire County 

 Association for the promotion of Agriculture aud 

 the Mechanic Arts, for the purpose of founding 

 a school iu which Science and Agriculture should 

 he taught in connection, or in other words, where 

 young men should be educated scientifically and 

 practically in all the multifaiioiis branches of 

 Agriculture and the natural Sciences connected 

 therewiili, and qualified lor teachers in primary 

 schools, in which it is exiiected that all the stu- 

 ■ ■" ■ ■ e practic al operations of 



1 the said Association did 

 a committee to take the 

 subject into consideration, I therefora do hereby 

 and by these presents renew theoffer of .said do- 

 nation to said Association throuih Jonathan K. 

 Smith, chairman of said commitlce, and agree to 

 convey said farm, &c., to said Association for the 

 purjioses above mentioned — provided that within 

 one year from the said eighth day of October 



