194 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



April 



than 12,000 fruit trees, and a variety of fruits of 

 fine quality in considerable abundance. In fact, 

 he so managed it, as to be able to sell enough to 

 support himself and his mother, from the products 

 of this reclaimed acre ; thereby saving the town 

 more than $100 a year, to which they would oth- 

 erwise have been properly subjected. In the close 

 of his statement, he exclaims with devout rever- 

 ence of that Providence which had so greatly fa- 

 vored him, 



"I am monarch of all I survey; 



My right there is none to dispute." 



"Who will say that this humble cripple did not 

 sleep as soundly and enjoy as much as does the 

 monarch of all the Russias ? 



In my reference to the association of farmers at 

 Danvers, the point I intended chiefly to illustrate, 

 was the benefits that accrued to the flirmers them- 

 selves. Each thereby became informed of the 

 more successful operations carried on around him, 

 and the means whereby they were brought about; 

 and having learned these, he would no longer be 

 delving on in the old way, realizing only half as 

 much as his neighbor. A man will work content- 

 edly when he does not know that others are doing 

 better than himself, but when he does, he soon be- 

 comes uneasy. No man will be content to grow 

 but thirty bushels of corn to the acre, when by 

 the same exertion properly applied, he could se- 

 cure fifty. Does not this illustration explain the 

 condition of the farmer in Massachusetts at the 

 present time 1 Has it not been again and again 

 demonstrated, that on lands of only moderately 

 good quality, more than fifty bushels of corn to 

 the acre can readily be grown 1 Why then should 

 the farmer be content with their present crop, of 

 this indispensable grain, averaging at present little 

 more than thirty bushels to the acre ? What is 

 true of this crop is applicable to most others. 



Let me illustrate the position I have taken, by 

 reference to the farm of Mr. J. D. Brown, of this 

 town, the interesting account of the cultivation of 

 which has lately appeared in the admirably ar- 

 ranged pamphlet of the Middlesex Society ; and 

 which if I mistake not, commanded the first premi- 

 um of this society. Does not this show his crops 

 to have more than doubled in a very few years — 

 and this under a mode of culture that brings its 

 own reward ? I know there may be a hot-bed 

 growth — that costs more than it comes to — but 

 such cultivation cannot be approved. What is 

 wanted, is a mode of culture that yields fair crops, 

 and at the same time, leaves the grounds in im- 

 proved condition. Another instance is to be found 

 in the same book, on Mr. Wheeler's farm of forty 

 acres, which, if I understand his statement, has 

 been made to yield a nett income of $20 an acre, 

 for the whole farm — that is, an income of $800 a 

 year from a farm of forty acres. Now, sir, apply 

 $300 of this to contingencies, you will have $500 

 left, which is double the amount usually realized 

 by cultivators of the soil. I have purposely re 

 ferred to these home illustrations, in Middlesex, 

 because, if I am wrong, there are those present 

 who will correct ray errors. Though I could re- 

 fer to instances of the culture of vegetables in Es- 

 sex, that would go far ahead of the samples men- 

 tioned. 



Whoever reflects upon the tenure of the soil in 

 Massachusetts, as well as in most of the N. E. 

 States, cannot but be impressed with the influ- 



ence of this tenure upon its culture. To ensure 

 successful culture, "the tiller of the soil should 

 have an interest in the soil he tills." What in- 

 ducement has the tenant-at-will to make improve- 

 ments 1 Possibly, his landlord may not advance 

 his rent in proportion to the improvements made ; 

 hwi three chances out oj four, this will be done. 

 Adam Smith says, in England, the tenant has for 

 his labor, the smallest fraction whereby he can 

 live — and whoever suspected Yankee landlords of 

 being more generous than Englishmen 1 Generosi- 

 ty is not a marked trait of character, in this land, 

 in those who hold the title to large possessions. 

 Generally, it is found in the inverse ratio of their 

 possessions. 1 would sooner hope for a favor from 

 the honest laborer, who earns a support for his 

 family and himself by his daily toil, than from the 

 conceited proprietor of many acres, who lives by 

 the industry of others. In this free country, no 

 man is fit to live, who is not willing to work for a 

 living. 



It was sagaciously remarked, by the late John 

 Randolph, of Virginia, "The time will come ere 

 long, when masters will run away from their 

 slaves, and be advertised in the newspapers." 



This wise saying was based on the fact, that 

 those who tilled the soil in Virginia, and other 

 slave-holding States, had no personal interest in 

 the soil they tilled. How important then, so to ad- 

 vance the conditions of every efficient laborer, that 

 he may entertain the well-founded hope of being 

 an independent free-holder, and of leaving to his 

 children and children's children, the direct bene- 

 fits of his labor ! 



LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTURAL MEET- 

 INGS. 



Ni.NTH Meeting — Tuesdav Evening, March 22, 1853. 



The ninth meeting of the season was held at the 

 State House on Tuesday evening, Mr. Brown, of 

 the Farmer, in the chair. 



The subject of the '■'■Preparation and Application 

 of Manures'''' was taken up, and continued through 

 the evening. 



Mr. Brown, upon taking the chair, alluded to a 

 report of discussions in the New York Farmer''s 

 Club, strongly corroborative of the remarks made 

 by him at the last meeting in regard to the waste 

 of manures. It appeared by statements made by 

 Mr. Robert L. Pell, of Ulster Co., that the ni- 

 trogen contained in the excreta of one person 

 would grow, in combination with the aid of the 

 ammonia, phosphates and sulphates obtained from 

 the atmosphere, 800 lbs. of wheat per year — at 

 which rate the population of Boston (15,000) 

 might furnish sufficient to raise 120 million pounds 

 of wheat yearly. Add to this a small quantity of 

 ashes and bone dust, and with the natural resources 

 of the farm we could bring up our lands to an 

 amazing degree of fertility. Mr. Pell stated that 

 he had put 40 cords of cattle manure on an acre 

 of land, costing $80. By removing the liquid from 

 the ordure, and using the nitrogen only, sixteen 

 pounds, worth fifty cents, would be of equal bene- 

 fit, and $80 worth of this latter would enrich 160 



