192 HAMPSHIRE, FRANKLIN AND 



the water which covered the lower parts and carrying it com- 

 pletely away. The land was then left to drain one year, after 

 which the swampy part of it was sufficiently firm to support 

 the weight of a heavy team, consisting of three yokes of oxen, 

 a large plough and three men, who were able by much hard 

 labor°to plough one acre in three days, or at about that rate. 

 The work was thoroughly done and the sods turned completely 

 upside down, to the depth of eighteen inches or more. 



The following spring I worked a large cultivator, drawn by 

 two pairs of oxen, upon the surface, and then used a fine sharp 

 tooth harrow for breaking the lumps of earth ; after which I 

 planted it with potatoes. The crop was very abundant, and 

 larger than any crop I had ever raised. The year after, I 

 ploughed it with a pair of horses, and not wishing to disturb 

 the old sod previously turned under, I did not suffer the plough 

 to run so deep as before. After harrowing it and gathering up 

 the stumps and rubbish that usually cover the surface of new 

 land, it presented a smooth and beautiful appearance. The 

 manure I applied was a compost of ashes, lime and plaster, the 

 principal ingredient being ashes. Of this I put a single hand- 

 ful in each hill, and immediately planted Indian corn. The 

 next year I planted broom corn and put five loads of fine ma- 

 nure in the hills. The yield was fully equal to that of the 

 best and most valuable lands in this vicinity. 



The receipts from the five acres, treated in this manner, for 

 the first three years of their improvement, after making a lib- 

 eral allowance for all expense of labor and manure, are $80, 

 over and above the expenditures, reckoning the products at 

 their market value. 



Since that time, I have planted it with broom corn every 

 year, using five or six loads of manure to the acre, and have 

 never failed of realizing a handsome crop, with the exception 

 of the past season, which is a remarkable one throughout 

 this whole region, on account of the failure of this crop. The 

 land is now entirely reclaimed from its original worthless con- 

 dition, and is as valuable and productive as any we have. 



I will now give an account of the other part of this piece, 

 containing about three acres, and which was so elevated 



