HAMPDEN SOCIETY. 196 



George Dickinson^s Statement. 



The field contains 4^ acres, lying on the north side of the 

 Great Meadow, so called, in Hadley, contiguous to the river. 

 The last crop of rye previous to this, was taken from the land 

 in 1848. The stubble was ploughed in during the fall. In 

 the spring of 1S49, it was manured with barnyard manure, at 

 the rate of eight loads to the acre ; a part of it was ploughed 

 in, a part cultivated and harrowed. It was planted to corn, 

 broom corn and potatoes, yielding a fair crop of the two former, 

 but the crop of Indian corn was light. In the spring of 1850, 

 the stalks being burnt off, the land was ploughed from six to 

 nine inches deep, and manured with stubble manure, spread 

 and harrowed in, at the rate of thirteen loads to the acre, and 

 planted with Indian corn. A part of the seed failed ; the crows 

 and worms took their share, so that the field was very poorly 

 stocked, yielding only about twenty-eight bushels to the acre. 

 The ground was then ploughed from eight to ten inches deep, 

 and sown with rye one bushel to the acre, September 2 1st. 

 The crop was harvested last July, and yielded one hundred 

 and thirty-five bushels, or thirty and six-sevenths bushels to 

 the acre, at a cost of fifty-six cents the bushel, including half 

 the cost of the manure applied the present year. 



Hadley, Nov., 1851. 



Christopher and Austin IVrighVs Statement. 

 We off'er for premium the following crops; first, a crop of 

 oats raised on one acre and seventy-one rods of land. In the 

 spring of 1849, this lot was turfed, ploughed and planted to 

 broom corn ; used ashes and not any manure ; obtained from 

 800 to 900 pounds of brush to the acre. In the spring of 

 1850, ploughed the broom stalks under, with fifteen to eighteen 

 loads of green manure, and planted to Indian corn and pota- 

 toes, and received a very good crop. Last spring ploughed, 

 sowed and rolled the same to oats, sowing (April 12th) three 

 bushels of oats to the acre. Obtained ninety-one bushels, or 

 about sixty-three bushels per acre. The oats were cut July 

 29th ; straw rather green. 



