NORFOLK SOCIETY. 305 



the bushes eradicated, and the most part is now first rate grass 

 land. Some part of it was low, wet land ; — too wet to pro- 

 duce any valuable crops. This has been under-drained, by 

 digging more than two hundred rods of trench, two and a half 

 feet deep ; filling in with fifteen inches of small stones picked 

 from the land, and these stones covered with two or three 

 inches of leather shavings. The remainder of the trench was 

 filled with soil. The apple and pear trees have been pruned, 

 some of them grafted, and all had the land around them culti- 

 vated. Have gathered the present year, ninety barrels of win- 

 ter apples, and quite a number of bushels of pears, without 

 setting out any more trees since it came into my possession. 

 The first year I owned it, the produce did not exceed five bar- 

 rels." So far Mr. Nev/hall. He is understood here to speak 

 only of the portion of his lands occupied by Mr. Breck. On 

 other lands he has planted many trees, and been a successful 

 grower of fine fruits. We happen to know, also, that he has 

 done much in the way of subsoil ploughing, trenching, manur- 

 ing and enriching, — both on the lands hired by Mr. Breck, and 

 on those to which he gives his personal attention. The barn 

 built by him, and used by his tenant, is one of the largest and 

 best we have ever seen. Therefore, in judging of Mr. Breck's 

 farming, we must bear in mind the much that has been done, 

 and well done, by Mr. Newhall, in the preparation of soil and 

 buildings. It is rarely the case that a tenant can find a farm 

 so well prepared in advance for producing plentifully, as this 

 one was when its present occupant took it. A strong, heavy 

 soil, almost clayey, never exhausted by tillage and. hard crop- 

 ping, now first made fit for the plough, relieved of its super- 

 fluous waters, filled with manure, and faithfully worked over 

 with every suitable implement, is in just the best condition for 

 yielding plentifully, in which it could be put. Therefore, 

 unless Mr. Breck shall show good results very few will be 

 ready to ascribe to him any peculiar merits as a farmer. His 

 own statement is brief, containing little more than figures. But 

 these figures indicate that he must have been a hard worker, a 

 good planner, and successful in money-making. 



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