FARMS. 167 



the farm. Witli this end in A'icw, 1 have reclaimed swamp 

 land partly by ploughing and cultivating it, and partly by 

 smoothing the surface, — removing hummocks and bus^hes, 

 ditching and draining the ground, and covering it with sandy 

 gravel and loam. Barnyard manure, or in other cases, guano 

 mixed witli sand, was then spread and harrowed in, and grass 

 seed sown. This has been done early in the fall of the year, 

 and the operation has, in every case, been successful. Find- 

 ing it inconvenient to cultivate distant parts of my mowing 

 land, I caused two acres to be turned over, and rolled and har- 

 rowed. Guano at the rate of three hundred pounds per acre, 

 and mixed with sand, was then spread and thoroughly incorpo- 

 rated with the soil by the harrow. Then grass seed was 

 sown, at the rate of one peck Timothy and one bushel red- 

 top per acre, and a light horse-harrow was afterwards passed 

 over the ground. The result of this experiment was so suc- 

 cessful that I have since repeated the operation several times, 

 under like conditions, and with like good returns. And I am 

 now convinced that it is much better for any one to follow the 

 same, or a similar course, than to cart manure from his barn, 

 to any considerable distance, and attempt to cultivate any land 

 suitable for grass. I have mowed grounds which had been laid 

 down in this way, for five or six years in succession, and ob- 

 tained good crops, — giving them, however, a top-dressing of 

 compost manure, or of ashes, once, or at most twice, in the 

 meantime. 



My method of cultivation has in general been this : to turn 

 the sward with a large plough, to the depth of six to eight 

 inches, according to the nature of the soil and the crop to be 

 grown. This 'is followed by a heavy roller, leaving the surface 

 flat and smooth. Corn and potatoes liave usually been the first 

 crop. The ground has been furrowed only in one direction, at 

 the distance of three and a half feet between the furrows ; and 

 hills have been made two and a half feet apart. I have some- 

 times spread green manure on the sod and ploughed it in ; but 

 more frequently have spread green manure after ploughing, 

 and harrowed it in, and then put into each hill half a shovel- 

 ful of well-rotted compost. Formerly the subsoil plough was 

 made to follow the grass plough, in the same furrow, loosening 

 the earth to the depth of twelve to sixteen inches ; and the 



