HAMPSHIRE SOCIETY. 309 



river towns have divided their farms with their sons, and erect- 

 ed a new set of buildings throughout; and have yet again sub- 

 divided with their sons, and again erected new buildings. It 

 is remarkable to find all these barns and granaries together, on 

 the old homestead, filled to their utmost capacity. This is 

 what is meant by making two or three acres out of one. It 

 shows, conclusively, the capacity of land under a high and 

 judicious system of cultivation. But adding acre to acre, by 

 purchase, beyond a suitable sized farm, adapted to its owner's 

 circumstances, seldom, if ever, contributes much knowledge of 

 agriculture. Here, the leading object seems to be to nhulliply 

 acres — to enlarge the area of territory — to grasp all the eye can 

 see or the purse can reach. These are the farms on which are 

 found, generally, dilapidated buildings ; barns and granaries 

 but scantily filled. The owner finds neither time to feed his 

 plants or his cattle. And how can he ? His spears are few 

 and far between, and his cattle must count the cost as they 

 eat. 



There were five farms entered for premium, viz. : three in 

 Hadley, one in South Deerfield, and one in Belchertown. 

 Your committee visited all of them, on or about the first of 

 July, and four of them on the first of September. 



Your committee feel a great delicacy in awarding only two 

 premiums, among so many deserving competitors. After ma- 

 ture consideration, we have awarded the first premium, of ^20, 

 ,to Linus Green, of Hadley; and the second premium, of $12, 

 to Moses Stebbins, of Deerfield. 



Mr. Green's farm is situated in the east part of Hadley, near 

 the west line of Amherst. It is in the form of a large basin, 

 with its northern and western sides a little elevated, and its 

 southern a little depressed. Nature seems to have been more 

 lavish of her gifts in the formation of this farm, than in any 

 other, probably, of its size, within the limits of the society, 

 and its owner has been shrewd enough to appreciate and fully 

 carry out the plan and design of nature. He has so divided 

 the farm as to have nearly all his tillage land and pasturing on 

 the elevated parts, and his meadow ground near the centre of 

 the basin. Thus laid out, it is utterly impossible for any fertil- 

 izing matter once put upon the farm to escape, before it is 

 completely exhausted. Its tendency is from the circumference 



