APPENDIX. xlvii 



most lovely September morning, when, in company with my highly 

 esteemed friend, the president of the Middlesex South Agricultural 

 Society, we left the Old Colony depot, by the eight A, M. train, 

 and arrived at Hyannis about twelve o'clock, M. Immediately 

 taking the boat, we were soon making our way for the island of 

 Nantucket, on a very rough sea, which made this part of the trip 

 rather unpleasant to one unaccustomed to travelling by water. On 

 our arrival we were met by our friend, James Thompson, who took 

 us immediately to his most hospitable home. 



We soon visited the hall of exhibition, where the ladies were 

 gathered in considerable numbers, all seeming anxiously interested 

 to hang appropriate mottoes, arrange the fruit, drawings, paintings, 

 and all the beautiful handiwork usual on such occasions from the 

 hands of the ladies, in the most attractive manner possible ; and I 

 think when the arrangements were completed, and the ladies con- 

 sulted in regard to the beauties of the hall, they all felt abundantly 

 rewarded for the time and labor expended. 



We next visited the farm of James Thompson, where we were 

 shown a herd of jDure bred Jerseys, of rare beauty and promise. 

 This farm is managed in a very economical manner ; and I should 

 judge, from the general farm arrangements, is one of the most suc- 

 cessfully conducted farms on the island. We were kindly con- 

 ducted by Mr. Thompson to other parts of the island, where we 

 saw other herds, and the usual varieties of stock kept iipon farms. 

 There is some very good land on the island ; still, I think there are 

 thousands of acres that do not produce an income of one dollar 

 per acre, or have growing upon them a single tree of any variety. 

 I felt surprised, that a people of so much intelligence, enterprise, 

 and wealth, did not put this land to some better use than lying in 

 this wild, idle, barren and unsightly condition. 



In the evening we again visited the hall and lower room, where 

 the tables were loaded with the product of fami labor ; every de- 

 partment seemed to be well represented. I found the farmers very 

 intelligent and communicative. Mr. Charles Pauls stated that from 

 one acre of land, manured only with two hundred loads of kelp, he 

 raised ninety bushels of shelled corn. Other gentlemen had been 

 equally successful with different farm crops, by the use of kelp and 

 some barnyard manure. May we not expect where nature has so 

 generously furnished the manure, that these waste lands ere long 

 will be made a source of profit in the hands of those intelligent 

 and enterprising agriculturists. 



Several specimens of nice butter were on exhibition, Charles F. 

 Swain taking the first prize. Some good cheese was shown ; 



