102 



MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



RECEIPTS. 



Account of stock on hand, November 15, 1861 

 One horse, ...... 



Two cows, ...... 



One hog, ...... 



Five tons English hay, .... 



Sixty bushels corn, ..... 



Eighteen bushels barley, .... 



Straw and corn-fodder, .... 



Received for beef, calves, pork, pigs, and butter 



EXPENDITURES. 



Account of stock on hand, November, 1860 : 



Horse, cows, and hogs, .... ^169 00 



Hay, fodder, and grain, . . . . 70 00 



Paid for hay and grain, . . . . 86 00 



for blacksmith's and mason's work, . 11 00 



^19 23 



NoKTH MiDDLEBORo', November 15, 18G1. 



336 00 



$83 ^3 



Suppfement to Report on Farms. 

 Of all the professions by which men earn a livelihood, that of 

 tilling the soil, under favorable circumstances, seems to offer 

 most opportunities for various knowledge of nature, and for a 

 sound development of intellect and heart. The farmer con- 

 stantly lives in the presence of that beneficent power which, 

 silently and unseen, works all the wonders of creation and 

 change, ever retiring before the steps of the advancing observer, 

 and luring him on to greater depths and profounder mysteries. 

 He goes to his work at dawn, and witnesses the wakening of all 

 life, feels its intensity during the day, and at night sees it sink 

 calmly to repose. He is called upon oftener than other men to 

 observe the growth of tree and flower. For the results of his 

 labor, he is dependent upon the influence of sunshine, dew, 

 rain, and storm ; hence he nmst be an intent observer of every 

 change. Apart from the excitement of crowds, his life may 

 seem monotonous ; truly so it cannot be, for he is always sur- 

 rounded by the activities of nature, the best stimulant of thought 



