116 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



hundred dollars, which enabled them to furnish their house 

 very comfortably. Now we may consider James as fairly 

 settled in tlie world. He determined in the first place to pay 

 for his little farm, and at the same time to improve it as much 

 as possible. His wife entered into all his plans, and assisted 

 him with a hearty good will. She was willing to deny herself 

 many present gratifications for the sake of permanent inde- 

 pendence. He made his house as comfortable as he could, by 

 such repairs as he could make himself, and decided to lay out 

 but little upon it until he could fairly call it his own. About 

 four acres of his pasture lot, which lay a quarter of a mile from 

 his house, had so much young wood upon it, that he thought it 

 best to let it grow up to wood. The remainder, about six 

 acres, he concluded to clear up, and bring into a more produc 

 tive state. During the winter, after he was married, he cleared 

 the wood and stumps and brush from about two acres, and thus, 

 with the addition of a few old apple trees, he collected wood 

 enough for another year. In the spring, he procured a hun- 

 dred young apple trees and set them out on a part of the field 

 which he had cultivated the previous year. He had learned at 

 Dorchester, that fruit was a profitable crop. He made a good 

 selection of thrifty trees, and took much pains with their culti- 

 vation, and in a few years his orchard was considered the best 

 in the whole neighborhood. In the spring, he laid out his work 

 for the year, with much care and forethought. By the help of 

 his pigs and his stock, and the compost material which he had 

 provided the previous year, he had quite a pile of manure. 

 This he overhauled and mixed well together. He laid down 

 two acres of the field of the former year to oats and grass, and 

 ploughed up two acres more. As soon as he had completed 

 his planting, he set about collecting material for compost ; 

 indeed, he kept this object steadily in view the whole year. 

 He scrubbed up his headlands, digging out the bushes, and 

 throwing the soil into heaps, to be carted home whenever he 

 had leisure. Twenty acres of his land lay in one piece, inclin- 

 ing a little to the west ; a portion of it was cold, springy land. 

 During the year he cut two more ditches, for the double pur- 

 pose of obtaining material for bis yard and sty, and of improv- 

 ing the quality of the grass. This year also, he worked out 

 with his team to the amount of more than a hundred dollars. 



