FARMS. 9 



it. This is a great mistake. The bounty of the Common- 

 wealth, and the awards of this society, do not contemplate the 

 mere outlay of money. The combination of economy, judg- 

 ment, taste, and labor is what should be aimed at ; and other 

 things being equal, wc deem that the most meritorious case in 

 which much has been done with comparatively small means. 

 What we most desire is to see the farmer " magnifying his of- 

 fice," alive to all its dignity, facilities, and excellence. Believ- 

 ing, as we do, that there is no profession which requires more 

 good sense, and affords more real enjoyment, than this, we 

 earnestly wish that farmers, as a body, would seek a higher 

 development of their- own intellectual nature, while they ren- 

 der their farms more and more productive. 



Charles Babbidge, Chairman. 



Statement of Josiah Bigelow. 



The farm I invited you to inspect, known as the " Dana 

 Place," in Groton, I purchased in the fall of 1849 ; it contained 

 about forty-eight acres — keeping at that time one horse, one 

 cow, and a few hens, and from it were sold yearly about 

 eight or ten tons of hay, and sometimes a few winter apples, 

 besides what were raised and consumed by the family. One- 

 half of the farm had, probably, never been ploughed, but was used 

 as mowing land, and the quality and quantity of hay was inferior. 

 The other half was considered by most people as rather dry 

 and poor land. The buildings were badly arranged, incon- 

 venient, and out of order, and the whole enclosed by an old 

 and weak rail fence. Every thing assumed an unpromising ap- 

 pearance except the location, which was good. I remodelled 

 the dwelling house, added two rooms, made a dairy, cellar, and 

 ice house in the north part, and a cistern capable of holding a 

 supply of water sufficient for the dryest time. I have made 

 about eighty rods of close board fence, five and six feet high, 

 with stone underpinning, to enclose about six acres with the 

 house and other buildings, and built a new barn, one hundred feet 

 long, now filled with hay, with a good cellar under the whole. 

 I have also put up a building for a granary, henery, and pig- 



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