MK. king's address. 13 



nothing belter than to recommend to you the method practised 

 for several years with great success by Elias Phinney, Esq. of 

 Lexington. A farmer should use his eyes as well as his hands 

 — he should be willing to learn fiom the experience of oiliers 

 as well as from his own. From the fields of Lexington we may 

 learn lessons of husbandry as well as lessons of patriotism. 

 There is nothing selfish or exclusive in the feelings of an eji- 

 lightened and enterprising farmer ; with him, next to the 

 pleasure of receiving information is that of communicating in- 

 struction. Without offering an apology to Mr. Phinney, 1 shall 

 make an extract from his Address delivered before the Society 

 of Middlesex Husbandmen and Manufacturers in 1830 ; nor 

 shall I ask your indulgence for using the sentiments and words 

 of another, for this may be the only part of my remarks which 

 needs no indulgence. " In May 1828, the field, (the soil of 

 which is thin loam upon a gravelly sub soil,) having lain three 

 years to grass, and the crop of hay so light as to be worth not 

 more than the expense of making, with a view of ascertaining 

 the quantity of vegetable matter upon the surface, I took a sin- 

 gle foot square of green sward, and after separating the roots 

 and tops of the grasses from the loam and vegetable mould, it 

 was found on weighing to contain nine ounces of clear vegetable 

 substance, giving, at that rate, over twelve and a quarter tons to 

 the acre. This convinced me of the importance of taking some 

 course, by which this valuable treasure might be turned to good 

 account. That a great part of this vegetable matter is exposed 

 to useless waste, by the usual mode of ploughing, cross plough- 

 ing and harrowing, must be obvious to any one. In order, 

 therefore, to secure this, as well as the light vegetable mould at 

 and near the surface, which is liable to waste from the same 

 causes, I had two acres of the green sward of this field turned 

 over with the plough as smoothly as possible. After removing 

 the outside furrow slices into the centre of the plough-land, and 

 thereby effecting the double purpose of covering the vacant 

 space in the middle, and preventing ridges at the sides and ends, 

 the field was rolled hard with a loaded roller, by which the un- 

 even parts of the furrows were pressed down and the whole 



