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the time is [not far distant when it will be a model farm, and 

 entitled to the Society's highest premium. 



In view of the energy and intelligent industry displayed by 

 Mr. Webster, resulting in so many farm improvements, the 

 committee award a gratuity of thirty dollars. 



For the Committee — James R. Nichols. 



STATEMENT OF RICHAED WEBSTER. 



The farm I enter for a premium, I bought in 1859 for 

 $1950 00, and it contains about forty acres. Fourteen of this 

 was called field land ; the remainder bush pasture, with alders, 

 birches, etc., and about one hundred cords of oak, pine, and 

 maple wood standing, and would pasture three head of cattle ; 

 and I wintered the first year I was on the farm — 1860, one 

 cow and horse, by buying about a ton of hay. Around all of 

 the walls in the fields, was a margin of bushes from three 

 to fifteen feet wide, being sprouts from oak, ash, cherry, and 

 other stumps, which I had to dig out by the roots ; and by many 

 of the walls loads of stone had been dumped for the sake of 

 convenience. In one field I hauled off over thirty cords ; in 

 other fields were a large lot of boulders, and I blasted about 

 three hundred, around many of which were bunches of bushes 

 growing. In one of my best mowing fields of four acres, I cut 

 in 1860 less than three quarters of a ton of poor hay. The 

 blasting has been done principally by myself, and required 

 over seventy pounds of powder. When I commenced on this 

 farm, I had no experience in farming, having spent my 

 time previously mostly at mechanical pursuits, and went to 

 farming on account of ill health. I had done no work of any 

 amount since the spring of 1857, and was far from well when 

 I began farming. I commenced a series of accounts with dif- 

 ferent crops to see which was the most profitable to raise, and 

 have kept accounts on crops five years, and on farming up to 



