89 



or what promises to bo a garden after a few years more of 

 labor is l)est()wed upon it. In accomplishing this result, 

 great good is done, inasmuch as it encourages others, who 

 have sm'iU means, to turn in the direction of the land for 

 support. If it is proved that five, six or eight hundred dol- 

 lars a year can be realized from the cultivation of a small 

 homestead in Massachusetts, in Essex County, it surely must 

 attract attention, and lead to the rapid taking up of the tens 

 of thousands of acres of cheap, but good, lands whicli are 

 now entirely neglected. Mr. Goodwin enters largely into 

 the cultivation of fruits and vegetables, which find a readv 

 sale in the near cities of Haverhill and Lawrence. His fruit 

 trees are young, l)ut very thrifty, and his vines give promise 

 of heavy crops in the coming years. There are many hun- 

 dreds of acres of gaod pasture land in the county, — land as 

 good as that upon which Mr. G. is at work, — which can be 

 purchased at about $25 per acre ; and to these neglected acres 

 special attention is called. The Chairman of this Committee 

 purchased, a couple of years ago, sixty acres of most excel- 

 lent land, at a cost of $20 per acre, and this is situated not 

 more than two miles from the city hall in Haverhill, with a 

 population of 15,000. It is this class of lands, of which 

 there is an abundance, which invites the attention of young 

 men and mechanics who do not find constant employment. It 

 is hoped that the Farm Committees will have in the coming 

 years many "fiirms" to inspect, which are now comparatively 

 unproductive and valueless, and that Mr. Goodwin's example 

 will be largely followed. 



For the Committee, 



Jas. E. Nichols, Chairman. 



STATEMENT OF EUFUS GOODWIN. 



I bought my place, which contains ten acres, in October, 

 1871. I did not go on it myself till April, 1873. Three 



