62 



New England, and especially in tliis State . In the South the case 

 is still more strongly marked, for while good schools here are the 

 rule, there they are the exception. 



A lack of churches is another thing very keenly felt by a person 

 going from the East to another section, and unless one is fortunate 

 enough to obtain a farm near some city or town, he must deny him- 

 self the privilege, or contribute liberally to build up and maintain 

 such a society as suits him. Still another disadvantage which is 

 met by persons not Uving in a well populated region, is the want 

 of society ; it will be the more unj^leasant from the fact that a far- 

 mer's habits and mode of hf e, tend to make him enjoy the company 

 of others, and be of a free and hospitable disposition. 



"With regard to the animals on the farm, he should be so situated 

 as to continually improve them by judicious breeding. It is hardly 

 probable that a young man wiU have capital enough to permit him 

 to buy thorough-bred stock, so he must locate where he can avail 

 himself, as far as possible, of blooded stock. Now having enumer- 

 ated some of the requirements of the farmer, let us see where the 

 most of these can be satisfied. Let us begin in the same order as 

 before, first with the soil. It is a recognized fact that there are few 

 if any sections, where a person can get a soil adapted to such a 

 variety of crops, as that of the Connecticut river valley, and 

 especially that part in Hampshire county. "We hear of the large 

 crops of the "West, in grain, hay, tobacco, &c., but here we get a 

 larger crop per acre, as we shall presently see. 



Taking the figures as given by a recent writer on the subject, and 

 -comparing the common crops of both regions, we reach the follow- 

 ing results. Beginning with corn ; in the year 1867 the corn crop 

 of Massachusetts compared with that of Ohio and Texas, was 35 

 bushels for Massachusetts, and 28 bushels for Ohio and Texas. 



The value of an acre in Massachusetts was from $50 to $54, in 

 Ohio from $20 to $23, and Texas from $17 to $22. For wheat, the 

 average yield in Massachusetts was 16 bushels, Ohio 15 bushels, 

 Texas 9 bushels ; while the wheat of Massachusetts was worth $2.75 

 per bushel, or $44 per acre, that of Ohio was about $2.40 per 

 bushel, or fi'om $27 to $30 per acre, and Texas $1.90 or from $17 to 

 $18 per acre. 



These figures are for the grain alone, but while the corn stover is 

 <jomparatively worthless in the "West and South, here it is worth 

 from $10 to $15 per acre, and for straw the difference is fully a-^ 



