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years' cultivation. It consists of about twenty-eight acres of 

 high, plain land. Several acres of it had just been laid down 

 when I came here, upon which the expected crop of grass was 

 almost entirely lost. Part of these acres were made to yield a 

 haTidsome growth of white clover, by the application of plaster, 

 at the rate of a bushel per acre. I have since used plaster and 

 salt upon the same land, — in the proportion of one part salt, and 

 three parts plaster, — applying the same quantity per acre, with 

 still better results. The remainder of this lot, — about an acre, — 

 was ploughed, manured moderately, and planted with corn for 

 green fodder, and the crop was very large. Other portions of 

 the pasture have been cultivated and planted with corn and po- 

 tatoes, followed with spring wheat, or winter rye and grass seed. 

 One part, where the soil is lightest, was simply ploughed, rolled 

 and harrowed, and sown with rye and grass seed in the fall. 

 After the seed had started, plaster and ashes were spread, at the 

 rate of six bushels, nearly equal parts, per acre. The grain 

 grew well, and in the spring the ground was harrowed with a 

 light harrow, and rolled again. The result of this experiment was 

 satisfactory. I have continued to spread ashes, or plaster and 

 salt, or a mixture of both, on pasture ground, up to this time ; 

 and I am satisfied that the effect fully warrants the annual outlay 

 of expense and trouble. It should be added, that, in laying 

 down a large portion of this land, I have not failed to sow a 

 quantity of white clover with Rhode Island grass seed. 



As the result of these operations, I am now able to keep a 

 much larger stock of dairy cows than had been kept here before, 

 and, of course, to enlarge the quantity of manure. 



Next to the improvement of pasture land, I have endeavored 

 to increase the relative quantity of English hay to be cut upon 

 the farm. With this end in view, I have reclaimed swamp land 

 partly by ploughing and cultivating it, and partly by smoothing 

 the surface, — removing hummocks and bushes, ditching and 

 draining the ground, and covering it with sandy gravel and loam. 

 Barnyard manure, or in other cases, guano mixed with sand, was 

 then spread and harrowed in, and grass seed soAvn. This has 

 been done early in the fall of the year, and the operation has, in 

 every case, been successful. Finding it inconvenient to cultivate 

 distant parts of my mowing land, I caused two acres to be turned 

 over, and rolled and harrowed. Guano at the rate of three hun- 

 dred pounds per acre, and mixed with sand, was then spread and 

 thoroughly incorporated with the soil by the harrow. Then grass 

 seed was sown, at the rate of one peck Timothy and one bushel 

 red-top per acre, and a light horse-harrow was afterwards passed 

 over the ground. The result of this experiment was so success- 

 ful that I have since repeated the operation several times, under 

 like conditions, and with like good returns. And I am now con- 



