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ploughed from that which had not — this portion, that is the re- 

 maining five acres, being decidedly the poorest soil and roughest 

 part of the whole, it was concluded at that time to let it lay as it 

 was. However, in the Fall of 1854, engaged a man, with one 

 yoke of oxen, to assist my hired man and horse to plough up the 

 five acres ; and though it was very poorly ploughed, ou account of 

 the quantity of loose stones and bushes, yet I had to pay for the 

 man and oxens' part of the labor twenty-six dollars. 



The three succeeding seasons some of the best patches in this 

 lot were planted with corn, beans and potatoes (mostly the latter), 

 the rest of the piece was ploughed once, and harrowed two or 

 three times at odd jobs, each season ; the stones being picked and 

 carted off for making Avall, after each harrowing — estimated that 

 the crops of potatoes, &c., taken oft*, about paid for labor and seed 

 on the patches which were planted. In the lowest part of the 

 pasture was an old pond, a receptacle for the washings from the 

 land, doubtless from time immemorial. During the drought of the 

 Summer of I800 — all the mud was taken out of this pond and 

 lay in heaps through two Winters and one Summer to pulverize, 

 turning it over once in the mean time, by hauling it on to the 

 upper end of the pasture where I Avished to use it. In the Spring 

 of 1857 one half of this mud was mixed with Turks Island salt 

 and twenty casks of lime (slacking the lime with a saturated so- 

 lution of the salt) and the other half was mixed with about ten 

 tons of residuum from a soap boilers establishment in Boston. 

 Early in the Fall the two heaps were turned over, the better to 

 mix the ingredients together, the land (5 acres) was all ploughed 

 and harrowed once more, and another large crop of stones picked 

 off" by boys during school vacation, and to their delight it was 

 finally decided that it was ready to sow doAvn with grass and grain. 

 Before sowing, surperphosphate of lime was spread on to half an 

 acre at the rate of 400 lbs. to the acre. The remainder was di- 

 vided into three equal parts, on one of which was sown clear Turks 

 Island salt, at the rate of 15 bushels to the acre ; on another the 

 compost heap of salt lime and mud, and on the other the mud and 

 soap boiler's residuum. After harrowing in, it was all sown with 

 grass seed, and about four acres with AVintcr rye also. The rye 

 came up good, and not nuich difference to be noticed, exce])t that 

 it was the stoutest where it received the superphosphate of lime. 

 The grass seed appears to have taken well, except ou the driest 

 knolls and one low place which was covered with water late in the 

 Spring. On the four acres I have 40 bushels of rye, and estimate 

 two tons and a half of rye straw. 



Whether, on the whole, the renovating of this pasture will ])rovc 

 a profitable operation, remains to be proved. All we can say now 

 is, that in 1850 it was a very poor pasture, mostly covered with 



