ON FARMS. 119 



IS that of William F. Porter, of Bradford ; pleasantly situated 

 on the Merrimac river, and intersected by the county road 

 leading from Haverhill to Newburyport and Salem. This farm 

 is well known in the northern part of the county, from the 

 frequency of change in owners ; as well as from its general 

 ■character of fertility. Under most of its late owners, we have 

 no doubt a spirit of improvement has been manifested, evidences 

 of some of which are now visible ; but so far as is known to 

 your Committee, the progress of improvement had not entitled 

 it to the favorable notice of the Society. Since Mr. Porter's 

 occupancy, great improvements have been made in the arrange- 

 ments of the farm buildings, in the increased convenience in 

 the gathering of the crops, in the feeding out of the same, the 

 arrangement for the housing of the stock, and the securing of 

 their droppings. 



The crops of the farm the present year are good, and the 

 inspection of them, bears testimony of the skill and attentive- 

 ness of the cultivator. The increase over former years is made 

 evident by the statement of Mr. Porter. The Committee 

 think it unnecessary to remark upon the crops in detail, and 

 will allude only to some few particulars, and refer the Society 

 to the full and particular statement of Mr. Porter, for a know- 

 ledge of his manner of farming. 



The crop of broom corn, attracted the notice of the Com- 

 mittee, as being a successful experiment, in a cultivaiion not 

 common in this county. From the appearance of the crop 

 and the statement of its yield of seed, and broom brush, we 

 believe it may be recommended as a desirable and paying crop, 

 on the warm lands in the county. We do this more confi- 

 dently from the double product, the seed and brush, of the 

 plant ; believing that the successful return of either will com- 

 pensate the cultivator for his labor. Mr. Porter's opinion of 

 the comparative exhaustion of this crop, and Indian corn, upon 

 the soil, we are not fully prepared to endorse, as, in the case of 

 broom corn, the bulk of the crop is returned to the soil, while 

 in Indian corn, it is mostly removed. 



The remarks of Mr. Porter, on the comparative advantage 

 of stable and compost manure, as a top dressing, we hope will 



