126 ON FARMS. 



manure lor the carrots, potatoes, and about two acres of the 

 corn, was ploughed in at the rate of five cords to the acre, in 

 its green state. The broom corn, and the remainder of the 

 Indian corn, was planted on the island, and manured with 

 compost in the hill, and at the rate of ten loads per acre, thir- 

 ty-five bushels to the load. A half a gill of wood ashes and 

 plaster was applied to each hill at the time of planting. I cul- 

 tivated and hoed three times in the usual manner. 



I sowed eight acres of spring rye on the island, on land planted 

 to corn the year previous, with little or no manure, and on 

 which I spread one hundred bushels of leached ashes per acre, 

 and sowed ten pounds of southern clover per acre. These 

 ashes cost six cents per bushel at Haverhill, one mile distant, 

 and were boated to the island for one and a quarter cents per 

 bushel. I sowed an acre' to barley, and another to rye, on the 

 home lot, having previously ploughed in about four cords of 

 green manure per acre, and seeded down with one peck herds 

 grass, one bushel northern red-top, and three pounds southern 

 clover to the acre. Product of corn was two hundred and 

 forty bushels by estimation, rye on the island sixty-four bush- 

 els, or eight bushels per a::re by measure ; rye on home lot 

 twenty and one half bushels, barley twenty-two bushels, po- 

 tatoes yielded well, but more than one half rotted, and carrots 

 one hundred and fifty-six bushels on one quarter of an acre. 

 Of fruit I had about forty barrels of winter apples, mostly 

 baldwins, and over three hundred bushels of peaches. Kept 

 in addition to the team, thirteen cows, and during the season 

 made two thousand eight hundred and twenty pounds, of new 

 milk cheese, and butter sufficient for the family's use. 



The building of my barn, and other essential improvements, 

 occupied so much of my time the first year, that I could not 

 give that attention to the managemetit of the farm, or keep so 

 accurate an account of the amount of sales and the profits and 

 expenses, as I have done for this year. But I believe, and 

 hesitate not to say, that the amount of sales were ample to 

 pay all the labor for carrying on the farm and maintaining the 

 families, including the taxes, and the manure and ashes which 

 have been bought. In August 1S50, I turned over with the 



