ON FARMS. 123 



work has been done principally by Mr. Holt himself, but in 

 the minds of the committee there were strong doubts whether 

 the labor was so judiciously applied, as it would have been 

 in the higher cultivation of land already fitted for the scythe 

 and plough. It was stated, however, by Mr. Holt that the 

 farm came into his possession by inheritance, and that from an- 

 cestral associations he had been induced to expend so much 

 labor, in subduing ground so rough and stony. 



Mr. Holt's farm is small, consisting of less than 30 acres in 

 the homestead, and, including meadow and woodland, 80 acres 

 in all. Its management appears to be marked by neatness, 

 skill and industry, and doubtless it yields as good an income 

 as similar farms, under the like management. There is a con- 

 venient cellar under the barn, but we noticed nothing peculiar 

 in the arrangements of the buildings or the yards, or in the 

 cultivation of the crops, from which we think any new infor- 

 mation could be derived for the benefit of other farmers. But 

 the pattern Mr. Holt presents of a hard-working and an economi- 

 cal farmer, and the improvements he has effected, considering 

 the means at his command, entitle him to the commendation of 

 the Society, and a gratuity of ^15. 



Mr. Holt's land, like much that we see in the county, would 

 be greatly benefitted by a more liberal outlay for manure, 

 either by manufacturing it from peat, leaves and head-lands, 

 composted with barn-manure, or by purchasing stable-manure, 

 night-soil, ashes or other fertilizers. In the opinion of the com- 

 mittee, uot one farmer in ten, in the county, lays up $100 a 

 year for the proceeds of his farm, over and above his expenses, 

 principally for the reason that the land cultivated is not ma- 

 nured so highly as it ought to be, and it consequently fails to 

 produce remunerating crops. 



As a general maxim, it may be asserted that land poorly 

 manured impoverishes its cultivator, land moderately man- 

 ured yields a moderate subsistence, whilst land that is highly 

 manured, pays liberally for its liberal treatment. This is true 

 not merely in regard to tillage crops, but also to grass lands 

 and orchards, and the committee would say cultivate only so 

 much land as can be cultivated well, — a proposition so just 



