79 



hibits discriminating judgment upon his cultivated fields, and pro- 

 duces crops in great abundance. 



One of the most interesting operations that has come to our 

 observation on meadow lands, the present season, was on the 

 farm of Thomas E. Payson, in Rowley. He has fifty acres or 

 more, adjoining, where the peat or mud is from three to seven 

 feet deep, so situated, as to be capable of being drained so as to 

 admit a waggon with a common load of hay to pass on any par 

 of it. Mr. Payson has cut narrow ditches about five feet apart, 

 and thrown the mud on the beds between, and planted these 



beds with potatoes. In tlie autumn, when, the potatoes were 

 gathered, he threw the vines into the ditches, levelled the ground 

 and sowed grass seed. Where he pursued this course, last year 

 on about three quarters of an acre he cut three tons of good 

 English hay to the acre, the present season. In this way he 

 contemplates bringing the whole into English mowing. The 

 failure of the potato crop this year, by reason of the rot, prevent- 

 ed his forwarding his statement. 



It will be observed that this improvement proceeds without 

 carrying any material from the upland upon the meadow, except 

 a common dressing of manure to start the potatoes. Consequently 

 it must be done, if effectually done, at much less expense than 

 is ordinarily applied. The great difficulty attendant upon cover- 

 ed drains, is the expense of their construction. Unless there may 

 be on the farm, at times, a surplus of hands, and the work can 

 be done at odd jobs, when other work is not pressing. Such, 

 we understand, were the circumstances, under which much of the 

 labor was done, in the experiment on the town farm in Danvers. 



The experiments of Mr. Davis and Mr. Blaney, whereby un- 

 productive lands were made to yield several tons of English hay 

 to the acre, where none grew before, in the course of two years, 

 simply by inverting the sod, pulverizing, manuring and seeding 

 upon it, are most commendable and highly worthy of imitation. 



The committee understand the offer of premiums made by the 

 trustees to have relation mainly to improvements made within two 



