28 



better quality of hay — that being the crop -which it is intended to 

 produce — and probably increase the weight, if not the bulk. Drains 

 should not be less than two and half feet deep, and on springy 

 land an additional half foot Avould be very beneficial. 



Mr. B.'s barn is well planned, well finished, and kept with 

 scrupulous neatness. There is a cellar under the whole, in one 

 part of which the manure is kept ; but it is so deep, dry, and well 

 ventilated that other parts are used for other purposes. A shed 

 is attached to the northeast corner of the barn, by which the cold 

 winds are kept from the yard, while the sun is admitted ; thus 

 making, in connection with part of the cellar, a sheltered and 

 pleasant place for stock in winter. Eunning water is brought into 

 the shed. 



The farm of William Metcalf has been spoken of in previous 

 reports of the Committee. A short call was sufficient to show 

 that he still progresses in his improvements. He has within a 

 few years made a handsome and productive field from what was 

 previously a wild, rough pasture. Besides removing boulders of 

 various sizes, a large quantity of cobble stones has been taken 

 off, and as there was no better place to deposit them, they were 

 piled on one side of the field. But it should not be inferred from 

 this that the ground they occupy is wholly wasted. Grapevines 

 are planted at the base of this huge stone-heap, and the vines 

 spread themselves over its surface. .Though yet young, they bore 

 considerably the present year, and, doubtless, will in a few years 

 cover the stones and produce abundance of fruit — thus converting 

 what would otherwise be an unsightly object into one of beauty 

 and profit. The grapes are of native kinds, but selected on ac- 

 count of their superiority. We have previously noticed Mr. M.'s 

 success in cultivating native grapes, which he finds no difficulty in 

 disposing of, in various ways, at a satisfactory profit. 



A call at the farm of Walter Fisher closed our examinations in 

 Franklin. In addition to what has been said of this farm in a 

 previous report, we may say that its appearance the present year 

 was in no respect inferior to what it has heretofore been. The 

 principal point to which our attention was directed was the con- 

 dition of a tract which has been reclaimed from a rough pasture, 

 for which Mr. F. has received a premium of the Society. A con- 

 siderable portion of the tract has been thoroughly subdued and 

 cultivated, and is laid down to grass, with a surface so smooth that 

 a mowing-machine can be made to cut the grass as closely as is ex- 

 pedient. Other portions are still in process of improvement, and 

 present favorable indications. The experiment has now reached 

 a point which, we think, justifies the conclusion that it will pay. 



