114 



good crop and require little attention and should be one 

 of the garden fruits. A good A 1 article sent to Boston 

 market will always meet with a ready sale, while a com- 

 mon article will not. He does not believe in buying 

 Peach trees to set out, but by planting a native seed, 

 good results have been attained. The last crop to dwell 

 upon is that of the hen crop. It is the most important 

 factor in helping out in the winter. The common error 

 is to go into it too largely at first, and with no experience 

 one is almost sure to fail. Better go slow and learn the 

 ways and habits of the fowls before j^ou go into it too 

 largely. He began with twenty-five that paid a profit of 

 one dollar and a half each, and increased it to sixty hens, 

 that paid a profit of two dollars and twenty-five cents each ; 

 this he does by both eggs and chicks. In the winter, hens 

 must get to the ground and the conditions must be made 

 as near summer as possible. Brush the snow away and 

 let them get at the grass. Grass is a great promoter to 

 fertilizing the eggs. For the all around farmer the Wy- 

 andotte and the Plymouth Rocks are the best breeds. 

 Give them egg producing food as soon as hatched if you 

 want them to lay early. In a word the qualities necessary 

 to make a successful farmer are, a thorough genuine love 

 for tilling the soil, for plant growth, harvesting, care of 

 live stock, and the continuous improvement of his farm. 

 He must be prompt, active, methodical, economical, handy 

 at carpenters' tools, temperate and progressive. 



The speaker was frequently interrupted by questions, 

 and answered them as they were asked. 



President Appleton spoke at length on various ques- 

 tions suggested by the essay. 



At the afternoon session, Mrs. E. V. Gage and Hayden 

 Brown were expected to speak, but owing to illness and 

 unavoidable absence the speaker of the morning was asked 

 to speak again, and he related his experience in Califor- 

 nia some seventeen years before, and again a year ago. 



