140 



either manure or commercial fertilizers. One of the most 

 successful farmers in Worcester manages the whole of his 

 large farm in this way. And yet in the ordinary system 

 of farming, where hoed crops and grain are cultivated, it 

 is better to have grass included in the rotation. 



HAY. 



The committee desire to call attention to the fact that 

 in all cases of weights of crops given in the statements, 

 that actual weights are given, no estimates, as is too often 

 relied upon, in many reports. So that the twenty-five and 

 four fifths tons of first crop and seven and one-half tons 

 second crop making a total of thirty-three and three tenths 

 tons or three and two-thirds tons per acre grown on nine 

 acres of land was the actual weight. This is a remark- 

 able crop, without top dressing. 



Previously this land was for two years cropped with 

 ensilage corn, showing that the heavy manuring given 

 those crops was felt in this result and the committee think 

 it very likely as this land had formerly received the bene- 

 fit of sewage irrigation, some credit should be given to that. 



It will be observed by referring to the statements ac- 

 companying this report, that heavy manuring and a liberal 

 use of commercial fertilizers is the system adopted which 

 produces large crops, in some instances extraordinary. 

 Of course in most cases the crop does not consume all of 

 the plant food of the manure applied, and it is a question 

 how much of the cost of the manure applied should be 

 charged to the crop grown, but in as much as the cultivated 

 land is supposed to be well supplied with plant food of 

 previous years application, we think it is fair to charge 

 each crop with the fertilizers applied each year ; of course 

 the land will continue to increase in fertility, as all good 

 husbandry requires. 



The crop of four hundred tons of ensilage grown on 

 twenty acres of land is a good crop, but not extraordinary, 

 and reckoning the manure, which was of first quality, at 



