88 



the exercise of intelligence and enterprise. The crops 

 were not fully grown \\ hen seen by the committee, l)ut 

 they promised well then, and his statements show how they 

 turned out. The crop of beets entered by him were table 

 beets for market, and not sugar beets, for which the Society 

 offers a premium. It was a ver}'- fine crop, and the commit- 

 tee take the liberty of recommending the award of the first 

 premium of ten dollars, if the trustees think it admissable^ 

 and if not, they recommend a gratuity of that amount. It 

 seems as if it is quite as necessary for the Society to en- 

 courage the culture of table beets in this county as sugar 

 beets, which are seldom raised, and whose value for sugar 

 purposes, at least in this region, is more than doubtful. 



Mr. Russell's experiment in raising potatoes possesses 

 much interest, as showing the relative effect upon the crop, 

 of stable manure and the commercial fertilizer he used. 

 It was impossible to say which was best from the appear- 

 ance of the potato tops, and the harvesting showed only a 

 slight difference between them. 



The same day the committee visited the onion crop of 

 Mr. John H. George, also in Methuen. His onions were 

 raised on a peat meadow, and the quality, as well as the 

 quantity of the crop was exceptionally fine, the onions 

 being of very uniform size and free from small ones. A 

 noticeable point about his method of culture is the near- 

 ness of the rows, which he considers an advantage. Tlie 

 potato crop of Mr. C. H. E. Keilhan was on tlie peat 

 meadow near the farm of Mr. George. The vines at that 

 time were very luxuriant, and the croj^ turned out to be 

 large ; not quite equal, however, to the crops of Mr. Rus- 

 sell and Mr. Longfellow, where more manure was used. 

 Mr. J. H. Lunt of Newbury had a fine crop of onions, and 

 the committee thought that the crops in the rows was quite 

 equal to Mr. George's, but the rows were further apart, so 

 that his crop on the half-acre was a little less. 



The committee were invited to visit the farm of Mr. 

 George F. Woodman of Newburyport, who had nearly five 



