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It has been said that he who causes two l)lades of grass 

 to grow where but one had grown is a public benefactor, 

 and we may safely conclude that the man who reclaims a 

 swamp or worthless meadow and increases its value two 

 or three fold, contributes to the public welfare ; and when 

 the outlay is fully met by the crops produced in two or 

 three years, yielding the increased value of the land as net 

 profit, it affords encouragement for others to go and do 

 likewise. Four entries were made the present year, last 

 year there was but one, showing an increasing interest in 

 this enterprise. The first was by B. H. Farnum, of North 

 Andover, who entered a little more than one acre of land, 

 which three years since was wet and comparatively worth- 

 less meadow, has by means of thorough drainage and cul- 

 tivation produced the present year three tons of excellent 

 Timothy hay and five hundred pounds of oat fodder. The 

 laud and crops were examined by your Committee, who 

 recommend the award of $15, first premium, to B. H. Far- 

 num of North Andover. 



The second entry was by William W. Perkins of New- 

 bury, who entered two acres from which a heavy growth 

 of wood and timber had been removed, the stumps and 

 roots taken out with much hard and persevering labor ; 

 ploughed, liberally fertilized, and planted two years with 

 potatoes, and two excellent crops obtained, the income of 

 which has apparently met the cost of the whole outlay, 

 while the value of the land is greatly increased ; but 

 it does not appear that the woodland was ever wet or 

 that drainage Avas required at all, for this reason, in 

 the opinion of your Committee, it could not be called 

 swamp land. 



The third entry was Luther Tidd of Georgetown ; 

 this was an acre of common brook meadow, treated 

 with sand and fertilized, and appeared in a promising 



