139 



The wall was all poled when A. H. Gould first leased the 

 farm, but little has been done to it since. Now the poles 

 have decayed, the wall has been only partially put up 

 of late years, and a considerable outlay is required at 

 once. Poles enough can be cut in the pasture to do the 

 work. If the maples are thinned judiciously, it would be 

 no injury to them, and a maple pole will last many years. 



The wood-wax is increasing to an alarming extent, and 

 the comments made by neighboring farmers are not flat- 

 tering to the Society. Nothing was done last year or this 

 to check it. The plowing done a few years ago not being 

 followed up, spread the plant by killing out the grass, 

 thus giving the wood-wax the whole ground. A much 

 larger area is covered by it than formerly ; it has run into 

 the woods and along the old walls so far that it cannot be 

 well cut or plowed. It is respectfully suggested that the 

 Society offer a premium for some effectual method of ex- 

 terminating the weed, the test to be applied to this pas- 

 ture.* 



Accompanying this report is the account given by Mr. 

 Foster, foreman of the Pierce Farm, of the experiments 

 conducted by him in planting potatoes. He also gave me 

 a verbal account of an experiment with the Stockbridge, 

 Ames, and Darling's fertilizers applied to corn. A heavy 

 coat of manure was spread on the land and the fertilizer 

 used in the hill ; an equal quantity of each one being ap- 

 plied to different parts of the field. No difference could 

 be observed in the various lots, either while growing or in 

 the crop at harvest. This amounts to nothing as a test, 

 for the manure alone would have made the crop, over four 

 cords to the acre being used. 



*Note. — The Trustees, at the November meeting, voted that 

 the Society insist that the tenant of the Farm be required to 

 cut the wood-wax when in blossom, or immediately after. 



