126 



Certainly there is hope of profit as well as pleasure in 

 the cultivation of wheat in New England. 



On the same day we examined M. H. Connor's crop of 

 rye; being raised on an old strawberry field, which had 

 been highly fertilized, accounts for the large growth of 

 straw which he reports, some of the stalks, which were 

 not much above the average, measured six and one half 

 feet, with heads six inches in length. 



Mr. Connor is a very successful farmer, who purchased 

 a run out but naturally a good farm, which in the few 

 years he has occupied it he has brought up to a high state 

 of cultivation, raising as some of his specialties, onions, 

 cabbages and strawberries. He reports his crop of the 

 latter to be rising eight thousand boxes, the past season. 



Our next call was at the farm of Wm. Little of New- 

 bury this gentleman and his vocation are well known to 

 the society judging from his large and fine annual ex- 

 hibits at the fair. Being familiar with his reports of crops 

 as published in the Transactions of the Society we expected 

 to see a fine field of grain, and in this we were not disap- 

 pointed, although we would have preferred to have seen it 

 before it was cut and stooked. We see by both Mr. Con- 

 nor's and Mr. Little's report that the grain alone barely 

 pays the expense of the crop, but that the profit lies in the 

 value of the straw which, in Mr. Connor's case, is more 

 than double that of the grain. This is the one point where 

 the Eastern farmer has the advantage in raising grain over 

 the Western, who realizes no value from the straw. 



The only field of corn which was entered, was that of 

 Chas. W. Nelson, which the Committee saw Sept. 26 ; this 

 was an exceptionally fine crop with rows running each 

 way, and very clear from weeds. The variety he culti- 

 vates is one he has been improving for the past few years 

 by mixing two or more of the best strains in cultivation, 

 and which he now claims to be one of the best varieties, 

 if not the best to raise. 



In this case the Committee allowed Mr. Nelson to stake 



