TEAN8A0TI0 NS. 



STATEMENT OF EDMUND SMITH. 



^ The piece of meadow which I offer for premium, contains about 

 three acres, in Hadley. It is the centre of a lot of ninete3n acres and 

 a half, which I bought in 1840, and was then worth five dollars per 

 acre. There was some wood on the north side — the south side was 

 higher, and part had been plowed. In 1842, I mowed the brush to 

 see if I could make a piece of swamp-mowing ; but it proved worth- 

 less, in consequence of the water flowing from a large tract of swamp 

 on the north side. It was so wet, that nothing grew of any value. 

 I had cut a ditch, west of this piece of land, running north and south 

 across the lot, which took off some of the water. The season was 

 very dry in August, 1845, and I thought I would try the experiment 

 of plowing. I dug the stumps and put them into a fence^^ — used 

 a large plow, drawn by four yoke of oxen, and had a man with a bog 

 hoe to relieve the plow whenever it clogged or stopped. We were 

 eight days plowing three acres, ten inches deep, beds four rods wide. 

 The^furrows drained off the water into the ditch on the west side. 

 The next spring I sowed oats and hay seed, at the rate of eight quarts 

 of herdsgrass, three pounds of clover, and four quarts of red top seed 

 to the acre. The crop of oats was better than I expected. The hay 

 seed came up well. For four or five years after it was seeded, I think 

 there was at the rate of one and a half tons of hay to the acre, worth 

 six dollars per ton, standing. The north land — about three fourths 

 of an acre — I plowed and planted in the summer of 1850 with pota- 

 toes and broom corn, manuring in the hill. The next spring, I sow- 

 ed oats and hay seed — had a good crop of oats — the hay seed came up 

 well. I cut from this piece, the past two seasons, at the rate of two 

 tons of good hay to the acre, and have never manured it, except 

 in 1846. The remainder of the three acres, I plowed last fall, about 

 eight inches deep. It was planted in May and manured in the hill 

 with oyster shell lime and plaster. I think the crop equal to fifty 

 bushels or more of shelled corn to the acre. The land, since it was 

 first planted, has yielded a yearly income of six dollars per acre; but, 

 the last two years, the income has been greater. 



RESULT. 



Present Value of the land, $50 per acre, - - $150.00 



EXPENSES. 



First cost, at $5 per acre, - _ - - $15.00 



Clearing brush and stumps, - - - - 20.00 



Plowing, 30.00 



$65.00 



Net profit, $85.00 



Edmund Smiiii. 



