70 TRANSACTIONS. 



ing the thick turf, covered over the year before. I first planted to 

 potatoes, and obtained a large crop ; second year, planted Indian 

 corn and had an abundant crop ; third year, planted broomcorn, and 

 had an abundant crop. In looking over my minutes of the income 

 derived during the three first years of its improvement — after making 

 a fair deduction of all expenses for manure and labor — I find that my 

 receipts exceed the expenditure over eighty dollars. 



Since that time, a period of fourteen years, the land has been con- 

 stantly planted to broomcorn, and has produced crops equal in value 

 to the best meadoio soils, while only about five loads of manure were 

 used to the acre, and applied in the hill, which has kept it in a good 

 state of cultivation. It yields as good crops and is as beautiful in 

 appearance and as productive as any land in the vicinity. 



Hadley, Oct. 17, 1854. 



STATEMENT OF JOHN A. MORTON. 



My piece of meadow land contains one and a half acres. The soil is 

 in part peat mud and inpart a clayey subsoil. It lay in pasture, cov- 

 ered with brush, coarse grass, and water. In the fall of 1851, I 

 ploughed the lot in which this land lies, to the depth of seven inches. 

 I then cut drains around the wet part, the ditches running north and 

 south about two rods apart, the fall being sufficient to carry off" the 

 water. I planted it to corn in the spring of 1852, manured in the 

 hill with ten loads to the acre, and the yield was thirty bushels to 

 the acre. In the spring of 1853, I ploughed in fifteen loads of sheep 

 manure to the acre, and again planted to corn with ten loads of com- 

 post manure in the hill. The corn grew large and was considerably 

 injured by the wind in August. The ground being soft, the corn 

 was turned out by the roots. I raised over fifty bushels of corn per 

 acre. I soAved the piece to oats, the first of June, 1854, and sowed 

 twelve quarts of timothy grass seed and three pounds of clover to the 

 acre. The oats were light, the seeding looks well. The land I con- 

 sider worth fifty dollars per acre, which was nearly worthless, when I 

 came in possession of it. I think the great secret in reclaiming land 

 is, to get ofi" all the Avater, and then plough deep and bring up the 

 soil, whatever it may be, to the action of the sun and air. I will 

 now give the value of the crop on one acre for the last three years : 



PRODUCTS. 



Two years in corn, 80 bushels, at 92 cents, . $73 60 

 Four tons of corn fodder, at $5, . , . 20 00 

 Twenty bushels of oats, at 60 cents, . , 10 00 



$103 60 



EXPENSES. 



Cutting brush and preparing the land to plough, $5 00 

 Ninety rods of drain, at 12 1-2 cents, . . 11 25 



