94 



for the substitution of some other person under the lease, he 

 being desirous to retire from the same, provided no expense be 

 incurred by the Society in making the substitution. 



The Committee accordingly proceeded to accept John H. 

 Caldwell, of Byfield, as lessee, Mr. Brown having assigned to 

 him all his rights and privileges under the same. Before these 

 arrangements were completed, the season had so far advanced 

 that Mr. Caldwell entered upon the farm under serious draw- 

 backs to effect much in its management the present year. In 

 fact there was but little he could do, except to obtain a general 

 knowledge of the farm, to gather the hay-crop and conduct the 

 farm experiments that were already in progress. It is confi- 

 dently believed that he will be prepared next year to put him- 

 self in earnest to the business before him, — to carry on the 

 farm in such a manner as to be creditable and profitable to him- 

 self, having at the same time an eye to its progressive improve- 

 ment, and- to conduct the specific experiments which may be 

 confided to him by the Committee and which are or should be 

 intended to have a bearing on the main result. That result — 

 the great agricultural problem which this Society is at work to 

 solve, is the renovation of exhausted lands by such means as 

 are available to most New England farmers. - 



Indeed, the leading idea connected with the acceptance of 

 the Treadwell Farm by the Society, should constantly be borne 

 in mind not only by the Committee, but by every one who ob- 

 serves its management and passes a judgement upon it. It was 

 utterly stript and worn out like too many of the farms in the 

 county, — land exhausted, and buildings dilapidated, — but so 

 situated that if it will pay to restore a farm any where, situated 

 as this was and as many others are, it will prove a blessing and 

 a boon to the whole county. If it will not pay, after a fair 

 trial of twenty years, then a fact will be obtained, though a 

 melancholy one, which ought to be known as a warning to 

 others. 



This farm labors under no difficulties beyond what is com- 

 mon to all other property of a similar kind. What we want to 



