115 



We have not, until this fall, come into possession of the other 

 part of the parsonage, — embracing forty acres, a part, of deep 

 sandy loam ; the other part, meadow, with plenty of muck, adjoin- 

 ing the six acre plot ; with mansion house surrounded with old 

 elms, a barn and out-buildings suitable for occupation by a fore- 

 man, and at a convenient distance from the cottage. 



The first step, this fall, on the forty acre parcel, was to plough 

 one half of it thirteen inches deep, (with three yoke of cattle,) 

 and dig 500 cords of mud ; which amount we ascertained by 

 measuring the ditches. This sufficiently drained the low land. We 

 are now carting it on to the light upland, which has been literally 

 shinned for years ; and the returning carts convey sandy gravel 

 from under the barn, which will help reclaim the meadow, and 

 leave a large manure and root cellar under and adjacent to the 

 barn. 



Although I have and intend in future to devote much attention 

 to the manufacture of composts, yet I have been, also, endeavor- 

 ing to test the more recently introduced fertilizers. In this 

 connection, I beg leave to introduce the following. 



Hay Experiments. 



Designed to test the comparative value of cow and concen- 

 trated manures as top dressings for mowing lands, 1\ acre was 

 selected that had been laid down to grass three years, cutting, in 

 ordinary seasons, from one and a half to two tons per acre. 

 There is a fair subsoil ; the surface is black loam, the subsoil 

 yellow loam, gravel below. The land was divided into plots, and 

 extended from moderately high to low ground. 



No. 1 was dressed with coarse compost, at the rate of 15 cords 

 per acre. The expense in carting and spreading was $3.75 for 

 24,070 feet, or $6.75 per acre. 



No. 2 was dressed while the snow was on the ground -with 

 176 lbs. of guano, costing $5.28, or $12.00 per acre ; being at 

 the rate of 400 lbs. per acre. 



No. 3 was left without dressing, to show the natural yield of 

 grass, and to give a standard of comparison. 



