99 



of lays and less top-dressing, — in short, a constant refer- 

 ence to the principles on which a rational tillage of the 

 soil ought to be founded. By these and similar means we 

 may hope to inaugurate a new era in agriculture, which 

 shall combine intellectual progress and pecuniary profit. 



•4th. Another thought should have some weight with 

 the young farmers of Norfolk County before they aban- 

 don farming as unprofitable. They live near a great 

 centre of population demanding to be fed, and if the old 

 routine of grass and corn proves unprofitable, may they 

 not enquire whether vegetables and fruits may not be 

 substituted in their place ? These are so perishable that 

 they cannot be brought from a greut distance, and there- 

 fore competition w^ith more fertile regions is avoided. It 

 seems nearly impossible so to supply the market as mate- 

 rially to reduce the price of these things. Ten or a 

 dozen acres cultivated garden-fashion may be made to 

 support a family better than many large farms do now. 

 The orchard too, is a source of profit, when managed with 

 judgment. The nearer farmers approach to the practices 

 of the gardeners, the more likely will they be to succeed, 

 whether they supply the daily markets or not. 



I might extend this thought further and say that the 

 farmers of Norfolk County have not only the advantage 

 of Boston market, but also of that near and profitable 

 market which is furnished by the mechanics and the 

 manufacturing population of our villages. The artisan 

 is placed side by side with the farmer, the consumer with 

 the producer, an arrangement the most advantageous so 

 far as the distribution of agricultural productions is con- 

 cerned, and the general prosperity and morality of the 

 people. I do not say that this arrangement leads to the 

 maximum of production. For that much land and a free 

 use of capital are necessary, and it tends to the depopu- 

 lation of a country and the separation of its various in- 



