32 GARDENS. 



strewed in the furrows, and then plowed a furrow each side of the row, 

 turning the furrows on the manure. Smoothed the top of the ridgea 

 with a rake and sowed the seed on the ridge from middle to last of 

 May. The plants were left from 6 to 12 inches apart. An average 

 square rod gave 475 lbs., or a little more than thirty-eight tons per 

 acre. This was considerably less than my last year's crop. 



Cost of plowing, $10 00 



Value of manure, 120 00 

 Cost of seed, 4 OO ■ 



Cost of cultivation, 32 00 



Cost of harvesting, 40 00 



$206 00 



GARDENS. 



There was but one entry for the best garden, that of Hon. Alvah 

 Crocker of Fitchburg. This was visited by the Committee on the 

 second day of August and found to be well laid out with a good vari- 

 ety of vegetables, and was in good fair condition. Mr. Joseph Dyke, 

 Mr. Crocker's gardener, has the entire charge of the various operations. 

 Only one thing was seen that could not be commended, which was the 

 mode of disposing of weeds. 



There is probably no more profitable time tf* kill a weed than the 

 period between the germination of the seed and the formation of the 

 third leaf of the young plant. At that stage a very slight disturbance 

 of the soil in suitable weather so disarranges the relations of the plant, 

 that it dies with almost absolute certainty. If the cultivation is re- 

 peated in time, it is done at a minimum of labor and cost, as the 

 ground under such circumstances, never is otherwise than open and 

 mellow, while if weeds are allowed to grow much beyond the stage 

 mentioned, cultivation does not destroy, but only retards the growth 

 of the weeds in a slight degree. The difference in the growth of the 

 crop is much more than equal to the increased expense involved by 

 reason of more frequent cultivations. When, therefore, a pile of 

 weeds pulled by hand,. approaching in bulk the crop remaining, is. to 

 be seen, it looks as though the soil had been made to carry two crops, 

 one of which is valueless, although it has drawn nutriment from the 

 soil and cost money to harvest, to say notliing of the consequent in- 

 jury to the crop that is valuable. 



We wish that there had been more entries in tliis department, for 

 the purpose of developing a healthy competition. 



We award : 



Alvah Crocker, Fitchburg, 2d premium, $8 00. 



JABEZ FISHER, Chairman. 



