NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



17:< 



■im of Twenty dollars, for having raised the 

 i^roatest quantity of common Turnips, being 687 

 bushels and a half on one acre. " The soil is a 

 .lay loam and had been down to grass C or 7 

 y^^ars — in 18iil, cut about one ton of hay; it 

 was then ploua:hed as deep as the swnrd would 

 (urn over; 10 cords of comport manure, the 

 principal part of the compost was marsh mud, 

 s|ircad and well harrowed ; it was ploughed in 

 ridges three feet apart; about one pound of 

 :;(>t.'d was sown with a machine on the ridges; — 

 ;u)d a hand roller made to pass over them, which 

 rompletcd the sowing— when out of the way of 

 ihe lly, they were thinned to the distance of one 

 fiiot "apart on the ridge — they were twice 

 ploughed and harrowed ; and harvested the last 

 vl October — the entire expense of cultivating 

 this acre of Turnips, including 20 dollars for ma- 

 nure, was 3o dollars and G2 cents."' 



That Silas Little, Esq. of Newbtify* is enti- 

 tled to the Society's premium of Twenty dol- 

 lus, for raising the greatest quantity of common 



I'urnips, at'ter another crop in the same season ; 

 laving raised 61 5 bushels on one acre. " In the 

 \car 1021, something less than a quarter part 



• f the .acre was cultivated with Turnips, and a- 

 liont five common cart loads of compost manure, 

 : icli as salt marsh pulverized, strong earth and 

 id was laid thereon; the produce was 80 

 -iicls, the other three fourths had been laying 

 grass five or sis years ; and the present year 

 1' sowed Flax seed, where the turnips grew 

 (he last year; having" spread on about the same 

 i|ii;\nlity ami quality of manure as before ; we 

 jiiMoiI the ilax soon after the blossoms had fal- 

 ! u off, and there was a middling crop; the oth- 

 er part of the acre produced about "lOO weight 

 ol hay. which was cut on the 26th of June ; and 

 the whole was ploughed and manured — the 

 quantity put on the acre was 19 cart loads, of 40 

 )"i-hcls each — the quality of this manure was 

 -iniilar to that above described, but more sand 

 in onler to make the compost better, when mix- 

 ed H ith our dark clay loam, with a clay bottom ; 

 nearly two thirds of this manure was spread on 

 ouc half the ground, and after harrowing, was 

 put into small ridges, with a small double mould 

 board plough, two feet and nine inches apart; 

 tlie other part of the manure was shovelled into 

 furrows made with the plough, the same dis- 

 tance ; the plough then passed between the 

 iiirrows, covered the manure, and although 

 ~o great a portion of the manure was spread 

 on half the land, yet the other half produced 



ibont as much — the quantity of seed used was 

 one pound and a half; the time of sowing 

 was i'rom the tirst to the tenth of Jul}' — the flax 

 was pulled the 4th, and that part of the ground 

 sowed the last; the whole was sown with a ma- 

 chine made for the purpose, and but one row on 

 a ridge — when the turnips were up, and out of 

 the way of flies, they were thinned with a hand 

 hoe and lingers, at the distance ot ten or twelve 

 inches, and afterwards twice hoed and twice 

 ploughed, with the small plough above mention- 

 ed — the time of harvesting, from the 28th of 

 October to the 1st of November, and there was 

 found to be 615 bushels, well trimmed and til 

 for market, and about five or six bushels of large 

 defective rotten ones — we have iveighed sever- 

 nl bushels, and tind a bushel will weigh 59 Ibs.-^ 

 the entire expense of cultivating this acre of 

 turnips, includmg thirteen dollars for manure, 



•Mo twenty-eight dollars and seventy-fiTe cents.'" 



That Mr. Asa Rice, Jr. of Shrewsbury, is en- 

 titled to the Society's premium of Twenty dol- 

 lars, for the account of the best mode of rearing, 

 feeiling', and fattening Neat Cattle. Said Rice 

 is also entitled to the premium of Twenty dol- 

 lars, for proving by experiments, to the satisfac- 

 tion of the Trustees, the utility and comparative 

 value of the Cobs of Indian Corn, when used 

 with or without the grain itselt", ground, or bro- 

 ken. Apaperonthe subject of raising Indian 

 Corn, two successive seasons, with the aid of 

 Plaster Paris, on a high hill on the farm of Mr. 

 Rice, which from its dilliculty of approach, had 

 until two years since been neglected, was also 

 exhibited. These communications are too 

 lengthy to be inserted in thi» ro[ioit, bui your 

 Committee recommend that said papers, togeth- 

 er with three very interesting communica- 

 tions from William Hull, Esq. of Newton, on 

 the best mode of raising Indian Corn,^^his mode 

 of cultivating seven eighths of an acre, from 

 which ho procured 192 bushels of Corn in the 

 ear, 4 bushels of dry Reans and several bushels 

 of Turnips — and on the culture of Carrots, and 

 Ruta Baga, be copied into the Society's Jour- 

 nal tor January next. 



Claims for premiums were also exhibited to 

 your Committee by the following persons, for 

 raising the greatest qurlritily of Indian Corn, on 

 one acre of land, to wit ; Sir. Asa Rice, Jr. of 

 Shrewsbury, raised 5,3 bushels ; Mr. Nathan 

 Howe, Jr. also of Shrewsbury, 75 bushels ; Mr. 

 Daniel Mears, of Lynn, C7i bushels ; Messrs. 

 Tristram and Henry Little, of Newbury, 116 

 bushels and 9 quarts; Paysnn Williams, Esq. of 

 Fitchburg, 1 16 bushels and 12 quarts; and Mr. 

 Daniel Burnham, of Newburyporlj 117 bushels 

 and quarts. Mr. Jacob Wilkins^ of Marble- 

 head, raised 57 bushels of Rurlov, on one acre 

 and i of an acre. " April 12, 1822, the land 

 was ploughed about G inclies deep, the soil 

 loaiiiy, inclining to gravel, descending to the 

 North East from a ledgy knoll, which included 

 i\ part of the premises ; 13th, sowed three bush- 

 els of six rowed Barlej', on what I considered 

 the largest half of the piece — at the same time 

 sowed one and a half bushels of two rowed Bar- 

 ley, on the remainder ; sowed grass seed over 

 the whole, and j)loughed, and harrowed the 

 same in. When the six rowed Barley was a- 

 bout six inches high, it was mowed down, and 

 left on the ground ; this was for experiment. — 

 July 18, mowed the six rowed Barley, and put 

 it into the barn. 2 1th, mowed, and put into the 

 barn, the two rowed Barley. The six rowed 

 Barley appeared to be about 12 days forward of 

 the two rowed in ripening — both were stacked 

 separately in the barn ; and each quality thrash- 

 ed and kept separate. August 30lh, the Bar- 

 ley being cleansed, was measured — the six row- 

 ed measured 34 bushels ; and the two rowed 

 measured 23 bushels — the straw we consider in 

 value to be equal to the labor." No premium 

 was oflered for raising the greatest quantity of 

 Barley ; but 3'our committee are induced to re- 

 commend that the Treasurer be authorized to 

 pay said Jacob Wilkins, the sum of Twenty dol- 

 lars. 



For raising the greatest quantity of common 

 Beets, Parsnips, Ruta Baga, Cabbages, and dr)' 

 Peas — for introducing any Grass not before cul- 

 tivated in this Commonwealth, and proving by 

 actual experiment, and produce satisfactory ev- 

 idence of its superiority in any one quality, to 



any now cultivated — for the most satisfactory 

 evidence on " Sailing Cattle," not less than siv 

 in number, and through the whole season, to 

 gether with a particular account of the food giv- 

 en, and how cultivaled — for making the experi- 

 ment of turning in green crops .as a manure, on 

 a tract not less than an acre, and prove its utili- 

 ty and cheapness, giving a jiarlicular account of 

 the process and its results — for proving by ac- 

 tual ex()erJnic!it, the best season and mode of 

 laying down land to gras;, w bother Spring, Sum-- 

 mer or Fall seeding be pr.^lVrable, and with or 

 without grain or dilforent soils — for raising the 

 greatest quantity of Vogelables, Grain, Peas and 

 Beans excepted, lor winter consumption of the 

 stock on his own farm, and not for sale, in pro- 

 portion 16 the size of the farm and stcck kept, 

 having regard to the respective value of said 

 Vegetables as food, stating the expense of nus- 

 ing the same, and the best mode of preserving 

 the same through the winter — for taking up in 

 one season, on his tlirni, the greatest quantity of 

 good Honey, an<l shall at the same time^ exhib- 

 it superior skill in the raanageincnt of Bees— - 

 tor giving proof of having produced the larg 

 est quantil}' of dressed Flax raised on one acre 

 no claims lor premiums have been exhibited. 



The Board will perceive by the papers accom 

 panying this ie|;ort, that of the seven claimants 

 for the premium for raising the greatest quanti- 

 ty of Indian Corn on one acre, the quantity pro- 

 duced by four of the competitors was very near- 

 ly the same. Your Committee in awarding the 

 premium to Colonel Valentine, were induced to 

 decide in his favor as well from the quantity of 

 sound corn, as t'roin the weight of the grain ; it 

 will be seen that Mr. Burnham's Council iJlutT 

 Corn, w.eighed only fifty pounds ; that of Col 

 Valentine^ fit'ty eight to fifty nine pounds the 

 bushel. For the Committee, 



THOMAS L. Vv'INTIIROP, Chair.ma,^. 

 Bosloii, Dec. 28, 1C22. 



From the Northampton Gazette. 



Mr. F.DiTor. — In some places I have known a 

 very simple expedient made use of for the se- 

 curity ofChurches against fire, when neighbor- 

 ing buildings are burning. This is, the provid- 

 \ns two or three barrels of brine and nlacino- 

 them in some convenient jiart of the steeple. — 

 If" at any time the fire should endanger the 

 chuj'ch, a few men, with buckets, posted at the 

 barrels, might be of great use. Brine possesses 

 many advantages over water, for such a pur- 

 pose. It may be kept through the winter with- 

 out t'rcezing — through the summer without be- 

 coming brackish or olVetisive ; and is, as is well 

 known, much more efficacious in quenching fire. 

 The expense can certainly be no objection. 



PENNY WISE. 



French ehcsnuls. — At a meeting of the Phila- 

 delphia agricultural society, Kov. 19th, speci- 

 mens of large French chesnuts were shown, 

 which grew near Wilmington, (Del.) The 

 tree was planted in 1806, and first bore fruit 

 in 1816. The nuts came from Frynce. In 

 1820 one nut was selected from a burr contain- 

 ing two others, which weighed more than £(' 

 pennyweights. In Spain, Italy, and the south 

 part of France, these chesnuts are said to con- 

 stitute the principal part of the food of the 

 peasantry. — Ibid. 



