260 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



MARCH4,1S35. 



^^22ia<S' 



[For the New Englanil'Farmer.] 



MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY FOR PROMOTISTG 

 AGRICULTURE. 



REPORT ON FARMS. 



The Committee on the hest cultivated Farms 

 tveport, 



That one claim, and one only, has been made, 

 under this head, and that is by Mr Amos Shelden, 

 111" Beverly, — on his farm of 212 acres, — to whom 

 ihey recommend the second premium of $100 

 While the Con)mittee regret tliat no other ap- 

 plications should have been made to this society 

 by our intelligent and practical agriculturists, 

 they witness with pleasure that a spirit has been 

 elicited, and that our valuable county societies 

 • have had the pleasure of rewarding numerous 

 I laimants for the good management of farms. 



Mr Shelden, who does not make farming his 

 sole employment — has complied substantially 

 with the advertisement of the Trustees, — and as 

 it is proposed to have his statement published, as 

 part of this rejiort, the committee deem it unne- 

 cessary to make many remarks upon it. Mr Shel- 

 den deserves commendation for his attention to 

 some things which are well worthy of the notice 

 and imitation of farmers in particular. 



For having his farm so divided into pieces as 

 ))robably to make all temporary division fences 

 unnecessary. 



For draining and reclaiming low or meadow 

 lands. 



For renovating old pastures by ploughing and 

 sowing down anew with grass seed. 



For having the food for his cattle prepared by 

 cutting and mixing the hay &c. with grain and 

 vegetables. 



For his care in collecting manure, and making 

 a liberal and judicious u.se of it on his farm. 



For liaving, by good management, gotten so 

 nmch produce from bis farm in 1834, with so few 

 laborers. 



For the small quantity of ardent spirits which 

 he permitted to be consumed compared to former 

 times by his laborers — an entire abstinence from 

 which, would have a fine moral eflect. 



On the other hand, Mr Shclden's operations as 

 a farmer, taken together, do not come up to the 

 full expectation or wishes of the Trustees. It 

 M'as hardly to be expected indeed from one whose 

 cares are so divided as his are. It would have 

 been well if he had attended to and stated with 

 some ])recision, the a<lvantages of a rotation of 

 crops, so far as his experience extends. If he 

 had attended to the cultivation of vegetaWes, as 

 ibod for his stock in addition to ])otatoes such as 

 mangel wurt/.el, carrots, llnta 15aga, conmujn tur- 

 nips, &c. 



If he had made some I'xperirn'-nts in ])loughing 

 in green crops, as a manure, and given the result. 

 If he had been much more lil)cral in the use of 

 grass seed. If he had shown more iiitercst in re- 

 spect to orcharding and fruits of various kinds. 

 If he had turned his miM<I more to the breeds of 

 stock, &c. &c. 



It has been a leading olijrct of ihi^ Trustees in 

 offei-ing these handsome premiujus ou ftirms, to 

 bring about something like method in onr agricul- 

 tural oi)erations. In the mechanic and manufac- 

 turing arts — in all the sciences — discoveries and 

 improvements are constantly making — and why 

 not in those most important of all arts, agriculture 



and horticulture, on which all others so essentially 

 depend ? Why should not our industrious and 

 sensible cultivators make experiments of no 

 great hazard or expense, and preserve a recoril 

 not only of their success, but of what would be 

 quite useful to know, their failures ? Why not en- 

 deavor to learn so much of the nature and uses of 

 difterent soils as to determine what course will 

 probably be the best as to a rotation of crops and 

 in the diflerent use of manures and in improving on 

 a soil by a mixture with another ? Why not keep 

 a diary to which they might turn at any time 

 and compare one season with another as regards 

 heat and cold, rain and sunshine — the times of 

 planting and harvesting and the many occurrences 



of tl 



le year : 



This diary could be kept with great advantage 

 by young members of the family. It would af- 

 ford lasting instruction and give them a habit of 

 exactness and system in every thing. Why should 

 not our farmers — instead of going the old round, 

 in the use of implements, and the various la- 

 bore of the farm — avail themselves of all mod- 

 ern experiments and improvements — so far as 

 can be easily done — and let the results of such 

 trials be known to their friends and the public ? 

 The Committee are fully aware that all these 

 matters, are attended to by some of our discerning 

 farmers, but how desirable it is that it should be- 

 come more general. — As the business of a farm 

 does not, from the nature of it, admit of a divis- 

 ion of labor, so essential in many other emi)loy- 

 ments — such as those of mechanics and manu- 

 facturers, surely nothing should be neglected that 

 can be done, where labor is so dear as in this 

 country, — by the use of labor saving machines, 

 by making the soil as productive as possible, and 

 by adopting every facility within our power. The 

 offer of premiums, on the best cultivated farms, 

 will be repeated for 1835 — and it is hoped that 

 many of our enterprising agriculturists will 

 strive to gain them. 



Beverly, December 2G, 1634. 

 Benjamin GiiilC, Esq. 



Sir — In my note of September 23d, 1834, I 

 offered to your consideration my farm, situated 

 in Beverly, as suited to claim the premium offered 

 by the Massachusetts Society for the promotion of 

 Agricidture, in their circular of September 1st. 



In compliance with the requisition of the So- 

 ciety, I herewith furnish you the evidence to sup- 

 port that claim. 



This larm is situated in the North Parish in 

 Beverly, on the western side of Wcnham Pond. 

 It contains two hundred and twelve acres of mow- 

 ing, tillage, and pasturing, the nature and quality 

 of the soil of which is given in the annexed 

 schedule. 



That the claim for the premium may be more 

 readily aijpn-ciated, I present the farm in the fol- 

 lowing eighteen divisions in which it has been 

 improved. 



No. 1. Great Field, containing about 30 acres. 

 Soil, loamy. T\velve acres have been in grass 

 four years, producing on an average about one and 

 thr(!e quarters tons to the acre. Eight acres were 

 planted to corn in 1832, manured in the hill with 

 12 loads of stable manure to the acre. In the 

 Spring of 1833 the corn hills were split and harrow- 

 ed down, and (jO loads of green cow stable manure 

 spread on, and iiloughed in. It was then sown 

 with oats, at the rate of four bushels to tlic acre. 



A part of the oats were cut green for fodder, pro- 

 ducing two tons to the acre. The residue stood 

 until ri|ie, and yielded 40 bushels of oats per acre. 

 In consequence of the extreme dry w<!ather, I did 

 nothing more to this piece until the following 

 September, when it was ploughed, harrowed, and 

 sowed with 1 peck red top and 1 peck herds-grass 

 to the acre, and brushed in. The winter being 

 imfavorable, the grass did not look well in the 

 Spring. On the first of April it was again sown 

 with half the above quantity of red top and herds- 

 grass with 4 pounds of clover, j)er acre, and 

 brushed and rolled. It being somewhat weedy, it 

 was mown the first of .Inly, and produced about 

 5 tons. On the tenth of September it was mown 

 again, and produced about 3 tons — making iu all 

 about 1 ton to the acre. One and a half acre was 

 broken up after the grass was taken off in 1833, 

 dressed with ten loads of compost manure, per 

 acre, harrowed, sown to turnips, brushed and roll- 

 ed. In consequence of drought, the turnips did 

 not succeed well. The last of Sejitember one 

 quarter of an acre was ploughed without disturb- 

 ing the sward. The turnips being small, they 

 were turned in, and one peck of the Black Sea 

 wheat was sown, harrowed and rolled. The 

 wheat stood the winter well, and grew rapidly 

 until about the 10th of July. It then blighted, 

 and was cut for fodder. In the Spring of 1834, 

 one third of the turnip ground was sown to peas 

 ibr family use and market. The residue' of the 

 turnip ground was planted to potatoes. One half 

 an acre was broken up about 15th June, and ma- 

 nured in drills with 8 loads common barn yard 

 manure, per acre, and sowed \vith two bushels ol" 

 corn. This we began to cut 10th August, feed- 

 ing it to 30 milch cows, twice a day until 15th 

 Septeudier. Another half acre, being wet, was 

 jilanted to potatoes late in June, and manured in 

 the hill with long manure. Two acres is natural 

 meadow, producing about one ton of hay per acre. 

 The usidue is swanqj and upland, partly covered 

 with wood, none of which has as yet been cul- 

 tivated. 



No. 2. Tom's Lot. Contains about seven and 

 one half acres ; three and half upland, and four 

 of nieadow, 2 of which has been reclaimed by 

 draining and carting on gravel, with a very little 

 manure. It has become very productive, yielding 

 2 tons good marketable hay per acre, instead of 

 one quarter of a ton of miserable polly-pod hay. 

 The other two acres of meadow have been drain- 

 ed and somewhat improved, and produces about 

 one ton of tolerable hay per acre. Two acres of 

 the ujiland have been in grass for 7 years, and 

 have given good crops every year, say more than 

 one and half tons per acre — without any other 

 dressing than an occasional spriidiling of the 

 drainings of the barn and slaughter yards, which 

 is carried on iu a hogshead, placed upon a pair of 

 low- wheels or sled ; the hogshead having a scut- 

 tle on the upper side to receive the liquid, 

 which is dipped up with a large ladle, and is let 

 off through lioles iu the under side. Three quar- 

 ters of an acre of this grass was broken up after 

 being mowed in July, the present year, dressed 

 with 8 loads of compost, and harrowed, sown with 

 turnip seed, brushed and rolled. One acre, five 

 years ago was covered with whortleberry bushes, 

 and with some trees. After clearing, it wa.s 

 ploughed in 1830, and planted to potatoes : in 

 1831, to early peas and potatoes, and sown to win- 

 ter Rye in Septcndjer. In 1832, the produce vian 



