372 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



MAT SO, IK39i 



ploughing ; a finer kind after ploughing on the other 

 part and thoroughly dragged in ; planted with the 

 eight-rowed yellow corn in hills about 3 ft. apart; 

 hoed twice ; topped tlic stalks about the 1st of Sept. 

 Of coarse manure there were applied 12 loads to 

 the acre, (of .30 bu. each) and of the fine kind which 

 ■was dragged in, about 9 loads of the same size. — 

 The produce of the above was 44 bushels to the a- 

 cre ; no manure was put in the hills. 



I planted the past season one acre of potatoes 

 the 2Cth (if May, part of which was manured in the 

 hill, and the other part plaster was put in the hill. 

 The product was 320 bushels, but not much difi'er- 

 ence was obser\-able between those manured in the 

 hill or where plaster was put in; though I think 

 the result depends considerably on the season. They 

 ■were of the kind called pink-eyed & black potatoes. 



5. I generally manage my green sward as above 

 with corn and'potatoes, though occasionally 1 turn 

 over a piece about the first of July, cross plough in 

 September and sow with wheat or rye as soon as 

 the 20th. 



6. I mowed the past season 30 acres, all upland ; 

 21 acres of which is natural meadtjw, too wet for 

 the plough ; the remainder of plough land averaged 

 ] 3-4 tons to each acre — in all, 52 1-2 tons. The 

 quality consists of the kinds natural to our climate : 

 clover, herds grass, red top and other fine grasses. 



7. As to irrigation, I have a small stream of wa- 

 ter which runs most of the season, that I turn upon 

 my meadow, which irrigates about 2 1-2 acres, the 

 effects of which are very beneficial. 



8. I do not manure the land upon which the wa- 

 ter flows, though I manure occasionally my other 

 natural meadows with my finest manure, which is 

 applied about the 1st of April ; the present year it 

 was applied the 3d of April : also, immediately af- 

 ter haying, I apply such manure as I have about my 

 barn to my grass lands. 



9. I reclaim low lands by ditching with an open 

 drain and manure put tipon the same, in which I 

 have good success, increasing the quantity from 

 two to three fold. 



10. My crop of ruta baga failed from the drought 

 the present season. I planted one-third of an acre. 

 I afterwards sowed the same with the field turnip, 

 which produced 45 bushels. I shall feed them to 

 my horned cattle. 



11. I have sowed 15 acres of oats after corn 

 They were sowed from the 1st to the 10th of May::, 

 the corn hills were split and then dragged and cross 

 ploughed once; 2 1-2 bushels of seed were sown 

 to the acre — produce, 33 1-&: bushels to each acre 

 on an average. One acre of spring wheat of our 

 common kind, was sowed after potatoes, ploughed 

 twice this spring without nMnure ; the land was 

 plastered as soon as the wheat appeared out of the 

 ground. Two bushels of seed were sowed to the 

 acre. The seed was soaked in strong brine one 

 week and rolled in lime. The product was 20 bu. 

 4 qts. 'J he winter grain harvested this year was 

 3 3-4 acres ; 3-4 acre was in wheat, the rest was 

 in rye. Product, rye, 55 bu. ; wheat, 15 bu. 12 qts. 

 This was oat and rye stubble ploughed once and 

 manure applied to the surface and dragged in, about 

 8 loads to the acre. 1 he wheat was of the red ball 

 kind ; it was soaked in brine and rolled in lime ; 

 1 1-2 bu. of seed to the piece ; the seed of rye was 

 1 1-4 bu. to the acre. The soil was of the kind 

 called loam. 



12. I have laid down to grass the present year 

 about eleven acres. I sowed my seed at various 

 times on my winter grain ; on the 20th of April the 



rest was sowed with spring grain and was dragged 

 once; afterwards it was dragged twice more. I 

 calculate to apply six quarts of seed to the acre of 

 clover and herds grass ; of each an equal quantity. 



13. I use my straw for litter for my stables and 

 barn-yard. I collect leaves and the turfs from my 

 ditches and otiier places occasionally, for the litter 

 of my hog-pens. 



14. J have kept, tlie last year, throe pair of oxen, 

 five cows, ten young cattle, three horses and fifty 

 sheep and lambs. My barn is 40 by 50 feet : it 

 has no cellar : it contains two large cow-houses. 

 A good part of my manure is under cover. I have 

 generally kept about one-quarter more stock than 

 I have the present year. 



15. My cows are mostly of the native breed. 



16. My manner of raising calves is as follows: 

 I take those that come during the month of .March, 

 from the cow at one day old ; feed them with new 

 milk about two weeks, then feed them until about 

 the 15th of May with skimmed milk, and then turn 

 them off to pasture. 



17. I have made G.50 lbs. of butter and 558 lbs. 

 of cheese (all new milk) since 1st of April. 



18. I have kept lOswine, a mixtureof the Moco, 

 Berkshire and grass-fed breed. I have made, the 

 present season about 2250 lbs. of pork. I feed my 

 hogs during the summer on the slops from the house. 

 They run in the pasture and occasionally have a 

 few potatoes. I fatten them upon apples, potatoes, 

 pumpkins, and corn. I get from 15 to 20 loads 

 manure from my hog-pen or yard, and 150 loads 

 from my barn and sheds. 



19. I employ on my farm one man constantly, 

 and my son, 14 years old, works during the sum- 

 mer. I hired 2;3 days work during haying and bar 

 vesting; also 20 days work at other times during 

 the season. I pay my man by the year .$1.50. 1 

 pay occasional laborers one dollar per day during 

 haying and harvesting, and 75 cents at other times, 

 with board. 



20. I have about 90 apple trees, mostly of natu- 

 ral fruit, though I have a young orchard coming on, 

 principally of grafted fruit. 



21. I have about 12 fruit trees (other than ap. 

 pies,) consisting of a variety of cherries and plums. 

 They have ever been healthy. 



22. I occasionally furnish some spirits to my 

 men during haymg and harvesting, in very small 

 Vluantities. 



23. I have 71 acres in pasturage this year ; have 

 kept three horses at 42 cts. each; three pair oxen 

 at 83 cts. a pair; five cows at 25 cts.; four 3 yr. 

 olds at 20 cts. ; two 2 yr. olds at 17 cts. ; four 

 calves at 5 cts. and 50 sheep at 1 1-2 ct. This 

 would amount to $7 09 per week — from 20th of 

 May to 20th of November, 6 months or 24 weeks, 

 would amount to $184 34. 



24. My seed corn I put into warm water the 

 same morning I plant it and roll it in plaster, when 

 I take it out during tlie day, and apply to my corn 

 as soon as it comes up, plaster and ashos-^J-2 bu. 

 plaster and about 2 bu. ashes mi.xed to the acre. 



25. I used 2 3-4 tons of plaster the present sea- 

 son, worth ground $9 per ton. Sowed some on my 

 natural meadow 27th of April; the remainder on 

 my other grass and plough lands, such as oats, 

 wheat and rye occasionally, according to the weath- 

 er, up to the 10th of May, excepting the oats, on 

 which 1 sowed plaster until about the first of June. 

 I sow about one bushel and a peck to the acre. 



I have on hand two pair of fat oxen, which will 

 weigh 50 cwt. ; two pair of steers, 31 cwt enu- 



merated in the number of cattle above ; but the 

 value of the beef not included in any estimate of 

 products. 



I make the whole product of the farm this year, 

 not including the beef on hand, -91881 17. 



FA JIM REPORT B. 

 To Benjamin Guild, Esq., Secretanj of the Massa- 

 chusetts Agricultural Society : 



Sir — The subscriber having made application 

 to the Massachusetts Agricultural Society for the 

 premium for the best farm, submits the following 

 return in conformity to the questions contained in 

 the premium list, published by order of the trustees 

 of the Society. 



Questions munbered and answers made in the 

 same order as found upon tlie premium list: 



1. My farm consists of 200 acres. 



2. Eighty acres consists of a mixture of clay and 

 loam; 40 acres of sand and loam: the remainder 

 is of black loam with clay bottom. 



3. I consider the best method of improving my 

 lands to use two hundred weight of plaster upon 

 the clay and loam, as also upon the sand and loam 

 to the acre ; and fifteen cart-loads of manure upon 

 the black loam with clay bottom. The plaster and 

 manure to be applied annually ; Jhe manure in a 

 compost state, generally. If the condition of the 

 land require it, I put the same quantity of manure 

 upon the clay and loam and sand and loam lands in 

 preparing it for corn or wheat These lands I seed, 

 pasture, or mow for the terra of four years succes- 

 sively. I plough, plant, or sow them afterwards 

 for the same term. 



4. I till 50 acres. All my land is susceptible of 

 tillage excepting 18 acres, which are too wet for 

 that purpose. When I use manure I put 15 cart- 

 loads upon the acre. 



5. I apply my manure in a compost state. 



6. I spread and harrow in manure which is put 

 upon ploughed land. 



7. In cultivating grees sward, I turn it overearly 

 for corn, harrow it, and plant thereon. I prepare 

 it in the same manner for wheat or ryo. 



8. I mow twelve acres of upland. It produces 

 two tons of hay to the acre. 



9. I practise no irrigation. 



10. I manure all the land I mow. I put fifteen 

 cart-loads upon the acre once in three or four years, 

 in a compost state, of common barn-yard manure. 



11. I mow 18 acres of low land not suitable for 

 the plough. The quality is herds grass and red-top. 

 It produces one aud a half tons per acre. 



12. I have no bog or peat lands upon my farm. 



13. I have this year twenty acres in corn. I 

 turned over the greensward, dragged it, and plant- 

 ed the seed dry. I used no manure this season. 

 I have 120 bushels of ears of corn to the acre this 

 year, but my corn will not average more than 75 

 bushels per acre. 



14. I have only one and a half acres in potatoes 

 this season. I turned over green sward, put fifteen 

 cart-loads of manure to tJie acre, and harrowed it 

 in ; planted in hills and hoed them once only. I 

 have two hundred bushels to the acre. The kind 

 is English whites. 



15. I have only one-half of an acre of common 

 English turnips. They yield at the rate of two 

 hundred bushels to the acre, and I shall feed them 

 to my milch cows. 



16. I have 13 1-2 acres of winter grain and 14 

 acres of spring grain. For winter grain I turned 

 over green sward, harrowed and sowed it. I sow- 



