AND HORTICULTUrjAL REGISTER. 



^ 



PU1U.1SHED BY JOSEPH I5IlECir& CO., NO. BzliORTH MARKET STREET, (AanicaLTua. 



L AVarehouse.) 



XVUI.3 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 26, 1840. 



N. E . FARMER. 



For the New England Farmer. 



3RT ON THE BEST CULTIVATED 



FARMS, 

 e Committee oftlio Trustees of the Massachu- 

 Afrricultural Society, for awarding premiums 

 ; best cultivated farms, have attended to that 

 and report as follows : 



B number of claimants is but four. The com- 

 : cannot withhold an expression of their deep 

 , that among the many enterprising and suc- 

 1 farmers of ourcommonweallh, sn few should 

 ind disposed to put in their claims for the j 

 '. premiums offered by the Society. I 



; Society believed that they could in no way I 

 promote the interests of agriculture, than by i 

 iriating a considerable portion of the funds, I 

 in former years had been expended at the { 

 I cattle show at Brighton, in a way that they I 

 would operate as a stimulus on farmers to j 

 ■e the condition and thereby increase the pro- I 

 jf their farms. And here it may be observed, 

 !iile they have considered it advisable to be- 

 a large amount in premiums for the best cul- 



farm?, and for the most successful efforts in 

 Iture of the various crops, they have also 

 le regard to the encouragement of farms, in 

 roductioi! ard propagation of iri'prcved brectii , 

 k. This they have done by distributing a \ 



of their funds to the county societies, 

 had, in a great measure, absorbed the inte- 

 lich before their establishment had been ta- 

 thc Slate show at Brighton, to be appropia- 

 them, under the direction of conunittees 

 le State society, in premiums for the best 



The results, as reported by the committees 

 ■ed to that service, have fully satisfied the 

 33 of the expediency of that measure. And 

 h their efforts to bring about a competition 

 farmers for premium.s on the best cultivated 

 lave not been attended with all the success 

 uld wish, they nevertheless hope and be- 

 ley will eventually tend to elicit much use- 

 rmation, and to elevate the character of our 

 tural community. 



ng the few farms offered for inspection with 

 of obtaining a premium, the committee are 

 in finding most of them of a character high- 

 :orious, and deserving of public notice and 

 tion. 



system pursued by Robert Colt upon his I 

 Pittsfield, with some few exceptions, we j 

 ghly judicious, and fully entitles him to the 

 le appellation oi" 5.' skilful and enterprising] 

 His time and manner of ploughing, his : 

 lans for making compost, and his rotation ] 

 , are such as we apprehend all judicious 

 must approve. 



committee are aware that many good far- 

 luld consider Mr Colt's plan of '^applying ' 

 green manure, as a top-dressing, upo/i grass ; 

 I be bad economy, believing it better to mix \ 



ISO. 34. 



fhis manure with loam or peat mud during the suiii- 

 mer, and to spread the compost upon the grass in 

 the following spring. It is, however, the practice 

 of many very successful farmers, to apply long ma- 

 nure 10 their grass lands in the manner pursued by 

 jWr Colt. This top-dressing of long manure when 

 j applied in the spring when the grass is starting, 

 ( the only time at which any top-dressing should he 

 I applied, is subjected to but trifling loss from evapo- 

 I ration, being soon shaded by the grass, and the nu- 

 tritive parts which are disengaged, are carried down 

 by rains. It is by the fermentation of long manure 

 when unmixed with other substances, to imbibe the 

 ga.'ies, or what is called ammonia, more than by dry- 

 ing, that the nutritive properties of manure are lost. 

 But when swamp or peat mud or loam can be had 

 to mix with unfermented manure, the committee are 

 of opinion that the farmer will find it more economi- 

 :al to make a compost for h\s top-dressing. The 

 mud or vegetable mould will imbibe all the ammo- 

 nia that is thrown olt by fermentation, and at the 

 same time add much to the value of the heap. By 

 mixing lime with the mass the compost will be 

 greatly benefited, as it will hasten the disengage- 

 ment of ammonia, and at the same time aid in cor- 

 recting the acidity in the peat mud. 



Mr Colt turns over his green sward in the sprino-, 

 which we think preferable to fall ploughing. It Ts 

 well known that any vegetable or animal substance 

 wh.'U buried in the spring or fummer, will decom- 

 pose more rapidly and thoroughly, and of course 

 the soil made lighter, than when buried in the fall 

 or winter. There is another very great advantace 

 derived from spring ploughing. The green her- 

 bage which is turned under wi'l furnish an ample 

 supply of food for the worms, which usually abound 

 in green sward, and will therefore seldom seize up- 

 on the growing crop. The correctness of this theo- 

 ry has been well established by the experience of 

 some intelligent farmers made known since the 

 publication of the committee's last annual report, in 

 which this time of ploughing and for the .same rea- 

 son, was recommended. 



We take the liberty of suggesting for the consi- 

 deration of Mr Colt, whether it would not be an 

 improvement on his plan of rotation of crops, to 

 plant his sward lands iha iirst -Season after turnino- 

 over, with corn, roots, or other hoed crops, rather 

 than sowing with the smaller grains; and instead 

 of corn or roots the second year, to sow the smaller 

 grains and stock with grass seed, without disturbing 

 the inverted, sod. The surface the second year, 

 may be made sufficiently smooth with the cultivator 

 and harrow, for the reception of the grain and o-rass 

 seed, and it is unnecessary to assure any farmer 

 who will take the pains to examine for himself, that 

 the inverted sod which is kept down, is much lighter 

 and in better condition for allowing the roots of the 

 grain or grass to penetrate, than it can be put into 

 by all the ploughing that can be given to it. By 

 this process, the poorer part of the soil which has 

 been turned up, is kept at the surface and enriched 

 by exposure to the action of the atmosphere, and 

 by cultivation, the soil thereby deepened and im- 

 proved and |)ut in better condition for a second ro- 



tation. Some of the committee have tried Mr 

 Colt's plan of S(.wi.-;g grain upon the invertedsward 

 the first season after turning over, and have found 

 the crop to be materially injured by the grass grow- 

 ing up from between the furrow slices. Wiiere a 

 crop of corn or roots is planted the first season, the 

 grass is kept dov, n by the hoe, and the field left 

 clean and in fine condition for wheat, rye or oats, 

 and laying to grns^ the second season. 



The location of Mr Colt's farm is favorable and 

 the soil naturally good, and withal exhibits strong 

 proofs of judicious and successful cultivation. .Mr 

 Colt has also done much by way introducing and 

 propagating the improved breeds of cattle and swine. 

 The committee are therefore unanimously of opin- 

 ion that he is entitled to, and they accordingly 

 award him the first premium of SaoO. 



The farm of Joshua R. Lawton, of Great Barring- 

 ton, is well managed. The committee do not ap- 

 prove of all his plans, particularly his mode of 

 ploughing green sward, and his habit of stacking 

 and feeding out his hay upon his fields. His rota- 

 tion of crops we consider judicious, and exactly cor- 

 responds with the views of the committee upon that 

 subject. His- farming operations generally, are 

 conducted with a good degree of skill and success, 

 and with a very commendable zeal for improve^ 

 ment. The committecawardhimtbe third premium 

 of *150. 



The farm of '.iierense Sf. Wheeler, of Framing- 

 ham, appears: -to be well artti' proCtubiy inanageU !/y 

 Mr Vose, a very faithful agent. He manures libe- 

 rally, and considering the nature and quality of his 

 soil, he gets large crops. 



fn heavy manuring, judiciously applied, consists 

 in a great measure, the secret of profitable cultiva- 

 tion, and Mr Wheeler has no doubt satisfied him- 

 self of the fact, that one acre of land dressed with 

 forty loads of manure will yield a greater net profit 

 to the owner, than two acres manured with only 

 twenty loads each. This shallow ploughing is 

 decidedly objectionable, and should be denounced 

 by every farmer who calculates to thrive by the 

 plough. This deteriorating practice, so long pur- 

 sued by our ancestors, has reduced many of our 

 New England farms to hungry knolls or barren 

 wastes. Deep ploughing and liberal manuring are 

 the only sure and expeditious moans of restoring 

 them. If we would effect substantial and perma- 

 nent improvement of our soils, and desire to reap 

 abundant harvests, we must begin by deep plough- 

 ing. The reasons for this are too obvious, and the 

 principle too well settled to admit of a doubt. 



Mr Wheeler's buildings are well constructed, 

 and his plans for making manure are ample and 

 well contrived, having a cellar under the whole of 

 his barn, well adapted to this purpose. He has 

 been fortunate in the selection of his breed of 

 swine. It would have been gratifying to the com- 

 mittee to have boon informed of the age of his hogs, 

 the method and expense of fattening. The ave- 

 rage weight of 5 of the Jl hogs slaughtered on his 

 farm, was over .500 lbs. ; and the average weight of 

 the whole over 4J3 lbs. ; much beyond the usual 

 average weight of hogs. When the fact is so ap- 



