1860. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



11 



plow the whole field to about half the depth of 

 the first plowing. Spread another fourth of the 

 manure upon plot No. 3, and harrow or cultivate 

 the whole field ; after which som' or plant the whole 

 evenly, with any crop preferred. Finally, spread 

 the remaining quarter-part of the manure upon 

 plot No. 4. 



"Observe that by pursuing this course, each of 

 the five lots will receive equally, a deep plow- 

 ing, a shallow plov\'ing, and a harrowing or cul- 

 tivating, the only difference in them being that in 

 No. 1 the- manure is buried deep, in No. 2 shal- 

 low, in No, 3 buried only slightly, but coated with 

 loam, and in No. 4 left exposed upon the surface ; 

 while No. 5 gets no manure. The manure is to be 

 spread broadcast and as evenly as possible. The 

 after cultivation should be the same on each of 

 the lots, and the harvest of each should take place 

 at the same time. 



"Let a statement of the character of the soil, 

 whether light or heavy, dry or moist, leachy or 

 retentive of manures, the crop of 1859, kind and 

 amount and mode of application of manure in 

 1859, size of field covered by the experiment, 

 depth of first plownig, kind and amount of ma- 

 nure used in 1860, kind of crop, when and how 

 sown, number of times and manner cultivated, and 

 weight of product on an average rod of eac'"" plot, 

 be made in 1860, and returned in the annual re- 

 port of each Society. 



"If there is a double product, as grain and straw, 

 corn and stover, let the weight of the secondary 

 product be given on each plot. 



"If the competitor weigh the whole crop instead 

 of estimating it by an average rod, there will be 

 no objection to such a course. 



"A brief synopsis of the weather for each of the 

 following months, by dividing each month into 

 three parts, and using the terms dry, moist, and 

 ■wet, to indicate the general character of the weath- 

 er, will also be expected. 



Middle Third. 



Last Third. 



First Third. 

 May, 

 June, 

 July, 

 August, 

 September, 



"A similar report of all the above items, except 

 the nature of the soil, will be made in 1861, and 

 in 1862, when the premiums v/ill be awarded. No 

 manure is to be applied to the second and thii-d 

 crop." 



" Voted, That the Secretary of the Board be re- 

 quested to offer premiums which will secure an 

 adequate comsensation for the time and labor con- 

 sumed in the experiment." 



I hereby notify your Society of the above vote. 

 Evidence of a compliance with it will be required 

 before I shall feel authorized to draw a certificate 

 for the bounty to any Society. 



One of the greatest obstacles in the way of ag- 

 ricultural progress is the difficulty of obtaining re- 

 liable facts and statistics as a basis upon which to 

 establish principles and construct theories. As a 

 general rule, theories are first advanced, and then 

 isolated facts are brought forward for the pui'pose 

 of proving their truthfulness. It is true that ag- 

 riculture is not, in the usual sense of the term, 

 and probably never will become, one of the exact 

 sciences ; yet there are many things connected 

 with it which ouirht to bo taken nut of tho rpo-ion 



of conjecture, and placed, by repeated and multi- 

 plied experiments, upon a more substantial basis. 

 A single fact or experiment may be of only trifling 

 value in itself considered, but when added to 

 scores or hundreds of others, the whole collective- 

 ly may elucidate a doubtful point, or settle a vexed 

 question. 



With these considerations in view, the Board 

 asks and requu-es the attention of every Society in 

 the State, to render any aid in the solution of the 

 question here considered, and to act in concert 

 with it, and with each other, in such a way as 

 to give to the result the greatest possible practical 

 and scientific value. I would suggest that the ro- 

 tation be limited to corn, grain and grass. 



Allow me to call your attention to the Act of 

 1859, ch. 232, sections 1, 2 and 3, and especially 

 to sections 4 and 5, authorizing the Board to make 

 the above requirement, and the penalty of a disre- 

 gard of, or a failure to comply with it. 



I would simply suggest that premiums of $25, 

 .$20, and $15, have been offered by some of the 

 Societies, and that it is desirable that no offers 

 should be smaller than these amounts, as the ob- 

 ject above indicated is to induce a multiplicity of 

 expermients. Chakles L. Flint, 



Sec. State Board of Agriculture. 



For the. Xew England Farmer. 

 A "WET MEADOW. 



I wish to ask through the Farmer in regard to 

 a bay meadow that I have. It contains about five 

 acres, and the muck, ten feet from the shore, is 

 about eight feet deep ; in the centre I have never 

 found any bottom. I have dug down eight feet, 

 and then run a pole down ten feet, and not founcl 

 the bottom. I have dug a ditch through the cen- 

 tre of it, and several side ditches, five feet Avide 

 and eight feet deep. But on account of a meadow 

 below, I cannot* drain it but about eight inches 

 from the top, where the water stands all the time. 



About three years ago, I took a piece of it, and 

 cut the top all off", and put on sand, two inclies 

 deep, and then put on a top-dressing, and sowed 

 on herds grass seed in August, and since I have 

 had great grass. But the bogs are growing uji 

 again, and I don't know what to do with it. The 

 muck is the finest I ever saw. I had to wheel on 

 all the sand, as no team can go on to it. Will 

 some one tell me, through the Farmer, hoAv to 

 manage this meadow ? How will cranberries do 

 on it ? How shall I fix it for them ? 



West Tuwnsend, Mass., 1859. 



Remarks. — You must di-ain more thoroughly, 

 and then you can make a garden of such a mead- 

 ow. If those owning land below, prevent your 

 draining, call the laws of the CommonAvealth to 

 your aid. See Act on Draining, chapter 104, 1855, 

 entitled an Act to authorize the making of Roads 

 and Drains, in certain cases. 



Brine Poisonous to Animals. — The Ken- 

 tuchj Turf ^e</(>!'(??- says a gentleman at Lawrence- 

 burg, Indiana, recently emptied brine from a pork 

 barrel into the yard. A number of hogs and one 

 horse partook of it. In less than six hours the 

 hnrsc find seven b'^r's wot" f!p."'1 



