1860. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



205 



er. He said that the question depended entirely 

 on the location of the land to be cultivated. He 

 considered that in Worcester county, particularly 

 about where he resided, the hay crop was the 

 most profitable, as in making milk it made the 

 best return. The fruit crop he considered very 

 valuable, but he did not think that a bushel of 

 corn could be raised in his county for less than 

 $1. He considered that the value of corn fodder 

 had been too highly estimated, as, from experi- 

 ments carefully made by the Board of Agriculture, 

 at Westboro', it was decided that it was only one- 

 fourth the value of English hay. He thought that 

 after com, turnips and carrots were next in value. 



Col. Brigham said he thought apples were the 

 most profitable crop, for money, a farmer could 

 raise, and he named the Baldwin and Hubbards- 

 ton Nonesuch as the best kinds, giving the prefer- 

 ence to the latter, as he said it bore every year, 

 while the former bore every other year. It might 

 be argued, said he, that if every farmer went to 

 raising apples there would be no market for them, 

 but he said England would not only take all that 

 could be raised in this State, but in New England. 

 He thought a crop of Baldwins could be depended 

 on every other year, as he had only known this to 

 fail once in the last twenty years. 



Mr. Cp.osby said that from his experience he 

 thought there was not so much benefit derived 

 from an orchard of 10 acres as from 10 acres of 

 rye. On his farm the yield of corn for the past 

 30 years had not averaged less than 50 bushels to 

 the acre, and the price had averaged $1 per bush- 

 el in the market. He spoke of the value of Indian 

 meal to young cattle, and said that from experi- 

 ments with three calves, that a friend of his made, 

 feeding two entirely on hay through the winter 

 and giving the other a gill of meal with hay, the 

 latter was worth the other two together in the 

 spring. 



Col. Heard said that he did not consider the 

 question for discussion included the raising of 

 fruits, as he thought that more pertaining to the 

 horticulturist, and it was with this understanding 

 he had previously spoken. As to raising flax, he 

 considered that this must depend on the demand 

 for the article. In Middlesex county, some years 

 since, a premium had been offered for a crop of 

 flax, and quite a number competed, and the premi- 

 ums were awarded, but there was no demand for 

 the article, and the culture ceased. 



Dr. LoRiNG, of Salem, said the question under 

 consideration involved all the great interests of 

 agriculture, as it was the first matter to be decid- 

 ed, all others depending on it. From his experi- 

 ments, reading or inquiry, he had not been able to 

 ascertain what is the most profitable crop to raise. 

 We have been told that corn can be raised 

 for 35 cents per bushel by one speaker, while an- 



other says it cannot be raised for less than $1, and 

 while this difference existed, he thought it unfair 

 that a man should be charged with want of brains 

 because he advocates root culture. I don't know, 

 said he, that corn is indigenous to Massachusetts. 

 I have never seen or heard it proved, and I don't 

 believe it. 



He admitted that fruit culture was profitable 

 for a time, but this did not last. He spoke of 

 ren'^vating old apple trees, and said that in a 

 measure he knew this was profitable, but he would 

 not advocate its being followed up, as it would not 

 pay for tho time. 



In relation to flax, he said that Mr. Allen had 

 neither given the cost of raising the crop or the 

 value of it, and in the absence of this it could 

 not be considered. He doubted if on light, san- 

 dy soils, the hay crop was the most profitable, but 

 on heavy soils he had no question as to the profit 

 in raising that crop. In considering the compar- 

 ative value of hay, corn and roots. Dr. Loring 

 said it had been stated that a good crop of corn 

 would yield 75 bushels to the acre, while the sta- 

 tistics showed that the average in the State was 

 only 30 bushels. Without agricultural skill, said 

 he, nothing can be done in farming, and he then 

 estimated the cost of raising 75 bushels of corn to 

 the acre, saying that it would requiie 8 cords of 

 manure to the acre, at $5 per cord ; seed, plowing, 

 &c., $10 ; cultivating twice and hoeing twice, $8; 

 cutting, $1 ; getting it to the barn, $1, and husk- 

 ing, $3 — making $63 per acre in the corn-house. 

 With the same cultivation and manuring, he con- 

 tended 1000 bushels of carrots could be raised, 

 and this he considered a very profitable crop, and 

 the most advantageous in his section, as taking 

 it for granted that an acre of carrots could not 

 be cultivated for less than $60, it left $87 per 

 acre of profit. It had been argued that the effect 

 of roots on land was bad, but in Essex county 

 no crop had been found so good as the carrot, 

 which, although it could not be cultivated year af- 

 ter year, left the ground in the very best condition 

 either for grass or corn. He spoke of fai-mers 

 in the Western part of the State having to send 

 to Albany for corn at a cost of $1 per bushel 

 saying that two-thirds of this expense would have 

 been saved had they raised root crops. 



Dr. Loring then spoke of the value of the 

 tops of carrots for fodder, and said that in his 

 estimate he had allowed nothing for this. The 

 introduction of turnip culture was an era in the 

 agriculture of England, and Mr. Webster had 

 considered it such an event as to date the rise in 

 English agriculture from that time. 



Col. Heard thought no good farmer would neg- 

 lect raising as great a root crop as he could profit- 

 ably attend to with his other crops, as he consid- 

 ered it of great value on any farm, but he sup- 



