118 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



March 



taining wealth and power, as a means of securing 

 ha[)pincss, while others are satisfied with distinc- 

 tion at the sacrifice of time and money. There is 

 undoubtedly a proper sphere for every mind, in 

 which it should be employed, but how shall the 

 appropritite one be designated ? 



Happiness is that possession which of all others 

 is the most desirous. Contentment is happiness : 

 and if we are not satisfied with what we are, shall 

 we not strive to reach that goal which promises 

 higher enjoyments ? G. F. T. 



Dover, N. II., Jan. 14, 1861. 



Remarks. — There are exceptions to all gen- 

 eral rules. Some boys, while quite young, show 

 a most decided inclination for one particular pur- 

 suit, in preference to all others. Such an incli- 

 nation should never be disregarded, as, in nine 

 cases in ten, he will distinguish himself in the 

 profession he has chosen. 



LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETT. 



[Reported for the X. E. Farmer by Tdomas Bradley.] 



This third meeting was very well attended by 

 those who have the prosperity of the farmer at 

 heart. 



The meeting was called to order by Mr. Walk- 

 er, of I?rookfield, who introduced Hon. JoHN 

 Brooks, of Princeton, as the presiding officer of 

 the evening. Mr. Brooks, on taking the chair, 

 thanked the meeting, and announced that the 

 subject for discussion was, "What kinds of Farm- 

 ing are most Piojitahle in the different parts of 

 the State," saying that, as the question embraced 

 the whole State, he would not detain the meeting 

 by an address, but should be happy to hear from 

 the farmers from the different counties as to their 

 experiences. He said there were two kinds of 

 farming to be considered, high and low, intensive 

 and extensive, the latter where labor was dear and 

 land cheap, and the former where labor was cheap 

 and land dear ; there was also special farming, as 

 garden, fruit or flower farming, in some parts. In 

 other parts of the State a system of less intensive 

 farming was carried on, such as dairy farming, 

 where milk, manure, and hogs were the chief ob- 

 jects ; but these, of course, were more numerous, 

 and paid best where there was a contiguous 

 market for milk and pork. There is then, said 

 he, a wider range still in stock farming, which is, 

 perhaps, the most profitable, while there is still 

 another part where sheep farming undoubtedly 

 pays the best, and ho was satisfied that, with the 

 proper attention, this last might be made even 

 more profitable than it now is. lie closed by hop- 

 ing the members would not wait to be called on, 

 but give their views on the question. 



Mr. WiiiTE, of Petersham, said that in Wor- 

 cester County the farmers had various opinions 

 on the question, and that in the vicinity of his 



town the mixed system of farming prevailed ; but 

 more attention was paid to the dairy than to any- 

 other branch. They also raised good stock which 

 they would not hear spoken of disparagingly. In 

 the summer they had excellent pastures, and their 

 crops were second to none in the State, of those 

 Kinds required for dairy stock. There are few 

 branches of farming, said he, that require more 

 attention than successful dairy farming, and if the 

 statements he had received from some of the far- 

 mers in his county were reliable, and he thought 

 they were, he would say that this was among the 

 most profitable branches of farming. 



He spoke of a farmer in Barre who kept 16 

 cows, and said that last year these had produced 

 440 pounds of new milch cheese, at 10 cents per 

 pound, per cow, and he was satisfied this would 

 be considered as profitable as could well be de- 

 sired. 



Mr. Proctor, of Danvers, said he had seen 

 something of the culture in Essex county, and in 

 his neighborhood the men who cultivated from 5 

 to 30 acres, made as high as $40 per acre on it 

 by plowing thoroughly and manuring freely. All 

 kinds of vegetables are raised there, and, until 

 the destroyer, in the shape of disease came, the 

 most promising crop was that of onions. Within 

 a small circuit of his residence the speaker said 

 he had known of 100,000 bushels being raised in 

 one season, and had known many men who had 

 made more than $100 per acre, clear of expenses, 

 in raising this crop. This, said he, is a crop which 

 does not exhaust the soil, as with successive crops, 

 for 20 years the land will produce as high as 500 

 bushels to the acre. Hay is also grown of good 

 quality, and from one to two tons to the acre, 

 while beets and carrots were also a good paying 

 crop. Few realize so much by general crops, as 

 by the special crops for marketing, corn rarely 

 producing more than 20 or 30 bushels to the acre ; 

 still, within the past year, 30 bushels of wheat per 

 acre had been harvested in many instances, and 

 he hoped to see this grain more cultivated than 

 it had been heretofore. 



Mr. BusiiNELL, of Sheffield, said he would 

 speak for Southern Berkshire, where more atten- 

 tion had been paid to grain crops than had been 

 usual until recently, and he believed it was prof- 

 itable. For some years sheep had been the chief 

 subject of interest, and, even now, Berkshire 

 county has 40,000 of the 130,000 in the State; 

 but in a great measure owing to the ravages of 

 dogs, this branch of farming, which had hereto- 

 fore been very profitable, had been given up. He 

 hoped to see some action taken to strictly enforce 

 the dog law,* when he had no doubt it would 

 again prosper. The sheep in Berkshire county 

 were the fine wooled sheep, and they had been 

 kept for their wool, while in the vicinity of a mar- 



