234 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



Our attention was called to less than three quarters of an acre of rhu- 

 barb, from which it was stated has been sold this spring five hundred dol- 

 .lars' worth of product. This rhubarb is raised between rows of grape-vines, 

 placed twelve feet apart, two rows being in each of these spaces. The lower 

 part of the vineyard is so appropriated, while in the upper part between 

 each two rows of grape-vines are two rows of either Lawton blackberry or 

 Fastolf and Franconia raspberries. These Lawton blackberries are now in 

 full bearing, and the amount of produce is bej^ond anything we have ever 

 seen — single stools certainly containing, in some cases, nearly, if not quite, 

 a bushel of fruit. Indeed, on the old wood, the leaves are scarcely visible 

 for fruit. This portion of the vineyard was stated to contain about eight 

 hundred grape vines, and consequently a far greater number of blackberry 

 and raspberry bushes, after being cleaned thoroughly in the spring, are 

 mulched with a coarse, salt hay, thus rendering all cultivation during sum- 

 mer unnecessary, and preventing the growth of weeds. The salt hay will 

 be removed in the fall and used as bedding during the winter. 



We next viewed a peculiar kind of fence, made by machinery, on the 

 farm. The pales are round and pointed at the top, while the rails are flat. 

 The pales are first made, and, after shrinking by seasoning, the rails of 

 green wood are bored to receive the pales, and shrink upon them so firmly 

 as to render nailing unnecessary. The manufacture of this fence, beyond 

 the cost of lumber, does not exceed ten cents per rod. It is both durable 

 and light. 



The Beet Crop. — The committee was informed that this crop will give 

 twelve hundred bushels per acre. It, in common with all other row crops 

 on the farm, is cultivated with the tools which will be hereafter described. 



The parsnip crop is as usual, and in former years was stated to have 

 given twelve hundred bushels per acre. 



The onion crop is supposed to be able to yield eight hundred bushels per 

 acre. The rows are perfectly straight, parallel, and free from weeds, and 

 the onion stands so thickly in these rows as to crowd each other. The dis- 

 tance between the rows being about twelve inches. 



The summer cabbages were nearly off, but from the portions remaining 

 it was evident that they had grown at less than twenty inches apart, or at 

 the rate of twenty thousand per acre. The refuse portion still standing 

 are five heads, and ninety per cent of them are doubtless marketable. 



The late cabbages, of which there are some acres, at the rate of twelve 

 thousand per acre, are in fine order and thoroughly clean. 



The potato crop includes several acres, and is entirely free from weeds. 

 The kinds grown are the Prince Albert, the Boydeu, the Peach-blow, the 

 Mammoth Nutmeg, and the Buckeye. The yield evidently will be very 

 large. 



We were shown a plantation of currants occupying less than the sixth 

 of one acre, from which has been sold, as stated this season, ninety dollars' 

 worth of currants. 



The leading feature of this farm, however, is its dwarf pear trees, stated 



