VOL. L. NO. 2 158. 
NEW YORK, JUNE 6, i89i. 
PRICE, FIVE CENTS. 
$ 2 .oo PER YEAR. 
THE POSSIBILITIES OF NEW ENGLAND SOIL. 
One Cow on Every Acre. 
A successful farm maker; rooting out old ideas; “ Down 
with useless fences!” the science of soiling crops; 
“ stay East and sell water! ” 
I F we were asked to name the best living representa¬ 
tive of progressive New England agriculture of our 
acquaintance we should certainly say A. W. Cheever 
of the New England Farmer. We do not know of any 
man who has been more truly success¬ 
ful in turning a rough New England 
cow pasture into a successful and prof¬ 
itable farm where the farmer keeps 
pace in thought, dignity and power for 
good with the increase of the fertility 
of his farm. The story of Pine Hedge 
Farm may be familiar to many of our 
New England readers, but it will be 
new and instructive to readers in other 
parts of the country. In 1795, Mr. 
Cheever’s grandparents settled on this 
little tract, which contained then 32 
acres with “ cider apples ” as the chief 
crop. The rear part of the old house 
occupied by these worthy people is 
shown at Fig. 156. A six-foot man could 
pass through the door only by stooping 
and he could touch the ceiling of the 
rooms with his bare head by standing 
on tip toe. For this place the Cheevers 
agreed to pay $650. One cow was kept 
in the hovel and the annual stock of 
hay was carried in on a fork from the 
swamp and field. No team was kept or 
hired by the previous owner who lugged fuel from the 
near-by woods on his back in summer or upon a hand sled 
in winter. Water for domestic purposes was dipped from 
a spring bordering on the swamp at the rear of the dwel¬ 
ling. In those days a good spring decided the location of 
many a homestead. 
Inspeaking of the 
influences that led 
him to remain on 
this old homestead 
Mr.Cheeversays, in 
the New England 
Farmer: “It was 
no fault of mine 
that I was born 
among the rocks, 
or that I was heir 
apparent to part of 
a 100 -acre farm 
which yielded so 
little that not a dol¬ 
lar of wages or 
pocket money had 
ever reached me 
during my minor¬ 
ity. At 21, like 
many other farm¬ 
ers’ sons, I had the 
choice of striking 
out as farm laborer, 
learning a trade, or 
remaining on the 
old homestead and 
running the risk of 
making it satisfy 
the condition for a 
home and accom¬ 
paniments. I chose 
the latter, having a 
strong faith in good 
farming, even o n 
comparatively poor land. I do not know the exact valua¬ 
tion of the farm at that time, but the annual taxes were 
about $18. No annual inventory was taken until I took 
the management, but my father kept accounts of all receipts 
and payments and I can show an annual footing or balance 
sheet for the entire 48 years the farm was under our man¬ 
agement. In some of the early years the entire money 
transactions, including hired help, animals purchased, 
farm and family supplies, were less than $300, and the in¬ 
come from farm produce sold, work with team for others 
and domestic straw work of the family—not a mean item— 
was about the same. 
“ The problem presented me for solution was—shall I 
leave the home of my childhood to seek a better or easier 
farm to work and run the risks of a poor selection, pay the 
cost of hunting out the better place, or shall I settle right 
down here and make this over to suit my own ideas as far 
as circumstances will permit ? I chose the latter and never 
regretted the choice.” 
Past and Present of Pine Hedge Farm. 
The farm is now owned by a subscriber of The R. N.-Y., 
who writes about it as follows: 
“ Pine Hedge Farm is situated in the old town of Wren- 
tham, Norfolk County, Matsichusetts, and is about 30 
miles from Boston, 15 miles from Providence, R. I., two 
from a railroad station, and one from Sheldonville, the 
post-office address. To use the language of the former 
owner, A. W. Cheever, editor of the New England Farmer 
‘ I spent many years on one of the most forbidding farms 
originally that can be found in Massachusetts.’ The soil 
is a loam, quite deep, very springy, and stands the drought 
well. It is naturally very rocky, but, thanks to Mr. 
Cheever for his pluck and persistency in removing the 
rocks and using the stone walls for underdrawing, we 
can to-day use sulky plows, mowing machines and all 
other labor-saving farming implements with as much 
ease except for hill side as the farmers of the Western 
States. Mr. Cheever’s system of raising forage crops en¬ 
abled him to double and quadruple hie stock. This farm 
some years ago contained 50 acres of tillage and pasture 
land, and kept about seven animals, including a horse and 
pair of steers. After a while one-half the area was given 
over to forest growth. The remaining 26 acres were so 
improved by clearing and draining that they soon carried 
double the stock the 50 acres had previously supported. 
Still later greater improvements were made, particularly 
by heavier manuring and double cropping, and the stock 
was again doubled. The 26 acres supported four times the 
number that could be kept on the 50 acres by the old sys¬ 
tem, while the net profits were many 
times doubled, and by the introduction 
of labor-saving implements and horse¬ 
power in place of hand-labor, the num¬ 
ber of hands employed remained about 
the same as when the 50 acros were 
cultivated. 
“Before the Improvements were made, 
the fields averaged less than two acres 
each, while several contained less than 
half an acre. The large rocks undis¬ 
turbed after building the three or four 
miles of heavy walls were thicker in the 
mowing and tillage fields than were 
ever the haycocks in the best grass year. 
We have now one field of 22 acres and 
one of four acres without a wall or 
fence; which fact adds much to the 
beauty and park-like appearance of the 
farm. The brush and brier-covered old 
walls have been used for draiuing 
and road-building. The whole farm is 
thoroughly underdrained and on some 
acres of swamp it would be impossible 
now to find room for another under¬ 
drain. Every acre is now capable of producing from two 
to three tons of English hay. It has produced 39 bushels 
of the choicest wheat per acre, weighing up to the stand¬ 
ard of 60 pounds per bushel. Ten acres in corn produced 
over 950 bushels of ears. The orchards are very thrifty, 
and the past year 
produced more 
fruit than any 
other orchard of the 
same number of 
trees In the vicinity. 
Increasing the size 
of the fields has re¬ 
duced the cost of 
plowing, cultivat¬ 
ing and harvesting 
to a minimum. The 
pasture, see Fig. 
159, contains about 
five acres, and is 
used more as an 
exercising ground 
than for permanent 
grazing. 
“In 1882 Mr. 
Cheever said: ‘My 
farm has grown 
fodder enough to 
keep one animal 
per acre a year, and 
is now producing a 
considerable por¬ 
tion of the grain 
consumed and also 
the seed required 
for sowing, and I 
am sure that I have 
by no means reach¬ 
ed the limit of pro¬ 
duction. Indeed, I 
sometimes feel that 
I have hardly begun to realize the possible productive 
capacity of these 26 acres and two crops per year do not 
come quite up to my ideal.’ 
“The buildings are comparatively new and built from 
the money made on the farm. Hedges of White Pine, 
Arbor-vitao, Hemlock and Sweet Locust surround the 
buildings, and are kept closely trimmed. They protect 
the lawns and buildings from the dust of the highways 
and heavy drifting snows. The hedges on the north and 
west sides are allowed to grow taller for the same protec¬ 
tion. The tall pine hedges are continued from the barn 
down on each side of the cow lane—see Fig. 158— leading 
Ra¬ 
pine HEDGE FARM HOUSE 80 YEARS AGO. Fig. 150. 
PRESENT BUILDINGS ON PINE HEDGE FARM. Fig. 157. 
