THE CULTIVATOK. 
341 
THE MASSACHUSETTS PREMIUM FARM. 
In 1843, the Massachusetts State Agricultural Society, 
awarded a premium of $200 to Mr. Benj. Poore, of West- 
Newbury, for <c the best cultivated farm’ 5 within the 
State. We condense the following from Mr. Poore's ac¬ 
count of his farm, as published in the New-England Far¬ 
mer. The farm is known as the Indian Hill Farm.” 
Number of acres. —Exclusive of woodland, salt marsh, 
&c., there is 121| acres, three of which are enclosed as a 
garden and nursery, and between six and seven acres 
planted with forest trees. There are six acres of 
mowing land which have not been drained, because his 
neighbor, through whose land the drain would have to 
pass, prefers to keep his meadow in natural grass —leav¬ 
ing 86 acres which are about equally divided into upland 
and meadow; the latter all reclaimed in the most perma¬ 
nent manner, and divided into fields, numbered from 1 to 
14, which is found very convenient for reference in the 
journal always kept on the farm. 
Nature of the soil. —The highlands are gravelly loam, 
resting on a clay pan, and crops are seldom injured by 
wet or dry weather. Of the meadows, some portion is a 
strong clay that would make bricks—others rich, black, 
alluvial soil. These were of no value till drained. It 
was first fenced to keep off the cattle that they might not 
get mired in going on it to feed on the coarse wild grass 
which grew there. It is now so hard that a team may be 
driven over it without any difficulty. About sixteen 
years ago, Mr. P. employed a Scotch farmer, whose 
knowledge and experience in draining, proved of much 
advantage. 
Depth of plowing.— The precise depth is not mention¬ 
ed, and we are left a little to conjecture how deep Mr. 
Poore means when he says “ we always plow deep, and 
are well satisfied deep plowing never injured our lands. 
Kinds of crops cultivated. —About 10 acres of Indian 
corn and potatoes. Corn produces 72 bushels per acre. 
Mr. P. thinks rye should be sown early, say in August, 
or late, say in October. Two bushels of rye are sown to 
the acre. Corn and potatoes are cultivated entirely in 
drills. The arguments in favor of this mode are, that 
less manual labor will produce a crop. A double mold 
board plow is used in digging potatoes. Plowing in au¬ 
tumn is preferred—the earlier the better. The long barn¬ 
yard manure is used in a green state, put in the drills 
where the corn and potatoes are planted. When the 
crops are removed in autumn, the land is thrown into 
ridges by the double mold board plow. Spring crops are 
oats and barley. Wheat was formerly sown, but latter 
years has not produced well. The manure is chiefly used 
with the corn and potatoe crop, and not much on laying 
the land down with small grains and grass, as it tends to 
produce too rank a growth of straw. If top-dressings are 
used, compost is preferred. The fields are cultivated as 
near as possible in rotation. Made last year 363 loads, 
30 cubic feet to the load, of compost manure. 
Number of acres mowed for hay. —Mr. P. mows 86 
acres, commencing early in the season, as the horses are 
kept up all the year, anil the oxen at least three quarters 
of the year—therefore a portion of the grass is used for 
soiling. Estimating the hay on hand first of August at 
500 cubic feet to the ton, at which rate it is often sold, 
there was on hand 157 tons. 
Flooding grass lands.—Twenty acres of Timothy mea¬ 
dow was flowed in the winter of 1842-3. The result 
was an injury to the grass. The water it is supposed, 
laid on too long. The experiment will be repeated—let¬ 
ting the water remain on only two or three days at a 
time. 
Oats and barley —The Scotch two rowed barley, and 
the Scotch potatoe oat are preferred. Three bushels of 
oats and 3 to 3| of barley are sown per acre. 
Laying down meadow lands to grass. —After the hay 
crop is taken ofl^ the land is plowed, laying the furrows 
flat, and rye and grass seed sown, with a liberal top- 
drcssing, and then rolled. A bushel, and in some cases, 
a bushel and a half of grass-seed (kind not mentioned) is 
sown per acre. 
Saving and making manure. —Manure is saved in every 
way that it can be obtained. Compost is made from the 
parings of the ditches, leaves, meadow-muck, &c. In 
addition to the ordinary means of saving the manure of the 
stock, a cistern for saving the urine has been construct¬ 
ed, and is thus described. “ It is 13 feet in diameter and 
15 feet deep, constructed of stone and cement; into this 
runs the stale from the stable, ox house, cow house, and 
all the liquid from the cow yard, the suds and wash from 
the dwelling; over are the water closets of the dwelling, 
two in the basement, two on the ground floor, and two in 
the chamber; these are connected by covered passages to 
the dwelling; in the second story is a place for putting 
down loam or any material wished for compost, which 
we do weekly; back of the building and under the base¬ 
ment, is a convenient place to throw out the compost, 
which we do semi-annually. There is nothing offensive 
in the smell, and we think too high an estimate cannot 
be placed upon this appendage to the farm.” 
Live stock —The stock kept on the farm, is six oxen, 
ten cows, and from four to six horses. The cattle are 
Durhams, “ which,” says Mr. P., “ for our farm we think 
have no equal.” The calves are shipped south and west 
when six months old, except such as are necessary to 
keep the stock good. The calves are generally put to 
drink as soon as dropped. Sometimes, when a very fine 
one is dropped out of season, it is allowed to run with 
the cow. Mr. P. considers this an expensive mode of 
rearing calves, but says the prices he has often obtained, 
fully justify it. 
No cheese is made of late years—the milk being sold, 
except what is wanted for family butter at the house. 
Swine. —From six to fifteen, at different seasons, are 
kept. They are mainly supported by wash from the 
house and unsaleable vegetables. The manure of the 
horses and cattle in summer, is thrown into their yards, 
and they are kept well supplied with turf-parings, sods, 
young weeds, &c., which are often removed to the com¬ 
post-heap, and a fresh supply given in return. 
Orchards, fyc. —There are 347 apple-trees, from which 
there were formerly made 75 barrels of cider. Recently 
the trees have been headed down. Of pear, peach, plum, 
apricot, and cherry-trees, there are 1,200, planted out at 
different times within the last ten years. 
Laborers. —There are three departments. The farmer 
and three assistants, and two boys.—the gardener and one 
assistant, and the machinist’s department, which is com¬ 
posed of one blacksmith, one stone mason and wall buil¬ 
der, one wheel-wright and carpenter. They all keep se¬ 
parate accounts, and when one exchanges time it is re¬ 
paid the same as if with a neighoor. Since 1826, Mr. P. 
has had a Scotchman as foreman, and with the exception 
of one Dutchman and one Welchman, the laborers have 
all been Scotch, English, or Irish. Foreigners cannot 
do as much work in one day, as the Americans, but they 
do more work in one month, and infinitely more in a 
year. They are not afraid of wet or cold, and having 
been raised to labor, are content to labor. The foreman 
being a foreigner, can manage them better. They also 
prefer him, as they can work as they have been accusto¬ 
med. Mr. P. says, “ having made a rule that when they 
were deserving to provide better situations for them af¬ 
ter they had become accustomed to the climate and man¬ 
ner of farming here, I can at any time, from the neigh¬ 
borhoods of those who have faithfully served me, supply 
myself, at sixty days notice, with any number of farmers 
or mechanics, at the old country wages, which do not 
exceed upon the average £12 per annum for farm ser¬ 
vants, or £20 per annum for mechanics. In addition, 
board, washing, and lodging, if single—and use of cot¬ 
tage and garden, and one quart of milk per day and board 
themselves, if married. I wish no better men than I ob¬ 
tain at these prices.” 
Barns —The main barn is 120 feet long and 42 wide. 
In the basement or cellar, (though mostly above ground) j 
are horse-stables, ox-house, threshing mill, cider press, j 
hay press and vegetable cellars, which are filled by ri- j 
sing hatches in the floor above. There are also two 
wings 80 feet each, one of which is a cow-house and a. 
wood-house in the basement or cellar—the other a pig¬ 
gery, and over it a carriage-house, work-shop, henery, 
&c. The Darn is devoted to hay and straw, and all the 
cattle are fed, by putting hay down in the racks. The 
