1850. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
41 
visions was probably to get rid of the stones, which had 
to be removed from the soil before it could be worked. 
Some idea of the quantity of stones may be formed from 
the fact that these walls were made from four to six 
feet wide and four feet high. The foundations of many 
of them not being properly laid, and the materials not 
of the best kind for permanent walls, they had in se¬ 
veral instances settled down and flattened out, till they 
occupied much more room than ab first. 
When Mr. D. took possession of the farm, a few 
years ago, he soon discovered that it had two radical 
defects, which he determined to remedy. The first was 
the loss of land by the numerous old walls, and the in¬ 
convenience of working the small lots ; and the second, 
the want of drainage to the soil. In obviating the first 
difficulty, he adopted a plan by which he, in a great 
degree, obviated the second. He sunk the old walls, 
and the trenches 'where they are buried have become 
drains! He has in this way turned a large part of his 
farm into beautiful fields, of from 12 to 18 acres each. 
Where the walls on the lines of the present division 
were good, they w r ere left; where they were not good, 
they were rebuilt in the most substantial manner. The 
walls were sunk so low that the plow passes over 
without disturbing them. The mode of sinking the 
walls was by digging deep ditches close along side of 
them, and then throwing the stones in. The ditches 
were filled to a level with the surrounding ground, wfith 
the earth taken out, and the remainder is used in filling 
hollow's about the fields. The effect of the drainage is 
already apparent in the sw r eeter nature and more 
abundant growth of grass ; in the better and surer crops 
of grain which the land produces, and in the more 
healthy and thrifty grow T th and increased productive¬ 
ness of fruit trees. In some instances the sunken walls 
do not sufficiently drain the soil, and in such cases other 
drains are being made. 
Mr. D. is also reclaiming by under drainage, digging 
out stones, and leveling, a wet pasture, lying near his 
barn, which had never been plowed till last fall. His 
operations before spoken of prove that it will pay. 
The wuter from the drains is collected into several 
main channels. One of these is carried to the buildings, 
and furnishes water for the stock, &c., and another is 
emptied on a sloping meadow, and fertilizes several 
acres by irrigation. 
Attached to Mr. D.’s piggery, is a building wfiiere 
tripe and neats-foot oil are prepared for market. The 
shanks, feet, and heads of cattle are brought here in 
large quantities. The bits of skin are saved fbr glue, 
and the bones are boiled till the oil is thoroughly ex¬ 
tracted. The liquor in W'hich the articles have been 
boiled, is used for cooking vegetables for swfine, of which 
Mr. D. keeps about sixty head. The “ stores” are fed 
with carrots and turneps boiled in the liquor; for fat¬ 
tening, corn or corn-meal is added. 
The manure made from the hogs and the animal offal, 
is of much importance. The bones would be still more 
valuable, if some economical mode of crushing them 
could be devised. The want of such a mode, has pre¬ 
vented many of the larger bones being used to much 
advantage. The hoofs and the small bones of the foot, 
have been plow T ed into the ground, and their effect has 
been very beneficial. Apple trees have been made to 
grow rapidly from this application, and a piece of car¬ 
rots, sown among the trees, the past season, produced 
900 bushels to the acre. The larger bones, shanks and 
jaws, have in some instances been driven into grass- 
grounds. Mr. D. showed us a meadow, a portion of 
which had been “ boned” in this way, that had pro¬ 
duced as much hay the past season, as could be made on 
the ground. 
Mr. D. is turning his attention to the improvement 
of cattle, and has some pretty Devons—a bull and hei¬ 
fer—of the stock imported by the Mass. Society. 
Mr. Nathaniel Dodge, of Sutton, has a fine farm, 
especially attractive from the good order of his build¬ 
ings, the perfection and uprightness of his fences 
and the smoothness and neatness of his fields. He 
has been for several years noted for having fine work¬ 
ing oxen. In our volume for last year, page 68, we 
noticed a pair of his cattle W'hich had been fattened. 
He informs us that these w T ere sold in Boston for 
$400. He has now a pair of brindled oxen <c as like 
as two peas,” quick, strong and handsome—which he 
is willing to put to the plow against any pair of horses. 
We called for a short time at the farm of Col. J. 
W. Lincoln, Worcester. Col. L. was absent, but his 
foreman showed us the out-buildings, the stock, and 
a portion of the farm. The buildings are commodi¬ 
ous and very complete, presenting a fine appearance. 
A large piggery has lately been built ; all the under 
portion, or that with w’hich the hogs come in direct 
contact, is made of stone, and of so permanent a 
character, that for aught we can see, it may last 
for ever. The premises exhibit unmistakeable evidences 
of good management. The fields are w 7 ell laid out, and 
fenced with stone walls of the most substantial kind. 
Col. L. has paid considerable attention to cattle. 
He has several yoke of fine oxen and steers, and some 
of the best cows and heifers we have seen. He has 
tried the Ayrshires for several years, and is w'ell 
pleased with them as dairy cows. He has several full 
bloods which are good specimens of the breed. His 
bull and some heifers w T ere lately purchased of the 
State Society. 
Col. L. cultivates about an acre of carrots, yearly, 
for feeding his covrs in wfinter, and the average yield is 
600 bushels. The cows are warmly stabled, and w T hen 
fed with good hay, (Col. L’s. appears to be of the 
best kind,) and half a bushel of carrots to each cow 
per day, they wfill make nearly as much butter, when 
fresh in milk, as on grass feed. 
The farms of Ex-Governor Lincoln, and his sons, 
Messrs. W. S. and D. W. Lincoln, are near the city 
of Worcester. The original farm of Gov. L. consisted 
of about 300 acres ; but it has been encroached on by 
the growth of the city, and a considerable portion has 
been sold for house lots. The land is very productive, 
particularly for grass. Gov. L. showed us a lot of 
seven acres, which kept six eow T s constantly, the past 
season, and yet the grass was not entirely kept 
down, notwithstanding the extreme drouth. It has 
never been plow r ed but once, but has once been top- 
dressed with a peat compost and harrrowed. 
Gov. L.’s sons are ardently devoted to agriculture 
and horticulture. Mr. W. S. L. has a snug place, 
with new buildings, and has already made a demon¬ 
stration in farming wiiich augurs well for his ultimate 
success. Mr. D. W. L. is more especially engaged in 
horticulture. He has a nursery of fruit trees. He 
finds, how’ever, that the cultivation of choice fruits of 
some kinds, is more profitable than raising trees for 
sale. He is, therefore, giving much of his attention 
to the culture of pears,—mostly on quince stocks,— 
and grapes. He has a fine cold vinery, filled mostly 
wfith the Black Hamburgh variety, and has also vines 
in his green houses. The vines appeared in excellent 
condition, and we w r ere informed had borne w r ell. 
Mr. L. obtains his manure chiefly from a slaughter 
hmse, on his land. The manure is made into compost 
with muck and litter, and used after it has decom¬ 
posed. To prevent annoyance and loss from the es¬ 
cape of odors from the manure, he uses charcoal- 
dust, which is occasionally spread over the manure, 
under the slaughter house, and the hogs w 7 hich are 
kept there, w 7 ork the dust into the manure. He uses 
