48 
THE CULTIVATOR. Feb. 
that measures have been taken by the citizens of Deer¬ 
field and vicinity, to preserve the old house; and by 
making it the repository for Indian antiquities, and re¬ 
lics connected with the history of the place, render it 
still more an object of interest than it has hitherto 
been. 
In Deerfield as well as in several towns in this vi : 
cinty, there has been of late years considerable quan¬ 
tities of broom-corn produced. The value of the 
brooms manufactured from this article in Deerfield, was 
not long since estimated at $10,990 per annum. 
We had but little time to view the country in the 
neighborhood of Northampton, as we only arrived there 
the afternoon previous to the cattle show, and the 
weather happened to be unfavorable. We called on 
Wm. Clark, Esq,, who, besides being considerably en¬ 
gaged in agriculture and horticulture, is carrying on a 
large paper manufactory. He showed us some of the 
finest pears and grapes that we have seen. Mr. C.has 
been greatly instrumental in encouraging improvement 
in husbandry. He originated, we believe, a plan of 
seeding land to grass, which has been, with good suc¬ 
cess, considerably adopted. Fields occupied with In¬ 
dian corn are made smooth at the last working, (no 
hills left,) and grass seed sown, and when’ the corn is 
harvested it is cut close to the ground with a hoe. 
The grass gives a good crop the next season. 
Mr. Henry Strong w T as so kind as to take us in his 
carriage and show T us a portion of the large body of 
intervale here. He estimates that there is not less 
than 7,000 acres of this kind of land in this town. Most 
of it is very productive. The lots are not usually di¬ 
vided by fences—stakes only marking the lines between 
the various owners. Numerous roads or avenues are 
left, so that every lot is readily accessible; and a ride 
through these beautiful grounds, loaded with the rich¬ 
est crops of various kinds, is one of the most delight¬ 
ful that can be imagined. 
A little below Northampton, the river passes be¬ 
tween two mountains—Mount Holyoke on the east, and 
Mount Tom on the west; and at some former period, 
there appears to have been a connecting ridge between 
the tw r o elevations, which has been worn away as the 
river deepened its channel. The barrier to the current 
which existed here, is supposed to have formed a lake 
above the mountains, and occasioned the deposite of 
the broad alluvion which we have described. The 
river until lately, made a remarkable bend at this place, 
called the “ ox-bow.” The distance round this singu¬ 
lar turn was between three and four miles, but by cut¬ 
ting across a neck of land, only about twenty rods in 
width, a comparatively straight current was given to 
the w r ater, and the old channel is filling up, which will 
afford many acres of excellent land. 
Mr. S. H. Bates, son of the late Hon. Isaac C. 
Bates, has a farm of nearly two hundred acres, most 
of which is excellent land. He was. at the time of 
our visit, engaged in removing and repairing his build¬ 
ings, some of which had become old and out of order. 
He and Mr. Strong purchased a Hereford yearling 
bull of Mr. Sotham last spring, which bids fair to 
make a first-rate animal. We have before mentioned* 
that the Hereford bull sent to this country upwards of 
twenty years ago by Admiral Coffin, was kept here 
for several years. 
The village of Northampton has been long and just¬ 
ly celebrated as one of the pleasantest in New England. 
There are many neat and tasteful residences, and they 
have generally an agreeable rural air. The “ Round 
Hill School,” once so popular, was located here. A 
“ Hydropathic Hospital” has taken its place. We 
passed through the grounds belonging to the establish¬ 
* Cultivator for 1847, pp. 41, 42. 
ment. The site overlooks the village, and commands 
besides a view of the neighboring towns, Amherst, 
Hadley, &c., embracing extensive landscape scenery, 
which for beauty and loveliness can hardly be surpassed. 
Farmers Clubs. —Besides a state agricultural so¬ 
ciety and several county societies, there are in Massa¬ 
chusetts many neighborhood associations or clubs, 
whose object is improvement in rural affairs. Most of 
them are sustained with a good deal of spirit, and their 
general usefulness is obvious. In Conway—a town lo¬ 
cated among the hills of Franklin county—there is a 
flourishing society of this kind. The members hold an 
annual exhibition of live-stock, and agricultural and 
household products. The various crops are examined 
while standing in the field, by committees chosen for 
the purpose. The club has been in existence for sev¬ 
eral years, and its favorable effects are seen in the va¬ 
rious departments of farming \ animals have been im¬ 
proved, the yield of crops augmented,* products of 
household manufacture increased, and their quality im¬ 
proved, and a liberal and enterprising spirit generally 
infused. 
Amherst, in Hampshire county, has a similar asso¬ 
ciation. Their show, held at Amherst in November 
last, is spoken of as one of much interest—a very 
large number of people having been called together. 
Addresses were delivered by President Hitchcock, of 
Amherst College, and others. 
Comparative advantages of this Section.— 
Ever since the first settlement of the country, the Con¬ 
necticut valley has been celebrated for its beauty and 
fertility, and from what we have seen, we think it pro¬ 
bable that, taking into consideration the character of 
the soil, the ease with which it may be worked, the 
variety of productions that may be cultivated and which 
find a ready sale at the highest prices—there is no part 
of the country which possesses greater advantages than 
this. Add to this the healthfulness of the climate, the 
excellence of its social and civil institutions,, the beauty 
of its scenery, its means of easy communication, and 
other advantages, and where can be found a more 
agreeable or desirable region? 
Farming in Turkey. 
Dr. Davis of South Corolina, at the solicitation of 
the Turkish government, has gone to that country, to 
introduce modern improvements in agriculture. He 
found the only plow used in Turkey, a log, elevated at 
one end on two wheels, shod with iron at the lower 
extremity. Wheat is cut with grass scythes, raked up, 
and then trodden out by horses on the ground. It is- 
cleaned by throwing it up in the wind. Wlien ground,, 
there is no separation of bran and flour. 
There is usually no frost till January. 
Under the improved culture given by Dr. Davis, the 
cotton crop is found to do better than in the Southern 
States of the Union. 
Indian corn was formerly sown broadcast by the 
Turks, and received no cultivation. The ill-success 
of such culture may be easily guessed. Planted in 
rows, and cultivated with the one-horse plow, with 
which the Turks are delighted, it promises to succeed 
finely. 
Sub soiling. —The Mark Lane Express notices im¬ 
provements made on the farm of Lord Stairs, in Wig- 
ton shire. One part was drained, subsoiled, limed, and 
thoroughly pulverized, and then produced forty bushels 
of wheat to the acre, where only twelve were raised 
before. 
* For a notice of the crops of Indian corn raised by members of 
this Club, see Mr. Clary’s remarks on the discussion in relation to 
the “ Profits of Farming,” at Boston, published in our last volume, 
page 206 . 
