362 
THE CULTIVATOH. 
Dec. 
CONNECTICUT FARMS. 
Having had an opportunity the past autumn, of pass¬ 
ing through a portion of Litchfield county, Ct., -we 
submit a few remarks in relation to some of the farms 
we hastily examined. 
The general surface of this county is much broken, a 
large part being hilly or mountainous, and the soil, in 
many instances, naturally rocky, cold and wet. These 
characteristics mark it rather as a grazing, than a til¬ 
lage district; and we, consequently, find that the princi¬ 
pal agricultural products are butter, cheese, wool and 
cattle. The rarity of plowed fields and grain crops, 
strikes the attention of the traveller accustomed chiefly 
to arable farming, as a novel circumstance, and might 
lead to an unfavorable conclusion in regard to the ad¬ 
vantages of the section, and the condition of its rural 
population. But though limited in the variety of their 
agricultural productions, we are convinced that there 
are few neighborhoods where the farmers, generally, 
are in more independent circumstances than here; which 
shows that there are facilities for prosecuting certain 
branches of husbandry advantageously. The moist and 
stony soil—even where it is impervious to the plow— 
readily produces grass, and affords pasturage to sheep 
and cattle. The smoother and better parts of farms 
are reserved as meadows, and furnish hay for wintering 
the stock. 
The section is susceptible of great improvement by 
draining. Much of the land on the large swells is natu¬ 
rally too wet, even for grass-many places producing only 
coarse, aquatic plants, and others a less nutritious her¬ 
bage than might be grown if the soil was properly drain¬ 
ed. The sloping position of the land renders its drain 
age comparatively easy, and in many situations, plenty 
of stones for filling the drains might be taken from the 
fields, and with decided advantage as to their fitness for 
tillage. 
We believe that improvements, by drainage and 
otherwise, may be undertaken in this section with every 
prospect of success and profit. The trials which have 
already been made, as well as all the circumstances 
bearing on the case, clearly indicate this. With the 
advantages of a ready market, and good prices, for 
every description of produce, which are here offered, 
we should anticipate a better remuneration for judicious 
expenditures in improving these lands, than from agri¬ 
cultural operations in the u far west;” and we think a 
proper appreciation of the whole subject cannot fail to 
check the tide of emigration. 
We are happy to say that a spirit of improvement is 
evidently awakened among the farmers of this neigh- 
bornood, and it is to be hoped that they will persevere, 
as they have every encouragement to do, in the good 
work they have begun. 
The southern part of the county is less elevated than 
the central—or about Goshen and Litchfield—and is 
much better adapted to the general purposes of agricul¬ 
ture. Though hilly, the aspect is generally pleasant, 
and the scenery often fine. Watertown, adjoining the 
line of New Haven county, embraces a tract of good 
land. Grass is the principal product, but good crops of 
Indian corn, rye, barley and oats are raised, and apples, 
pears, peaches, and other fruits are readily obtained. 
Lands in this neighborhood have greatly risen in value 
witlin a few years. Farms which, only twelve or 
fifteen years ago, would scarcely sell for fifteen to twen¬ 
ty dollars an acre, will now bring thirty-five to fifty 
dollars. This advance has been caused chiefly by t*he 
•nterprize of a few individuals, who, by their well-eon- 
ducted improvements, have developed the actual re¬ 
sources of the soil, and displayed the results of judicious 
husbandry. 
We saw in Watertown many farms which presented 
gratifying evidence of the good management and thrift 
of the occupants; though from the shortness of our vis¬ 
it and the unfavorable character of the weather, we 
were prevented from making more than cursory ob¬ 
servations. 
The farm of John H. Nettleton consists of 200 
acres. It received the first premium as the best culti¬ 
vated farm in Litchfield county in 1844. It lies mostly 
on the eastern slope of a large hill. Previous to its 
coming into the possession of the present owner—about 
fifteen years since—much of the tillable portion had 
been 11 hard run,” and was given up as “worn out” 
and good for nothing. The whole farm would support 
but little stock, and produced no crops that paid the ex¬ 
pense of cultivation. Mr. N. immediately commenced 
improvements. He dug out the loose stones, blasted 
rocks and built walls; made drains, subdued alders and 
other shrubs; then plowed the cleared and drained parts, 
sowed grass seeds, and top dressed with plaster. The 
reclaimed lots soon yielded large crops of grass, and 
enabled him to commence keeping cattle and sheep. He 
has now gone over more than a hundred acres, a great 
part of which is brought into what may be called per¬ 
manent meadow, and is, notwithstanding its former 
roughness, so smooth that the scythe readily takes the 
whole crop. The mowing grounds are sometimes—say 
one year in three or four—pastured with sheep, which 
tends to thicken the sward and keep out wild plants, 
and this course, with occasional light top-dressings of 
plaster and manure on the poorer parts, keeps up the 
grass, with no diminution of quality or quantity. 
The usual stock of the farm is thirty head of cattle* 
two hundred sheep, and five to six horses of different 
ages. The cattle are high-grade Devons, which are 
found to do well for all purposes. We noticed sevemi 
handsome cows, and a bull—the latter we believe took 
the first premium at the late show of the county. He 
is of remarkable bulk for his frame, and one of the 
strongest-made and most muscular bulls we have ever 
seen. 
The flock of sheep has been noted as a good one fo r 
several years. The wool is of excellent quality fo r 
Merino, and the average weight per fleece over four 
pounds, washed. Mr. N. has exhibited rams at some 
of the shows of the New-York State Ag. Society, which 
have been commended by good judges. 
Mr. N/s buildings are well designed His dwelling 
is a good specimen of a farm house—sufficiently spa¬ 
cious, neat in appearance, and comprising all the con¬ 
veniences and labor-saving appurtenances which intel¬ 
ligent Yankee men and women so well know how to 
provide. Owing to the difficulty of conveying heavy 
loads over a hill farm, especially in spring while the 
ground is soft, Mr. N. has erected several barns—five 
in all—in such situations that the hay may be stored, 
and the manure carried out with as little labor as pos¬ 
sible. The stock is wintered at the different barns in 
such divisions or lots as is found expedient. Each barn 
is provided with water, either by an aqueduct or 
well. 
The fences are principally walls, the stones for which 
as before mentioned, it was necessary to remove before 
the soil could be occupied to advantage. The fields 
