Litchfield enquirer., 1844-10-24

Z
du.i,s assished them Beg leave tomakethe follow
mr. report: 80. =.
--zsrhe tirs farm visited was that OF Benjamin M
Peck of yatertown, consisting of about 70 acres,
prncinapy Of a.grarell, loan, about halt 10 pas
tiire n In moving, l3 in tillage, acres OF wood,
with a stock Of six cows, horse, yoke OF oxen,
ii head of young cattle, and II sheep. Mi. Pec&s
improvements consist in clearing his land OF stones
and having them into neat and substantial Wals'
subduing bushes and noxous weeds, and retaining
we. places by understanding. Ia carrying forward
these improvements Mr.. Peck has given evidence
of sound practical Judgment, united with untlrnS
industry and most ndomitable perseverance. The
reatness and order which characterizes the appear
ance of every field upon the farm Is peculiarly
pleasing Large patches which few years since
were covered with alders or white bush are entire
w sabdued and not vestige Of a root remaining,
and in their place is seen growing the most luXu-
rant grass, and nearly the whole Of the sManpy
swales bordering-upon small stream when runs
through the farm where once grew only very coarse
grasses fit for nothing but the compost heap are
perfectly reclaimed by the introduction OF more
than 90 rods of underir-iin, now producing spe-
ciey of meadow grass mixed with finer grasses pro-
ducing valuable kind Of bay in great abundance
Tie field of corn consisting of l-2 acres was
very good one, and exhibited the general characte,
rsc OF all parts of the farm, that OF neatnesS ana
order. Mr.. Peck manures upon the turf, Pioughs
once hoes three times applies plaster and ashes
some Of his fields species of small redtop or spear
grass tiourishes remarkably tenacious OF lie, whlch
throws an abundance OF seed, stalks with bushy top
covering the ground with thick growth TO the eX-
tclusion Of the sweeter and more nutrlcloS
= If when these fields are pieughed Mr. Peck would
thoroughly slbdue.th3 kind of grass before laying
down, and then seed'witi clover and herdsgrass s
with a 1iAaral ass,l ioakifp - f.'|7 -, .e
fielsas mi5ht possiblysbe made to produce more a.
bundant and nutritious pasture.
Z. All the swamp grass and brakes which are not
extertnnatedare carefully collected and carried to.
the barn ward, thus materially augmenting the
sources of Fertility. Mr.. Peck also makes use of
the annual sediment of an artificial pond upon his
premises which he applies to good advantage d-
'recty as topdressing to his meadows. The build
isgs have been kept in excellent repair and every
thing about them exhibit neatness and order. The
i comm !tea would have been pleased to witness
little iaore attention to the garden in enrchlng the
soil DISCRIMINATING the weeds, and cultivating with
care and sill all those vegetables which renders
this very important part of the farm productive
and profitable.
Leaving Mr.. Peck your committee proceeded to
examine the farm of Chauncey Dayton of"Waters
town, consisting of $50 acres. Some parts are a
graye!ly loan, but principally loamy soil, with a
tenacious subsoil, which renders the surface some
what moist though not swampy, except on the
lowest parts, and peculiarly adapted to the growth
OF brakes, briers, whitebush and aldeIs. do acres
are in woodland and the remaining ITO are divided
into meadow, pastnrage and tillage. Mr. ID. s inn
provemsnts dixie Mr.. Pec'ks) consist in removing
the stones into walls, blasting where necessary,
terminating bushes and brakes, smoothing the sur
face seeding and earching by manure and plaster,
and in addition neat and convenient two story
dwelling house and barns, constructed for conve-
nience and durability. These improvements have
been made within II Or fifteen years. Mr.. D. gave
us an estimate of the products Of his farm for this
year which were IS loads so tons of hay, 2 acres
4 nj run ahoolyc 70 tho 10 0r
shockss2 acres corn we judged one acre would pro-
dure IS to 3d. the other 60 bushels. potatoes.
The stock consists Of % head a ntte, > horses, IS
sheen, Mr.. D. may he said Literally to have accom-
pshed the resurrection of his lands, for lands that
are feasible and OF easy cultivation producing
= abundant crops, were fifteen years ago covered to
the depth of 10 to DO feet with growth of aldcrs
so thick that rabbit could not be seen ten wards
and nsto driving oxen through them it was impns-
sble. The walls apd fences abunt fhe farm are re-
i4nassahlY wall iaslt--arge rocks have been blast
,sea ter from their beds, and hauled to the line of
sh iii to sibserve the better purpose of protect
cling the growing crop from the depredations of the
;Safru,iin,, herd. Were the materials which COM
pose these walls strawed upon the surface Of the
fields as they would appear had they all been dug
from tie earth before any We're removed, none but
stout heart and strong arm would venture to en-
counter them. A faint hearted man would prefer
to pick up preaarions living by peddling clocks,
or removing to smooth and even prairie OF the far
west, or to the sunny plains OF Texas even. An
exception to the above description is seen in two
fields at the north end of the farm lying more ele-
waited and differing from the rest in surface and soil
it being light loamy soil partaking somewhat Of
the -gravelly, comparatively free from rocks and
stones, producing abundant crops with triing
outlay Of manure. Mr.. Dayton has acres Of Or
charding, consisting of trees of all ages superannu-
ated trees removed and their places supplied by
young trees engrated with choice fruit.
A littln aft ia Ne oar in Svhdn;po
the weeds, enrichng and fertilizing the ground,
cultvating the small fruits, and erecting yard
fence, would render his place more inviting. But
an apology is found, also in the case of Mr.. Peck,
in the immense amount of labor expended in i'm
provements in another shape. Mr.. ID. has some
beautiful specimens of the balsam fir in front of his
house which promise in few years to become ele-
giant trees.
The next farm visited by your Committee, was
that of Mr.. John H. Nettleton of Watertown, of
19S acres consisting o. tract of about 40 acres ly
ing East of the turnpike, of sandy loan occupying
principally for moving, including small field Of
plough land and pasture. The body ofthe farm ri
ses gradually to considerable elevation west Of
the turnpike, and consistsof tenacious clayey sub.
soil, the surface soil partaking somewhat of the ma
ture of the subsoi and moist that if it lay more
level, draining would be necessary before cutiva-
ton could be successfully prosecuted But in its
present shape presents asoil inviting improvement,
and ahundantly rewarding any reasonable outlay Of
labor or capital Fifty acresNof tnis tract previous
to coming into the hands Of Mr.. NJ, II years since,
had considerable part of it been cropped with
buckwheat several years successfully untilit would
no longer produce remunerating crop, when some
parts OF the field which seemed to be more fertile
or rather less barren than the rest were selected
and the same course pursued, until finally the
whole was abandoned as Of little value. In this
condition 1t came into the hands of Mr.. NJ IL years
ago, with broken down fences, and producing her.
bape SuIiciant to sustain but yery small stock