Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1859-03-10

Extraordinary improvement upon Small
Farm.

Extraordinary improvement upon Small
Farm.
AIF. EDIreE--Therp is an instance Of farm
Improvement in this town, three m les from
my residence, that justly deserves to be known
to aNappreciators and lovers eff Agricultural
advancement. visited that farm last July,
and was so struck with its altered appearance
, from that OF former years, that requested
pernlissionof itsowncr, Mr. Nathaniel Spauld-
Ing, to make a statement in writing to some
Agricultural paper, of the ways and means
he had adopted and pursued to make such a
distinguished mark in so few years--not only
10 the change and Improvement Of the soil,
rendering valuable and fertile, what, few
year ago was comparatively of but little value
and almost barren, but the change in the
buildings, in The &c eral aspect of the place
-now comedy, convenient and beautiful,
where but few years since twas the picture
of desoIatlon, uninviting in the extreme.
This farm consists Of twenty-five hcres.
brook meadow, Of clayey soil some part Of
it approaching to swamp muck; and ~ acres
upland, Of cobble stone surface, IN wood and
pasture-42 acres mall. Mr.. s. informed
me that he bought il at auction, and moved
on to it in 1853--pricc $3.50. "An old shell
Of hous, and barn, Ito use his own express
son,) was then upon it, "and some parts Of
the meadow SO wet that team could not be
Y driyeRyovcr it to get what rktle pool 'haN
grew upon it, There was but little Of IL
that could be plowed to advantage, From
eight to ten tons water grass Of poor quality
was the product Of the first years hay crop.
1 Mr., s. says he has made over 600 rods Of
drain. Main bitches, three feet wide, and
from three to six feet deep; the bottom Of the
drains are boards; space II inches square,
covered with fiat stones, with shavings from
the lumber with which he was erecting new
buildings, and hemlock brush, thrown into
the drain upon the covering stone, and then
filled with EARTH The cost of these main
bitches averages 50 IL cents per rod His
cross drains leading into the main ones, are
four rods apart, Is inches wide, stones (cob-
bles) thrown in loose, covered with brush,
and filled with earth. The cost Of these cross
drains is 80 cents per rod
Mr.. s. thinks the increase Of production
for the two years following the draining, paid
the whole expense Of making these drains
He is undoubtedly correct in his estimates,
for this work was performed by himself and
boys.
Mr.. s. says the production of these rs
acres in 1857, only four years from the time
be commenced on the farm, was 30 tons
English hay, $50 bushels Of corn, and $50
bushels oats. Aud this from SOIL though
not exhausted, but so located as to be kept
saturated and filled with cold spring water,
to such degree as to discourage and forbid
cultivation only on the dryest parts and in
the dryest seasons.
Those Skeleton buildings, or mere apollo.
gies for house and barn of which Mr.. S.
speaks, have given place to convenient and
commodious stone house, Of permant durabil-
lily, and other out-houses sufficient for every
convenience, forming II group of farm build
ings for durability and beauty not often sur
passed in our rural districts And all this is
the work Of one man and his family, in less
than six years; for | think but little has been
paid for labor, and that little to carpenters
and joiners.
The value of this little farm has nearly in
creased to ten-fold in the hands of its present
owner; and such a.. example cannot but
have its effect in its immediate locality. A.
ready the contagion is caught and some Of
his neighbors are beginning to construct drains.
Tiles are now made here and find a ready
sale. The reclining wet lands and bringing
them into fertility has been proved to be a
paying investment and thousands of acres
In New England, now worthless or nearly SO,
are destined within the next ten years to be-
come our most valuable and permanent grass
lands while other thousands of acres, now
too wet for the pillow, will be so drained as to
become among our best grain growing lands,
suitable for annual rotations of the grasses
and the cercals.-J. w. CoLBURN, Spring.
field, VI.