Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1870-04-19
Improvement Of Farms.

ty New Hampshire recently held a
meeting for the purpose Of discussing
"The best method of improving our
farms"
Mr.. Noah Farley of Hollis was in
favor or blowing grass land inspiring.
spreading the manure afterward and
then fnrrowing, being careful not to
go deep enough to disturb the sod
de would plant corn, or some other
hoed crop, stirring the manure in
only by the hoe, trusting to rains to
work down the strength of the ma
nure. The second year he would
split tho hills and manure in the same
manner. The third year he seeds
down with oats or rye.
Mr. Ramsdell thought that harrow
ing was better than blowing to mix
the manure with the soil. When
seeding down he applies green ma
nure. Thought the seeding crop
does not exhaust such fertilizer but
leaves it for grass. Corn exhausts
half the fertilizer the first year.
Three or four good crops of grass
may DC obtained in this way. Ma
nure must be well rottcd before it
can DO taken up by plants. The
best way to improve many New Eng
land farms is to let ono half Of each
grow up TO wood. We try to cult
vate too much.
The President, B f. Hutchinson,
said he carted mud into cellar and
conveyed urine into it. He mixed
barn yard manure. salt, muck and
lime together carted it to the grass
field and turned it under with q
Michigan piow. In the Summer he
applies this compost to corn fields
and raises from rs to SO bushels to
the acre. The second year he plows
egaiD and sows grass seed without
any grain and always gets huge
crop. He pulls all weeds, and the
third year there would be two crops
of grass.
Capt Ames said be improved his
farm as much by turning portion
10 fruit as to grass. A few years ago
he raised abont S75 worth of apples,
and last year he sold $1,000 worth.
His grass crop had increased in 10
years from % to go tons. lie breaks
up his land in the Spring, puts on
20 cart loads of manure to the acre,
spreads it on the burrows, harrows
IT, and then burrows it again for corn,
and gets fair crop. Then in the
Fall he GROSS burrows, and afterwards
puts in wheat or oats, putting on a
bushel of salt and another of plaster
to the acre, and the grass holds on
eight or ten years.
Mr.. Swallow, of Nashua, thought
a barn cellar was one of the best
things on farm. He once bought
an old and impoverished farm, and
the pricipal agent in bringing it into
state OF fertility was a cellar under
the barn. His crops were more than
doubled under its influence. He
scrapes together everything that
makes manure and puts it into the
cellar. He prevents steam by ven
tilation.
Mr.. Proctor, OF Milford, thought
there were two distinct ways TO i'm
prove farm. One was by reclaim
ing the land and raising good crops !;
the other was by making it attract
i've in appearance Build q good
house, put up neat buildings, plant
fruit and shade trees, lay out walks,
plant grape-vines, apple, peach and
pear trees, flowers, etc. OF course,
The first and chief object of farming
is money. New England farmers,
have got to depend chiefly upon muck
aud stock for profit, and therefore,
grass and hay are the basis of all
farming with them.
Mr.. Moulton, said that forty years
ago he picked potatoes for bushel
a day, and they were worth only IL
cents. If the farmers of that day
could make farming pay with pota-
toes at II cents, and corn so cents,
surely we ought to make it remuner-
alive now, at the higher prices
Nine years ago he bought six acres
OF land that was said to be wor thless,
tor 5000 But in the year before he
sold it for $1,000, be raised LOO
bushels of ears of corn. $50 bushels Of
potatoes, los bushels of beets, 200
bushels OF mangel, and considerable
quantities of other crops. How did
he do IT? By blowing as deep as
possible with two yoke of oxen,
taking off all the stone, and manur-
ing we'll. He would rather have one
load of manure kept in barn cellar
than two kept out of doors. There
is no need OF stencil manure can be
kept cool by keeping hogs on it. He
would have all the house DRAWINGS
led into the barn cellar.
The President said that there were
five elm trees in front of his house,
which were planted by his GRANDPA
Their 81 years ago, and he considers
the value OF his farm enhanced 81 900
by the attractivenesss they gave it.
MIR. Hatch, of Manchester, said
that in 1861 be was connected with
a farm of 65 acres in Middlesex couu-
ty, Mass He kept all the accounts
and considered from his knowledge
of receipts and expenditures that
farming paid better than any other
business he knew. There were rails
cd on that farm in the year spoken
of, 10000 bushels of roots, 1900 bar
rels of cabbages, 800 bushels of APP
pies, so bushels of cherries, s tons of
squashes, $50 bushels of corn, two
acres of oats, and four tons of hay,
besides enough to keep two horses,
four oxen, and two cows. The net
profit was over 1000, besides an ex.
penditure OF 1900 in improvements.
The Banner Of Light, an organ
of the Spiritualists, says that, '.in
view of all the evil which has arisen
out of the Christian religion, it has