Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1880-09-11
miscellaneous.
From the American Cultivator.
THE HARLOW STOCK FARM.

A short time ago We had the pleasure
of visiting the Harlow Stock Farm in Sec
konk, Mass. owned by Mr.. w. II. Hop
kins. He said that sixteen years ago, be-
ing out of health and desiring to get out
of the city, he began TO look about for n
place 10 suit his taste, when he purchased
this, which was then small farm of
twenty acres, OF which not more than
three We're cleared. and from them he
could not cut more than ton and a half
ofhay. The balance Of the land, some
seventeen acres, was a swamp, which sit
uated as il was, could not be drained. the
little drainage it had being across the
road and through land of others into the
Ten-mile river: but he found by purchas-
ing forty acres on the other side he could
| obtain good drainage into another river,
and carry of tn water on the otner side
of the road. But u large portion of this
land was also swampy. There was some
upland. but this was composed OF sandy
and gravelly knolls. One piece was We v
gravclly and covered with cobblc stones.
some of which were rs large rs Il man.
could lift, He also made purchases on the
other side of the road, making the area o
the entire farm l20 acres, the whole of
which would not keep three cows. Mr..
Hopkins has done some of the best and
most complete drainage we have seen for
a long time. The land was not meadow
but regular swamp, upon which trees
were growing when purchased, and others
were buried in il, roots and all, besides
the roots of many trees which had been
taken off.
In the first place. he had bitches dug
through the peaty muck down 20 the hard
pan and into it. to carry off the surface
water. This drained the muck so that he
could cart it off. and after he had dug out
the stumps and trees. in many places this
was rs much as six feet thick This was
spread On to his gravelly knolls and
plowed in.
When he had cleared down to the hard
pan. he then commenced to put in his
drains five feet deep, but the hard-pan was
hard indeed, consisting OF blue clay
which contained a large amount of iron.
Under this there was strata of coarse
sand. into which he dug to lay his drains.
and this is the very point where the per-
fection of his system was most eflectual.
The hard-pan was so very hard that he
feared at one time he would have to give
up the undertaking.
The men could dig out but one piece at
a time, the width and depth of the pick
axe as far as il could be struck into the
ground. In the fall he did give it up, but
uncovered a portion of the hardpan and
dug into il little. The frost of winter
upheaved and soitened it, so that he was
successful in the spring, and his drains are
now laid through large portion. For
his main drains he has laid in one piece
twelve-inch cement pipes and in another
eight-inch pipes, but says if he had to do
it over again he would put in all twelve
inch pipes. The latcrals are drain tiles.
In one place he has a culvert under
stone wall i'm another place there is u
ledge from which he obtains stone for his
walls, and where another hall is built he
dug trench five feet deep and filled with
the cobble stones and rubble from the
stony knoll. He uses q good deal of the
muck to compost with night soil obtained
from the city When his drains were all
laid he then plowed his hard-pan, turning
in coarse, strawy manure, and from this
he makes his soil. upon which is now
growing some of the best corn we have
seen.
OF hay and forage he now cuts enough
to keep fifty head of cattle and horses to
do the work on the farm, besides several
driving horses. lie has an admirable ar
rangement for watering his cattle. In
places he has sloped down each side Of
the drain so as to insert a watering trough,
into one end OF which his main pipe runs,
and the water is carried away by the drain
pipes to the other end of the trough. The
idea Of carting off all the muck is to many
novel one. Most people would have
run their drains just through the muck,
and from the sandy, gravelly knolls would
have carted sand and gravel. He reversed
this, and carted his muck on to his sandy,
gravelly knolls. completely barring the
hard pan beneath, out of which he has
made most productive soil. lie has
growing upon his farm one of the best
crops OF sugar bcets to be found in the
State, and it will be entered for premium
and may be the best in New England.
Mr.. Hopkins has two windmills at each
barn TO pump his water, and a steam
engine 10 cut his coarse fodder. which he
steams. lie has an excellent herd of Ayr
shire cattle, among which are some fine
specimens; two of these cows gave each
10, 900 pounds of milk in ten months, and
when person is looking at them he will
ubt w DhtiN W ohOUu INV
have believed it had you not told me
SO, - but rather. IL should have expected
it, lie has also herd of Jerseys.
These he has bred from two animals one
the bull Comet, which he purchased.
This animal was imported, and. seeing
very fine COW on a neighbours farm. Mr..
Hopkins made the proposition that they
should be coupled, and il heifer calf was
the result he would either give or take
S25. In ten months the neighbor came
along with the calf and took his $25.
From these Mr.. Hopkins has continued to
breed in and in, and the result is splen-
did herd OF Jerseys, some OF which give
twenty quarts per day, and have good
annual record The milk from each COW
is weighed at each milking. and a record
kept. Mr. Hopkins has also half dozen
Guernseys Gf not pure, certainly not far
from IT'D, from which he raises no stock.
The milk from his whole herd is sold in
Providence. He has his heifers come IN
at two years old, and on the first calf
keeps them in milk from fifteen to seven
teen months, after which he breeds calf