surface, and harrowed fine; 3d, good seed, of the best varieties of turnip; 4th, attention and care to the crop while growing.

Adhering to these rules,-which are not only applicable to the turnip, but to other vegetables,-our markets will be supplied with the finest quality of turnips, which will be more and more appreciated by the public, and the growers thereof will be abundantly rewarded.

Middleton, Sept. 9, 1861.

STATEMENT OF SAMUEL HUTCHINSON.

To the Committee on Root Crops :

I present for your inspection a field of Cabbage, about six

rods less than two acres.

The land is of ordinary last season. In the

teen square quality. It yielded a crop of corn the spring it was ploughed six inches deep. It was fertilized by the application of common barn manure and leached ashesusing three hundred bushels of ashes on the lot. I look upon them as particularly well adapted to the growth of cabbage. It was furrowed in rows three and a half feet apart, and planted in hills two and a half feet apart in the rows; making, if I estimate right, four thousand five hundred hills to the acre. At the second hoeing, the plants were thinned to two in a hill; and at the next hoeing, only the best one was left. They have been kept free of weeds entirely, and have grown luxuriantly and with remarkable equality-almost every plant forming a fair head, many of them a foot or more in diameter. Many of the plants were of the Savoy, or curly variety; generally the field embraces the best varieties grown in this vicinity. There is about them a beauty of growth that gladdens the eye. There may be on some lands, that have been long cultivated and highly manured, a handsomer growth, but I have never

seen one.

I have sold the entire crop, as it stands in the field, to Irish laborers, for the sum of two hundred and seventy-five dollars. -which is about fourpence a head, supposing there to be a head to each hill;-reserving two rows across the upper end of the field, for our own use. This gives me one hundred and forty dollars an acre for the use of my land; deducting $50 for the manure applied, and allowing $40 for the labor of cultivating. I have confidence the purchasers will make a good bargain, and hope they will, as I am satisfied with the income I have derived from the land.

South Danvers, Sept. 23, 1861.

[NOTE.-The Committee viewed this crop on the field, and found its appearance to correspond fully with what is said of it.-J. W. P.]

STATEMENT OF GEORGE B. COURTIS.

The ground on which my crop grew, contains, by actual survey, 159-36 rods, being but a small fraction less than an . acre. It has been planted with onions for the past five years, and has generally yielded large crops; which I attribute, in a great degree, to the heavy applications of rich manure it has annually received, to which, of course, I add clean culture.

The ground was prepared for the present crop in early spring, (it was not ploughed the fall previous,) by ploughing in about twelve cords of a rich and finely pulverized compost of night soil and muck, each of which had received the action of the winter's frost. I have usually added kelp to my compost heap, but did not this season. After ploughing the manure in, the ground was thoroughly harrowed, then crossploughed and carefully raked, immediately after which three pounds of seed of the Danvers Yellow Onion were sown in rows fourteen inches apart.

In the course of the season, the crop received four weedings, (being twice crawled over and twice walked over,) and four hoeings. I had little or no trouble from the blight or maggot, and my crop ripened down finely. I began to pull about the first of September, and soon began to market the onions. Every bushel of the yield has been carefully measured; and after adding up my daily sales, I find the result to be 764 measured bushels. On testing some loads, and several separate bushels, by weight, for persons who preferred so to purchase them, I found them to average 60 1-2 lbs. to the bushel. The yield of 764 bushels being reduced to the Society's standard of 50 lbs. to the bushel, would give 924 bushels to the acre.

The crop ripening down early, the onions were unusually hard and heavy, (and when sold by measure, purchasers in Boston market are not satisfied unless very full measure is given them,) which accounts for their great weight. As an evidence of the quality of the crop, I may state that between forty and fifty bushels were purchased to grow seed from. My crop was sold mostly in Boston, at an average price of 51 cents a measured bushel.

764 bushels at 51 cents per bushel,

From which deduct cost, viz:

Preparing land and planting (men),

$389 64

$7.00

Cost of teaming at $1 25 per load of 40 bu., 23 75

Marblehead, Mass.

$95 03-$95 03

$293 61

I certify to the veracity of Mr. Courtis, from personal knowledge of the party; also that I have received evidence sufficient to satisfy me of the correctness of his statements.

J. J. H. GREGORY, Marblehead, Mass.

STATEMENT OF HAZEN AYERS.

To the Committee on Root Crops:

I have a crop of Beets, commonly called Mangol-Wurtzel, covering forty-four square rods of land, near my barn. They have grown luxuriantly, and are devoured voraciously by all animals to which I have fed them. The largest weigh ten or twelve pounds. One square rod yielded eight hundred and thirty-two pounds; which, if I figure right, is equal to sixtysix tons to the acre. I have never raised so large or so valuable a crop of any other vegetable. I am aware that it does not come up to your prescribed rule of half an acre-but such as I have I bring before you.

South Danvers, Oct. 22, 1861.

[NOTE.-The Trustees awarded to Mr. Ayer a gratuity of five dollars for his experiment, and directed the publication of his statement.]

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF PASTURE AND WASTE LANDS.

The Committee to whom was referred the subject of the Improvement of Pasture and Waste Lands, propose to confine themselves to but one topic in considering the question before them. They fully appreciate the efforts which are constantly made to bring the large tracts of unproductive land both wet and dry, which occupy so much of the county, into the service of agriculture; and they take pleasure in congratulating the farmers of this section, in their renewed attempts during the past season to subdue their rough and swampy lands, for the purposes of cropping. But they feel that the most important consideration for the agriculturist here is, how he can best convert useless tracts into profitable pasture lands, or restore those which have suffered from over-stocking, or from neglect. While some sections of our State are capable of pasturing more cattle than can be kept during the winter, and thus lose a large portion of their summer feed, in Essex County the reverse is Here we can winter more cattle than we can summer. Our pastures are less productive than our hay-fields. And we are not only obliged to overstock the former, but we are induced to resort to that most destructive of all farming operations, the sale of our hay. Except in those instances where, either from proximity to the sea, or from the supply of cities, manure can be cheaply and easily obtained, the neglect of pasture lands, and the removal of hay, must end in great injury to the farm. He whose pastures fail, must sell his cattle. He who sells his cattle will sell his hay. And he who sells both cattle and hay, will ere long find that he must sell his farm. The improvement of the pasture lands of Essex County is, therefore, a matter of great importance to our farming community. We ought at least to keep them up to the capacity of our hay-mows; and, if possible, we should carry them beyond this.

true.