FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 233 



advantage where one-third of the time is spent in stopping and turning around 

 at the corners. 



The only object in having division fences on the farm is to provide fields for 

 pasturage. Tliese may be provided for to a large extent by the use of portable 

 fences, or barbed wire fence that may be easily moved from one part of the 

 farm to another. The barbed wire may be fastened to stakes one rod apart, 

 driven into holes made with a crowbar; the wire is fastened to the stakes with 

 small staples, and when the fence is to be moved the staples are drawn, stakes 

 pulled up, wire rolled up on a wooden frame or reel and carried to wherever 

 needed next. Two men can put up or take down from 50 to 80 rods in a day. 

 Two wires will hold well fed cattle, and three quite unruly cows or steers; but 

 a dozen wires will not keep in or out young pigs. 



If horses are allowed to run in a field fenced with barbed wire, there should 

 be light strips of boards, edgings or poles fastened to the upper strand with 

 light common wire, otherwise they may not see the fence and run against the 

 barbs and get scratched up. 



It is best to have the farm divided into fields of regular shape, and as near 

 the same size as possible. Many of our farms, when cleared or broken up, 

 were cut up by fences into all sorts of shapes, and have remained so. Before 

 these old fences are changed some general plan for the fields should be studied 

 up and adopted, and every change made with reference to that plan. What- 

 ever the arrangement of the fields there should be some direct way of getting 

 to the barn for drawing in the crops and hauling out manure. Have plenty 

 of gates. The sliding panel gate is made and hung so easily there is no excuse 

 for driving 40 rods out of the direct line to get from one place to another on 

 the farm. 



In the arrangement of the crops it is generally best to adopt some regular 

 rotation, after determining what the farm is adapted to growing, taking of 

 course the market, capital to be used, labor required, etc., into consideration. 



There are several good reasons for adopting a rotation. We will merely 

 look at it from a labor saving point of view. It allows a systematic arrange- 

 ment of the various operations to be .carried on. The amount of labor and 

 team work required, tlie number of head of stock to be kept, the implements 

 needed, can be estimated for two or three years in advance if a rotation is 

 adopted, as it is then known just liow many acres of each crop will be grown 

 in each year. 



At the college they practice tlie following rotation : The farm is divided into 

 fields of about 25 acres, eacli field being planted to one crop. The first year 

 to corn; 2d year, roots; 3d year, oats or barley, sowed to wheat in the fall, 

 and seeded with timothy; 4th year, clover sown on the wheat in the spring; 

 5th year, cut for hay; Gth year, cut one crop of hay and pastured, or pastured 

 all tlie year: the next year corn is planted again, and so on. Tlic manure is 

 applied to the root ci'op, which usually consists of from 15 to 18 acres of 

 jutabagas and beets, and the remainder of tlie field is planted to potatoes. Of 

 these crops the wheat and potatoes are sold and the rest fed out on the farm. 



We see there are 25 acres each of wheat, of corn, of oats or barley, of hay, 

 and of roots each year. Some estimate can be made in advance how much 

 stock will be required to consume the fodder, and the breeding or other means 

 of procuring it provided for. There will be so many acres to plow each year, 

 the same amount of stuff to handle, so that the number of men and horses 

 necessary to do the work will be known beforeliand. I do not recommend this 

 rotation for farmers to adopt, because different farms will vary greatly in their 



