No. 85.] 83 



Brought forward, ., $730 



6 acres wint. apples,250 bushels per acre, at $0.25, 375 



6 " hay, 2i tons, at 6.00, 90 



10 " pasture, worth GO 



6 " barley, 40 bushels per acre, at .40, 80 



5 " oats, 50 " " .20 50 



Total products of fifty acres of very fine land, $1,385 



This aggregate yield is not greater than that obtained by some who 

 might be named from a similar quantity of land. Good land could 

 be brought to that state of fertility very easily at a total cost of one 

 hundred dollars per acre, and then it would be incomparably cheaper 

 than many large poor farms at nothing ; for while the fifty acres could 

 be tilled for three hundred and eighty-five dollars, leaving one thou- 

 sand dollars nett profits, large poor farms hardly pay the work spent 

 upon them. One proprietor of such a farm declared — " It takes me 

 and my hired man all summer at hard work to get enough to pay him 

 only." 



Laying out Farms. — This department is very much neglected. 

 The proper disposition of the different fields, for the sake of economy 

 in fencing, for convenience of access, and for a full command of pas- 

 ture and protection of crops at all times, has received comparatively 

 little attention from our agricultural writers and from farmers. 



Many suppose that this business is very quickly disposed of; that 

 a very few minutes, or hours at most, will enable a man to plan the 

 arrangement of his fields about right. But this is a great error. Even 

 when a farm is of the simplest form, on a flat uniform piece of ground, 

 many things are to be borne in mind in laying it out. In the first 

 place, we all know that the fencing of a moderately sized farm costs 

 many hundred dollars. It is very desirable to do it well, and use at 

 the same time as little material as possible. To do this, much will 

 depend on the shape of the fields. A certain length of fence will en- 

 close more land in the form of a square, than in any other practicable 

 shape. Hence fields should approach this form as nearly as possible. 

 Again, the disposition of lanes is a matter of consequence, so as to 

 avoid unnecessary length and fencing, and occupy the least quantity 

 of ground. 



But these rules may be materially affected by other considerations. 

 For instance, it is very 'desirable that land of similar quality may be 

 in the same enclosure. Some may be naturally too wet for any thing 



