10 MASSACHUSETTS. AGRICULTURE. 



sable in the barn-jard. Many a farm in this county, at a 

 trifling outlay of a hundred or a hundred and fifty dollars, 

 could be supplied with pure running water the year round ; 

 while now a great amount of hard labor is expended in draw- 

 ing or pumping water for the cattle, and by the inmates of 

 the house, in going, perhaps, rods through winter's snow and 

 summer's sun to bring water for household purposes. 



A large amount of money is every year wasted by the 

 neglect of tools. Carts and farm-wagons are often left un- 

 painted and uncared for till they fall to pieces through 

 sheer neglect. A plough, cultivator, mowing-machine, or 

 steel-tooth horse-rake, is often more injured by being ex- 

 posed in one rain-storm, or even in several heavy dews, 

 than by years of use. Get the best, and take good care of 

 them, and buy no more than are absolutely needed, should 

 be the motto of every farmer. The farmer should plan out 

 his work for weeks and months ahead. There are in every 

 season certain days that are most suitable for planting, for 

 haying, and for harvesting : these, if neglected, often result 

 in serious loss. It was the maxim of a successful farmer, 

 always to have work under cover for rainy days, and never 

 to work in-doors in pleasant" weather. 



No farmer who cares for the health and comfort of his fam- 

 ily will be without a good vegetable-garden, the real value 

 and luxury of which cannot well be reckoned in dollars and 

 cents. 



A neat and well-kept flower-garden is always a source of 

 pleasure and refinement, and it is surprising to notice the im- 

 provement in floriculture within a very few years. Nearly 

 every door-yard contains asters, verbenas, and geraniums, for 

 which, ten years ago, any florist in the country would have 

 taken first prizes. 



The farmer should think as well as work. His library, 

 however small, should contain a few of the best standard 

 works and the leading agricultural papers : none of them 

 but will suggest some idea, and the thought goes before the 

 act. 



A farmer's club is of great value always, both for its prac- 

 tical utility and for drawing out the best social qualities. The 

 rural town where I live has sustained such a one uninter- 

 ruptedly for over twenty years; and, although many of the 



