AND WHERE TO FIXD ONE. 315 



by hiring as many unskilled farmers as he can superintend, 

 and let his light shine. In fact, so few farmers understand 

 their business, it would be better for them generally to hire 

 out to some good farmer until they can &quot; learn how better 

 to conduct farming on their own account. 



&quot; Now, it requires more skill to conduct a small farm 

 profitably, than a large one. A greater variety of products 

 is required, all of which must be understood ; more care is 

 required, greater judgment is necessary, and even the very 

 drudgery must be mostly done by the owner himself. A 

 farmer of less agricultural skill, confining himself to such 

 branches as he best understands, with only ordinary judg 

 ment, hiring judiciously, &amp;lt;tc., will generally do better on a 

 large farm than a small one. But there are so many con 

 tingencies and conditions that may affect the result, it 

 is very difficult to lay down a proposition on the subject 

 sufficiently clear and guarded to be of general applica 

 tion. 



&quot; Then this is a day of agricultural machinery ; this, in 

 deed, constitutes a new epoch in the annals of agriculture. 

 The mowing and harvesting machines are of yesterday. 

 Can the twenty-acre farmer avail himself of these ? Can 

 he even supply himself with all the cheaper and smaller 

 improVements ditching machines, planters, drills, rollers, 

 horse hoes, clod crushers, potato diggers, horse powers, 

 threshers, &c.1 Nor can he generally avail himself as 

 well as the larger farmer, of those natural resources, often 

 so useful and so neglected, of running streams for irriga 

 tion, supplying water for stock, (fee., to say nothing of his 

 greatly increased expense for fences. 



&quot;The constant reader of the Country Gentleman is aware 

 that successful agriculture requires a wider range of knowl 

 edge, more extensive and varied attainments, than almost 

 any other pursuit. Indeed, but few men can succeed well 



