THE FAKMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



11 



bushels of roots and ono of bran each day — fed 

 them each day tivo raw meals and one warm boil- 

 ed. " Wiienhe began to teed with the roots, the 

 hogs were low in flesh ; at the termination of the 

 three and a half months, they were too thrifty for 

 breeding, and sonie of them fit for the butcher. The 

 owner estimates that four quarts of corn to each 

 hog per day, for the time they have been fed with 

 the roots, would not have brouglit them into abet- 

 ter condition than they now are." 



One pound of good white beans contains more 

 nutritious matter, and will do more to strengthen 

 the body, than three pounds of beef steak. The dif- 

 ference in price is about twenty-five cents — the beef 

 costing about 10 cents per pound nnd the beans but 

 6 cents. 100 pounds of wheal contains 85 pounds 

 nutritious matter ; 100 do rice 80 do do ; 100 do bar- 

 ley 83 do do; 100 do beans 89 to 90 do do; 100 do 

 peas 93 do do ; 100 do lentils 94 do do ; 100 do meat 

 average, 35 do do ; 100 do potatoes 26 do do ; 100 

 do beets 14 do do; 100 do carrots 10 do do ; 100 do 

 cabbage 7 do do ; 100 do greens do do ; 100 do tur- 

 nips 4 do do. — Cleureland Herald. 



A Farmer's life and a Farmer's duties. 



If we were ever envious, and to be honest, read- 

 er, we have been and that too often, it was of the 

 farmer, the intelligent, independent and happy far- 

 mer who owned his land, and his house and his 

 barns ; who was free from debt, whose family was 

 growing up prosperously around him, upon whom 

 God seemed to have smiled and blessed in. his bas- 

 ket and in Tiis store. We have seen such a farmer 

 and could point to a hundred such in our State ; 

 and in sober truth, we know of no man so happy, 

 and no business so permanently profitable, none 

 indeed, that makes the owner so independent, and 

 places him so far above board. To begin with an 

 independent farmer : He has his house to live in, 

 it is his own, he has earned it by the labor of his 

 hands. He has granaries filled with the produc- 

 tions of his farm, his barns with the stock reared, 

 and hay raised upon his farm. His cellars are fil- 

 led with his potatoes, and half a hundred kinds of 

 the necessaries and lu.^uries of life. Almost every 

 thing necessary to feed him and his family, grows 

 up around him. He may lead his o.x to the slaugh- 

 ter, raise his own pork, fatten and kill his own 

 sheep, eat his own poultry — devour his own eggs 

 — live upon his own home grown and home made 

 bread — weave his own cloth — raise his own wool — 

 and his own leather — knit his own stockings, 

 through tlie agency of his wife and daughters — af- 

 ter all the two most necessary appendages to a good 

 farm and independent farmer — make his own but- 

 ter and cheese, in short, live like a prince, and 

 dress comfortably, without going from his own 

 homestead. All this is no fiction, and it is the fact 

 there is no fiction in this picture that makes the 

 farmer the most independent man in the commu- 

 nity. Fairly in business, he wants less money than 

 almost any man to pursue the even tenor of his 

 way, because his business is of a character to re- 

 quire less money than any other. 



An independent farmer, however, is not alto- 

 gether independent of the community where he is, 

 or of any business profession ; and the more intel- 

 ligent a farmer is, I lie more readily will his inde- 

 pendence be felt and acknowledged. He is only 

 more independent than his neighbor of another 

 profession, but by no means altogether indepen- 

 dent of him. For example, he could not consume 

 all that he produced, even if he fed a whole school 

 district instead of his own family. He must have 

 labor in seed time and harvest, and through the 

 summer, to give him a helping hand in the pro- 

 duction and harvesting of his crops. His labor- 

 ers must have money. He must have a hundred 

 little nic nachs at home, all of which cost money, 

 and which money is to be had only in the produc- 

 tions of his farm. Taxes must be paid, for the 

 most part in money. Iron does not grow every 

 where, and his tools must be bought and paid for. 

 Horses and o.tcu want shtieiug. There must be 

 ploughs, and axes, and nails, and a hundred other 

 implements which are cash articles, and which are 

 to be bought with the very money received for the 

 produce carried to market. Again children are to 

 be educated, and in the establishment of good 

 schools begins the first duty of a good farmer. 



The farmer who is indifferent to education, nei- 

 ther knows his own interest nor cares a penny for 

 the interest of his children, or his neighbor's chii- 

 * dren, or the community, or posterity, or any body 

 but himself now or hereafter. Education then costs 

 money, and a good farmer will give abundantly, if 

 he is able to contribute to the support of all the 

 purposes of education. 



The most independent farmer then in the land. 



may be more independent than his neighbors of 

 another profes.-jion. To be happy and to make his 

 life a useful one, he must be intelligent — in posses- 

 sion of the means of knowledge — especially that 

 kind of knowledge which relates to his own pro- 

 fession. He must use the means which God has 

 given him ; and we have shown that his gifts are 

 abundant, to be happy Iiimself and contribute to 

 tlie peace and comfort of those around. In justice 

 to himself he will employ his evenings in the ac- 

 quisition of knowledge. He will be a reader of 

 useful books, and a liberal supporter of the public 

 press. Such a far.ner as this we have seen ; and 

 one v.ho in his life fulfils all his duty to his God 

 and his fellow man, is the happiest, the most inde- 

 pendent and among the best o{ men. 



Porthtnd Eveninir .idr. 



A JVIuNii'icENT Present. In the absence of the 

 editor a few days ago, Mr. John Brown, iid, left at 

 our publication oflice one half bushel of seed corn. 

 Mr. Brown's farm is upon Long Island in Winni- 

 pisseogee Lake, within the limits of the town of 

 Moultonhorougli, Strafford county. New Hamp- 

 shire. We had almost distrusted the agricultural 

 reports from the county of Strafford, v^'hich pre- 

 sented crops of shelled corn of 13G and this year as 

 high as 147 bushels of corn to the acre ; but when 

 we come to see tlie samples of ears and shelled corn 

 presented by Mr. Brown our surprise was at an end. 

 The kernels of corn exceed any for size that we 

 have ever seen — the ears are so compact that the 

 shelled corn will fill at least an equal space with 

 both the corn and the cob before it shall be shelled. 



Mr. Brown brought the seed of this corn from 

 Poplin, Rockingham county, fifteen years ago, 

 where it had been raised by liis grand-father forty 

 years ago : he has improved this seed constantly by 

 selecting the largest and earliest ears. The present 

 year Mr. Brown raised 105 bushels 19 quarts, as 

 measured by a committee of the Agricultural So- 

 ciety. Doct. Prescott of Barnstead raised of the 

 same kind of corn the almost incredible quantity 

 of 147 bushels to the acre, and obtained the Socie- 

 ty's premium. Three years ago, Mr. Brown took 

 the first premium of the Strafford Society for 136 

 busliels to the acre. 



Both Barnstead and Winnipisseogee lake are sit- 

 uated north of the 43d degree of north latitude : 

 the soil of the islands upon Winnipisseogee lake 

 is of the same primary formation as that of the 

 surrounding country — it is like the hills of Gil- 

 manton, Meredith and Sandbornton. There are 

 beautiful farms on islands of the Winnipisseogee 

 lake in the towns of Gilford, Wolfeborough, 

 Moultonboro', fzc. &c. Mr. Brown's corn was 

 planted on tile last day of May, and was ripe on the 

 first of October. 



^y As there will be a great demand fortius kind 

 of seed corn, we invite a more particular statement 

 of the manner in which the land was prepared, and 

 especially the distance at which the hills were pla- 

 ced apart, and the number of stalks in the hill. 

 Mr. Brown says there is no particular name by 

 whicli this corn has been designated : we propose 

 that it be called the " BROWN CORN." 



WoRTHV OF THE ATTENTION OE F-IUMERS. A 



correspondent informs us that during the past sea- 

 son. Col. B. Barron of Peeling, in this county, cul- 

 tivated four acres of hops, and sold the proceeds in 

 Boston for scren hundred nnd thirteen dollars, leav- 

 ing, after defraying all expenses, a profit of three 

 hundred and Jifty-six dollars and fifty rents I We 

 ever feel a pride in recording the success of the 

 farming interest, especially when such good luck 

 as the above, falls to the lot of our friends in the 

 small but patriotic town of Peeling. — llarerhill, X. 

 H. Republican. 



Because Col. Barron has this year made a profit 

 much exceeding the value of the land cultivated, 

 we would by no means recommend all our farmers 

 to go into the raising of hops. Tlic effect of tlie 

 present year's high prices will be as similar exam- 

 pies have been heretofore, to set so many farmers 

 into the cultivation of hops as to render the crops 

 two years hence probably less valuable than a crop 

 of corn. Nevertheless we would not recommend 

 Col. B. or any other farmer who has a hop field al- 

 ready planted to plough that up and substitute other 

 cultivation. In the cultivation of hops for the last 

 thirty years it will be found tliat those who have 

 steadily pursued the business year after year have 

 invariably done well — some years they have gained 

 great profits, as Col. Barron has this year : gener- 

 ally they have made it a good business : in a few 

 instances they have not been paid for their labor. 

 Those who have been most avaricious and gone in- 

 to the planting of hop fieldj the next year after the 

 most abundant harvest from high prices, have com- 



monly been the greatest and only losers in raising 

 hops. 



Col. Peabody, who has a fine alluvial farm on the 

 Souhegan river in Milford, has steadily pursued hop 

 raising for several years ; he probably manages the 

 business with more system and a better economy 

 than any otlier hop grower in the State. We do 

 not believe he lias made it a losing business in any 

 year, which can hardly be said to be the fact in re- 

 lation to any other cultivation whatever. We in- 

 vite from that gentleman an account of his prepar- 

 ation of the land, the nature of its soil, his proceas 

 of cultivation and curing, the amount he has raised 

 for the several years, with the expense of labor and 

 the prices. 



The success of Col. Barron is but an earnest of 

 what every industrious farmer may do. If he can- 

 not raise hops, he can make such preparation of al- 

 most any arable land that will hold the strength 

 put upon it as to cause it to yield a profit equal to 

 the interest of two to three hundred dollars the 

 acre. The simple crop of hay on one acre at ten 

 or even eight dollars the ton will sometimes 

 pay this interest ; wliile he who travels over six or 

 eight acres for the same quantity of hay will at tlio 

 same price scarcely get pay for the labor of gather- 

 ing his crop. 



"Pray without ceasing." 



Although the principal business of the Visitor 

 is connected with the things of time and sense, for 

 both present and future good it may be well to re- 

 gard tile sacred injunction standing at the head of 

 this article. 



Pray withont ceasing. If that Being to whom 

 we pray does not directly answer all our prayers, 

 he regards our good intentions so far as to render 

 unto those whs ask of him all that is proper and 

 profitable for them. 



Pray icitliout ceasing ; when in answer to prayer 

 the earth shall yield her increase, and God, even 

 our own God, shall give us In, bk'ssing. The 

 heart that honestly and habitually prays to the Al- 

 mighty cannot long be disingenuous or dishonest. 



Pray without ceasiyig : keep always God before 

 your eyes in every thing you do: pray to Heaven 

 in the midst of hilarity and joy as well as when 

 sorrow and adversity surround you, so shall the 

 mind be alike prepared for the pains as well as the 

 pleasures of life. 



Pray without ceasing ; and let not your prayers 

 be like those of the hypocrites who love to pray 

 standing in tiie synagogues and at the corners of 

 the streets that they may be seen of men ; but pray 

 to God in secret, in the closet and upon the pillow, 

 and the God who seeth in secret shall reward thee 

 openly. 



Pray withoiit ceasing. Pray for all mankind — 

 pray even for your enemies and persecutors. So 

 shall the social principle prevail over the self- 

 ish — the generous over the mercenary ; and man 

 shall labor as zealously for the good of others 

 as for his own good. 



Pray loithout ceasing. Praise God with grateful 

 hearts, that he gives us seed time and harvest — that 

 he furnishes to all their food in due season — that he 

 has endowed humanity with tile use of reason, and 

 placed man above all the creatures which surround 

 him; above all, that He has endowed him with an 

 iMiVioRT.\L MIND tliut shall exist after the body shall 

 return to its mother earth. 



Frriin the Genesee Farmer. 

 Popular Errors. 



That it is good policy to burn green wood in win- 

 ter ; or that farmers do not find ample remunera- 

 tion in providing wood-houses, and securing wood 

 from the weather. 



That there is no danger in sowing chess with 

 wheat as chess does not grow. The truth is, chess 

 will, and does grow, and is a hardier plant than 

 wheat, which accounts in fact for its occupying the 

 ground so extensively wlicre the wheat has been 

 winter killed. 



That if a farmer is obliged to keep his cattle on 

 a 'limited allowance,' or on inferior food, it is bet- 

 ter to stint them the early part of the season, or 

 give them the poor food first. The reverse of both 

 these propositions is the truth. 



That farmers in putting their crops into the earth 

 should pay attention to the phases of the moon. — 

 On land well m.anured, well tilled, and the seed 

 put in in good season, the moon never does any in- 



That the Canada Thistle does not vegetate, and 

 hence is not injurious in grass or other seeds. — 

 Canada thistle seed leill vegetate, and he who 

 knowingly sells this seed with other seeds, is as 

 richly deserving a place in the penitentiary as the 

 man who tires his neighbor's barns or stacks. 



