ON FARM MANAGEMENT 



15 



gate. A proper iiiclinatiou in hanging- will se- 

 cure the fonuer requisite, and a good latch, 

 properly cou-structod, the latter. Each field 

 should be numbered, and the number painted 

 on tJie gate-post. Let the fanner who has bars 

 iusteadof gates, make a trial of their compara- 

 tive convenience, by taking them out and 

 replacing them without stopping, as often as he 

 does in one year on his farm, say about six hun- 

 dred times, and he cannot fail to be satisfied 

 which is the cheapest for use. 



Buildings. — These should be as near the 

 centre of the farm as other cou.siderations will 

 admit. All the hay, grain, and straw, being 

 conveyed from the fields to the barn, and most 

 of it back aeain in manure, the distance of draw- 

 ing should be as short as possible. This will, 

 also, save much traveling of men and of cattle, 

 to and from the diflerent parts of the fanu. The 

 buildings should not, however, be too remote 

 from the pubhc road ; and a good, drj', healthy 

 epot should be chosen. The dwelling should be 

 comfortable but not large — or it should, rather, 

 be adapted to the extent of the lands. A large, 

 costly house, ^vith small farm and other build- 

 ings," is a bad indication of manaaroment. Tlie 

 censure of the old Roman should be avoided, 

 who, having a small piece of land, built his 

 house so large that he had less occasion to plow 

 than to sweep. 



The barn and out-buildings should be of ample 

 extent. The bam should have space for hay, 

 gi-ain, and straw. It is a matter of great con- 

 venience to have the stra^v for littering stables, 

 housed, and close at hand, and not out of doors, 

 under a foot of sno^v. There should be plenty 

 of stables and sheds for all domestic animals. 

 This provision %vill not only save one-third of 

 the fodder, but stock will thrive much better. 

 Cows will give much more milk — sheep will 

 yield more and better wool — and all will pass 

 through the ^vinter more safely. The wood- 

 hou.se near, or attached to the dwelling, should 

 never be forgotten, so long as comfort in build- 

 ing fires, and economy in the use of ftiel, are of 

 any importance. 



A .small, cheap, moveable hor.se-power should 

 belong to evei-\' establishment, to be u.sed in 

 <'hunnng, sawing wood, dri\-ing washing ma- 

 chine, turning grindstone, cutting straw^, and 

 sUcing roots. 



There should be a large root cellar under the 

 bam, into which the cart may be dumped from 

 the outside. One great objection to the culture 

 of ruta-bagas and beets, in this country, — the 

 difficulty of winter keeping, — would then vanish. 

 Both bam and hou.se cellars should be well 

 coated on the bottom and side.s, with \vater-'lime- 

 mortar ; which is a very cheap and eSectual 

 ^vay to exclude both \vater and rats. 



Choice of Implements. — Of these which 

 are much used, the vciy best only should be 

 procured. This ^^•ill be attended -svith a gain 

 every way. The \\-ork will be easier done and 

 it will be better done. A laborer who, by the 

 use of a good hoe for one month, can do one 

 quarter more each daj% saves, in the whole time, 

 an entire week's labor. 



Choice of Anim.vls. — The best of all kinds 

 should be selected, even if costing something 

 more than others. Not " fanci/ " animals, but 

 those good for u,se and profit. Cows should be 

 productive of milk, and of a form adapted for 

 beef; oxen, hardy, and fa.st-working ; sheep, 

 kept fine by never selling the best ; swine, not 

 the iarscc.it merely, but those fattening best on 

 (63) 



least food. A Berkshire, at 200 pounds, fat- 

 tened on 10 bu.shels com, is bettor than a " laud 

 pike" of 300 fattened on 50 bushels. 



Having now taken some notice of the neces- 

 sary items for commencing famimg, it remains 

 to glance a little at 



SOILS AND their MA.N.4.GEMEST. 



Soils are of various kinds, as heavy and light, 

 wet and dry, fertile and sterile. They all" re- 

 quire different management, in a greater or less 

 degree. 



HeaN-y soils arc often stronger and more pro- 

 ductive than light; but they require more labor 

 for pulverization and tillage. They caimot be 

 plowed -when very wet, nor so -well when very 

 dry. Although containing greater or less por- 

 tions of clay, they may be distingushed, as a class, 

 from lighter soils, by the cloddy suriace the fields 

 present after plowing in dry weather ; by their 

 cracking in drouth; and by their adhesiveness 

 after rains. 



Sandy and gravelly loams, also conta'n clay, 

 but in smaller quantity ; so that they do not pre- 

 sent the cloddiness and adhesiveness of heavy 

 soils. Though possessing generally less strength 

 than clay soils, they are liir more easily tilled, 

 and may be worked without difficulty in wet 

 weather ; they do not crack or bake iii drouths. 

 Indian com, ruta-baga.s, and .some other crops, 

 succeed be.'it upon them. Sandy soils arc very 

 easily tilled, but are generally not strong enough. 

 When ma^f rich, they are fine for some succu- 

 lent crop* 



Peaty soils are generally light and free, con- 

 taining large quantities of decayed vegetable 

 matter. They are made by draining low and 

 swampy grounds. They are fine for Indian 

 com, broom com, barley, potatoes, and turnips. 

 They are great ab.sorbei-s, and great radiators of 

 heat ; hence they become wami in sunshine, 

 and cold on clear nights. For this reason they 

 are peculiarly liable to frosts. Crops planted 

 upon them must, con.sequently, be put in late — 

 after spring frosts arc over. Corn should be of 

 early varieties, that it may not only be planted 

 late, but ripen early. 



Each of these kinds of soil may be variously 

 improved. Most of hea\y soils are much im- 

 proved by draining ; open drains to carrj- off' the 

 surface water, and covered drains', that -^shich 

 settles beneath. An acquaintance covered a 

 low, \vet, clayey field witli a net work of un- 

 derdrains, and from a production of almost 

 nothing but gi-asa, it yielded the first year forty 

 bushels of wheat per acre — enough to pay the 

 expense ; and admitted of much easier tillage 

 aftenvards. Heavy soils are also made Ughter 

 and freer by m;muring ; by plowing under coat- 

 ings of straw, rotten chips, and swamp muck ; 

 and in some rare case.s, by carting on sand — 

 .though this is usually too expensive for practice. 

 Sub.soil plowing is very beneficial, both in wet 

 soa.sons and in drouth ; the deep, loose bed of 

 earth it makes, receiving the -water in heavy 

 rains, and throwing it otf to the .soil above, when 

 needed. But a frequent repetition of the opera- 

 tion is needed, as the subsoil gradually settle6 

 again. 



Sandy soils are improved by manuring, by the 

 application of lime, and by frequently turning in 

 green crops. Leached a.shes have been found 

 highly beneficial in many places. Where the 

 subsoil is clayey, which is often the case, and 

 especially if marly clay — great advantage is de- 

 rived from shoveling it up and spreading it on 



