586 



MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE- 



NINTH AORICULTUKAL MEETINCi. j to farming, and at tlie end of 20 yearn the 



The I'rdfits of Farming was still the or- j 100 fanners will be worth the nK>st money, 

 der of hist Tuesday evening, and animated It is ascertained that of 100 merchants who 

 gtatements were made by many of the speak- I had done business on Long Wharf more than 

 ers. Hon. Mr. Starkvveatheb, one of the j 00 became insolvent. So by a record ke[)t 

 Vice-Presidents, presided. at certain banking estaVdishments, it was fonnd 



Mr. Brooks of Princeton went into very that but very few who liad done business 

 minute particulars of outlay and income. He I died worth any property. So at the probate 

 was speaking when we entered the Hall, and office it was found that 90 per cent, of the 



we lost s(jme of his remarks, which we hope 

 he will communicate lor the first page of our 

 next number. 



Mr. Brooks estimated that 10 quarts of 

 inilk will make a pound of butler; that 10 

 quarts of skim-milk will make a ])ouiid of 

 pork. The cost of keeping a cow well, a 

 little over 50 dollars per year ; and the value 

 of her butter one or two dollars more than 

 the keeping. He lets no cattle on to his 

 mowing grounds. Then there was the calf 

 and the manure in addition to the skim-milk. 

 He counts his hay at G dollars a ton. Mr. B. 

 said he could make 15 per cent, on all his 



estates of traders prove insolvent. The records 

 of the courts, too, will show that those who 

 have taken advantage of the bankrupt act 

 have not. on an average, made a dividend to 

 the creditors of more than two or tliree per 

 cent. Here are facts that we can re-sort to 

 and rely upon. In my own observation I 

 have found that systematic, prudent and dil- 

 igent farmers always succeed. 



Here is a foundation that may be built on 

 with more certainty than any other. Yet 

 young men are nishing into cities to make 

 their fortunes. It is all important that the 

 facts which have here been stated, now and 



capital engaged in farming, and he thought , at former meetings, should be deeply im 

 any fanner could do the same if he would [ pressed on young minds. Mr. Brooks says 



15 per cent, may be made on capital by any 

 diligent and systematic fanner. Hon. John 

 Lowell said 18 per cent. All this may be 

 done by fanning intelligently. He had won- 

 dered that lanners generally could get along 

 so well as they actually do in their careless 

 mode of fanning. For himself, he had re- 

 gained his own health by fanning. The 



manage well 



Hon. Mr. Clark of Walpole said he had 

 in later years been engaged in farming. 

 Some of his land had cost him GO and some 

 100 dollars per acre to get it into good grass. 

 Some of his mowing is peat land ;md some is 

 not. He sows his grass seed in September, 

 and mows his fields three years without ma- 



nuring; then i)lows and seeds down again on | fresh open air had restored him. He repeat- 

 the furrow ; puts no manure but ashes on his ! ed his pleasure on hearing the numerous 

 upland ; prefers dry ashes. A man in Rhode statements of the profits that may be made 



Island ])urchases leached ashes at 17 cents 

 per bushel, but he would not give it. Dry 

 ^shes kill his witch-grass and bring in clover. 

 He thuiks as much can be Tnade in fanning 

 as in any other business. In his county one 

 can make more than 25 per cent, by growing 

 fruit. The porter apple and the winter pip- 

 pin always bear a good pi'ice, and he had 

 with these scions succeeded well in grafting 

 trees that were 35 years old. One of his 

 neighbors had done so well with fniit as to 

 clear 100 per cent. He had cleare<l more 

 than 200 dollars on one acre of peach trees. 



Mr. Brooks said, in answer to an inquiry 

 as to selliiig hay, that he was obliged to use 

 all his on his farm, for he could not buy ma- 

 nure if he would. He had reclaimed some 

 of his rocky pasture land at a cost of 100 

 dollars per acre, arid he was paid for do- 

 ing it. 



Hon. Mr. Calhoun said he was nuuli 

 pleased to hear so much testimony in I'avor 



in this business. One more consideration 

 shoidd have much weight. It had been truly 

 stated by his venerable friend from Framing- 

 ham, Major Wheeler, that this business nat- 

 urally leads the mind to contemplation and 

 to gratitude to the Ruler of the Universe, to 

 whom fanners feel obliged to look for a 

 blessing on their labors. No occupation so 

 directly leads the mind to reflection on the 

 works of creation. All that we cat, drink 

 and wear comes from the ground. In every 

 view this occupation is important. 



But we have not yet devised a suitjible 

 system of agricultiu-al education. "We might 

 easily funiish the means, in our common 

 schools, of showing young men how to an- 

 alyze soils and learn their different natures. 

 Science should be brought down .so as to be 

 clearly understood in order to be useful. 

 There is a bill now in the Legislature to fur- 

 nish sc1k)oIs iiir adults. Let us have them for 

 all clas.ses. Minds run to waste. We quit 



the profits of farming i)oth now and at school ,and are then permitted to think of 

 fonner meetings. He hoped .something l nothini; but hard work. 



would go ibrlh from this place that woidd 

 encourage young men to ct)nsider well their 

 true and {)ermanent interest. Too many men 

 seem to think that farming is the last bnsine.'^s 

 to be thought of for profit. Butcomjiare the 

 whole [)rofit of farming with the jirofit de- 

 rived from other pursuits, and you find that 

 firmers, on the whole, succeed best. Li.'t 

 J 00 men uo into a city and tiade; b-t ]()0 go 

 ^llOti) 



Major Bks.iamin \V heeler .stated that out 

 of 18 cases of bankruptcy, and 18 of insolv- 

 ency, only one of the debtors was a farmer. 



Hon. George Dennv of Westborough said : 

 As to the statement of i)0 an<l uj)ward in the 

 100 failing in trade, he was aware that it w;ls 

 not generally believed, but it is true. He 

 had had occasion to examine the lecords, 

 which prove that out of 1112 persons whoso 



