THE GENESEE FARMER. 



>69 



until another harvest, and a small surplus to spare, 

 which farmers are becomiui; quile ready to dispose 

 of — even at the present reduced prices, so as to pay 

 their dehts, and do their pari towartls reniovinp the 

 heavy pressure resting upon the business of the 

 country. P. C. Rkvnolds. 



JVear Palmyra, A'. Y , A''ov. Gib, 18.17. 



A FEW THOUCiTS ON AGRICTJLTUEE. 



It is proposed, in this and succeeding papers, to 

 give the readers of the Cknkske Farmer the theory 

 and practice oC one of its rcadeis on the best me- 

 thod of conducting a farm, with the hope that some 

 will be benefitted by it, and others led to give their 

 views for the benefit of us all. 



The farm should be so managed as to pay for all 

 labor bestowed upon it^ and ultiunitely pay for itself. 

 Improvements that do not pay, ouglit, as a rule, to 

 be discarded; and in order to know how that matter 

 stands, every farmer should keep an exact account 

 with every field on his farm. 



The first great fault, of American farmers is our 

 greed for land. V\'e all uumt more land, while there 

 is nothing we need less. Full nine tenths of us al- 

 ready possess double the laud we can thoroughly 

 and profitably cultivate; else why so many fence cor- 

 ners and fiekls filled with bi'ush, weeds, briars, logs, 

 €tunvps and stones? 



The men who own such fields have got too much 

 land. Whoever owns such a field, and cannot get 

 time to clear it, and is too poor to hire it done, is 

 too poor to own that field, and would be belter ofl' 

 without it; and the man who has so much plowing, 

 or mowing, or reaping to do that he cannot find time 

 to mis muck with his manure and keejj them prop- 

 erly sheltered, has got too much land. 



I have known a good many farmers to be so hur- 

 ried that they could fiot find time to put their ma- 

 nure on the land before seeding, and so raised mere 

 shadows of crops — when, if they had expended the 

 liibor put on half of the land, in putting manure on 

 the eihe other half, they would have been the gain- 

 ers. They have most decidedly got too much land. 



I am well convinced, from what I have seen in 

 travelling through most of the Northern States and 

 Canada, that not one farm in fifty produces more 

 than one-half what it might if properly cultivated. 

 Thirty acres of land will furnish all the labor two 

 good strong men can do. ■ Not that no man should 

 own more, but I do protest ao:ainst farming one 

 hundred acres with the labor that ought to be put 

 on thirty. In fact, no man can afford to own any 

 more land than he can keep well fenced, well tilled, 

 and well supplied with buildings. 



Lynii, Pa. G. C. Lyman. •> 



Rules foe Fatteni.vg Animals. — I. Let them 

 have good, clean, nourishing food. 2. Feed them 

 with the utmost regularity as to time — for " hope 

 deferred"" wastes flesh by fretting. 3. Feed often, 

 and never give a surplus. 4 Let the pen or stable 

 be kept clean and sweet — dirt or filih is always ad- 

 verse to thrift. .5. Let the air be fresh and pure. 

 6. The water they drink must be pure. 7. They 

 should have 7-est most of the time, and only very 

 gentle exercise. 8. Keep them tranquil, and avoid 

 fright and anxiety. If all these are carefully ob- 

 serv.edj they will make a vast difference in results. 

 [Tucker's Annual Register. 



TO DESTROY CANADA THISTLES. 



Messrs. KniTons : — " S," in the Fanner of Sep- 

 ten\ber, asks for information in destroying Canada 

 Thistles. I have destroyed them in the following 

 njanner: The large patches I plowed early in the 

 spring, and cross-plowed before the thistles mode 

 their appearance, and so continued to do until they 

 disappeared entirely, which was about three months, 

 I bi-lieve. The smaller patches I cover with old 

 straw about eighteen inches deep, and turn the straw 

 thoroughly once in about ten days, in order to keep 

 the thistles under. They should not be allowed to 

 show themselves above the straw, nor grow up far 

 into it. This method, if well attended to, will de- 

 stroy them in about two months. I think the best 

 time to apply the straw is when they are about six 

 inches high. By so doing they aie dropped to a 

 horizontal position, and are not \\\w\y to grow, and 

 the top becoming sickly and souring, weakens the 

 root. 



Another method which I have tried on several 

 small patches with good success, is, salt, say half a 

 handful to each thistle. Stamp ihe thistle down to 

 the ground, and drop the salt upon it. My experi- 

 ence with Canada Thistles was in Western New 

 York. We are not troubled with that pest here. 



Grand Rapids, Mich. G. Loking. 



GOOD CULTURE FOR CORN. 



Messrs. Editors: — I will give you my experience 

 in corn raising, this wet, cold, backward season. I 

 had four acres quite wet, flat sand wheat btubble. I 

 put eighty loads barn-yard and cow-stable manure 

 on the piece, and plowed it with Smith's double 

 plow, fourteen inches deep, and planted the sixth of 

 June, in good order. W^ell, it commenced to rain, 

 and it rained for three weeks, and the corn growed 

 slow, whilst many pieces that had been shallow 

 plowed did not grow at all, only yellow. Mine kept 

 its color, and as soon as it came dry, I put it in the 

 cultivator and kept it growing, and now it is as 

 heavy a piece of corn as you often see, whilst those 

 that were croaking at me lor only plowing from 

 three quarters of an acre to one acre per day, and 

 never getting ready to plant, can have the pleasure 

 of harvesting nubbins. My husks have not grown 

 long enough to cover the ears of corn. I planted 

 the Ohio Dent. D. S. 



Linesville, Pa,. 



m •■^m' 



Raising Calves. — The premium essay on the 

 " Management of Calves," in the October number of 

 the Farmer, is to my mind correct in its principles, 

 in these times of economy. It is the course I have 

 pursued for quite a number of years past, with the 

 slight variation of the addition of an egg beat up 

 and incorporated with the milk at each feeding, un- 

 til the calf is some ten or twelve weeks old. I then 

 omit the egg, or give it only occasionally, as I think 

 fitting the necessities of the calf, until I cease to feed, 

 which is usually at about fifteen weeks. By this 

 method, I think I usually succeed in raising calves 

 as good as my neighbors who let their calves draw 

 the milk from the cow twice a day; and at one year 

 old, my calves are generally a little better — by which 

 I mean, in the spring their coats are brighter and 

 smoother, if their bodies are no larger. D. 



Gates, JV. Y. 



