1859. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



563 



Let us reckon up the cost of cultivating an 

 acre of corn in the same manner that a manufac- 

 turer reckons the cost of his goods, and see what 

 ■we shall make of it. We will take an average! 

 acre of New England land, such as is usually put ! 

 to corn in this section, and see what it does cost 

 to raise a bushel. I will, in the first place, makej 

 the figures, and then give some reasons for reck-j 

 oning as I do. The reader will understand that 

 we are considering the matter as it actually is, 

 and not as it is under some extraordinary circum- j 

 stances made to appear. We will suppose thisi 

 acre to be worth forty dollars in the market, and| 

 located one-fourth of a mile from the buildings, 

 and we will cultivate it in the usual way. 



One Acre of Corn. Dr. 



May 10, Two meo, two yoke oxen and plow one day $4,25 



" 15, One man, four oxen and cart one day hauling 



manure 3,25 



May 15, Ten loads manure 10^00 



" 16, One man one day, and yoke oxen and harrow 



half day, spreading manure and harrowing 1,75 



May 17, Man, horse and boy \ day furrowing 75 



" 18, Man and boy one day planting, $1,50, seed 25.... 1,75 



" 19, To putting up line, &c 25 



June G, Two men, horse and plow cultivating and hoeing. 2,50 



" 6, To replanting and asiiing 2,00 



" 25, To hoeing and cultivating 2.50 



July 10, To pulling weeds 50 



Sept. 10, To two men cutting stalks and stooking do 2,00 



" 25, To carting stalks to barn, &c 50 



Oct. 12, To harvesting 2,ro 



" 13, To husking and taking care of butts 2,oo 



" 13, To interest on land, capital and taxes 3,0J 



" 13, To fencing and rents of barn and corn house 3,00 



Dec. 15, To shelling and marketing corn 5,00 



$47,00 

 Acre of Corn. Cr. 



Dee. 15, By 30 bush, shelled corn sold $30 00 



" 15, By 6 bush, ears soft corn sold 2,(0 



" 15, By stover and pumpkins 5,00 



$37,00 



Net loss on crop $10,00 



Thus it will be seen that we have cultivated 

 our crop in the most prudent and economical 

 manner ; we have charged nothing to the crop 

 but what rightly belongs there, and have allowed 

 a high average yield, and sold it for much more 

 than farmers usually get, and yet have made a 

 net loss of ten dollars ! 



I want to say here, that, in my opinion, there 

 are but comparatively few acres of corn planted in 

 this State but what run the owner in debt more 

 than this has. And what is true in regard to 

 this crop is true of most others ; only much more 

 so, for aside from the hay crop the corn is the 

 most reliable, as it is the most important upon 

 the farm. I do not wish the reader to under- 

 stand by this that I suppose the farmers usually 

 sell their corn. This is not so. Farmers in this 

 section are generally buyers of this article, and 

 consume upon their farms this and most other 

 crops, and by this way of doing business do not 

 generally realize more than one-half what we 

 have allowed. 



The farmers, I think, have a peculiar way of 

 mystifying their business by running one thing 

 into another, as by feeding out their hay, corn, 

 &c., to make more manure at a loss of some fifty 

 per cent. — to raise more corn at still another 

 loss, and in this way go on, year after year, and 

 do not find out their mistake till their physical 

 energies are broken up, and, unless they have 

 had some outside successes, a portion, at least, of 

 their capital is exhausted. 



It seems to me, that farmers, like all other 

 classes of men, should call things by their right 

 names, and if hay will bring a dollar a hundred, 

 and corn a dollar a bushel, why not sell it, and 

 not feed it out to stock, when we cannot possibly 

 get more than one-ihird of it on the growth of 

 our cattle, and oftentimes not anything. I very 

 well know that stock makes manure, and manure, 

 judiciously applied, makes hay and corn ; but all 

 these things have a dollar and cent value, and 

 should not be purchased at too great a cost. 

 What I want is this, (as we have it from the best 

 authority, "that the laborer is worthy of his 

 hire,") that the man who labors upon his farm, 

 (if judiciously,) should so understand his busi- 

 ness as to realize as much as other laborers get. 

 I can see no reason why a man who owns a farm 

 should throw his labor away, or any considerable 

 portion of it, any more than the merchant or 

 manufacturer, who, to save clerk-hire, do their 

 own work. One of two things is evident, that 

 the farmer gets no return or per cent, on his cap- 

 ital ; or, reckoning six per cent, on his capital, 

 he gets no pay for his labor. I mean, of course, 

 by work on the farm. 



I know very well that it will be considered un- 

 usual to reckon some things which I have put in- 

 to this crop. But, what if it is unusual? Do 

 they not rightly belong there ? The old custom 

 of half reckoning, or not reckoning at all, is what 

 i want to see broken up, and let every crop and 

 every animal upon the farm answer for itself. In 

 this way, and in no other, can the farmer ever 

 hope to stand on an equality with all other class- 

 es of men. I am perfectly aware that different 

 localities, seasons and circumstances, will vary 

 the figures somewhat, so that no positive rule 

 can be given which will always be applicable ; 

 yet, this rule will always hold good, — never 

 deceive yourself, nor cut your corners too close, 

 lor there will always be some waste or losses 

 which no system can prevent. Our business is 

 extremely hazardous. Crops are liable (o be cut 

 off or broke in upon, cattle to sicken and die, and 

 being exposed to the extreme variableness of the 

 climate, we find, after the utmost care, that we 

 are constantly running great risks to health and 

 future enjoyment. 



However, let us stick to our caption, and see 

 what we can do to make up this loss on our corn 

 crop, for we have made a positive loss there, and 

 the shrewdest Yankee that ever was made, can- 

 not figure it any other way. Suppose we go into 

 the stock business, and see if that will extricate 

 us from the dilemma? This is a very important 

 part of agriculture, and most of our friends who 

 are fond of good roast beef and good sweet but- 

 ter and milk, (barring the naughty milk-man,) 

 consider it very profitable. Let us see. When 

 a calf is first dropt, his hide is worth one dollar, 

 the meat will pay for taking it oflf for the pigs, 

 and I presume that no farmer would make any 

 other use of it. Then the account will stand thus: 



Calf. Dr. 



To self $1,00 



To 5 qts. milk per day one week, at 2 ctg. per quart 70 



To 6 qts skim milk per day seven weeks, at 1 cent 2,94 



To 1^ bushels meal 1,50 



To care and attention, 3 cents per day 2,94 



To 18 wetks at grass, at 10 cts. per week 1,80 



To2S weeks barn, at 50 ctg. per week 13,00 



$22,88 



