DL. AVI. MO. as. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL 



195 



(Frmii the G:-nese[? Farmer.) 



IMPROVEMENTS IN IIIJSBANDRV. 



Mr Tucker: I propose in this arlitrie lo sljow 

 le evidt'iiccs tlmt tliescioiioc of ii;,'rii.Miltui-e is nip- 

 lly advancing in Western New York. 

 The first ami most imiiortaiit irulieation of itii- 

 •ovemeiit is in the vary rapiil sprcail oftlie root 

 lltiire. Five years ago, there were few fanners 

 nong ns that tiad ever seen a Rnia Baga, and 

 e term Mangel Wnrlzol, if spoken hy a collefe 

 irned man, wonid jjhss as a Greek or Latin 

 irase. Carrots were supposed to he usefnl only 

 iien the good house-wife lioil.-d tlie pot for din- 

 r. Now these hard words are in every one's 

 auth. Farmers, when they meet, Ijave to tell 

 lat wonderful good things Rnta Bagas are, and 

 'W easily they are raised. Some farmers will 

 1 of their erops of eight, ten, and even sixteen 

 ndred bushels; and thoeomplaint among swine 

 them is, that they have not stock enough to eat 

 bm. 



The comparative merits of these tliree roots 

 ! the snhject of frequent discussion. In one 

 int I believe, they very soon agiee, that rnta 

 jas fed to milch tows, spoils the taste of the 

 Iter. In another, 1 thiid( rhey will soon agree, 

 it mangel wurtzels are fed out with less lahor 

 ;n ruta liagas, where they are cut hy the hand, 

 perience will, soon .settle another — tliat carrots 

 harvested with nmch more lahor t'lan either 

 the others. Some say that cattle fatten nmch 



:er on ruta liagas than on mangel wurtzel. 



lers, that carrots are preferable for feeding 

 vs and horses, [fowevcr, we may differ in 

 nion as to the com|)arative merits of these roots, 

 « evident that their cultivation is a great puh- 

 good, and no small indication of the rapid ad- 

 ce of agricultural science. 



inother indication of hnproveinent is, that 

 e is less corn planted, and what is platited, 

 a far greater amount of lahor bestowed upon 

 Although, owing to the change in the seasons, 

 may not raise as mneh corn as formerly, yet 

 y one nnist be sensible that, with the labor 

 used to bestow upon this ero]i, very little corn 

 Id now be raised. The land is now very gen- 

 ly manured, and what is very remarkable, we 

 very few fields where the stalks are left stand- 

 or merely topped. Farmers have found that 

 :s are worth saving. 



arley is another item in husbandry, of very 

 nt introduction in this part of the State. Far- 

 s who have the patience to endure the bar- 

 ing and threshing of this crop, and make a 

 experiment of its value as a fallow crop, and 

 "eeding farm stock, will not soon relinquish 

 culture of this grain. 



notlier indication of improvemeni is manifes- 

 in the appearance of our vvheat fields. The 



is better ploughed — better harrowed the 



sown more evenly — old stumps, roots and 

 es are drawn oft". Some farmers piactise 

 fing the stone to one side of the field every 

 they plough, and soon have enough to make 

 If wall on one or two sides of it. 

 ur farm stock manifest no inconsiderable im- 

 enient. Sheep liave multiplied greatly and 

 h improved in fleece and carcase. The grov/- 

 )f wool, although at present somewhat em- 

 issed by hard times, is, nevertheless, of great 

 equence, not only as an article of commerce, 

 for the benefit of sheep upon our farms. 



Sheep increase the vulue of our lauds liy the grea' 

 care which they always take of manuring the 

 driest, hardest knoll tliat can be found. Hushes 

 and briars are subdued by them, and many weeds 

 are of necessity kept ofl^the farm for fe^ir of in- 

 jui'ing the wool. Breeds of cadle, horses ami 

 swine, are contiMually improving from the crosses 

 with foreign breeds. 



'i he improvements in farm buildings, in thresh- 

 ing machines, farmiiig utensils, &c., all indicate 

 that the intellect of the farmer does not lie dor- 

 mant while his hands labor. 



Not to jgo more into particidars, for the lime 

 would fail tne to mention all the indications of 

 improved husbandry, permit me to say, that I 

 consider the interest taken in Aisricallunil papers, 

 as one of the most decided marks of improvement 

 in agriculture. F\u-mers are becoming more and 

 more sensible that they do not know alt that is to 

 be learned of their profession. Starti'd as I lie 

 Gknesee Farmeic was, when agricultural reading 

 was indeed a novelty, and continued as it has 

 been through seven volumes, it mTist be a source 

 of gratification to its enterpi ising proprietor, that 

 most of the Improvements in farming, which man- 

 ifest themselves in every department of agricul- 

 ture have been reconunended and enforced through 

 the niedinm of this piper. Truly, farmers v\ ho 

 are mindful of their own interests, and of the pros- 

 perity of this great branch of national wealth, 

 should not be backward in giving the Genesee 

 Yours, &c. 



Farmer a liberal sujjport. 

 East Bloomfield, Dec. 1837. 



Q. P. Q. 



SIZE OF FARMS. 



^Ve know not when or where the following ar- 

 ticle on the size of farms was first published. We 

 commend it to the attention of our readers, as af- 

 fording some useful hints on a subject of interest. 

 — Far. Cab. 



An obstacle in the way of good husbandry in 

 the west is the size of the farms. Very generally 

 they are too large. The cheapness of land offers 

 an inducement to the farmer to procure a large 

 tract. .\i\<i the fashion being set, he who has not 

 three, four, five or six hundred acres of laud, is 

 not considered a farmer on a respectable scale. 

 I'his thing, I have no doubt operates detrimentally 

 to the general interests of agriculture, and to the 

 individual disadvantages of the proprietors. If a 

 man possesses the means of purchasing a farm of 

 five hundred, or even five thousand acres, and 

 then, of suitable improving, stocking and cultivat- 

 ing it, it might operate well enough as regards 

 hitnself. But it too generally happens that the 

 farmer settling among us,purchase3 land to the full 

 extent of his means. Then, if improved, his im- 

 provements progress very slowly, and will be at 

 least imperfect, if not very inferior. His grounds 

 partially cleared, his inclosurcs insecure, his barns 

 and stables (if perchance he has any) mere tem- 

 porary sheds, and his own dwelling, a poor, con- 

 tracted, uncomfortable cabin, and all this for the 

 sake of having a large farm. J5ut the mischief 

 ends not here ; it is perhaps still more injuriously 

 manifest in the cultivation. A large farm requires 

 large fields and crops. Aci ordingly you see a 

 field set apart for corn, of the contents of one hun- 

 dred acres. But the deficiency of means will not 

 admit of thoroughly breaking with iho jilough, 

 perhaps not at all, and the poor substitute of fur- 

 rowing out, as some call it, is resorted to. The 



afterculture of the crop is in keeping with ihe 

 commencement, and nature would not be true o 

 herself, if she did not give such a harvest as such 

 cnltiiro deserves. What there is lies neglected in 

 the field, or unhoused at some other pomt, until 

 unruly animals, allured by bad fences, claim a 

 .large Hike of the product, or till the storms of 

 winter <lestroy a large portion of the summer's la- 

 bor. Now suppose this whole business put upon 

 a smaller scale, and graduaiid hy the means of the 

 proprietor; suppose the quantity of ground tilled 

 is twenty, instead of one hundred acres. This 

 well broke, and ploughed and hoed, and weeded 

 in after culture, tin.ely gathered and well secured, 

 the profit wonhl [u-obahly have been a hundred 

 per cent, better. 



Besides all this, it is only where farming is car- 

 ried on a smaller scale, generally, that you witness 

 that universal neatness and taste and finish which 

 throw around the whole scene a sort of rural en- 

 chantment, which attracts and impresses every 

 beholder. And the thing is most easily accounted 

 for. The whole is under the flirmer's own eye 

 and wrought chiefly, if not exclusively by his own 

 hands and those of his healthy sons. He seeks 

 not to be proprietor of an agricultural empire^ in 

 extent, but to create an agricultural paradise of 

 concentrated attractions and beauties. 



It is to the. small farms in every country that 

 yon are too look generally for the best models, 

 the finest taste, the most pleasure, and the largest 

 profits upon the investment. 



I am confident that fifty acres, cultivated in the 

 very best style of modern improvements would 

 yield more in profit than many of your five hun- 

 dred acre farms now yield. 



It is an excellent rule, never lo take in hand 

 more ground than you can cultivate in the best 

 manner ; for be assured that if you calculate to 

 make up the defects of culture by increasing the 

 quantity of ground thus defectively cultivated, you 

 will find yourselves greatly in error. 



Thkiftv Pork. — Mr Holmes : As your useful 

 paper is designed to promote the agricultural in- 

 terests of Maine, by communicating not only the- 

 oretical, but practical knowledge, I thought the 

 following statement might be ef some service to 

 our farmers; at least, it will show that "some 

 things can be done as well as others," even in this 

 " cold country," where it is said by some, that 

 people cannot get a living by farming and stock- 

 raising. 



James Stanley, Esq , a neighbor of mine, butch- 

 ered two pigs on the 27th nit.; one of them when 

 dressed, weighed 315, and the other 255 pounds, 

 they were seven months and 12 days old. These 

 pigs were from a litter of seven, partly of the 

 '•Newbury White" breed ; i\Ir S. owned the sow 

 which brought them. She was lamed when the 

 pigs were about two weeks old, so that it became 

 necessary to kill her; after which, these two pigs 

 were i'ed upon new milk until they were about 4 

 weeks old, after which they had no extra keeping, 

 their food being the skimmed milk from one cow, 

 boiled and raw |>otatoes and slops from the house, 

 together with a little corn occasionally. These 

 pig-3 were kept u[> so as not to range about. The 

 largest one cut more than six inches clear on the 

 shoulders. J. T. 



Farmington, Dec. 1, 1837. [Maine Far. 



