532 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Nov. 



ever witnessed, and the spading match, in which 

 eleven hardy sons united, was one of great inter- 

 est. 



The attendance was estimated at 15,000 per- 

 sons, and not far from the truth, as we took for 

 ten-cent tickets, exclusive of the ladies' fair, sev- 

 enteen hundred dollars. But I refrain from fur- 

 ther remarks. NORFOLK. 



Remarks. — It is always an unwelcome duty to 

 us, to find fault with anybody, and more espe- 

 cially those who are exemplary in almost every- 

 thing, and whom we delight to honor. The Nor- 

 folk Agricultural Society cannot have a very lim- 

 ited influence, made up as it is of men so well 

 known, who mingle so largely with the people of 

 the State. As a general thing, her Exhibitions 

 have been models, and the publications of her 

 Transactions are certainly worthy of all imita- 

 tion. 



We did not intend, in what we said of it last 

 week, to give an account of the Exhibition, be- 

 cause in the multiplicity of these occurrences, 

 we had neither time or space to do it. We only 

 intended, in the kindest spirit, to notice what we 

 thought were encroachments upon her excellent 

 example heretofore, so that, if they tvere en- 

 ci'oachments, a calm and candid criticism might 

 call attention to the fact. Nothing more. No 

 person can have a higher respect for the officers 

 and managers of that society than we entertain. 



The remarks of "Norfolk" above will show 

 that the exhibition was such an one as is rarely 

 excelled, if equalled, in the State, both in the 

 amount and quality of the articles and stock ex- 

 hibited. But as "to err is human," it is still pos- 

 sible that some things may have been done, that 

 it were well to have left undone. We intend that 

 all our criticisms shall be candid and fair ; if 

 they do not appear so to others, we will repair 

 the fault — if fault it is found to be — to the best 

 of our ability. 



As a public journalist, and taking the strong- 

 est interest in the noble institution which ena- 

 bles us to compare the skill of the husbandman 

 and the product of his labors, we feel bound to 

 defend it against all invasions, and to exert what- 

 ever influence we may to preserve it as pure as 

 we found it. That encroachments are made that 

 will eventually destroy its good influence unless 

 arrested, scarcely admits of a doubt. The germ 

 of destruction, like a worm in the bud, is, in 

 some instances, already introduced. AVhether 

 it shall be cherished there, and do its work, or 

 whether its progress shall be stayed, depends 

 upon the firmness and wisdom of those who con- 

 trol it. 



A New Fire Ladder. — A valuable ladder has 

 been devised by some one in Ohio. It is spoken 

 of in the Cincinnati Gazette. Turning a crank 



extends the reach of the ladder from a very few 

 feet to seventy-five feet. When its length is suf- 

 ficient for the use required of it, it is hooked up- 

 on the roof or other convenient place. At the 

 upper end is a pulley over which a rope is drawn, 

 with a basket attached, into which persons or 

 valuables may be placed and safely removed. The 

 bottom rests upon a carriage, for the sake of rap- 

 id transportation. 



For the New England Farmer, 



"WHEAT AND "WHAT IT COSTS. 



I send you the product and cost of a crop of 

 spring wheat raised by me this year, on about 6^ 

 acres of land. In this account the labor is charged 

 at its cost ; labor of a pair of oxen is charged at 

 96 cents per day ; horse the same ; board of men 

 at 33 J^ cents per day ; no manure charged, none 

 having been applied. One piece of the land, 

 about Ih, acres, was never before plowed. I as- 

 sume the value of the land to be $100 per acre, 

 and the price of the grain to be what I think it 

 is worth to me for consumption. 



PRODUCT. 



76 bushels wheat at $2 $152,00 



61 tons straw (estimated) $6 39,00 $191,00 



COST. 

 Plowing, harrowing, sowing, rolling, and labor.. $5,90 



" " and team 8,90 



Board of men at 3"^ 6,00 $19,80 



One-half chargable to succeeding crop of clover and grass. .9,90 



$9,90 



Cradling, threshing and winnowing and labor 15,50 



" " carting and team 2,92 



Board of men at 33j per day 7,67 



12 bushels seed 24,00 



$59,99 

 6 percent, on $650,. assumed value of land 39,00 



$98,99 



Taking my estimate of the value of the grain 

 and land and the quantity of the straw to be cor- 

 rect, it will be seen that the crop has paid a profit 

 of 93 per cent.; the product per acre being about 

 an average crop. The like results may, I think, 

 be reached 9 years in 10, and often exceeded, 

 with suitable soil and cultivation. 



Samuel Raymond. 



North Andover, Mass., Oct. 4, 1858. 



ON THE MORNING. 



It is morning — and a morning sweet and fresh, 

 and delightful. Everybody knows the morning, 

 in its metaphorical sense, applied to so many ob- 

 jects, and on so many occasions. The health, 

 strength, and beauty of early years, lead us to 

 call that period the "morning of life." Of a love- 

 ly young woman, we say, she is "bright as the 

 morning," and no one doubts why Lucifer is 

 called "son of the morning." But the morning 

 itself, few people, inhabitants of cities, know any 

 thing about. Among all our good people of Bos- 

 ton, not one in a thousand sees the sun rise once 

 a year. They know nothing of the morning. 

 Their idea of it is, that it is that part of the day 

 which comes along after a cup of coffee and a 

 beefsteak, or a piece of toast. With them, morn- 

 ing is not anew issuing of light; a new bursting 

 forth of the sun ; a new waking up of all that has 

 life, from a sort of temporary death, to behold 

 again the wprks of God, the heavens and the 



