Agriculturo is the most Healthy and Honorable, as it is the most Natural and Useful pursuit of Man. 



VOL. X. 



ROCHESTER, N. Y. — APRIL, 1849. 



NO. 1. 



•farm ijnsbanLirn. 



IMPROVED SYSTEM OF HUSBANDRY. 

 BY AGR1COI.A. 



When shall we see improvement among all our 

 farmers ? We do not despair of seeing it general, 

 if not universal. We see it already in many towns 

 throughout the State — and what is the result ? In 

 many of these towns already, an advance of from 

 ten to twenty bushels per acre of the various crops 

 raised. This is encouraging, and should induce 

 every farmer to lend his aid. But perhaps some 

 readers of the Farmer will say, " what do you mean 

 by improvement?" We answer generally — first 

 of all, know what is your soil ; if grains are your 

 main dependence, what grains are best adapted to it. 

 See if draining is needed — and here let me say it is 

 much oftener necessary than farmers who have not 

 paid attention to the subject generally suppose. If 

 needed, see that it is done with as little delay as 

 practicable — and we will venture to assure you, your 

 crop from this source alone shall be increased from 

 one-quarter to one-half. If you doubt, try it care- 

 fully on a small piece of land, beside your land on 

 which water stands more or less during the season, 1 

 and if you do not realize at least one-quarter advance, 

 we will admit that for once, land that needed drain- 

 ing has not been improved. 



Select your manures judiciously and apply to the 

 crops that need the variety you make. Wonld not 

 this add much to your crops ? Who does not know 

 that often a wheat crop is ruined almost by an appli- 

 cation of fresh manure directly to the crop, which if 

 applied to a preceding corn or root crop would have 

 been of great value, and would have been sufficient 

 for a wheat crop to succeed. Keep your land 

 thoroughly subdued and let not the weeds master the 

 grain. It costs no more to raise grain than weeds 

 — and which is the most profitable for the farmer ? 

 Improvement then can be had by carefully extirpating 

 your weeds, and giving the grain an opportunity to 

 obtain all the nutriment. 



Be careful in the choice of your seed. No man 

 ever succeeded well who neglected this. It is a 

 small matter perhaps you think. Is it? Let us see. 

 Good and perfect seed will usually vegetate and pro- 

 duce much larger return*, than poor half formed 

 seeds. It will not fail to prove true as a general 

 rule that like will produce like, and what a man sows 

 that shall he also reap. 



Let your implements be of the best kind, and 

 wherever labor-saving implements can be introduced 

 to aid you, have them: all helps to cheapen the 

 of production and increase the profit of the farmer. 

 And don't forget to have every thing on your farm 

 needed for work in its place when not in use, so that 

 half the time of your men may not be taken up in 

 running after the utensils, which have beer' 

 where last used, instead of being in their proper 

 place. Would not this be improvement, if properly 

 attended to ? 



Keep an account with your farm — yes, with every 

 field — and let it be carefully charged with every 

 expense and credited with its avails, so that you can 

 at any time know what is your condition, whether 

 advancing as you desire, or whether the result is a 

 loss. Change your method, if the latter is the case 

 from year to year, and soon you will find the crop 

 and the system of management that will pay: at all 

 events you will know where you are, and it will be 

 your own fault if you do not bring your books to 

 show the balance on the right side. 



Is your land suited to fruit ? Then let the best 

 kinds for yuur locality, adapted to market, be selected. 

 The trees will grow while you sleep. It will be but 

 a little time before they produce, and soon your fine 

 apples will yearly find their way to the sea-board — 

 across the ocean, it may be: and the balance sheet 

 will be all right, and you be in the enjoyment of the 

 good fruits of improvement. Is not this well worth 

 trying ? 



Is the dairy your business ? How much cheese 

 and butter do you make per cow ? Those who attend 

 to their dairies as they should, and select cows suited to 

 them, are realizing from 500 to 600 pounds of cheese 

 per cow, and from 200 to 300 pounds of butter. 

 Have you reached this standard ? If not, is it not 

 worth your while to make the inquiry and ascertain 

 what is the difficulty ? Now is not that an improve- 

 ment which secures the return above given ? 



And now let us look at this matter personally. 

 Improvements are needed — can be made — and shall 

 they not be made ? What say the farmers ? — what 

 say the boys ? An answer such as would be worthy 

 of an American farmer would be — I will try; and if 

 you try with all the lights which experience as well 

 as science suggest, we venture the prediction, you 

 will succeed — and then an answer will be found to 

 the question which commences our article. 





