NEW ENGIiAND FARMER. 



PUBLISHED BY GEO. C. BARRETT, NO. Si, NORTH MARKET STREET, (.\t the Agricultural Warehouse.)— T. G. FESSENDEN, EDITOR. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 26, 1832. 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 AGIIICUI.TUKAI< ESSAYS, BIO. X. 



ENGAGING IN LAW-SUITS, 



The Farmers of New England in general, an' 

 too apt to rontend with each other in the law; and 

 to refer, even the most trifling controversies be- 

 tween them, to the decisions of Courts of Justice. 

 But they ought to guard against this ruinous prac- 

 tice, as they would against the greatest disappoint- 

 ments and misfortunes. For if they will attend to 

 the fruits of this unhappy passion, they will sec 

 that but few, if any, have been benefitted, while 

 multitudes have been utterly ruined by it. So 

 great are the unavoidable expenses of time, counsel, 

 witnesses, attendance, fees of officers, and so 

 many the vexations of minds, that in general, a 

 man had better compound with his neighbor in a 

 quiet and peaceable manner, and give him his coat, 

 although he had previously taken away his cloak, 

 than sulimit to the manifold evils wliich may pos- 

 sibly arise from a process in law. But you will 

 .say, he may gain the cause, and then — to wlficli 

 it may be replied, he may lose it and then, — 

 Farther you may observe, that there are ceitain 

 characters, with which you are obliged to be con- 

 nected occasionally, who are so given to conten- 

 tion that it is next to impossible to keep up an 

 amicable correspondence with them. Thev will 

 encroach, deceive, opjiress, and pay no conjcieu- 

 tious regard to their conduct and engagemifna. 

 Doubtless there may be such characters : but if 

 you know them, it must be your own fault, in 

 some measure, if difficidties arise between you 

 and them. It is imprudent to have any great in- 

 timacy, or much to do with a man of a dishonest, 

 contentious spirit. iVnd yet it must be acknow- 

 ledged, that it may sometimes be a duty which 

 you owe to the public, as well as to yourself, to 

 oppose his base and dishonest attempts. As, 

 where a man challenges the title you havt to your 

 lands, when he might as well claim the knds and 

 tenements of any other neighbor — to oppise, and 

 if possible, suitably punish such a character, so 

 avaricious and wicked, every man ought always to 

 be ready and willing. Such men in neighbor- 

 hoods and in society, are like foxes and wolves in 

 a flock of sheep : and we have to lament th? lot of 

 that man who is obliged to come forward, and to 

 expose them at his own expense. But to aviid ihe 

 vexations and expenses which unavoidably follow 

 from suits and processes in law, " study to be 

 (juiet, and to do your own business — keep your 

 shop, and your shop will keep you." Avoid tavcnis, 

 horse races, shooting matches and gaming tables. 

 Pay all your little, as well as your greater debts 

 punctually. Give your laborers their hard earned 

 wages daily, or at least, weekly ; and close all your 

 accounts with every man, at the close of cvoy 

 year. Use the creatures and goods of your neijh- 

 bor, when hired, or borrowed, as carefully, or 

 more carefully, than you would if they were your 

 own — ^be truly charitable, and look upon all nen 

 as your brethren. Accustom yourselves to do 

 little favors for your neighbors, and without my 

 expectations of reward from them. Overhok 

 thuigs said and done by them, when they wre 



angry, mistaken, or heated with liquor. Never 

 attempt to take the advantage of them, however 

 they may expose themselves ; but throw the 

 mantle of charity over their weaknesses. Remem- 

 ber that you also are a man ; and that benevolence 

 is the law of your nature. Above all things, make 

 it your study and endeavor, to regulate and con- 

 trol your passions and appetites. An example of 

 this kind, may be followed by your neighbors ; and 

 if it shouUl, it would put an end to contentious of 

 all kinds ; and save you from the expenses and 

 vexations of the law : which, though necessary and 

 good in itself, may prove the most permanent 

 source of distress, to those who rashly and wan- 

 tonly engage in it. 



C5^ " For every thing you buy or sell, let 

 or hire, make an exact bargain at first ; and be not 

 |)utofi'to an hereafter by one that says to you, 

 we shall not disagree about trifles." 



For ihe New Englaiid Farmer. 

 THE SELECTION ASTD MANAGEMENT OF A 

 FARM. 



Upon a proper selection of his farm, the com- 

 fort and prosperity of a husbandman mostly de- 

 pend ; of course every one cannot be guided by 

 the same rules in these matters, but there are 

 some general principles which it is believed are 

 ajiplicable to every case, and it is to be regret- 

 ted that among an intelligent community they are 

 so often disregarded. The wretched appearances 

 of many of our farms — buildings ruinous and un- 

 sightly, soil weedy and unproductive, fences fallen 

 aid falling — are to be ascribed in a great measure 

 to one vast and prevalent failing, viz. the posses- 

 sion of too many acres. An extensive farm does 

 not consequently prove a valuable one ; it is not 

 the number of acres cultivated, but the manner in 

 vjhich they are cultivated, that should engage the 

 eiergies of the farmer — for the product of one 

 aire thoroughly husbanded is superior to the pro- 

 duce of six managed in the common way. 

 I Another oversiglit which causes much trouble 

 aid perplexity, is the disproportion which the dif- 

 fllrent parts of a farm bear toward each other, 

 ihe pasture is too extensive for the other grass 

 Itnds and hay must be purchased, perhaps at an 

 advanced price, to support the stock through win- 

 ter, or a portion of that stock must be sold to pre- 

 serve the remnant from starvation. The tillage is 

 too confined to yield the crops which are actually 

 necessary for the home consumption, and the barn 

 or the wood lot must supply the deficiency. These 

 ai-e staring facts, but they are nevertheless true 

 and of often occurrence. 



Another subject which demands notice, is the 

 want of capital among our husbandmen at their 

 outset. This, though it cannot rightly be termed 

 a failing, is in the most literal sense of the word 

 an oversight. Farming requires capital as well as 

 any other business, and a want of it often pro- 

 duces disappointment and failure. Ready money 

 in this occiqiation as in every other breeds more, 

 or to say the least, makes a great saving. Build- 

 mgs must be repaired, tools must be purchased, 

 and various other matters furnished ; and if the 

 farmer, to answer his wants, has to part with a por- 

 tion of his crops at an unseasonable time, and in an 



overstocked market, he feels the evil consequences 

 for a long time. And how is this to be avoided 

 ask one and another .' In this way — never pur- 

 chase a farm till you can pay for it without sum- 

 moning the last cent from your purse, unless you 

 have a speedy prospect of realizing a moderate 

 and sure income, a part of which can be saved to 

 defray unlooked-for expenses. 



There is one more general cause of the dis- 

 reputable appearance of so many of our farms, 

 and it is the one most to be lamented — it is an 

 actual ignorance of many important agricultural 

 subjects. No farmer who reads the experiments 

 and suggestions of others and prosecutes observa- 

 tions and researches of his own, need remain in 

 ignorance of any division whatsoever of his em- 

 ployment. True, he may not be expert and 

 thorough in every thing, and it is not to be ex- 

 pected that he will, but ho may easily have a gene- 

 ral knowledge of the principles of every subject 

 included in the term. Agriculture. Tliere are 

 many who neither strive to better themselves by 

 instruction and hints from others, or by a minute 

 attention to tlie subject on their own part ; on 

 such men yon can place no hope, and you i-egret 

 their negligence not so much on their own ac- 

 count, as on account of the ruinous example they 

 offer to those under their direction and in their 

 immediate vicinity. It is not impossible for the 

 seeds of an evil tree to germinate, or for the va- 

 pors of a poisonous plant to spread far and wide. 



Hav'ir noticed some of the principal causes 

 of bad husbandry, I shall now offer a few general 

 remarks on the selection and management of a 

 farm. 



In purchasing a farm, let your main object be 

 to obtain one of a moderate size and suitably di- 

 vided. The soil of course should be a primary 

 object of consideration, but as there are various 

 kinds adapted to the growth of various crops, no 

 general rule can be consistently urged on this 

 point. A good orchard is a vast acquisition to a 

 farm, aid enhances its value both to the purchaser 

 and tin seller ; especially to the former, if he is 

 desirouj to escape the incessant trouble attendant 

 upon the management of a young orchard, and is 

 capable of prizing such an immense source of 

 pleasu-e and profit. Amongst other things to be 

 notice 1 in viewing a farm, is the supply and situa- 

 tion Of" water in pastures ; this is oftentimes over- 

 looked, though nothing conduces more to the well- 

 being of cattle, than a good and commodious sup- 

 ply cf fresh and wholesome drink, and a suffi- 

 ciency of scattering trees whose shade they can 

 frequent in the heat of the- day. It is a too com- 

 mon thing even to escape the notice of the casual 

 passer-by, to find poor and deficient pasturage, not 

 because tlie land is too barren to yield sweet and 

 who'csoiiie nutriment, but simply, because the 

 samt spot is used by generation after generation 

 for llie same purpose, without being assisted in 

 any one way — or because it is contmually over- 

 stocked. At the present day, a thrifty wood lot is 

 an indispensable appendage to a good farm. As 

 our forests are gradually disappearing, the value 

 of this important article begins to be appreciated ; 

 in former days, extravagance in the consumption 

 of wood was general, and at the present time in 



