NO. 8. 



THE FARMERS CABINET. 



119 



land after their own f^ishion, althoiiirli abund- 

 antly productive by nature, I found it in a 

 most miserable condition, requiring imme- 

 diate care and attention. Numerous wretelied 

 loo- cabins were scattered over it with bark 

 roofs ; an occasional shed for cattle, with a 

 parcel of old rails thrown over the top, and 

 on them the remains of an old stack bottom, 

 where their hay, stalks, or straw, had been 

 stored, were all the huildin<TS or conveniences 

 to be found on the premises. Three or four 

 of these little squads or settlements had been 

 made on dilTerent parts of the territory, and 

 each one comprised within its compass from 

 one to two hundred acres of this partially 

 cleared, girdled and dilapidated improve- 

 ment. Having got rid of the squatters, and 

 selected one of these settlements most con- 

 veniently located for immediate operations, 

 and taken the best cabin, well situated and 

 convenient for a dwelling, I put into it a good 

 family, fit to manage the place, built an ad- 

 dition to it also of logs, put on a good shingled 

 roof, and|with a hundred or two dollars ex- 

 pense, made a very comfortable affair of it. 

 With surticient help on tiie place, the fences 

 were straightened and put into line, the old 

 bouks, {Ijuc/:s,) brush fences, logs, <tc. &c., 

 cleared up and tolerable crops got in. Having 

 come into the place about the middle of April, 

 it was too late in the season to make rapid 

 advances, but in the course of the summer 

 perhaps thirty acres of oats, five or six of 

 corn, and as many of potatoes, were cultiva- 

 ted, and yielded a tolerable crop. A dozen 

 acres of wheat were also sown in the fall, 

 and perhaps seventy or eighty acres of land 

 worked into tolerable shape for another sea- 

 son. Yet we had no barns nor the means 

 of building any during that year ; one 

 wretched log stable, which stood near the 

 house, was all that we had for shelter to any 

 of onr animals, and with that we shifted to 

 get along. Our hay, of which we had some 

 sixty or seventy tons cut from a distant clear- 

 ing, our oats, corn, fodder, &c. &c., were all 

 stacked out in the open air. Winter came 

 upon us. With a few thousand feet of boards 

 and the aid of crotches and poles, we made 

 some sheds and mangers for our cattle, of j 

 which we had a large stock, composed of 

 oxen and cows, and erected some racks in the 

 yard to feed them in. By these means we 

 got through the winter, after the fashion. 

 Our cattle had enough to eat, and during the 

 cold weather, looked tolerably well: but as 

 the cold rain and snow-storms of March and 

 April came on, they grew poor in spite of all 

 we could do. Food enough to keep in high 

 condition doubletheirnumber, if well housed, 

 was given them, but all to little purpose. 

 The storms wet the fodder in the stacks, the 

 cattle trampled it into the mud under their 



feet, and with all the care given them, which 

 was a great deal, I am i'uUy satisfied that at 

 least twenty-five per cent, of the food given 

 tliem was entirely lost! And yet this was 

 l)etter and more economical feeding than one 

 half the stock of our country get on the 

 average ! It may be a bold and sweeping 

 remark, but it is nevertheless a irueone, and 

 would every farmer make the experiment 

 who thus practises, he would fully test its 

 correctness. We had great labor to perform, 

 and therefore submitted to the loss and in- 

 convenience accruing to this mode of manage- 

 ment. During the winter we cleared up more 

 of this slashed gro\md, inclosed it, drew off 

 its wood and timber, and last spring had 

 perhaps two hundred acres of pasture, mow- 

 ing and plough land ready for use. 



Erection of tlic Barn 



We were now ready to build a barn, and 

 after the spring crops had been put in, pro- 

 ceeded to erect one proper for the uses of the 

 farm. It was soon built, covered and in- 

 closed, and by haying and harvest time was 

 ready for use. It was placed on a central 

 and convenient spot for the farm, which is a 

 large one, and although the barn is one hun- 

 dred feet long, by fifty feet wide, and eighteen 

 feet posts, with leantos for stables on each 

 side of it, with a floor fourteen feet wide, 

 lengthwise through the centre, more room 

 will soon be required. It was a matter of 

 much wonder and inquiry by my neighbors 

 who saw the barn, of what possible use it 

 could be, supposing it a most extravagant 

 building, although, for the size, a very cheap 

 one. Yet when we had cut and stored our 

 hay, oats, and wheat, the barn was crammed 

 full to the roof, on the floor and all. We 

 housed every thing; all was put in, in per- 

 fect order and good condition. Ample room 

 is there made to tie up every animal to be 

 fed, and not a lock of hay or spoonful of grain 

 need be lost. The manure is all saved, and 

 in a convenient situation to be carried out, 

 and a degree of economy, comfort and satis- 

 faction experienced in expending the food to 

 the stock, that amply compensates for all the 

 extra expense. The hay and grain it con- 

 tains is more than one hundred and fifty tons, 

 enabling us to feed out every bundle of straw 

 and coarse fodder, which is in most cases 

 altogether lost, or only used for a manure. 

 A plan of this barn will be given in our next. 



(Concliidrd ill our next.) 



Keeping Stock — a Dialogne. 



Mn. Holmes: — Being present when the 

 following Dialogue took place, betweeen two 

 farmers, and as winter is approaching, 1 think 

 it may be useful to publish it, for the informa- 

 iton of those who keep stock next winter. 



