146 



THE farmers' cabinet. 



VOL. I. 



But the disease is working out its own cure; 

 the whole machinery of the social fabric, so 

 jostled and thrown out of gear, by the excite- 

 ment of sudden and unnatural gain, is under- 

 going repair. A salutary retribution has in- 

 flicted the penalty of transgression, and is 

 enforcing the fiat of the Creator, founded as 

 are all Hia decrees, in immutable justice. — 

 The retrospection of the last three years, 

 will in the end do more to convince us that 

 patient industry is tlie only natural healthy 

 means of gain — that, aside from this, all de- 

 pendence IS uncertain and untenable — than 

 would the preaching of an army of political 

 economists. The basis of all industry, of 

 prosperity, must be the pursuit of agriculture. 

 That neglected, it is impious to charge upon 

 the seasons that portion of misfortune which 

 is clearly attributed to our own errors. All 

 the productions of the earth are extravagant- 

 ly high ; the consumer is threatened with 

 starvation ; and the producer is not bettered 

 by the emergency, for he has but little to 

 sell — he has neglected his fields, has left the 

 most dignified and exalted of all human pur- 

 suits, to chase the retreating shadow of un- 

 natural gain ! Let us profit by the bitter les- 

 son of experience ; let us suppose, for such 

 reliance is at d.11 times the dictate of wisdom, 

 that the season now opening upon us is to be 

 one of plenty, that the earth will give good 

 returns for all that is committed to its charge 

 — and then, if we come short of abundance, 

 we shall at least have the consolation that we 

 have neglected no duty necessary to the ac- 

 complishment of our designs." 



How to Improve a Poor Fariu« 



Richard A. Leonard, of Middletown, N. J., 

 has furnished us an interestingaccountof his 

 manner of improving a worn-out farm, and of 

 the sale ot its products the last year; and we 

 regret that from the great accumulation of 

 matter on hand, we cannot give his letter in 

 detail. We are obliged to content ourselves 

 with a brief abstract of material facts. 



Mr. Leonard came into possession of 90 

 acres of cultivated but exhausted land in May 

 1833. In that year the sale of its products 

 amounted to $550 88; in 1834 the sales 

 amounted to $718 05; in 1835 to $1,125 04; 

 and in 1836, notwithstanding the unfavorable 

 season, and the failure of most of his staple 

 crops, to $1,166 13 — thus more than doubling 

 its products by judicious management, in 

 three years. His expense during the last 

 year, for labor, dung and freight, amounted to 

 $254 72 — thus leaving him a neit profit on 

 his farm of $912 41~or more than $100 per 

 acre per annum. We will quote Mr. Leon- 

 ard's statement of the means he adopted to 

 thus double the fertility of his soil. 



" My farm," says he, " was in so low a con- 



dition that it would not produce more than 

 iten bushels of rye, or twenty of corn per 

 iacre ; and as I had no other income but what 

 1 1 could make upon this poor farm, I set about 



I farming in earnest. I found it was in vain to 

 iattempt improvement without manure, so I 

 contrived to get about 400 loads a year, 300 

 of v/hich I made in the following manner. I 

 jhave marl, though of very inferior quality. 



I I cart about 100 loads of this into my barn 

 yard, and by yarding my cattle upon it 

 through the season, contrive to mcrease it to 

 200 loads. I also cart about 50 loads to my 

 hog pen, on which I keep my hogs the year 

 round. In this way I got 100 loads more, 

 I which is excellent for potatoes, corn, &,c., and 

 las my farm is situate near the bay, I obtain 

 I from New York annually, from 50 to 75 loads 

 I of the best stable dung, at about $1 per load 

 on delivery, and by mixmg it with the earth, 

 &c. make up the 400 loads. By this treat- 

 ment I find my land improve rapidly, and my 

 income in like proportion. But I am sorry to 

 say there are many farmers among us who 

 are still pursuing the old land-killing system, 

 scarcely making both ends meet. I might 

 say something concerning the beneficial re- 

 sults of underdraining, and of lime as a ma- 

 nure; but I conclude for the present." 



This communication affords a worthy ex- 

 ample of prudent industry and good manage- 

 ment, and shows that even a poor farm, well 

 managed, may be rendered more productive 

 than many a good farm now is, under bad 

 management. — Albany Cultivator. 



Useful Instructiong Regarding tlie Milk^ 

 ing of Cows* 



The operation of milking is performed dif- 

 ferently in various parts of the country. In 

 some, the dairy maid dips her hand into a lit- 

 tle milk, and by successively stripping the 

 teat between the finger and thumb, unloads 

 the udder. The plan however, is attended 

 with the disadvantage of irritating more or 

 less the teat, and rendering it liable to cracks 

 and chaps, which are followed by inflammation, 

 extending to the rest of the quarter. This 

 accounts for the disease occurring more fre- 

 quently among the cows under the charge of 

 one milker than it does in those which are 

 under the charge of another ; and, as this 

 practice is more common in some parts of the 

 country than in others, it also accounts for the 

 disease being more common in these parts. 

 This plan of milking where the irritation is 

 not sufficient to e.xcite the extent of inflam- 

 mation to which I have alluded, frequently 

 produces a horny thickening of the teat, a 

 consequence of the cracks and chaps, which 

 renders it more difficult to milk than when 

 in its natural state; and at the same time 

 predisposes to inflammation, when any case 



