No. 17 



To make Farming prqftable, ^c. 



349 



To make Farsaiing Profitable. 



Some farmers think, that to make money by 

 the business, it is only necessary to cultivate 

 large farms — of several hundred acres; others 

 think that to raise and harvest crops at the 

 least possible expense is the great secret; 

 some again, think that covering their land 

 with wheat crops, is to pocket the most cash ; 

 and others that to raise cattle, or to devote 

 the farm entirely to a dairy, or to raising 

 sheep goes ahead of every thing else. 



They are not all correct. Which of them 

 is] We will first say who is not. Cultivating 

 a large farm is not profitable unless it is tho- 

 roughly done, for a man who makes nothing 

 on one acre, will not be likely to make more 

 on a thousand, with the same kind of culture. 

 Those who own very large farms too fre- 

 quently attempt to cultivate them with the 

 least possible expense, or else neglect tiiem 

 entirely ; and this superficial farming, is after 

 all, by far, the most expensive, as we shall 

 proceed to show. It is generally quite as ex- 

 pensive to cultivate an acre of land which is 

 in a bad state, as one in fine condition, and of- 

 ten more so; if for instance, the crop is so 

 small that it is only worth the expense of 

 raising it, there is no profit w hatever ; but if 

 the land be good, the expense the same, and 

 4he crop twice as great, one half of course, 

 will be clear gain. Hence the vast impor- 

 tance of adopting such a course of farming 

 as to tend constantly to the improvement of 

 the land. This course is not close cropping 

 with wheat, nor sufiering it to remain con- 

 stantly in meadow or pasture. 



But to effect improvement in land, it is ne- 

 cessary to pursue a course of rotation in crops, 

 to manure as much as is practicable, either by 

 stable minure or by turning under green 

 crops, with a proper use of lime, and to ren- 

 der all wet ground sutliciently dry by under 

 draining. For this capital is necessary ; and 

 hence a farmer must not only have land to 

 cultivate, but he must have means besides in 

 sufficient quantity to carry on his operation to 

 the best advantage. 



It is true that many farmers have made 

 money by close cropping with wheat; but 

 there is no doubt that if instead of this, they 

 had pursued a proper course of rotation, they 

 might have done as well at the time, and in- 

 .'(tead of exhausting their land, been constant- 

 ly rendering it more productive. A proof ol 

 this is aftbrded by an experiment made seve- 

 ral years ago. One portion of land v/as crop- 

 ped every second year ; on another portion a 

 longer time intervened between the crops of 

 wheat; by a judicious system of rotation, and 

 although wheat was the main crop, yet the 

 increased fertility which this course caused, 

 and the consequent increase both in the 



wheat and intervening crops, rendered the 

 latter course ultimately the most profitable, 

 with the additional advantage of leaving the 

 ground in the best condition. 



Corn, wheat, oats, barley, &c. being all 

 similar in their effects in exhausting land, it 

 becomes necessary to introduce the culture 

 of some other crops more generally than ex- 

 ists at present, in order to form a proper ro- 

 tation. Peas and beans are both excellent 

 for preceding any of the grain crops just men- 

 tioned ; and the red eyed China bean culti- 

 vated in drills or hills or would doubtless be 

 as profitable as wheat or corn. 



The culture of root crops is a most power- 

 ful means of enriching land. A crop of corn 

 the last summer, was twice as productive af- 

 ter ruta baga as after corn, fertility and ma- 

 nuring being the same in both cases. — Gene- 

 see Fitriner. 



Iiaj-xng doivn AraWc I<and into Grass* 



It cannot be doubted, that if one-fourth 

 part of the land, which at present is sown 

 with grain, were properly laid down in grass, 

 for the purpose of feeding stock, it would be 

 of the greatest benefit both to the farmer and 

 the public, as the other three-fovirths, would 

 be better manured, more easily cultivated, 

 and would produce as much tor consumption, 

 as the whole now does. The failuie of new 

 crops of grass, is in a great mea^'ure owing 

 to a deficiency of seed, or to the land being 

 sown, v/hen out of condition, and without an 

 adequate supply of manure; and great tracts 

 have, in these circumstiincos, been continued 

 under a course of aration, to the impoverish- 

 ment of the occupiers, and tiie loss of the pub- 

 lic. Whereas, improved rotations, and in 

 particular, a greater number of green crops, 

 would enrich poor, or exhausted arable land. 



The laying down a portion of the arable 

 land of the country into grass, is a subject of 

 great importance, which may essentially con- 

 tribute to prevent any apprehension of sear- 

 city. Indeed nothing would give so much re- 

 lief to any difficulty with respect to grain, as 

 to increase the number of cows. Milk used 

 with rice, bread, biscuit, or with pot-barley 

 boiled like rice, < r meal or flour, would save 

 a large proportion of the consumption of those 

 articles. Nothing can be substituted so 

 quickly, or so cheap. Each cow, so used, 

 would save one load of wheat per annum. 



It is a great error, in laying down land to 

 grass, to sow an insufficient quantity of small 

 seeds. , 



Another point to be strongly inculcated is 

 that land intended to be converted from til- 

 lage to grass land, must eitlier be dry by na- 

 ture, or be made so by art, before it is possi- 

 ble to get a valuable crop of natural grasses , , 



