THE GENESEE FARMER. 



M3 



HOW FAEMEES LOSE MONEY. 



Looking only on the favorable side of any busi- 

 ness fits us poorly to engage in it understand! ngly. 

 The brightest prospect is liable to become clonde<l — 

 the most hopeful scheme maj' end in disappointment. 

 It is pleasant to read articles headed as above, with 

 the simple change of " make" for " lose," no doubt ; 

 it is certainly iRore agreeable to think and write ot 

 labor and enterprise that ;i(X?/s, than of tliut whicli 

 proves a losing business. StHl, while there is so 

 much farming of tliis character, it is worth while to 

 search out "the reason of the thing" — to continue 

 our catalogue of the ways in whicli we lose rather 

 than make money by farming. 



If we look at the crops whicli " don't pay " 

 among us— ten chances to one that the " root of 

 the matter" lies in 



WATER STAGNANT IN THE SOIL, 



which in many ways is prejudicial to the growth of 

 crops. In fact^ a soil wliicli has no escape or outlet 

 for the water wliich fails upon it save evaporation 

 can not be made to produce a paying crop. In a 

 dry season it is baked and hard, — in a wet one it is 

 flooded by every slight rain, and is never in a con- 

 dition very favorable to the growth of cultivated 

 crops, however favorable it may be to the produc- 

 tion of flags and buUrushes. And partiallj'' drained 

 land of this character is but little better. Flooded 

 in S|>ring, the water passes off but slowly ; nothing 

 can be done towards putting in a crop until the 

 " subsiding of tlie ;ivaters,' wliich, as they must in 

 a gi'eat ]:)art go clondward, is a tedious process. — 

 When the crop is sown it is at the mercy of the 

 weather ; a drouth is, if possible, more destructive 

 than a flood, and between the two, farmers lose 

 money enough every three years by stagnant water, 

 to ap})ly tlie thorough remedy of draining. 

 Fanners lose money by short sighted and 



MISTAKEN IDEAS OF ECONOMY, 



for true economy does n(it consist in mere saving 

 and stinting — it requires far-reaeliing views and a 

 generous spirit, to decide practical questions upon 

 that just basis which secures the greatest measure 

 of success. We must look farther than the first cost. 

 In farm stock, for instance, when once secured, it 

 costs little more to raise, to any given age, a good 

 animal than a bad one, while one may be far more 

 remunerative tlian the otlier. The good cost more 

 at first, but are sure to prove valuable and find 

 ready purchasers, while the cheap are almost cer- 

 tain to be poor and dull of sale. This is true not 

 only of animals, but of all farm crops — tlie best vari- 

 eties of grain and fruits are sought and raised by 

 truly economical cultivators of the soil. He does 

 not economize in seed to lose half his crop, nor 

 neglect th'^rough culture because " it costs so 

 much," for he knows it is the only profitable sys- 

 tem of management. 



It is a fact of importance to many, to remember 

 that money can be lost by the 



MISMANAGEMENT OF IMANURE. 



The contents of the barnyard are generally dignified 

 with the name of manure, even if they consist of 

 little more than rotten straw and animal excrement, 

 the real strength of which has leached away during 

 its long exposure to the weather. " A dry yard " 

 is the desideratara with many, so all its juices are 



drained away into some stream, or down the road- 

 side ditch; (into some provident neighbor's field it is 

 to be hoped) — what is left is still manure and is 

 carted out for crops, with expectation that tliey 

 will be largely benefited thereby. One thought 

 will show how idle is this idea. By what does 

 manure act beneficially upon vegetable growths 

 By its soluble con-stituents — they absorb only liquids 

 and gases, as food. This leached manure has lost 

 the greatest share of its soluble fertilizing matter, 

 the residue is little more than a mechanical means 

 of improving the soil. 



The assertion may be deemed of doubtful vera- 

 city^ but there is no question in our mind but we 

 have lost our time, seed, and labor, (which is the 

 same as money,) by 



PLOWING TOO MANY ACRES. 



Very few farmers but can look back to the time 

 when they " missed it" materially, in plowing for 

 and putting in a crop imperfectly, unseasonably, or 

 more of one than they could properly cultivate or 

 care for. The product did not begin to pay the ex- 

 penses incurred, and the plow might far better have 

 remained at rest. We must plow only half as much 

 and do it twice as well — then we shall find our 

 barns better filled, our farms better stocked, and 

 our fields increasing in fertility. 



Farmers lose money by not making seasonable 

 preparation for winter and providing proper 



SHELTER FOR STOCK. 



N'ot only do horses need stables and care, but cows, 

 sheep and calves, will do much better, give more milk, 

 wool, and growth, on the same or a less amount of 

 food, tlian when no provision is made for their pro- 

 tection. The cost of shelter is far less than the cost 

 of doing without, to say nothing of the conven- 

 ience and compassion of the thing, so don't let us 

 fear a liberal expenditure for good barns, sheds, and 

 stables, with sheltered yards, and convenient water- 

 ing places, though we may have long followed the 

 mal-e-do system of getting along without them. 

 Roijalton, Magara Co., N. Y, J. H. BIXBY. 



Sheep in New York in old Times.. — Vander- 

 donk, writing in 1790, thus speaks of the sheep 

 introduced from Holland into New Netherland 

 (now New York) by the Dutch emigrants : — 



" Sheep are also kept in the New Netherlands, 

 but not as many as in New England, where the 

 weaving business is carried on, and where much 

 more attention is paid to them than by the New 

 Netherlanders. The sheep, however, thrive well, 

 and become fat enough. I have seen mutton there 

 so exceedingly fat that it was too luscious and 

 offensive. The sheep breed well and are healthy ; 

 they find good pasture in summer, and good hay 

 in winter; but the flocks require to be guarded and 

 tended on account of the wolves, for which purpose 

 men can not be spared. There is also a more im- 

 portant hindrance to the keeping of sheep, which 

 are chiefly cultivated for their wool. New Nc(ji- 

 erland is a woody country, being almost everywli^re 

 beset with trees, stumps, and brush-wood, wherein 

 the sheep pasture, and by which they lose most of 

 their wool. This is not apparent until they are 

 sheared, when the fleeces turn out very light."' 



