No. 9. TJie " Small Farm' 1 '' principle, fyc. — ^ profitable Cow. 



283 



and ploughing down a crop of clover for 

 wheat, would certainly increase the produc- 

 tion, and improve the quality of the plough 

 land ; while the dirt from the yards, &c, 

 would afford an excellent top-dressing- for 

 such parts of the pasture land as should 

 most require it; the whole of which should 

 be scratched with a heavy brush as early as 

 possible in the spring, which would pulver- 

 ize the manure dropped by the cattle, and 

 freshen the pasture by scarifying the sur- 

 face. Should, however, portions of the pas- 

 ture land at any time require renewing, it 

 could be readily done by sowing with wheat 

 and grass seed, after a single ploughing. 



I have said nothing about lime as a ma- 

 nure, but confined myself to the natural 

 resources of every farm, with the exception 

 of gypsum. As the use of lime requires a 

 heavy draft upon the produce and labour of 

 a farm, common prudence seems to require, 

 that it should only be resorted to where its 

 application is of known advantage ; and 

 then in such quantities only as are abso- 

 lutely necessary, instead of the loose man- 

 ner in which it is too frequently used. 

 The only inquiry being, how much may be 

 applied without destroying vegetation — or 

 as the phrase is, "without killing the land." 

 That lime which can be used in the largest 

 quantities xoilh impunity, being the most 

 sought after and esteemed. The precise 

 amount necessary for the different soils, can 

 only be ascertained by careful experiment 

 and close observation. My own impression 

 is, that large quantities of lime, to say the 

 least, are thrown away with the consequent 

 expenditure of money and labour — and my 

 experience here, thus far, fully confirms that 

 impression. 



And now for the advantages : 1st. It en-j 

 ables the farmer to accommodate his labour, 

 to the force at his command; cultivating 

 only such parts of his farm as possess the 

 greatest advantages for tillage, while the 

 hilly, broken or rocky land, if there be any, 

 is set apart for grazing. It saves fence, as 

 all experience goes to prove, that cattle 

 thrive besr, when allowed the whole range 

 of their pastures. It saves manure by ap- 

 plying- it in the spring, instead of allowing 

 it to bleach and waste in the yard until fall, 

 with a whole season's loss of its benefits. 

 It secures a probability, if not a certainty 

 of a better crop of wheat, than if the ma- 

 nure had been applied in the fall in an un- 

 fermented state, thereby producing a super- 

 abundance of straw and greater liability to 

 rust. And it offers a saving of labour in 

 the smaller amount of land tilled, which 

 will afford more time and attention for the 

 collection and preparation of manure, with 



many other advantages which will suggest 

 themselves to the practical fanner. 



A. R. M'Ilvain. 



Chester co., Pa., March 1st, 1843. 



From the Cultivator. 

 A Profitable Cow. 



Messrs. Editors, — I send you some state- 

 ments of the production of my cow, for pub- 

 lication, hoping it may induce some to re- 

 form in the treatment of animals so useful 

 and profitable. We made last spring in one 

 month, from one cow, 59 pounds of butter; 

 commencing the 5th day of May, and ending 

 the 4th of June. Within that time we 

 weighed her milk for three successive days 

 — the whole weight one hundred and eighty- 

 nine pounds, averaging sixty-three pounds 

 per day. Some five or six years ago, in the 

 month of April, we made in twenty-one days, 

 thirty-nine pounds and six ounces, besides 

 using milk freely for the family. We also 

 made on another trial of nine months, two 

 hundred and seventy-two pounds, besides 

 using milk for a family of six persons. The 

 cow was 10 years old last spring, had a calf 

 at two years old, and has had one every year 

 since ; is of the native breed, large size, al- 

 ways in good condition, and has been well 

 kept from a calf, to which cause I attribute 

 a portion of her superior qualities and extra 

 size; though there must be something "bred 

 in the bone," that gives us yellow butter at 

 all seasons of the year, and milk always, 

 nearly, and often quite the whole year. 

 While on her trial last spring, she was fed 

 six quarts of buckwheat bran per day, with 

 S what hay she would eat, till grass took the 

 place of hay. 



Would not all farmers do well to keep 

 fewer cows, and keep them better! Is not 

 one well cared for, more productive than 

 one poorly fed and attended ! Is not a warm 

 stable better than the leeside of a rail fence? 

 Is not a good bed of clean straw better than 

 one of manure, or can they be as comfort- 

 able with thirty or forty pounds of it adher- 

 ing to their thighs, as if they were kept 

 smooth and clean as in summer! In short, 

 does not any thing that adds to their com- 

 fort, add to their productiveness] 



Such treatment may be objected to on ac- 

 count of expense, but has the objector counted 

 the cost 1 ? Do turnips cost more than hay? 

 Does bran, or oats, or corn even 7 I think 

 not at this time. I see nothing extra, but a 

 trifle of labour and care, and does not the 

 superior condition of the animal pay for that 

 more than four-fold 7 



Daniel J. Curtis. 



Canaan Centre, Jan. 18th, 1843. 



