308 Tlwrovgh Culture of the Soil. — Economy for Farmers. Vol. VII. 



is far above all price ; for it puts into our 

 power the means of completely ridding' our 

 crop of weeds, it being only to plough and 

 harrow for them when no crop is on the 

 ground ; and if we could be brought to con- 

 sider that a weed half an inch in height, is 

 as much a weed as is one of half a dozen 

 feet in height, and that the eradication of 

 the one is equal in importance to that of the 

 other, the labour of keeping our crops clean 

 would not be a tenth part so great as now. 

 On remarking to a friend the other day, that 

 his last year's corn land was particularly 

 clean, he replied, " my corn land is always 

 clean; for so soon as I can see the weeds, I 

 am at them, and never allow them time to 

 grow to great ones ; if I did, 'twould be all 

 over with me ; one or the other of us must 

 be master, and I find it but very little labour 

 to destroy the weeds, if I take them in time 

 — a weed is a weed you know, small as well 

 as great." And Mr. Paschal] Morris, in his 

 Address before the West Chester Agricul- 

 tural Society, has given us practical assu- 

 rance of the fact, that land which has been 

 exhausted of weeds by repeated ploughing 

 and harrowing, before sowing the seed of 

 the beet, turnip, &c, can be afterwards cul- 

 tivated with far less labour and cost — "a 

 fact worth knowing," and one which we 

 ought at once to put into practice. I am 

 convinced that we do not plough and culti- 

 tivate our land sufficiently, and that it has 

 been neglected under a lalse idea, that by 

 over-ploughing we shall impoverish our soils 

 — an egregious error, and one which I am 

 now combating, by cutting across my corn- 

 tilth, which was broken up in the autumn, 

 the turf coming up decomposed, in conse- 

 quence of its having been totally buried, by 

 being 1 turned completely over by the Prouty 

 or centre-draught plough: for the knowledge 

 of which, and for many other things, I am 

 indebted to the Farmers' Cabinet. 



James Godwin. 



Schuylkill cc, March 14th, 1843. 



From the Farmer's Monthly Visitor. 



Economy for Farmers. 



There are many points of economy which 

 in the course of a single year, much less in 

 the ordinary life of a farmer, would make a 

 very great difference. A difference between 

 dependence and independence, wealth and 

 poverty — the having of a very little farm 

 for each of the boys and girls, or nothing at 

 all. Our superfluities cost us more than 

 our wants, and it is not economy to forego 

 the necessities, the comforts and conve- 



niences of life, for these are all consistent 

 with true economy. And indeed we gene- 

 rally find, that those who attend to true 

 economy, have all the essentials of life 

 about them. 



Economy is not found in deprivation, but 

 insufficiency. Be generous to the land: it 

 will not yield without manure, and this will 

 produce an abundant crop; and this feeds 

 the family well and clothes well. One well 

 fed horse is worth any number of scare- 

 crows, and is more creditable. A place for 

 every thing and every thing in its place, is 

 economy in time and labour. Not less so, 

 is to have all the tools, of the kind best 

 adapted to their use, and always in order. 

 A few minutes spent in grinding the axe in 

 the morning, is well paid for before sun-set. 

 One well fed, well sheltered cow, will give 

 more milk than half a dozen starved ones. 

 The calf is worth more; more butter is 

 made; the milk is of a healthier quality, the 

 children are healthier, and the doctor is not 

 called in. 



Liberality to the land is not less essential 

 than it is to the labourer. By it we procure 

 the best workmen, and they are the most 

 profitable to their employers. Like the soil, 

 if well fed and well paid, they are able and 

 bring about more : this also is economy : 

 for a strong man, like a strong and willing 

 team, gets up the hill, when the weak and 

 disheartened stop at the bottom. Liberality 

 sustains, and promotes fore-cast. Take time 

 by the fore-lock, says the adage. Have 

 plenty of seasoned wood prepared; keep the 

 windows whole; this keeps the house warm, 

 the family healthy, the wife good natured. 

 She anticipates her duties, and has time to 

 spend a cheerful evening, knitting in hand. 



Do one thing at a time, and once well 

 done, is twice done; this also is economy; 

 and good materials for clothing, well made 

 up, are also the cheapest in the long run. 

 If our farmers would attend to these things, 

 and others that their good sense will suggest, 

 they need not think of going to the far West 

 or South, to seek for bettering their condi- 

 tions. Our lands are capable of producing 

 far more than they ever have done, and our 

 population and comforts would correspond. 

 We need not look to the monotonous, un- 

 healthy, debilitating, and frequently demo- 

 ralizing factories for employment: there is 

 yet ample room, and what we cannot buy, 

 we can make for ourselves. Let us then 

 ittend to these things ; keep our sons and 

 i laughters at home or near us. Then with 

 the blessing of Heaven we shall prosper, 

 and at our annual thanksgiving, see our 

 hoard and fire-side encircled with kindred 

 blood and happy faces. A Faumer. 



