26 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



JULY :i8. l-'tl. 



me much bcller. In luiiner Jays — those days when 

 temperance societies IiJ not exist— there lived a 

 brollier black coat, who had unfortunately contract- 

 ed a great fondness for the forbidden creature. — 

 He continued, however, to exercise the functions 

 of his otiico, and concluded uU his sermons with 

 these emphatic words — " Brethren, don't do as I 

 do, but do as I tell you." Yes! this shall be my 

 text. It suits me exactly, for on it I can preach 

 just such an agricultural sermon as I think proper, 

 and none of you can char^'C me with departing 

 from my text. 



With this motto in view, then, I propose to de- 

 scribe, in a very summary manner, what I conceive 

 to be a well-managed, a well-regulated farm. In 

 doing this, I intend to use the plainest, the sin)plest 

 language of which I am capable. 1 intend to call 

 things, not by their botanical or scientihc names, 

 but by the very names that farmers call them ; nor 

 will I attempt to appear learn«?d at the expense of 

 being understood. What, then, is a well-managed 

 farm.' Here I am sorry to say that I must depend 

 for my picture more on fancy than on the reality. 

 if such a farm does actually exist, I have never yet 

 «een it. I am sure you will agree with me that it 

 exists no where within the limits of our Society. 



But to the answer. A well-regulated farm is a 

 portion of land with its enclosures, and buildings, 

 and shelters, and resources for enriching itself, 

 and stock and farming utensils, and a great iriany 

 other things which I cannot enumerate — all so ar- 

 ranged, and all kept in such order as actually to 

 answer the purpose for which they were intended. 

 Now let us apply this'simple rule to any particular 

 case. What use do you wish to make of your 

 land.' All will agree that it is to furnish bread 

 and vegetables and all other necessaries for the 

 family, together with as large a surplus as possible 

 lobe disjiosed of at market: and yet this farm 

 must not only maintain its own, but be in a state 

 of continual improvement. When, therefore, I see 

 a farm producing largely the above article.'! — when 

 I see the corn and other crops free from grass, and 

 during their growth exhibiting that dark luxuriant 

 color on which the eye of the experienced farmer 

 dwells with so much delight — and when ut har- 

 vest, I see the ears large and full, and so ho.Tvy as 

 to he borne down by their own weight, then I say 

 that as far as the land is concerned, here is a well- 

 managed, a well-cultivated farm. 



Now it is obvious, gentlemen, that this beauti- 

 ful state of things cannot exist on lands which are 

 poor by nature or poor by exhaustion, or on which 

 superfluous waters are permitted lo stagnate. You 

 never saw, nor will you ever sec, the rich luxuriant 

 hue on the impoverished or excessively wet lands. 

 There the growth is slender and the color a sickly 

 yellow. If, therefore, your lands are poor, the 

 remedy is a plain one — enrich them : if they are 

 too wet, drain thein. liut simie one will say — why 

 preach to us about these defects in land ? Is none 

 of your land poor ? Is none too wet.' Ah I you 

 forget my text — I will remind you ol it — Don't do 

 at 1 do — do as I tell you" 



But I hasten lo that which I consider still more 

 important in a woll-manngcd farm. Such an es. 

 tablishment will regularly produce large crops, and 

 £0 far from being exhiiiisted, will be maintained in 

 a state to produce still larger. It will be kept in 

 a slate of continual improvement — and herein con- 

 sists, as I think, tho whole art of good farming — 

 And now the all-important question presents itself, 



how is this very desirable state of things to be ef- 

 fected ? I urn fully aware that I am now approach- 

 ing one of the most complicated and ditficult ques- 

 tions in agriculture ; and I acknowledge that I 

 touch it with great ditfidence. If there be any 

 point connected with my vocation, on which I have 

 read, and thought, and studied, and "-ought infor- 

 mation, with more intentness than any (Jther, it is 

 this vexed point. All will agiee, that to the con- 

 tinual improvement of our lauds, large additions of 

 manure of some kinds are indispensably necessary. 

 But the difficulty is — what kinds arc most availa- 

 ble — calcareous, or that large class which are 

 generally called putrescent manures ? Apd then 

 what is the most suitable time for their applica- 

 tion, in winter; when the ground is naked, or to the 

 growing cro|)S ? .And how are they to be applied, 

 as a top dressing, or immediately to be covered 

 with the plow ? After worrying and vexing my- 

 self with the.se and many other points connected 

 with manuring, I have concluded to dispose of the 

 whole affair in the following summary way : take 

 such manures as you can get, and apply them at 

 such times and in such manner as you may tind 

 most convenient, and I have never seen any lands 

 but would be benefited by the process. If, howev- 

 er, I were to recommend one mode above another, 

 it would be, to top-dress the grass lands, and the 

 next year or the year following, to submit the same 

 fields to a corn crop. Good farming then, mainly 

 resolves itself into this one thing — to possess your- 

 self every year, of a l.irge amount of valuable ma- 

 nure ; and if this be all, I have no doubt that eve- 

 ry one now present ftcls that he can bo a good 

 farmer. Among the many anecdotes which arc 

 told of the celebrated John Randolph, of Roanoke, 

 I have heard this as one — that whilst a member of 

 the United States Senate, and actually delivering 

 one of his eccentric speeches, he suddenly paused, 

 and fixing his burning eye upon the presiding offi- 

 cer of that body, he exclaimed — " Mr President, I 

 have discovered the philosopher's stone — it con- 

 sists in four short words — pr.y as you go." I think 

 I have made the same discovery. It consists in 

 making, every year, a large pile of manure, in dis- 

 tributing it in the proper season over our fields, 

 and then, in a course of neat, careful, and diligent 

 culture. It follows, therefore, that the philoso- 

 pher's stone is no longer a fiction, existing only iu 

 the brains of deluded alchymists. John Randolph 

 discovered it in the Senate of the United States ; 

 and from traces I have seen, I very believe that it 

 lies concealed .somewhere close by my farm pen, 

 my stables, and my hog styes. And the beauty of 

 tho thing is, tliat it is not confined to any particu- 

 lar locality. If you look for it, I doubt not you 

 will find it in the immediate vicinity of your farm 

 pen also. 



The great mischief among us farmers is, that 

 we are in too great a hurry lo get rich. We see. p 

 to forget that the golden age has passed by, and 

 that >ve arc living under the hard iniluence of the 

 iron age. We greatly mistake, too, as I think, as 

 to that iu which our true riches consist. One man 

 considers himself rich, because ho has a large sum 

 of money to lend out at an usurious interest, and 

 thus takes advantage of the distresses of tho times. 

 Another is accounted rich because he owns a large 

 amount of stocks in some moneyed institutions. Hut 

 the farmer's wealth consists, not in his slocks, not 

 in his houses but in his rich lands. I lecullect 

 that when I began farming, an old friend and 

 acquaintance, gave inc a piece of very valuable ad- 



vice — " Make your lands rich," said he, "andii 

 proportion as ihey become rich, you will be rich.' 

 The old man spoke the truth. The Bible tells ui 

 that man was made out of the dust of the earth 

 This is true of all; but the farmer is identified ii 

 a peculiar manner with the ground that he cult; 

 vales. When that is poor, he is poor ; and whe: 

 that is rich, he is rich too. 



] have also known many farmers lo be seriousl; 

 injured, and some of them ruined, by indulging i 

 a spirit of speculation. They contrive to get hoh 

 of a h\v hundred dollars, (honestly 1 hope,) and in 

 stead of first paying their debts, and then layin 

 out the balance in manures and other things b 

 which they might improve their farms, they gi 

 away and lay it out in bank stuck, or gold min 

 stock, m' in some other humbug foolery of th 

 same kind. Presently stock fluctuates and th 

 gold mine prospects are blown sky high, and th 

 poor man's capital vanishes into smoke. 



I hope it will not be ascribed to vanity in mi 

 but I cannot refrain from detailing an incider 

 which actually occurred in my own case a fe 

 years since. During the rage for gold mine specu 

 lations, I was visited by a substantial and highl 

 valued friend of a neighboring county. He cam 

 to me in my coro-field. At that lime the plant 

 were about a fool high, and I was busily engage 

 with my hoe in helping up the hindmost hand wit 

 his row. He looki:d at me with a degree of sui 

 prise, and I doubt not felt a real compassion fc 

 me. At length said he, after tho usual salutatioi 

 why toil here in this dull, slow way .' and Inkin 

 from his pocket some beautiful specimens of virgi 

 gold, he exhibited them in all the con.scious prid 

 of sujierior intellect. This trensuic, continued h 

 is found in a mine which I am now working I 

 very great profit, and I advise yon to abandon th 

 dull pursuit and embark in the same enterprise. - 

 The dazzling spectacle had, I confess, its eflTei 

 upon nic ; and lo cover my mortification 1 replie 

 I ton am digging for gold, but with this differcm 

 — yon go to the depth of many feet, I lo the dep 

 of a few inches ; and tlie event has proved, gcntl 

 men, that more gold is lo be obtained near tl 

 surface than far below it. 



".\nd here, perhaps, I ought to close my a 

 dress ; but there are still a few circumstances co: 

 nected with the character of the good manager, 

 which I think it important to call your attcnlio 

 .\nd first, our farmer is a man of strict economy, 

 tho proper acceptation of th.\t term : not that he 

 stingy or niggardly in his disposition, but he i 

 contrives to manage his affairs, that every ihii 

 has a plenty and nothing is wasted. The be 

 story 1 ever read was written by Miss l)dg(nvort 

 and is entitlid " Waste not, want not." It is e 

 sential then to good management to waste iiothin 

 not even a crust of bread, for the dog w'lli eat 

 or if he happen to be a pampered favorite, the li< 

 will eat it. And here I can at last reverse n 

 text, and say in confidence, do as 1 do. If the 

 be any thing which I do most cordially abominal 

 It is that of wanton wusto. I can say in truth th 

 I waste iiiitliing, not even a weed, for when place 

 iu uiy great manure workshop, my hogs and call 

 very soon manufacture it into a valuable arlicl 

 .•\b(ive all, our good manager is a greot economi 

 in his use of time. He believes, with Dr. Fran 

 lin, that time is money, and in his estiiiialiun it 

 a coin of inestimable value. It is, therefore, h 

 habit to rise early, and to gel a good start at h tn 

 business in tiie morning, for this he finds will mal ^ 



