372 



PLOWING LAND. 



" It is not here proposed to give working plans, or 

 estimate?, to a nicely; or particular directions for 

 building any design even, that we present. The 

 material for construction liest suited to the circum- 

 stances and locality of the proprietor must govern 

 ail those matters; and, as good builders are in most 

 cases at hand, who are competent to give estimates 

 for the cost of any given plan, when the material for 

 construction is once settled, the question of expense 

 is readily fixed. The same sized house, with the 

 same accommodation, rijay be made to cost fif^y to 

 one hundred per cent, over an economical estimate, 

 by the increased style, or manner of its finish; or it 

 may be kept within bounds by a rigid adherence to 

 the plan first adopted. 



"In Western New York, this house and attach- 

 ments complete, the body of stone, the wood-house, 

 wagon-house, &c, of wood, may be built and well 

 finished in a plain way, for .$1,500. If built alto- 

 gether of wood, with grooved and matched vei'tical 

 boarding, and battens, the whole may ho finished ond 

 painted for $800 to $1,200. For the lowest sum, 

 the lumber and work would be of a rough kind, wifh 

 a cheap wash to color it; but the latter amount 

 would give good work, and a lasting coat of mineral 

 paint both outside and within. 



"As a tenant house on a farm of three, four, or 

 even five hundred acres, where all who live in it are 

 laborers in the field or household, this design may be 

 most conveniently adopted. The family inhabititig it 

 in winter may be well accommodated for sleeping 

 under the main roof, while they can at all seasons 

 take their meals, and be made comfortable in the 

 several rooms. In the summer season, when a larger 

 number of laborers are employed, the lofts of the 

 carriage or wagon-hou.se and work-shop may be 

 occupied with beds, and thus a large share of the 

 expense of house building for a considerable farm be 

 saved. Luxury is a quality more or less consulted 

 by every one who builds for his own occupation on a 

 farm, or elsewhere; and the tendency in building is 

 constantly to expand, to give a higher finish, and in 

 fact, to over-build. Indeed, if we were to draw the 

 balance, on ouroW farms, between scantily- accommo- 

 dated houses, .and houses with needless room in them, 

 the latter would preponderate. Not that these lat- 

 ter house? either are too good, or too convenient for 

 the purpose for which they were built, but they have 

 too much room, and that room badly appropriated 

 and arranged. ' 



'■ On a farm proper, the whole establishment is a 

 workshop. The shop o«< o/(/oocs, we acknowledge, 

 is not always dry. nor always warm ; but it is exceed- 

 insly well aired "and lighted, and a place where indus 

 trious people dearly love to labor. Within doors it 

 is a work-shop tc/o. There is always labor and occu- 

 pation for the family, in the general business of the 

 farm; therefore but little room is wanted for either 

 luxury or leisure, and the farm house should be fully 

 occupied, with the exception, perhaps, of a single 

 room on the main floor, (and that not a large one,) 

 for some regular business purpose. All these accom- 

 modated, and the requirements of the house are 

 ended. Owners of rented farms should reflect, too, 

 that expensive houses on their estates entail expen- 

 sive repairs, and that continually. Many tenants are 



careless of highly-finished houses. Not early accus- 

 tomed to them, they misappropriate, perhaps, the 

 liest rooms in the hou.se, and pay little attention to 

 the purposes for which the owner designed them, or 

 to the manner of using them. It is therefore a total 

 waste of money to build a house on a tenant estate 

 anything beyond the mere comfortable wants of the 

 family occupying it, and to furni,<h the room neces- 

 sary for the accommodation of the crops, stock, and 

 farm furniture, in the barns and other out-buildhigs 

 — all in a cheap, tidy, yet substantial way. 



"So, too, with the grounds for domestic purposes 

 around the house. A kitchen garden, sufficient to 

 grow the family vegetables — a Tew plain fruits — a 

 posey bed or two for the girls — and the story is told. 

 Give a larger space for these things — any thing, in- 

 deed, for elegance — and ten to one, the plow is intro- 

 duced, a corn or patato patch is set out, field culture 

 is adopted, and your choice grounds are torn up, 

 defaced, and sacrificed to the commonest uses. 



"Notwithstanding these drawbacks, a cheerful, 

 home-expression may be given, and should be given 

 to the homestead, in the character and construction 

 of the buildings, be they ever so rough and homely. 

 We can call to mind many instances of primitive 

 houses — log cabins even — built when none better 

 could be had, that presented a most comfortable and 

 life-enjoying picture — residences once, indeed, of those 

 who swayed "the applause of listening senates," but 

 under the hands of taste, and a trifle of labor, made 

 to look comfortable, happy, and sufficient. We con- 

 fess, therefore, to a profound veneration, if not affec- 

 tion, for the humble farm house, as truly American 

 in character; and which, with a moderate display of 

 skill, may be made equal to the main purposes of life 

 and enjoyment for all such as do not aspire to a high 

 display, and who are content to make the most of 

 moderate means." 



Plowing Land. — In his address before the Cort- 

 land County (N. Y.) Agricultural Society, the Hon. 

 A. B. Dickenson well says : 



" The first thing for a farmer to note when he com- 

 mences plowing a field, is to see if there are any wet 

 or springy places, and if so, to commence plowing so 

 as to inuke his back furrows at the lowest places in 

 the field, and his dead furrows on the dryest and high- 

 est land, by which he can draw the water to some 

 convenient ditch on the farm or on the roadside. He 

 should plow his land, whether it is diagonal or square, 

 exactly the way by which he can draw the falling 

 water at the slowest possible rate, and have it run. 

 For those who plow in the fall this is more essential, 

 as the rains are much heavier late in the fall and early 

 in the spring, and ruinous waste is made of farms by 

 washing any portion of the soil away." 



To Preserve Cattle from Disease in Winter. — 

 When cattle are kept out in the winter, it is recom- 

 mended as a useful practice to rub some tar at the 

 root of the horn, which prevents the wet from get- 

 ting between the root and the skin, and, it is said 

 contributes to preserve the health of the animal, and 

 to keep it free from various diseases to which it may 

 otherwise be liable. 



