84 



THE GENESEE FARiMER. 



The horse barn may be lessened in size by 

 leaving off the stable, aud 4 feet of the floor on one 

 side ; also 14 feet otf one end, leaving the barn 30 

 by 34 feet. 



Tlie corn and hog house may also be lessened in 

 size, to suit the wants of the farm. 



Middleville, Mich. F. M. MATTESON. 



■ I * 



LAEOE OE SMALL FAKMS- WHICH AJEIE THE MOST 

 PROFITABLE 1 



The ansv^er to tliis question depends upon the 

 conditions. "We may divide the agricultural popu- 

 lation into three classes: Those of limited or small 

 capital ; those of abundant or large capital ; and a 

 grade between, possessing a moderate but comfort- 

 able income. These definitions are not precise, but 

 suggest the idea intended to be conveyed sufficiently 

 for our purpose. Other conditions embrace locality, 

 market, means of manuring, description of soil, and 

 other attending circumstances. 



We lay down the axiom, that, in order to succeed 

 well, everything should be well done. A farmer 

 with large capital, possessing a knowledge of his 

 business, would engage extensively in it: and, as 

 he could avail himself of all the best labor-saving 

 machines, of a division of labor, of the best modes 

 of husbandry, of abundant manures and of all 

 special manures, and, in short, of all the appliances 

 of science, it follows that, with him, a large farm 

 would be the most profitable. But we need not 

 dwell on this self-evident branch of our question. 



There is a large class, possessed only of small 

 capital, whose natural avocation is that of agricul- 

 ture. Many of this class commit manifest errors. 

 Their capital is small, but their hearts may be large; 

 they aspire to responsible positions, and attempt 

 too much. In a country where land is abundant, 

 and readily procured on credit, a 100 acre farm, 

 instead of 25 or 50 acres, is an alluring bait. Witli 

 means only to cultivate and manage 25 acres, the 

 remaining 75 acres are a dead weight. The capital, 

 or the interest paid instead, is annually extracted 

 from the imeaus required to improve and cultivate 

 the 25 acres, and too often is the cause of utter 

 failure, and most generally of years of toil and 

 unrequited labor. Men of this class should com- 

 mence with a -small farm and stick t<j it, until they 

 have so far increased their capital, in money and 

 experience, that they can afford to take one step 

 higher with success. 



There are notable instances of great profits real- 

 ized from cultivating a small farm well, which have 

 been noticed in agricultural journals, to which the 

 reader can refer. It will be easy to reach the 

 average given of an English farm, where they pay 

 high rents and taxes. Wheat is given at 26 bushels 

 per acre, barley at 40 bushels per acre, oats, 60 to 

 80 bushels, and hay, 2 tons. The product of a 

 30 acre farm in Maine is given as follows: 700 

 bushels of potatoes, 80 bushels of barley, 25 bushels 

 of beets, 15 bushels of wheat, 10 bushels of beans, 

 4 tons of mowed oats, 16 tons of hay, 40 bushels 

 of corn, 20 bushels of carrots, 75 chickens and 

 turkeys, a quantity of garden vegetables, 390 lbs. 

 pork, and 400 lbs. butter. 3 cows, 1 yoke of oxen, 

 2 heifers, 2 steers, 8 sheep and 4 pigs were kept. 

 The product is valued at $600. 



Erasmus Littlkjohn, of Middlebury, Mass., had 

 a farm of 56 acres, of whicli we have the following 



statistics: Improved land, 22 acres; unimproved; * 

 12 acres, and 22 acres of woodland. Soil sandy 

 and gravelly. His corn cost him 21 cents per 

 bushel, hay, $4 per ton, and potatoes 22 cents per 

 bushel. His net yearly profits rose from $561.54" 

 to $810.92 in four years. He kept a daily account. 



The farm of N, Hatwakd & Son, Monroe Co., 

 N". Y., contained 68 acres of improved land, and 

 10 acres of unimproved. Total receipts, $2,726; 

 total expenses, $1,470 — net profits, $1,256, or 

 $18.48 per acre, in one year. 



Joseph Watsox, of Clyde, N. Y., has kept the 

 statistics of a 50 acre farm, showing the net pro- 

 ceeds of 45 acres, above all expenditures, to be 

 $399.48 in one year. This farm had no peculiar 

 advantages over ordinary farms. It was not situ- 

 ated near to a city or a special market. 



In another case, the products of a 50 acre farm 

 amounted in value to $1,445 in one year. The 

 leading articles were, 10 acres wheat, 35 bushels 

 per acre; 6 acres apples, 200 bushels per acre; 5 

 acres corn, 90 bushels per acre; 2 acres potatoes, 

 200 bushels per acre; 5 acres barley, 40 bushels 

 per acre ; 5 acres oats, 50 bushels per acre, besides 

 carrots, hay, pasture, etc. 



These instances illustrate what can be done on a 

 small farm. Let the reader contrast them with 

 much larger ones around him, and ask the question, 

 whether a small farm, well tilled, in the hands of 

 a man of moderate means, is not more profitable 

 than a larger one would be? If a man's whole 

 capital consists in labor alone, he should undertake 

 only so much as he can do well; and so in every 

 case, according to the amount of capital. The 

 first consideration should be. the probable outlay 

 required in the business, and then proportion the 

 extent of the business according to the availahle 

 means in labor, skill, and other capital. 



There are many things connected with this subject 

 which force themselves on our attention, but the 

 allotted space is already filled. We know experi- 

 mentally that very mistaken notions exist in refer- 

 ence to the amount of capital required in successful 

 farming operations. A man that is too poor to 

 become a merchant will readily form an opinion that 

 he is rich enough to turn farmer. Let him try the 

 experiment. He will find that a successful farmer 

 of fifty acres of land, requires more capital than 

 a great many country merchants, driving a careful 

 and active business on moderate means and fair 

 credit. We have before us a careful estimate of 

 the outlays, for live stock, implements, seeds, food, 

 and labor, needed the first year, for one hundred 

 acres of improved land, aud they amount to at least 

 $2,000. Estimates like this, and more especially 

 experience., will wonderfully tend to increase the 

 respect of great numbers of the free and sovereign 

 people, for the useful and time-honored occupation 

 of the tillers of the soil, well described as the 

 "bone and sinew " of the land. w. o. buell. 



Perth, County of Lanark, C. W. 



SOWING TIMOTHY OR HERDS^RASS. 



"Is it best to sow timothy, or iierds-grass, by itself, or with 

 other crops? And what is the best method of eultiv.ition ?" 



The experience of farmers diffei-s, perhaps, more 

 than that of men of any other profession. For, while 

 mechanics, doctors, lawyers, and others, with a 

 certain rule may expect a certain result, the far- 



