FARMS. 123 



neighbors think the improvement is owing to his always select- 

 ing and raising only the best specimens of his own stock, and 

 to the very great care he takes of them when young, and to his 

 always keeping them in high condition, and indeed I partly 

 agree with them, for I believe a well fed cow will not only give 

 more, but better milk, than a lean, half-fed one. But whatever 

 it may be owing to, he has several cows that make ten or twelve 

 pounds of rich butter in a week, during the best of the feed. 



He usually raises six calves every year, and of course he is 

 able to dispose of three or four cows every season. He never 

 sells his best cows, but those he does sell bring the highest 

 price in the market. 



Neighbor Wiseman has raised two or three colts in the course 

 of his life, but he thinks it not best for one man to attempt to 

 do too many things. 



He is fond of a good horse, but he thinks the raising of 

 horses requires a great deal of time and attention, and that 

 those will succeed best who give tlieir attention mainly to this 

 branch of husbandry. 



He understands rearing cattle better, and he says it is better 

 for him to purchase a horse once in five or six years, than to 

 attempt to raise one. 



I have frequently asked myself the question, what is the 

 secret of neighbor Wiseman's success ? He is a plain, common 

 sense man, no ways remarkable for his physical or mental 

 endowments, and he does not labor harder than many other 

 farmers of my acquaintance. I have come to the conclusion, 

 that his secret, if he has any, is, that he plans all his work with 

 great forethought and care ; that he never commences his work 

 until he is ready, and then always works to the purpose. 



He has a faculty of always hitting the nail on the head, and 

 thus making every stroke tell, so that he wastes no strength, 

 nor loses any time in useless labor. 



Whatever he does, he does with reference to the future, as 

 the present, and thus all his improvements are permanent and 

 substantial. 



When he raises a calf, his object is not only to get a good 

 cow, but to improve his breed of cows. 



When he cultivates a piece of land, he aims not only to get 



