NEW ENGLAND FARMEB. 



JU;. 



merely by its attractive properties on the at- 

 jsphcre — Whether certain applications to the 

 jnks of our fruit trees aiTord nourishment to 

 bark, or act mechanically as a shield to 

 otect it from the attack of its enemies— are 



of less importance, than to know what is nec- 

 sary, in each case, to produce the desired ef- 



:t. 



These questions form subjects of inquiry to 

 e curious and attentive observer, and are 

 5re or less important; but should serve rather 

 pleasing^ sources of amuseinciit and relaxation 

 the hours of leisure, than as claiming our la- 

 r or care. 



And here permit me to explain my ideas 

 Dre fully, by a few plain practical rules and 

 serv;;tions: 



1st. Every farmer should form to himself a 

 nerat plan rf husbandry, to be pursued on his 

 nn- 



To do this to advantag:c, let him regard at- 



ntively his s;:rounds as to soil a-.id situation — 



. him ask to what are they best adapted — 



3U2;hin^ or grazing;, or are they fit for both ? 



AVhat is my supply of labor and money, and 



w are the}' to be rendered the most produc- 



e ? — Where is my market, what articles com- 



ind the best price and readiest sale, in pro- 



rtion to the expense of raising them? 



2d. Having chosen your course generally, see 



\t vour buildings and grounds are arranged in 



J most convenient manner for your purpose ; &: 



our lovely and fertile country we m;iy justly 



reproached for want of taste, if we do not gen- 



illy give our fields a pleasing and regular 



ipe. as this not only adds to the beauty of the 



m, but also saves labor and materials. And 



re remark, that small fields are most profita- 



', especially for grazing. For pasture, tweD- 



acres, divided into three fields, and pastured 



rotation about ten days or a fortnight at a 



le, may be considered equal to thirty, if kept 



:ine, by the relief the parts aflordeacii other. 



Look to your fences — see that they are good 



I substantial. Without this, you may consid- 

 yourself at best, but as a joint tenant with all 

 ; marauding flocks and herds in the neighbor- 

 ed. Let your fences then, especially the 

 ter ones, be sufhciently high and strong to re- 

 tnot only your own cattle, but also those that 

 est the highway, and live by plunder. 

 In apportioning your grounds, do not forget 

 reserve an abundance of j'our best timber tor 

 ;1, fences and other purposes. To many, this 

 ly seem a needless caution, while so large a 

 rlion of the country is covered with wood ; — 



I I have no doubt there are some who hear 

 , who have reason already to regret their 

 nton destruction of this necessary article. I 

 ow it is perfectly natural, on entering our 

 w lands, to feel that there never can occur a 

 at on this head ; but it is astonishing to mark 

 w fast these forests disappear before the axe 

 the woodsman. Estimate then the amount 

 cessary for your use, and a perpetual suppiv 

 (he farm, and be sure rather to overrate than 

 the least to fall short in your estimate. 

 3d. In trying new experiments, or making im- 

 ovements, still keep your general plan in view 

 try nothing but what will he profitable to 

 urself if successful, and nothing mcotisislent 



Ith your other pursuits. Whatever you at- 



ipt, do it thoroughly and accurately — be sure 



your/acff, for false premises necessarily lead 



1 



to wrong conclusions. Above all, letyour work j 

 be done in season. The best tili.ige is but la- 

 bor lost, unless bestowed in time to render it' 

 productive; and 1 remark upon this because it! 

 is too generally neglected. We ol'ten put ofll 

 our work until the moment is past to render it 

 profitable, and are then driven in our haste to 

 do it imperfectly and unprolitably. This is par- 

 ticularly the case with our fall sowing ; or rath- 

 er we feel the pernicious cflect most in this, be- 

 cause it is our most important operation. Gen- 

 erally speaking, early sowing i* advisable in our 

 country, where none of those objection-, which 

 operate against it in old countries, exist to any 

 great degree. Rye, if sown earh', yields an 

 abundance of excellent pasture, sufficient in fiicl 

 to pay the whole expense of cultivation, and 

 m;iy he fed down without the least injury to 

 the crop, in the spring when it is most needed. 

 •Uh. Endeavor, as fir as practicable, to reme- 

 dy physical defects, such for instance, as the 

 want of water, by leading in streaais, or digging 

 wells — superfluous moisture, by draining, &.c. — 

 want of materials for fences, by planting trees 

 or hedges. 



Remove loose stumps, stones, logs and other 

 obslructions that impede the plough, and render 

 the cultivation imperfect, and of course improfit- 

 ablo ; for remember that a field half tilled is 

 better let alone. Never starve your stock or 

 your farm from a desire to save too much. Fur- 

 nish to your teams and stock of every kind an 

 abundance of generous food, to your farms a 

 supply of manure, and they will soon repaj' yon 

 with interest — much is lost by ill-timed econo- 

 my — never spoil a crop to save expense — 

 wliatoyer should be done, is worth being xcelt 

 done. 



But hero it may be asked, what is meant by 

 ■j:~iod cultivation, and when is the farmer to 

 think his work well done? 1 answer generally, 

 our work is well done, when our lands are cul- 

 tivated in a way to give the greatest amount of 

 produce at the least crpetise nf fanning rapitul. — 

 And fanning capital expended, consists in the 

 yearly value of the land, and the labor and 

 money expended in its cultivation; hence no 

 particular amount of culture can be called good 

 husbandry, but in reference to the relative 

 value of land and labor : for as the price of land 

 is higher or lower in proportion to that of labor, 

 so must the degree of culture be varied in order 

 to render it more productive. 



Thus, in Great Britain, where land is dear 

 and labor cheap, much labor should be applied 

 to Jittle land, as the land is in this case the prin- 

 cipal part of the capital ; and for the same rea- 

 son a course of farming may be profitably pur- 

 sued there, which requires much labor in its 

 prosecution. Here, the case is revers.ed, and of 

 course, we should apply our labor to more land, 

 and should adopt that style of farming, in which 

 most land may be well cultivated vyith the feast 

 labor, as with us the labor is the most expen- 

 sive part of our farming capital— thus, for in- 

 staiKe, if the rent of an acre of land is worth 

 two dollars, and by expending six dollars in cul- 

 tivating it, we produce twenty bushels of wheat, 

 then the capital expended would be eight dol- 

 lars, giving a return of two and a half bushels 

 lor each dollar expended. Again, if we expend 

 double the former amount on the same acre, then 

 the capital expended would be fourteen dollars, 

 and we ought to receive in return thirty-five 



bushels, in order to render our capital as pro- 

 ductive ai in the first ca^e. Hence the impoi 

 tancc of reasoning clearly and boldly on thr 

 subject, Avitliont regard to authority, as every 

 thing depends on the judicious ajjplicition ol 

 general prinrijdoi to the concerns of our firm- 



Wlien we see high cultivation succeed abroad, 

 wc should inquire how far the circumstances 

 that render it good hu-bandry there, arc varied 

 ivilli us, or whether the same mode could be. 

 rendered profitable here, since the work that i" 

 well done here, might be very imperfect hus- 

 bandry in England or Flaiider-, and utterly ruin^ 

 ous in China. 



It is certainly jdcasing to see fine crops and 

 perfect culture ; but this alone does not consti- 

 tute good husbandry. If fifty bushels of srain 

 can be raised at a less cxpenje of capital from 

 two acres tli:iii from one. then we are losers 

 by attempliug to force them from one. We 

 have in our counfiy more land than labor ; that 

 is, wc have more land than can be cultivated 

 perfectly. Of course, then, wc want to appor- 

 tion and apply our labor to our land in a way to 

 render both most jiroductive, and he must be 

 pronounced the best farmer who docs this most 

 judiciously, rather than he who produces the 

 greatest number of bushels from an acre hy in- 

 ordinate means. 



From the preceding remark*, it would appear, 

 that grazing should be encouraged among us, 

 in preference to ploughing, a- in that way most 

 land may be well cultivated Ly a given amount 

 of labor; and I might al-'» draw another power- 

 ful argument to prove that it is too much neg- 

 lected, from the fact, that while it costs, on an 

 •iverage, one half of the value of grain to trans- 

 port it to market, cattle, horses, sheep and swine 

 may he taken there for one tenth, and fine wool 

 tor one fiftieth part of their value.* 



* Tliesc observations do not apjily to f.inncr.^, who 

 live in the ncig^fiborliood of a good market ; and per- 

 haps the rule *' that grazing; should be encouragfcd 

 among us iu preference to ploughing," cannot correct- 

 ly be applied to the country at large. If ^\ heat can 

 be imported from Great Britain, and sold iu New York 

 for a profit of ','j per cent, as we are told it has been, 

 we should encourage the growth of that, if no other 

 arable product, ^\■e believe that what is called the 

 convertible system of husbandry, wliere a proportion of 

 a farm is cultivated for grain and roots, and a part em- 

 ployed in raising grass for pasture and mowing. Sic. is, 

 in general, to be preferred. Exceptions to this rule, 

 are, however, of continual occurrence. .?traw is one 

 of the products of arable land, which is very useful 

 where a stock of cattle is kept, if not for food, at least 

 for litter, and to imbibe and retain the strength and 

 richness of the liquid part of the manure. If the pref- 

 erence is long given to any one branch of husbandry, 

 (such as ploughing or grazing) that branch is at length 

 rendered scarce worth pursuing by too many competi- 

 tors for its profits, and some despised and neglected 

 branch is taken up to greater advantage. A farmer, 

 therefore, will, in general, do well to raise as great a 

 variety of necessary articles as his soil, means of cul- 

 ture, cliufiate, &c. will admit, that he may be able to 

 meet every fluctuation of market, as well as supply his 

 own wants. In other words, he should have some- 

 thing of every thing for sale, and but little of any thing 

 to buy. But even this good general rule may be liable 

 to many exceptions. A farm may be very moist and 

 good for nothing but grass. It is then folly to plough 

 it. It ra.iy be dry, and fit for no grass b'Jt clover. In 



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