JSEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



I'UBLlbHKU BY THOMAS \V. SUF.rARD, llOCJKIlfe' lUIILlJI.NGS, CCJiNGKKsS STKKKT, (I-OURIH IJOOII FROM >>'l \TK STKKKT.> 



Vo\.. I. 



BOSTON, SATURDAY, JUNE 7. Vi-2A. 



No. 45. 



FACTS AND OBSKRVATIOXS RELATING TO 



3R1CULTURE & DOMESTIC ECONOMY 



BV THE EDITOR. 



ON FARMS, fARM HOISF.S, WATF.R, EARNS, &C. I 



Tlie siicriliccs of the ancient Roninns, shere. 

 w attentive they were even in the clioice of 

 e ground they encamped on; much more 

 •re they so in that of the situation and nature 



the phice where they laid the foundation ol' 

 5re ia-!ting building--'. Tiiey cxnmincd Ihej 

 'ers of cattle fed on the spot, when they of-i 



ed them in sacrifice; and if these were livid 



corrupted, they olTcred others, as the un-i 

 jDilness of the tirst might be owing to some| 

 5ual distemper ; but if they were often found 



be morbid, they concluded that the air, wa- 

 ", or food, which the place yielded, would 

 ve a like elTect on human bodies, and there- 

 •e speedily left that ground to search for a 

 tter situation. It', al'ter repeated trials, they 

 md the livers good, they judged the air and 

 )d to be so likewise, and settled accordingly. 

 its said that the good eilects of those precau- 

 ns may be still observed in the healthy situ- 

 ons of the remains of Roman encampments; 

 ■ they preferred health to every other con- 

 eralion. 



The lionians had pleasure as well as profit 

 view, when they bought or stocked a farm; 

 i therefore they laid it down as a rule, thai] 



degree of fc.rlilitxj should tempt o man to jnir-'^ 

 ise in an unhealthy country. "Buy not too 

 stily," said the wise Cato, " but view ag-aii. 

 ] again the purchase you intend to make ; 



if it be a good one, the oftcner you see it, 

 ; better it will please you. Examine how 

 ! neighboring inhabitants fare. Let the coun- 



it lies in be a good one ; the ways to and 

 m it good; and the air temperate. Let your 

 id, if you can choose your situation, be at the 

 )t of a hill facing the south, in a healthy situ- 

 on, where a sufficiency of laborers, of cattle, 

 d of water may be had. Let it be near a 

 nrishing town, the sea, or a navigable river ; 



bordering on a good and well frequented 

 ad. Let the buildings on your grounds be 

 ong and substantial. Do not rashly condemn 

 e methods of others. It is best to purchase 

 )in a good husbandman and a good improver." 

 Open places and campaign countries are judg- 



to be healthy, where the soil is dry, not 

 irch?d or sandy, where wild thyme and other 

 omatic plants grow spontaneously, and which 



not otherwise bare, but interspersed with 

 ees for shade. A ruddy complexion, clear 

 bite of the eye, quick hearing, and distinct 

 )ice, are set down by Palladius as marks of 

 iB place where these circumstances are met 

 ith in the generality of the inhabitants. 

 That water is known to be wholesome whici 

 IS no mineral in it, is perfectly clear, has no 

 ste or smell, deposits no slimy sediment, leave? 

 J spots or incrustation when boiled in copper 

 .• brass vessels, and which boils peas, beans 

 c. soft in a short time. " Rain water,*' sayi 

 ir Thomas Elliot, in his Castle of Health, 

 is the most subtle and pure of any other wa- 



ter. The next is that which issueth out of a 

 spring facing the east, and pas=eth swiftly among 

 great stones or rocks. The third is of a dear 

 river which runneth on hard pebbles and stones. 

 There be divers means to try which is the best 

 water; for that which is lightest in poise or 

 weight is best ; also that which will soonest be 

 hot ; also that whereof cometh the least scurn 

 or tVoth when it doth boil. Moreover, dip linen 

 cloths in sundry waters, and afterwards lay them 

 to dry, and that which is soonest dry, the water 

 wherein it was dipped i« the most subtle." 



Light waters, other things being equal, are the 

 be^t, purest, and wholosoniest. That water is 

 nccounted best and wholesomest, which is not 

 only the lightest and freest from earthy sedi- 

 menl, but that which is most spiritous. And 

 these properties are usuallj' found in pure rain 

 water, which being naturally distilled iVom the 

 ocean and rivers, or by the heat of the sun 

 raised into the atmosphere from whence it is 

 returned mucii after the manner of common 

 distillation. If any mineral substance is mixed 

 with the water it is not fit for the farmer's use. 

 If it be hard, it is thereby rendered unfit for 

 wasliing, and some other kitchen uses. This is 

 the kind of water which gives flesh boiled in it 

 a red color. But e\^.i the hardest water may 

 be easily rendered perfectly soft and fit for any 

 use, by mixing it with a small proportion of 

 potash, soda, or for want of these the ashes of 

 any burnt vegetables. 



When water is tainted by animal or vegetable 

 substances being mixed with it, the noxious 

 qualities may be carried olV by boiling, during 

 which the putrid particles evaporate, and what- 

 ever else remains v.ill subside when the water 

 cool«. Or it may be corrected by mixing with 

 it acids, such as vinegar, juice of sour fruits, &.c. 



M. de la Mire observes in the Memoirs of the 

 -Academy of Sciences, that rain water, which 

 has been purified b}' passing thro' clean sand, 

 and is afterwards collected in subterranean re- 

 servoirs, will keep a long time without becom- 

 ing putrid. He thinks this the best water that 

 can be made use of either for drinking or lor 

 other economical purposes, because it is not 

 impregnated with any mineral, as spring waters 

 sometimes are. The only thing requisite in 

 the construction of such reservoirs or cisterns 

 is to have a place which will hold water, made 

 of such materials as will not communicate any 

 bad taste to the water, which is to remain there 

 a considerable time.* The first water, which 

 falls from the roofs of houses, when it begins 

 to rain should be thrown away, as having serv- 

 ed only to wash the roof, which in dry weather 

 is always covered with dung of birds and other 

 filth. He rejects snow water for the same rea- 

 son, and likewise the water cf rain brought bv 

 winds, which pass over places infected with ill 

 smells, as large cities, sinks, &c. 



Columella, who appears to have been verv 

 much of a gentleman farmer, and therefore so- 

 licitous fur the accommodation and comfort of 

 ladies, says " the farm house should be some- 



* For observations on the construction of cisterns, 

 see p. 204, of the X. E. Farmer. 



what elrg.ant, in order to allnre (he wife to 

 take delight in it," Comfort, ronvonieiice, 

 cheapness of consniiction and dtirability, are, 

 however, the thinn;s chiellv to be ron-inHcd in 

 erecting a faim hnn-^r. IS'o farmer, who has 

 not a large capital, should bogjn with building 

 a costly house, unless he wislirs to see it soM 

 at a sheriflf's auction. His hon«e. barns, &c. 

 should be as near the centre of his farm as pos- 

 sible. If these are placed in the corner of a 

 large farm, a part of the land will be liable to 

 be neglected, less manure will be sent to if, 

 and the expense of cultivation will he greatly 

 increased, in consequence of the waste of time 

 and labor of men and working animals in going 

 backwards and fonv.irds over the estate. This 

 general rule should hardly be dispensed with, 

 unless such ciirunistances as the impossibility 

 of procuring good water, or the want of a good 

 building spot, should require some deviations. 

 When the case will admit, the farm house, barn, 

 &c. should front the south, be sheltered from 

 northerly winds, and the barn yard should enjoy 

 the benefit of the rising sun in the winter. — 

 The farm-sfead should be placed on ground a 

 little elevated above the farm in general. This 

 is not only more healthy, but carts will bring 

 home the grain and other products of the field 

 with less waste when procee<ling over land a 

 little ascending. The manure from the farm 

 yard will be couveved down hill to the fields in 

 the most che;i[) and expeditions manner ; and 

 what wash or drainings tVom the yards are suf- 

 fered to escape, (which should be as little as 

 possible) may be disposed of to bettor advantage 

 than from a yard situated in a low corner of the 

 farm, where perhaps they serve to manure the 

 highway or a neighboring brook. Besides, 

 when the house is built in an elevated situation 

 the farmer may lave a chance to see what is 

 going on nil around him. 



There is something so pleasing in the appear- 

 ance of neatness and cleanliness about a dwel- 

 ling house, that even a stranger, transiently 

 passing by, cannot help being prepossessed with 

 a favorable opinion of those within. He passes 

 along with the idea fixed in his mind of pros- 

 perity and happiness presiding within those 

 walls. How diflerent the sensation felt on 

 viewing a contrary scene : — ^a house dismal and 

 dirty, the doors and '.vails surrounded and be- 

 spattered with filth of all denominations, and 

 fragments of broken dishes and dirty dairy uten- 

 sils scattered in all directions impress on his 

 (nind the idea of misery and mismanagement. 



It adds greatlj' to the beauty and neatness of 

 a dwelling house to have a little plat of garden 

 ground or shrubbery before it. This not only 

 contributes to keep every thing neat and clean 

 in front, but is often more easily managed than 

 a garden behind the house. 



It is a common practice, and with many a 

 geileral rule, to build the farm house adjoining, 

 and perhaps in contact with the sheds, barns, 

 and other out houses. When the buildings are 

 thus all situated in one clump, if one takes fire 

 the whole will probably be consumed. Besides 

 it is disagreeable and unwholesome to live too 

 near manure heaps, and as it were in the midst* 



