116 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



March 



bankrupt to an hundred in any other occupation, 

 and this fact alone was the strongest argument as 

 to the profits of farming. 



In conclusion, Mr. Brown advocated the sup- 

 port of farmers' clubs, and other gatherings of a 

 similar description, to infuse new life and vigor 

 into the family, and thus to make farming both 

 profitable and pleasant. 



Mr. Wethehell was the next speaker, and he 

 took the same view of the subject as did Mr. Gard- 

 ner, of Swansey, at the last meeting, and argued 

 that farms were like factories, if left idle neither 

 would pay. He said that the argument in favor 

 of deep plowing would not apply to the majority 

 of farms in the State, as the land would not bear 

 it. He urged that a young man must love his 

 business, and then must be industrious, and study 

 to make it pay. 



Mr. Gardner, of Swansey, differed from Mr. 

 Brown in relation to the matrimonial inclinations 

 of the ladies, and argued that every kind of busi- 

 ness, properly conducted, should be considered 

 honorable. One great trouble in driving sons of 

 farmers from home is to be found in the custom 

 which prevails among parents of telling their chil- 

 dren how hard a farmer's life is, and again in not 

 teaching young men the value of money, and the 

 importance of saving it. Again, the speaker said, 

 there is great fault in not selecting good seeds, 

 and not taking the proper time to gather them. 

 Hg spoke of fiirmers in his section who had plant- 

 ed corn which probably was not perfectly ripe 

 when it was put in the crib, and consequently, 

 they had to plant again, thus incurring unneces- 

 sary expense and loss of time. He spoke at length 

 on the importance of paying more attention to 

 this matter. 



Mr. Proctor, of Danvers, considered that what- 

 ever was profitable was pleasant, and those who 

 labor have this in viev/. Profit, said he, should 

 not be the only aim of the Society, but it should 

 be also to make young men good citizens, and he 

 felt proud to say that in no class were they so 

 numerous as among fanners. 



He said that there were 30 neighbors of his 

 who had on an average not more than 20 acres 

 each, who cleared, over and above expenses, from 

 $300 to $500 per year^ and these were among the 

 best citizens in the place. This profit was not 

 made by shallow but by thorough cultivation, by 

 attention to manure, putting on from 5 to 10 cords 

 to the acre, and the result being a yield of from 

 $50 to $100 per acre, a year, profit. These men, 

 eaid he, plow 10 inches deep, and cultivate their 

 fields like a garden, and do not make their money 

 by stock raising, or note shaving. In speaking 

 of the ladies, he said he was sorry to hear there 

 was any one so unwise as to prefer a man of anoth- 

 er ocbupation as a husband, to a farmer, as, in by 



far the majority of cases, the farmer in declining 

 life was in better circumstances than any other 

 class of men. 



Hon. N. Eddy, of Oxford, said he thought we 

 had too indiscriminate recommendation of deep 

 plowing, as the soil would not bear it. The trou- 

 ble was that our people undertake to farm too far 

 from a market, as in the case of the sale of hay by 

 some farmers, it will cost all the hay is worth to 

 transport the fertilizers obtained from the proceeds 

 of the sale. Mr. Eddy considered that the best way 

 to make our farms generally profitable was to pay 

 attention to the fattening of stock, bought in oth- 

 er States. In support of his argument, he called 

 attention to the profits made by graziers in New 

 York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, on cattle 

 bought in the West. He condemned the atten- 

 tion that was too much devoted to rough soils, and 

 closed his remarks by urging farmers to keep 

 themselves free from the hazards of speculation. 



Mr. Asa Sheldon, of Wilmington, referred 

 briefly to the discussion of the subject at the for- 

 mer meeting, and expressed his pleasiu'e that the 

 article from the pen of Mr. Pinkham had waked 

 up our farmers. He amusingly alluded to the ar- 

 gument in favor of a ten hour system in farming, 

 and related an anecdote of his experience in road 

 making, which highly amused the meeting. Farm- 

 ing, said he, will never be either profitable or pleas- 

 ant, unless it is done freely, and it is to create a 

 love for it, that we should aim. He thought Mr. 

 Brown had told the truth about the ladies, but he 

 thought that if a girl had scruples about feeding 

 poultry, making cheese and butter, and doing 

 other household duties in a farm-house, he would 

 advise her never to give her hand to a farmer, as, 

 without pleasure, farming cannot be profitable. 



Mr. Stoughton, of Gill, thought there was 

 nothing more profitable connected with farming 

 than stock raising, but he would say, that it should 

 be choice stock, as this cost no more to raise than 

 the common, and returned a very much larger 

 profit. He had an order in his pocket, then, for 

 two yearling Alderney heifers, to go to New Or- 

 leans, and he was to receive $125 each, for them, 

 delivered here. A market is what makes farming 

 profitable, and here Congress can help us, by a fa- 

 vorable tariff ; but to make farming profitable and 

 pleasant, each man must figure for himself, and 

 study his own farm, seeing Avhat he can raise best 

 on it, and for which he can find the best market. 



Mr. BUCKMINSTER explained that he did not 

 mean to advocate the strict application of the ten 

 hour system to farming, but wished to have the 

 farmer shown how he could do the work of sixteen 

 hours in ten, by mathematical demonstration, and 

 thus increase his profits. 



Mr. R. S. Fay, of Lynn, thought education 

 should be attended to, more than it noAV is in the 



