136 



NEW ENGLAND FARIMER. 



March 



ing a good crop, as the expense is but very little 

 extra, except the manure, and here is the advan- 

 tage which Mr. P. does not see, of feeding out the 

 hay and grain, as it is the manure that makes the 

 profitable crops. 



When I read Mr. P.'s article I wondered that 

 the farmers of New England had not all become 

 bankrupt years ago ; he says "they feed out their 

 hay aiad grain at a loss of fifty per cent., to raise 

 more at still another loss, and thus go on year 

 after year." Still "v/e live, and move and have 

 our being !" Let every farmer feed out his hay 

 and grain prudently to good stock, and carefully 

 save and apply his manure, and he will make more 

 and more money every year ; Mr. P. to the con- 

 trary, notwithstanding. 



Now let us see if we can make our words good, 

 — for figures are facts — and we do not want our 

 "dollars and cents" to cost us too much. Take, 

 for an example, 100 good ewe sheep, that can be 

 bought for three dollars per head. 



100 Sheep. Dr. 



To cost at $3 per head $300,00 



To keeping 1 year at $2 200,00 



To washing 1,50 



To shearing 6,00 



To marliing, carrying off wool, &c 3,00 



To interest, and taxes 20,00 



Total $530,50 



Cr. 



By 400 lbs. wool, at 50c $200,00 



By 75 lambs, at $2 por head 150,00 



By old llock on hand 275,00 



Total $625,00 



From which, allowing $25 for use of buck, leaves a 



net profit of $69,50 



Now, if we feed the fifty bushels of corn we 

 raised, in addition to the above cost of keeping, 

 we shall get one pound more wool per head, raise 

 twenty more lambs, and have our old flock Vvorth 

 nearly as much as when we bought them. Let us 

 see whether we lose fifty per cent, by feeding out 

 the corn we have got : 



100 pounds more wool $50,00 



20 more lambs, at $2 per head 40,00 



And the additional value of old llock is 25,00 



Making a total gain of $115,00 



Thus giving the corn a dollar and cent value of 

 $2,50 per bushel, if judiciously fed out, — besides 

 giving an additional profit of $65 on the stock, as 

 the extra value of the manure will fully comj^cn- 

 sate for the trouble of feeding out the grain. Thus 

 I have a net profit of $1,32| cents per head for 

 keeping the sheep one year. Rather different 

 from raising calves, is it not, farmer Pinkham ? 

 These are not exaggerated figures, but what can 

 easily be done by almost evei-y farmer. To be 

 sure, (as Mr. Pinkham says,) "our business is ex- 

 tremely hazardous ;" we may, sometimes, by acci- 

 dent, or carelessness, have a cow choke to death ; 

 by over-work we may spoil an ox ; a horse, by 

 reckless driving and poor care, may get foun- 

 dered ; a drought may reduce our crops ; hail- 

 storms may damage us ; and if, through our neg- 

 lect, our fences are poor, there is more loss than 

 by all the other causes combined. And yet, broth- 

 er farmers, we are not the only class that run 

 risks. Does not the merchant sometimes lose his 

 ships freighted with valuable cargoes ? are not 

 his AVfirehouses, filled wiHi n^qtUr rvno^ic.. pot^ia- 



times burned, or, perhaps, a clerk will step out 

 with $40,000 or so ? And so of other cases. 



Farmers do not expect to become millionaires, 

 but if they manage properly, they are equally as 

 independent, and no class enjoys that priceless 

 blessing, health, better, or lives to a riper old age. 



J. B. Freejian. 



Lebanon, N. E., Nov. 25, 1859. 



WHAT ENGLISH FARMERS "WANT TO 

 Kl\rO"W. 



At a late meeting of the "Royal Agricidtural 

 Society of England," the following list of prizes 

 for Essays was adopted. Possibly the republi- 

 cation of the subjects may furnish topics for brief 

 dissertations to some New England fin-mcrs, who, 

 if they should miss the "sovereigns," might enjoy 

 the satisfaction of having stirred the minds of 

 others in the right direction. 



1. Fifty sovereigns for the best report on the 

 agriculture of Berkshire. 



2. Twenty sovereigns for an approved Essay on 

 the best period of the rotation, and the best time 

 of year for applying the manure of the farm. 



3. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on the al- 

 terations rendered advisable in the management 

 of land of different qualities, by low prices of grain 

 and high prices of meat. 



4. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on recent 

 improvements in dairy practice. 



5. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on the 

 proper office of straw on the farm. 



6. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on the 

 amount of capital required for the profitable oc- 

 cupation of a farm. 



7. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on the 

 conditions of seed-bed best suited to the various 

 agricultural crops. 



8. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on the 

 adulteration of agricultural seeds. 



9. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on any 

 other agricultural subject. 



For the Neto En<jland Farmer. 

 PIPE FOR CONVEYING V/ATER. 



Mr. Editor : — I wish to take water from a Avell 

 which is twenty feet deep, then carry it about one 

 hundred feet on a level, to a pump. Can you, or 

 some of your readers, inform me what kind of pipe 

 is" best to use, to carry it through ? The water is 

 good to drink, but rather hard, and I should not 

 dare to use lead pipe ; if the Avater was soft, I 

 should put in leatl, as I believe it is proved that 

 soft water from wells, or any other source can not 

 be injured by lead. Now what kind of pipe is 

 l)est, wood, iron, glass, gutta-percha, or something 

 else ; and where can it be obtained ? Also, please 

 state something near the cost for one hundred and 

 twenty feet, if it is not too much trouble. 



Billerica, Jan., 1860. A Reader. 



Remarks. — Some of our readers are conversant 

 with these matters, and we hope will give the in- 

 formation desired. It is information that will be 



