330 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 



well, and secures a good crop ; and secondlj', his 

 land is prepared for several future good crops. 



I propose an estimate lor three years, two acres 

 of land under my own man^igement. The land 

 is good land, clay loam worth one hundred dol- 

 lars per acre. 



FIRST YEAR. 



Use of land $12,00 



40 loads of manure 40 OO 



Drawing Manure 900 



Plowini< two acres b,00 



Harrowing two acres 2,GQ 



Planting two acres 3,00 



A^Ih-s and plaster 3,Q0 



Hoeinn three times 9,00 



Harvesting 12,00— $93,00 



PRODUCTS. 



130 bushels corn at 80c per bush $104,00 



4 tons stalks, $9 per ton 24,00 



4 loads pumpkin, $1 per load 4,00— $132,00 



Profit $39,00 



SECOND YEAR. 



Use of land $12,00 



Plowini; two acres ; 8,00 



6 bushels oats 3,00 



Harrowing and sowing ,. 3,00 



One bushel grass seed 3,50 



Harvesting oats 5,00 



Threshingoats 7,00— $36,50 



PRODUCTS. 

 150 bushels oats, at 50c per bush .$75,00 



3 tons straw, $5 per ton 15,00— $90,00 



Profit $54,50 



After harvesting the oats, plowed under the stub- 

 ble in August, cullivated well, and sowed 1 bushel 

 of Timothy seed. 



THIRD YEAR. 



Use of land $12,00 



Plowing ; 3,00 



Harrowing 2,00 



Cutting grass 4,00— $21,00 



PRODUCTS. 



4 tons hay at $10 per ton 40,00 



Profit $19,00 



In the above statement, the price of labor is one 

 dollar a day, the manure just what it cost, the 

 corn and oats were measured and hay estimated 

 and sold. Now I ask, is there anything extrava- 

 gant in the estimate or crops ? I say, no. The 

 land was good and well cultivated, and was better 

 off at the end of three years. The receipts paid 

 all interest for land, labor, and $112 besides, or 

 equal to 24 per cent, for capital invested. 



The above shows the advantage of good cul- 

 ture, and this is the only way to make farming 

 pay well. Poor farming never pays, nor any other 

 business, poorly attended to. 



Some may think the foregoing crops are large, 

 but they are not. We have farms that do better. 

 The Berkshire Agricultural Society awarded this 

 season the first premium on corn, weighed and 

 sworn to, 120 bushels ; on oats 116 bushels, [was 

 this on two acres ? — Ed.] 



Your correspondent speaks of a failure of corn 

 and other crops. There has not been an entire 

 failure of the corn crop since 1816. There have 

 been partial failures, but not often. A short crop 

 is generally as profitable to the farmer to sell, as 

 a full one, and sometimes more so ; so with pota- 

 toes, as many have testified, on the North River, 

 where they raise potatoes to sell in market. When 

 one-half of the potatoes rot, the other half brings 

 more money than the whole would, if they had 

 not rotted, and this is more or less the case with 



all crops. Take, for instance, fruit. In 18o9 ap- 

 ples were short, and worth $1 per bushel ; in 1860 

 plenty, and you could buy them at the orchard 

 for twenty-five cents. Therefore I would contend 

 that the farmer may be rich enough. There is no 

 profit in getting rich, when the whole man must 

 be sacrificed for it — time, thoughts, family and 

 everything, made subservient to this one idea. 

 But he who owns the soil, knows that his busi- 

 ness is reliable for a good living, brings health 

 and vigor to the body, and elevates the mind. He 

 is free from the cares and anxieties that perplex 

 other men, he is interested in sunshine and show- 

 ers, in the changing seasons ; he sows the seed 

 and gathers in the golden harvest as the reward 

 of toil, and helps to furnish bread to the teeming 

 millions who are dependent upon the success of 

 the agriculturist. BERKSHIRE. 



Lamshoroufjh, 1861. 



Patriotic Birds.— Capt. N. G. B. Dexter has 

 on ^ his premises in Dexter Street a bird-house 

 which is occupied by a pair of barn swallows. 

 One day last week his servant girl left a piece of 

 red ribbon on the sill of a window which was 

 open, and during her absence from the room a few 

 minutes it mysteriously disappeared and could 

 not be found. In the course of the day it was 

 discovered waving from one of the upper win- 

 dows of the bird-house, making quite a respecta- 

 ble looking flag for such an establishment and its 

 occupants. Not much was thought of the cir- 

 cumstance, and when evening came the flag or 

 ribbon had disappeared. 



This could be accounted for by supposing that 

 it had blown away, but on the flag re-appearing 

 the next morning curiosity was excited, and a 

 watch established the fact that the birds pulled 

 the flag into the house every evening and put it 

 out every morning. Several persons have Avit- 

 nessed the operation. How the birds have fas- 

 tened the ribbon to their residence is not known, 

 but it is secure there. The housing of it for the 

 night and the exposing of it to the breeze in the 

 morning had continued about a week when we 

 last heard of the patriotic doings of these little 

 birds. — Pawtucket Oazette. 



Geology and Natural History of Maine. 

 — We learn, says the Journal, that Charles H. 

 Hitchcock, of Amherst, son of Prof. Hitchcock, 

 has been appointed State Geologist for Maine. 

 Mr. Hitchcock, though a young man, is well read 

 in geological science, and bids fair to rank with 

 the first geologists of the age. Dr. Holmes, edi- 

 tor of the Maine Farmer, has been appointed 

 State Naturalist. The gentlemen with their as- 

 sistants will commence their labors in June. In 

 August they propose to make an exploration of 

 the northern section of the State through the un- 

 inhabited section. They will be accompanied by 

 a party of gentlemen who intend to try the moun- 

 tains and forests and camp life as a means for re- 

 covering health. It is intended that the survey 

 shall be most thorough, that the mineral resources 

 of the State may be more fully developed. 



