1861. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



575 



Massachusetts, except in the use of better imple- 

 ments, and taking the leading crops of 1S07 to 

 1810, and comparing them with those of 1855, the 

 following are the results. 



1807. 1855. 



Average Indian corn per acre, 31 bushels. 2SJ bushels. 



" Wheat " 19 " 15 10-13" 



" Rye " 16i " 12 6-14 " 



" Barley " 22 3-5 20 



" Oats " 26i " 2U " 



" English hay " 2381 lbs. 1953 tta. 



Throughout the list, a marked decrease in pro- 

 duction per acre is exhibited, but in the growth 

 of animal food, the falling off in quantity is still 

 more striking. In 1807, the amount of neat stock 

 to a farm of one hundred acres was about fourteen 

 head ; it is now but seven, and sheep, which aver- 

 aged twelve to a farm, now hardly come up to 

 four. In horses, also, kept for farm work, the 

 number has lessened, though there has Iteen a 

 considerable increase of those kept for other pur- 

 poses." 



If such is the agricultural condition of our 

 State, it is certainly not very flattering to our in- 

 telligence and skill in the arts of husbandr}', and 

 ought to spur us on to renewed efforts. We like 

 the views presented as follows by the Editor, in 

 regard to the profit of Agriculture, with a single 

 qualification, viz : — he says, "that it is less than 

 in many other departments of industry, may be 

 inferred, since so many relinquish it altogether, 

 or seek more inviting fields for its prosecution." 

 The point whereby the question is to be decided, 

 is this ; Do ten thousand carpenters, store-keep- 

 ers, or those engaged in any other mechanical 

 pursuit, or as many lawyers,, physicians or clergy- 

 men, leave more property at their decease, than 

 do ten thousand farmers ? Is there a question on 

 the mind of any intelligent man, which would 

 leave the most, where the parties are taken pro- 

 miscuously ? If there is, an examination of any 

 probate records will show, we think, that the value 

 of the farmer will be far ahead. 



That thei'e is some profit in agriculture, even 

 as it is practiced in Massachusetts, cannot be de- 

 nied ; for, unless it be so, no one would follow 

 the business ; that it is less than in many other 

 departments of industry may be inferred, since 

 so many are willing to relinquish it altogeth- 

 er, or to seek more inviting fields for its prosecu- 

 tion. Probably every one of our readers know of 

 cases where farming has been, and is now prof- 

 itable, the farmer acquiring a handsome compe- 

 tence, if not great wealth, from the cultivation of 

 the soil. Such instances, however rare they may 

 be, serve to prove the capacity of the land to pro- 

 duce a profit; the more numerous they are, hov^- 

 ever, the stronger argument they afford of the 

 profitableness of the pursuit, while the same rule 

 does not apply to failures and want of success to 

 prove the converse of the proposition. If a dozen 

 men are engaged in a similar manufacturing or 

 commercial pursuit, and nine out of the twelve 

 fail in it, while the other three succeed, the success 

 of the latter establishes the fact that the business 

 is capable of being made a profitable one, and the 

 failure of the nine only shows that they did not 



understand the business. So with agriculture ; 

 if two or three farmers in a neighborhood make 

 their business profitable, while all the rest just 

 rub and go, or fail utterly, the same general truth 

 is established that farming can be made profita- 

 ble, and that when it is not so, that the fault lies 

 v>'ith the farmer, and not in the land. 



The next article is upon "Drainage," by Judge 

 French. It abounds in important facts, is writ- 

 ten in his clear, compact, and yet flowing and at- 

 tractive style, and is a valuable contribution to 

 our agricultural literature. 



The work is closed with a list of the officers 

 and trustees of the Society since its organization 

 in 1792. 



This volume, like all the publications of the so- 

 ciety, is a credit to the State, and, scattered wide- 

 ly and copied into the agricultural journals, will 

 have a decided influence upon our geoponics. 

 We wish a similar volume could be published 

 from every county in the State, and hope the 

 "Old Society" will find itself in condition to ex- 

 tend its good works. 



Was it the taste of the printer, or the direction 

 of the editor, that the articles should be so crowd- 

 ed together as to make the work appear as though 

 it comprised but a single article ? A part of a 

 page left blank, or even more, at the close of the 

 "Survey," and a "half title" dignifying the en- 

 trance of a new subject, would certainly improve 

 the arrangement of the subjects immensely, at 

 least to our eye. 



orwamewtal' trees. 



Around every dwelling, there should be a plan- 

 tation of ornamental trees, oaks, elms, maples, 

 firs, and, indeed, all the various species of indige- 

 nous trees with which Providence has so benefi- 

 cently blessed our land. Nothing adds more to 

 the beauty and desirableness of a country resi- 

 dence than the presence of these splendid crea- 

 tions ; even the humblest cottage derives a sort 

 of elegance from them, and becomes an object of 

 interest by the mere charm of association. Many 

 of our forest trees, of the deciduous kind, are un- 

 surpassed in elegance, and are so easily obtained 

 and propagated as to place them within the 

 reach of every person. The elm is a vigorous 

 and rapid grower; so, also, is the oak, in all its 

 species, the maple and the glossy beech. Of 

 shrubs and evergreens, there are innumerable va- 

 rieties, all of which bear transplanting, and flour- 

 ish vigorously on almost every description of soil. 



Candles. — Prepare your wicks about half the 

 usual size, and wet with spirits of turpentine, 

 put in the sun until dry. then mold or dip your 

 candles. Candles thus made last longer, and give 

 much clearer ligh^ In fact, they are nearly or 

 quite equal to ,?ptrm in clearness of light. 



