1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



203 



Fur the New England Fanner, 

 HINTS ON BTJYINa FARMS. 



One of the most difficult operations that the 

 young farmer has to encounter, when first setting 

 out in the world, is the selection and pui-chase of 

 a farm. Unlike buying a horse or cow, which can 

 be disposed of again at a slight sacrifice, if they do 

 not suit, the farm cannot be sold every day, if it 

 be a poor one, even at a sacrifice. It is necessary, 

 therefore, to be very cautious in getting a farm 

 which is probably destined to be your home for 

 Ufe. 



In the first place, no man should buy a farm un- 

 less he is resolved to live on it all his days, and 

 having made that resolution, let him look for one 

 that he can be contented on, or he had best not 

 buy at all, for a discontented farmer is a pitiable 

 object. 



The location of a farm must be noted, as there 

 is a great difference in the products of different 

 farms of like fertility, but differently situated. A 

 farm sloping to the south, or east, should be pre- 

 ferred to one descending to the north, or west, for 

 several seasons, viz : the land is warmer, and the 

 crops stall quicker in the spring, and mature ear- 

 lier in the fall, thereby escaping early frosts. The 

 land is generally dryer, and does not need as much 

 underdraining, and is not as liable to heave, as 

 land sloping to the north. A southern slope is 

 better for fruit trees and vines, as they are not so 

 much exposed to the bleak north winds in winter 

 and early spring, which prove so destructive to 

 fruit trees in New England and eastern New York. 



The next great object sought should be good 

 water, and plenty of it. A farm with plenty of 

 springs and running streams, is worth from one- 

 fourth to one-third more than one on which the 

 water has all to be drawn from a well. Luckily, 

 most New England farms have running water, 

 which accounts for the great superioi-ity of their 

 stock over that in sections that are poorly watered. 

 Stock of any kind thrive a great deal better when 

 they have an unlimited supply of pure water, than 

 when their drink is di-awn from a well by a negli- 

 gent man ; and they sometimes get not more than 

 half enough, or they have to di-ink at some mud- 

 dy pond of standing water. 



Another very important consideration is, the 

 buildings ; and in looking for a farm, always bear 

 in mind that good buildings can be bought a great 

 deal cheaper than they can be built ; or, in other 

 words, the difference in the cost of a farm without 

 buildings, and one with them, is not, as a general 

 thing, one-half enough to put on the buildings. 

 The young man just starting in the world, unless 

 he have rich relations who are willing to assist 

 him, cannot afford to buy a farm and then go to 

 building, so he must needs live in the old house, 

 and use the old dilapidated out-buildings, for a 

 great many years. So he lives on, suffering a 

 great many inconveniences, and subjecting his cat- 

 tle to exposure, and sometimes his family, also, 

 for the want of comfortable shelter, and perhaps 

 expending money enough in patching up his old 

 buildings every year to pay the interest on the 

 cost of new ones. The want of fences is another 

 serious drawback on a farm, especially where lum- 

 ber is as expensive as it is in most of the thickly 

 settled districts of New England and New York. 



In choosing a farm, always look for a good wood 



lot, so that the fire can be kept going and the fen- 

 ces in repair ; and if you have an occasional load 

 of wood to sell your neighbor who has no wood 

 lot, the proceeds will help pay the interest money. 



In selecting a farm, be sure not to buy poor 

 land. Itis better to buy good land, with poor or 

 no_ buildings, than to buy poor land with good 

 buildings ; for on the good land you can soon 

 make the buildings, but on the poor land you can 

 not make the interest. 



There is prevalent among farmers an erroneous 

 idea in regard to the price and relative property 

 of farms. For instance, — we will suppose two 

 farms for sale ; one at $40 per acre and the other 

 at $80 per acre, and we will suppose that the one 

 at $40 will produce 35 bushels of com to the acre. 

 Now one-half of the farmers would say, the farm 

 costing $80 per acre, should produce 70 bushels of 

 corn to be as cheap as the $40 farm. But this is 

 a great error. We will take the figures of one of 

 your contributors some years ago, which made the 

 cost of raising an acre of corn at $26, if I remem- 

 ber right, (but which I think is too high,) and see 

 what we make on an acre of corn which produces 

 35 bushels. Call the corn worth 75 cents per 

 bushel, and 35 bushels will come to $26,25, from 

 which deduct $2G, — which includes interest, taxes 

 and all expenses, — and we have just 25 cents pro- 

 fit, rather a small payment towards our $40. Now 

 we will suppose the other farm to yield 50 bushels 

 per acre, which, at 75 cents, will be $37,50, from 

 which deduct $26, and $2,80 interest on the extra 

 $40, and we have $8,70 profit to pay towards the 

 principal ; so it is evident that the $80 farm is 

 cheapest, for $8,70 per year will pay $80 sooner 

 than 25 cents will $40. In buying a farm, we 

 should see that there is not much waste land, as 

 that has to be paid for as well as the good, but 

 brings in nothing. What I mean by waste land 

 is, ledges and places that do not produce anything. 

 Swales, and swamps, even, if not too extensive, are 

 by no means waste, as the former produce a great 

 deal of feed, and the latter can be drained, and 

 their contents are of great worth as manure, on 

 uplands. Many other things are very desirable, 

 but not of so much importance as the foregoing, — 

 such as the location of the buildings, which should 

 be as near the centre as possible, and be near the 

 water. A farm with different kinds of soil is to 

 be preferred to one with the soil all alike, as that 

 renders the raising of variety of crops difficult and 

 unpi-ofitable. In selecting, reference must be had, 

 also, to the branch of farming which it is wished 

 to engage in ; if the dairy, then select a grass farm, 

 and if raising grain, a farm adapted to that, and 

 so on for other branches. In conclusion, I would 

 say, buy a good farm, put on good stock, use good 

 tools, and take good care of them, and you will 

 make a good, honest living, and soon have your 

 farm paid for ; after which you can take the world 

 a little more easy, letting your children work the 

 farm while you store your mind with the riches of 

 good books and agi-icultural papers. 



Agriculturist. 



Oak mil, N. T., January, 1862. 



Geology of Maine. — A geological and natu- 

 ral history survey of Maine was commenced, last 

 season, by Prof. Hitchcock and Dr. Holmes. They 

 first explored the western border and coast to get 



