1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



269 



For the New England Farmer. 



WHY PARMINO IS NOT PROFITABLE— 

 CROWS AND ROBINS— BOOKS. 



Mr. Editor : — When I was a school-boy I had 

 a copy set in my writing-book that read thus : 

 "Many men of many minds." I find this to be a 

 great truth in relation to almost any subject, and 

 especially in relation to the subject of farming. In 

 regard to the profits of farming, I have a word to 

 say. My father was one of the old-fashioned sort 

 of farmers, and he managed to accumulate as long 

 as he was able to labor. He had a family of elev- 

 en children, all of which, but one, lived to grow 

 up. He, unlike most farmers of the present day, 

 made his own carts, plows, yokes, sleds, harrows, 

 and mended his broken chains and harnesses, 

 patched and shingled his buildings when needed, 

 did his own and others' butchering in the fall of 

 the year, and in fact, turned his hand to almost 

 anything that was useful and needful. 



His boys were not allowed to idle away their 

 time in running over the fields with gun in hand 

 to shoot the little birds that sang so sweetly upon 

 the tree-tops, nor were they allowed to be off to 

 the ponds a-fishing every day ; but their lot was 

 to assist on the farm. The stones were to be 

 picked up that were in the top-dressing, so that 

 the keen edge of the scythe should not be taken 

 off ; manure was to be hauled on to the fields, 

 and the ground must be plowed and planted, and 

 the boys must drop the corn and pumpkin seeds, 

 and help in every department of farming opera- 

 tions. The girls were useful in-doors in assisting 

 their good mother in cooking, washing and mend- 

 ing, making soap, carding, spinning and weaving ; 

 they also prepared the swine's food, and helped 

 the boys to milk the cows, and fed the hens and 

 chickens, brought in the eggs from the coop, and 

 did not feel it above their dignity to take a rake 

 in hand if there was a prospect of a shower to wet 

 the new-made hay. 



I am not going to say that my father's mode of 

 farming was the best, but I do say that it would 

 be well for modern farmers to imitate his example, 

 by bringing up their children to be industrious, 

 economical and useful, and then they can depend 

 upon it that their boys will make farming profita- 

 ble. It is a great fact that cannot be denied, that 

 the young of the present age are brought up to 

 cherish extravagant notions in relation to all mat- 

 ters of life, and thus it is the farmer is not able to 

 lay up, or even to meet, his demands, for the rea- 

 son that he tries to have his children indulged in 

 the extravagances of the times. Young man, if 

 you would succed in farming or any other avoca- 

 tion, save that dime in the corner of your pocket- 

 book, and not spend it for that vile stuff, tobacco, 

 which is undermining your health as well as your 

 purse; if you do not join the sons, show to the 

 world that you are temperate in all things ; dress 

 neatly but not extravagantly, cultivate your moral 

 nature, that you may reverence all that is good, 

 and the consequences will be that man will praise, 

 and God will bless you. 



Let me say that I love farming — it is the joy of 

 my life. I can hardly wait for the season of birds 

 and flowers to come. What soul is not touched 

 by the voice of the blue-bird and robin ? If there 

 is anything that will elevate our hearts to our 

 Heavenly Father, it is the return of spring, with 



its ten thousand melodious voices, which are ring- 

 ing all about us,'with one universal shout of praise 

 to God. 



I see that some of the contributors to the Far- 

 mer are opposed to the killing of the crow. They 

 say he is our friend, because he destroys many 

 grubs, &c., and the same arguments are used in 

 favor of the robin. They forget to tell us that the 

 crow destroys every robin's nest that he can lay 

 hold on. The crow is so bold that he comes in my 

 orchard close by the house and robs every bird's 

 nest that comes to his view. Now which do'the far- 

 mer the most good, the crow or the smaller birds ? 

 I leave it to your readers to decide. My views 

 are, that everything that is made answers life's 

 great pm-pose. One species of life answers for 

 food for another. We see this to be true, and no 

 reasonable man will deny it. Who will deny that 

 it is unnatural for a cat to catch a mouse, or a 

 crow a robin, or a robin a grub. If, then, they de- 

 stroy one another for the purpose of sustaining 

 life, why has not man a right to destroy them, in 

 order to save his fruits and grains from their dep- 

 redation ? We must decide this question by tak- 

 ing into consideration the good and damage they 

 do us, and acting accordingly. 



Some six weeks ago, while examining my young 

 apple trees, I found some caterpillars' nests. I 

 took them and put them into a vial, and set it on 

 the mantel-shelf, being about one foot from the 

 stove-pipe. Some of them have since hatched, 

 but not having any food, they have died, i infer 

 from this circumstance that the requisite tempera- 

 ture to develop the apple tree buds into leaves 

 hatches the caterpillar's eggs. It seems, then, 

 that the apple tree leaves are the natural food of 

 the caterpillar. Now, because that is so, shall we 

 abandon our fruit trees to their use ? God made 

 the caterpillar as well as the crow and robin, and 

 if it is right to destroy the one, why not the other ? 



As I have before said, we are governed by the 

 necessity of the case. One man devotes his atten- 

 tion to the raising of fruits ; the birds are his 

 sworn enemies, and he is bound to exterminate 

 them. Another cultivates the grains and grasses ; 

 he, consequently, is not troubled much with the 

 birds, so he is willing to let them live. So it is 

 as my copy reads, "Many men of many minds." 



One word relative to patent manures. They, 

 like patent medicines, claim to cure all, no matter 

 how poor your land. A table-spoonful put in the 

 hill will insure a good crop. No doubt there is 

 fertilizing matter in these manures, but the ques- 

 tion is, does it pay for the farmer to buy them at 

 the prices now asked for them ? I think not. It is 

 one very important part of a farmer's business to 

 make the manures that are to be used on his farm. 

 Let him see to it, that there is a sufficient quanti- 

 ty of meadow or swamp mud by his pig-sty, so 

 that he may replenish it when needed. Put some 

 under the hen roost and in the barn cellar and 

 under the cattle and horses. If he has no mud on 

 the farm, use the best soil that he can spare, that 

 is on the farm. If he lives near old ocean's shore, 

 let him draw the kelp that comes ashore in some 

 of those north-east storms that we are subject to, 

 and spread it upon his grass lands, or comjiost it. 

 There are good farmers in the town of Marsh- 

 field, and they know the value of kelp, I should 

 judge, by the numbers drawing it off when it 

 comes ashore. 



