386 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug 



For the New England Fanner. 

 BETBOSPECTIVE NOTES. 



"Notes from the Monomack." — Muck, and 

 Model Farming. — Under the rather inexpressive 

 and uninviting heading above given, in quotation 

 marks, I find a very interesting and highly instruc- 

 tive communication in the Farmer, {Monthly) of 

 July, which had previously appeared in the weekly 

 issue of May 31st. It consists mainly of well con- 

 densed details, as to some of the more important 

 of the opinions and practices of Mr. John Day, 

 of Boxford ; and contains a sufficiency of these, to 

 prove that Mr. Day is a model farmer, — one who 

 makes use of his head as well as his hands, a suf- 

 ficiency, also, to form quite a useful addition to the 

 stock of information needed by every farmer who 

 is bent upon being successful and prosperous, as 

 Mr. Day has been a sufficiency, also, to form sub- 

 jects for consideration, for all who love improve- 

 ment and progress so much as never to suffer any 

 hints, derivable from the opinions and practices of 

 good managers, to pass from the mind, without 

 being duly pondered and practically applied. 

 I know of one farmer who has already made some 

 such use of several of the items of information 

 given in this article, as to the opinions and modes 

 of management of Mr. Day, having already en- 

 tered in his Boole of the Farm, and in that de- 

 partment of it, which he has entitled "Intended 

 Improvements and Projected Experiments" — see 

 page 214 current volume — two or three sugges- 

 tions, for trial and adoption, in future operations, 

 derived from the article now under notice. Prob- 

 ably others who are in the habit of jotting down, 

 as they occur to them, notes of improvements 

 which they intend to adopt, in tlieir future modes 

 of management and experiments, to be tried to 

 test the value of some hitherto unadopted prac- 

 tice, may have done the same thing as the farmer 

 just referred to, or may yet do so, on giving the 

 article on Mr. Day a second I'cading. 



Among the noteworthy results of Mr. Day's su- 

 perior good management, the principal one, per- 

 haps, is his improvement of his grass lands, to 

 such an extent that where he at first cut only ten 

 tons of hay per year, he has, for the last twelve 

 years, averaged one hundred tons a year. This 

 astonishing inci'ease in the fertility and produce 

 of his grass lands was accomplished by a method 

 so simple as to be within the means of every far- 

 mer who has access to muck, though some might 

 succeed much better than others, in imitating Mr. 

 Day's modes of management with this inestimable 

 fertilizer, according as brains were used more or 

 less in the preparation, composting and applica- 

 tion of it. Some, for example, for want of brains, 

 apply muck to their land too soon after it has 

 been dug, exposure to a winter's freezing and to a 

 summer's rains and sun being, for many, or most 

 kinds of muck, absolutely necessary to pulverize 

 and otherwise prepare it for a beneficial inter-mix- 

 ture with the soil. Some, also, would probably 

 fail of the largest possible success in the applica- 

 tion of muck, or muck composts, from failing to 

 apply them at the best time. As no information 

 is given in the article under notice, as to the time, 

 or season of the year, when Mr. D. top-dressed his 

 grass lands, we may here say, that, so far as some 

 experience, of my own, and some acquaintance 

 with the practice of others, may enable me to 1 



judge, the best two times in the whole year for ap- 

 plying muck composts to grass are, first, immedi- 

 ately after cutting the first growth, and next, in the 

 fall, say in October, or two or three weeks before 

 the usual time for steady and severe frosts. At 

 the former of these times, I have never applied 

 any more than a light dressing, mainly to save the 

 stubble and roots of Timothy from suffering from 

 drought, and to give it a start which it is generally 

 slow to _ take, applying a heavier dressing, well- 

 spread, in the fall. 

 ^ As Mr. Day's mode of manuring and managing 

 his tillage lands seems just as judicious, and just 

 as worthy of attention, consideration, and imita- 

 tion, as that which he has adopted for his grass 

 lands, and as there does not seem to be any occa- 

 sion for any comments, either in the way of modi- 

 fication or supplement, I may now take leave of 

 this very excellent article by saying that whoever 

 has read it only once, has not read it half as often, 

 and perhaps not half as considerately, as it de- 

 serves to be ; and that whoever is so near to per- 

 fection in farming as to be able to find in Mr. 

 Day's views and methods of management nothing 

 worthy of imitation, or nothing to serve as hint 

 or help to some improvement in his own practices, 

 must be a model to his town or neighborhood, and 

 one whose farm I should like to visit, or have 

 "Saggahew" make a report of, in his next com- 

 munication. All young farmers, and almost all 

 who are not yet "already perfect," if really am- 

 bitious of making constant improvement, will find 

 the article under notice one that will richly repay 

 repeated perusals, and a great deal of thinking and 

 self-application. 



"Proper Location of Buildings on the 

 Farm." — This, article which may be found on page 

 304 of July number of this journal, contains hints 

 and thoughts which would be of great value, so 

 far as comfort and convenience are concerned, if 

 they could find their way into the heads of those 

 who may be buying a farm, or putting up build- 

 ings on one, which they are to occupy for life. If 

 the considerations here presented should fail to 

 occur to the minds of buyers or builders in such 

 circumstances, the result may be that they and 

 their families may suffer some inconvenience, per- 

 haps daily, for the rest of their lives. 



When the "Hints on Buying Farms," see pages 

 203 and 316 current volume, get printed in pam- 

 phlet form, as proposed page 316, this article 

 should be added as a useful appendix. 



"Mental Culture." — There are some good 

 thoughts in this article, page 315 of July number ; 

 but they are not well adapted for use among com- 

 mon farmers, as, for example, the suggestion that 

 formers should have a study, or room for them- 

 selves to read and study in. We have never seen 

 so good a Avay of making a farmer and his fam- 

 ily intelligent, as lately, in a case in which the 

 father hears his children recite or answer questions 

 from AVilson's Family and School Readers, and 

 other books of Natural Science and History. Try 

 such a plan. More Anon. 



Wool Exhibition. — There is to be a great 

 wool show under the supervision of the Ohio 

 State Agricultural Society at its annual exhibition 

 to be held at Cleveland, September 15 to 19, 

 1862. Competition is open to the world. Wool 



