286 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



er, Albany Cidtivator, &c., &c., and with the idea, 

 that as soon as I possessed money enough, I 

 would buy a farm, I have made these works my 

 principal reading. Now what I fear is, that, if I 

 buy a farm and run in debt for a gi-eater part of 

 it, as I should be obliged to with my present 

 means, I should not be able to get a living. What 

 do you think ? The first year would undoubted- 

 ly be hard for me. 



I have the reputation of being a practical, busi- 

 ness man, and a thorough accountant, but whether 

 that would be any help to me in my new vocation, 

 I know not, — but with the idea impressed on my 

 mind that if we had a pleasant farm, we should be 

 a happier, healthier, and better family, I have 

 written to you in hopes you would enlighten me. 

 Yours truly, Quandary. 



Maiden, July 2\st, 1863. 



Remarks. — "Shall I buy a farm ?" No — you 

 cannot with much more propriety than we could 

 enter your room as an accountant, and expect to 

 succeed. You must feel your way, and not risk 

 your capital. Let that be at interest, or most of 

 it. Hire a place of half a dozen acres in a good 

 neighborhood, and try farming a year or two in 

 that way, and occasionally work a week or two 

 with some intelligent, practical farmer who will 

 converse with you upon agricultural matters. With 

 such a wife as you describe — to say nothing of the 

 children — you are a rich man. Many a capitalist 

 would count out and lay down thousands, for such 

 a gift. You will do well enough. But do not be 

 in a hurry about farming. Please follow the sug- 

 gestion offered, and by-and-by write us again. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 FARMEKS versus MECHANICS. 



Mr. Editor : — I occasionally read the advice 

 for farmers to have a shop, with a set of tools suf- 

 ficient for ordinary carpenter's work. The advice 

 is good, but farmers, at this age, ought to go fur- 

 ther, and study into the machinist's trade some, for 

 so many machines are now being made to perform 

 farm work, it is getting to be absolutely necessary 

 to know how to use them. Often good machines 

 are condemned, when the fault is a want of knowl- 

 edge how to use them. 



1 know a man that bought a mowing machine 

 and cut a large lot of hay with it, and liked it. 

 At last he broke the cutter-bar, got it repaired, 

 broke it again, again put it in order and asked a 

 friend to try it who had some mechanical gump- 

 tion, but before he got the "hang of it," it broke 

 again ! What was the difficulty ? Nothing, only 

 the journal next the crank had never been oiled, 

 being out of sight, under the seat ! The result 

 was, that the journal rapidly wore into an ellipti- 

 cal form, and smashed things up, as has been de- 

 scribed. Now the man does not like that kind of 

 mower ! 



The machinist will fit up a mower nicely — the 

 shafting running free when cool — the farmer takes 

 it into the field, where it goes well a little while, 

 then the team begins to sweat, and pull hard, and 

 the machine is pronounced a hard-going thing, 

 while all it wants, perhaps, to make it go easy, is 

 the slight slacking of the cap bolts in some place, 

 or a few drops of oil. 



It is astonishing, what a friction-gripe a close- 

 fitting bearing will take when it is inclined to 

 heat. Machines with wood frames, that lay at 

 rest like those for farmers, shrink and spring, 

 throwing the bearings out of line, or some nut 

 gets started by the jar when at work, and gets 

 things out of place. Farmers should learn quick- 

 ly to detect anything of this kind, and know how 

 to fix it. Most farmers have had no "rolling 

 stock," but common wheels, which have a better 

 chance to "wriggle" about than shafts in rigid 

 boxes. But nice caniagesare fitted so snug some- 

 times as to heat, making cruel work for the 

 horses. Four ladies were stopped in their car- 

 riage in front of my shop, making "signals of dis- 

 tress." I went out, and they wanted me to see 

 why the hind wheel would not go around ? When 

 I assured them that all was right, excepting a trifle 

 too much heat in the axle for want of oil, it waa 

 hard to make them believe it. No appliance 

 would start the wheel, but what would tear the 

 work to pieces, until the heat left. 



All ought to see the importance of attention to 

 the condition of journal-boxes, especially where 

 the poor dumb beast is the motive power that 

 keeps them in motion. The South Ameiicans 

 transport goods aci'oss the Pampas in great clum- 

 sy carts, all made of wood and raw hide, drawn by 

 six yoke of oxen, and they never grease the axles, 

 going in trains of twelve teams to protect each 

 other from Indians. These axles can be heard for 

 miles. That must be "music and drawing," but 

 beef is cheap there ! The Canadians come into 

 St. Paul, Minnesota, in the same way, but have 

 smaller teams ; they can be heard coming long 

 before they can be seen. We are surprised that 

 they can be so stupid, making such a waste of 

 power and infernal din. Let us see to it, that we 

 are not stupid in any degree in the same direction. 

 A little fat of dead animals will save a great 

 amount of fat in live ones. In oiling, never use 

 whale oil, such as is often burnt in the house ; it 

 is worse than nothing in a little time. I use the 

 best of sperm oil ; there may be other good lubri- 

 cators, but none are good that gum. 



Now a few words on the strength of metals and 

 power machines. These should be used more by 

 farmers, for most all good land is more or less in- 

 fested with rocks or stumps. Machines to remove 

 these must have an immense concentrative power ; 

 if they have this, and are fastened to an unknown 

 resistance by ignorant hands, their own power will 

 be used for their own destruction, the operator 

 not knowing how trying it is to metals to have the 

 least jar or concussion, when under great tension. 

 Besides, it never does any good, when drawing 

 rocks or stumps, to jump or spring ; it will only 

 break something. The blacksmith sets his cold 

 chisel into a large bar of iron, and marks it all 

 around : this produces a great tension in the un- 

 cut portion ; a sudden jar with a blow of his ham- 

 mer will break it, showing the importance of a 

 steady draft when there is a hard pull. I have 

 seen thrashing kind of men breaking things to 

 pieces, who had not sense enough to know that 

 rocks and stumps cannot be jumped out. There 

 must be time for the vacuum being formed below, 

 to fill with air. Often, when they are first start- 

 ing, one minute's waiting will often do rnore than 

 the same time pulling, for when we consider that 

 there is fifteen tons of atmospheric pressure on a 



