NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



found his cows to yield the golden article, 

 and if they were ruined he kept it to himself. 



I approve of a mixed feed, say wheat or 

 rye shorts, with other meals ; and I had sup- 

 posed this to accord with the practice and the 

 best authorities of England and Scotland. 



Amherst, Mass., Dec. 10, 1869. L. s. 



For the Kew England Farmer, 

 FARM HELP. 



The success of "D. M. H," as mentioned 

 in Farmer of Dec. 11, in increasing the fer- 

 tility of his farm is truly commendable, and I 

 trust he will give us some idea of the method 

 by which he increased his products from 

 barelv enough to winter two cows in 1865, to 

 a sufficiency for nine head in 1868. 



It is doubtless true that in most European 

 countries, and in China, there are instances of 

 remarkable productiveness resulting from 

 good management. I experience great satis- 

 faction in reading of the processes of agricul- 

 ture in foreign lands and am inclined to adopt 

 them as far as practicable. But I know that 

 most of the foreign population employed 

 among us are not qualified to take charge of 

 a farm and to advise and direct in the outlay of 

 large amounts of money that are expended by 

 merchants, manufacturers and professional 

 men who have accumulated fortunes and wish 

 to retire to farms ; a class represented by' "Mr. 

 Bullion," in the article criticised by "D. M. 

 H." He is probably aware that the men who 

 in England manage farms so well as to pay a 

 rent cf $10 or $20 per acre and still make 

 money, are not seeking work in this country 

 at from $20 to $30 per month. He also 

 knows that a farmer's son who has shared in 

 all the labors of the farm, is likely to under- 

 stand the business, and that if he has that 

 other qualification, "a determination to be a 

 farmer," because he likes it, he would be de- 

 sirable help. 



There is no loss so great to a country as 

 that of its young men. The most fertile soil, 

 immense forest of choice limber, rich mines of 

 gold do not make a wealthy country ; but 

 bleak rocks and desert sands, with the intelli- 

 gent productive labor of young men, may be- 

 come a powerful and wealthy State. 



In New Enoland the farmers send cattle, 

 horses, and other productions to the cities and 

 demanl and receive a price in return ; but the 

 young men they raise up to maturity, the 

 richest treasures thev possess, the most costly 

 and valuable of all their productions, are sent 

 as a free gift to the cities, while they are de- 

 pendent on transient help to carry on the 

 farms. The owners of these farms soon become 

 old, feeble and discouraged; their buildings 

 decay and finally old cellars scattered through 

 the land become sad momentos of once flour- 

 ishing neighborhoods. 



Now, Mr. "D. M. H.," if yoii want to hire, 

 notwithstanding your defence of foreigners, I 



venture to advise you to hire your own son. 

 Do not refuse him the wages you so freely 

 give to others, but pay him honestly and gen- 

 erously. If you have not a son, it is your 

 duty to encourage some other farmer's son in 

 your vicinity, who is free from bad habits, and 

 desires to give his honest productive labor to 

 some one near home. You have not the* in- 

 terest of your town at heart if you fry to 

 crowd out any such young man for the sake 

 of hiring for a few months some Scotch, Irish, 

 or Chinese laborer, who, when he departs 

 takes his wages with him, instead of spending 

 it in your own town, as your son would do, for 

 a farm or stock. 



Then in regard to boarding farm help, I 

 have seen something of the practice of having 

 a farm house for the laborer and his family, 

 while the proprietor lives in the enjoyment of 

 all the privacy desirable in the family circle. 

 I have in my mind a case of this kind, where 

 the wealthy proprietor of the farm brings no 

 burden upon his family, and his home in 

 geniality, sociability and harmony is a model. 

 His farmer enjoys like blessings in a comforta- 

 ble cottage near by ; his work is well done, 

 the farm is productive, the stock thriving. If 

 both these families were together, it would 

 detract from the happiness of each. I do not 

 know how it is among the Scotch, but Ameri- 

 cans have some consideration for their wives, 

 and if a man has gained wealth and desires a 

 happy home on a farm he would naturally de- 

 sire to see his wife happy and enjoy her com- 

 pany ; but if he filled his house with strong, 

 able-bodied men, hired from the streets at 

 random, and boarded them at his table, over 

 which his wife presided and for which she pro- 

 vided, it would not add to the happiness of the 

 family. 



In villages and cities, the married man 

 works by the day or month or year and boards 

 at home. What extensive merchant or manu- 

 facturer boards all his help in his family, yet 

 does he not get faithful service ? This idea 

 is advanced considerately and is in accordance 

 with practice in England and Scotland. Do 

 the owners of vast estates there board all their 

 help in their own houses, or do the tenants 

 have wives and the laborers have wives, 

 who cook, wash and mend for them. I 

 expect the "silent contempt" of "D. M. H." 

 will explode at this idea of allowing a laborer 

 a home and a wife, as it did at the idea of hir- 

 ing a farmer's son to work on a farm. 



Z. E. Jameson. 



Irashurg, Vt., Dec, 18G9. 



— American dairying now represents a capital of 

 $700,000,000. Tlie cheese product of 1867 sold for 

 $•25,000,000, and the butter produce of New York 

 alone, was nearly 85,000,000 pounds, and the quan- 

 tity of cheese made 72,.000,000 pounds. The value 

 of these products, at a very moderate estimate, 

 was #50,000,000. 



