664: 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



where they were last used, or gathered around 

 the farm-house, liable to be damaged by cattle 

 or the cattle to be damaged by them, and 

 always subject to the damage of the weather. 



To us, here in New England, no adcijuate 

 idea can be formed of the great injury and 

 decay consequent to tools thus exposed to the 

 changing elements. They are warped by the 

 sun, rotted by the wet, and soon used up. A 

 bad feature of this condition of things is, the 

 neglect to do the next best thing to housing 

 tools by those who think they cannot afford 

 house-rnom for them. He knows, and all 

 know, that ])aint, oil and varnish are protectors 

 and preservers of wood and iron. This fact 

 is too generally ignored by farmers. There 

 are some farmers who invariably paint all 

 their carts, wagons and other implements that 

 require it once a year, even if under cover 

 when not in use, and think it pays well ; of 

 which there cannot be any doubt. IIow much 

 more important, then, must it be for those 

 which are not housed ? 



Carefully conducted experiments have de- 

 monstratt^d the fact that seasoned wood well 

 saturated icith oil when put together will not 

 shrink in the dryest weather. Wheels have 

 been known to nm many years, even to wear- 

 ing out the tires, without once requiring the 

 tires to be reset. Thousands of dollars might 

 be saved annually in blacksmiths' bills, espe- 

 cially such seasons as the past, if this practice 

 was adopted. It is now known by some that 

 crude petroleum on even old wheels will pro- 

 duce like benefit. From the experience I have 

 had in using it 1 am satisfied of its utility, and 

 can recommend its use on all woodwork sub- 

 ject to exposure to the weather. It is of small 

 cost, and any one can apply it. Let our 

 western farmers that have no place to store 

 their tools use it freely, and I will assure them 

 that they will find their tools will last much 

 longer than they do without it. K, O. 



August, 1871. 



low range of prices is not altogether without 

 compensating advantages. Where sales are 

 ([uick, ])ay prompt, and profits large, the in- 

 ducements for studying the correct theories of 

 breeding, and the most economical mode of 

 feeding, are, in the case of very many in- 

 dividuals, too small to justify in their eyes 

 the labor and trouble involved. They feel 

 that they are making plenty of money as it is, 

 and are not inclined to make extra exertion in 

 order to secure more substantial returns. 

 Lower prices and smaller profits, however, 

 open the eyes of all to the necessity of sys- 

 tematic and scientific operations, and breeders 

 of all degrees summon all their resources to 

 the task of discerning how a better article can 

 be produced for less money. • 



We appreciate that, in many cases, the 

 present range of prices is not satisfactory. 

 But this is one of the ups and downs of a 

 world where fortunes are contiimally shifting. 

 The exigency demands prudence and study in 

 order to utilize, as far as possible, the con- 

 ditions by which it is attended, and a little 

 patience to wait for the next wave to tide 

 matters back to their old levels. 



LOW PRICES FOR CATTLE. 



In some remarks on the present market vafue of 

 cattle Ijy the editor of the National Live Stock 

 Journal, the idea is advanced that the fluctuations 

 in the value of stock have never l)een as violent as 

 in that of the products of other industries; that 

 taking a scries of years together, the margin of 

 profit in raising live stock is far greater than in the 

 production of any other commodity, and that the 

 general course of market values ai'C more fiivoraMc 

 to Iircedcrs than to any other class of producers. 

 These remarks are made with reference to western 

 breeders, but we are not sure that they will not l)e 

 verified by a reference to the history of the various 

 industries of the East. We have referred to this 

 article, however, for the purpose of copymg the 

 closing paragraphs : — 



We are inclined to think that, no matter 

 how unpleasant it may seem, an occasional 



BEAUTIES OF COUNTRY HOMES. 



" A house on a hill with no trees around it looks 

 cheerless and unhomelike. Have grounds about 

 the dwelling. Tear away the fences, they cost 

 money and are useless. I mean the fences shutting 

 the house up as if there were danger of its running 

 away. Let there be not less than an acre of door- 

 yard, ten will be better. Make a rich lawn of this 

 and cut the grass. It can be no waste, but it will 

 be a thing of beauty and ' a joy forever.' There 

 will not be any loss to he tasteful; nature and 

 Ijeauty are synonj-ms ; good taste and ec<juoniy can 

 ! therefore be made handmaids to each other. Set 

 out fruit-trees in this enclosure and dig around 

 them with a spade each year, and top dress the 

 whole, and the trees will grow finely and the grass 

 will grow luxuriantly, and the house will grow 

 beautiful, the children will grow contented, the 

 fathers and mothers as they grow old will grow 

 happy, the neighbors will grow to emulate and to 

 excel, the township will grow atti-active, and the 

 young men and the young women will grow up to 

 think and to feel that there is no place after all like 

 home, ' Sweet Home.' " 



That, Mr. Editor, is what I call nonsense. 

 It was written by Mr. F. D. Curtis, of Sara- 

 toga County, N.'Y. I have read it in at least 

 four newspapers. If 1 get particularly tired, 

 and sit down to rest and read a little, I must 

 everlastingly blunder on to that same article, 

 and I am sick of it. That it sounds pretty, I 

 don't deny ; but it is all gas ; that's why I 

 have concluded to break through the bars of 

 modesty and give your readers my views of 

 the case. 



If our friend above (juoted had been obliged 

 to get a home and pa;/ for it, as the most of 

 us must, we shouldn't cati-h him spending his 

 time making up such stuff for the papers ; 

 he would spend his spare moments in pulling 

 weeds out of his corn, or increasing his com- 

 post heap ; or, if he set himself down in the 



