620 



XEW ENGLAND FARTHER. 



Nov. 



here. But if you ever lived "within a few miles of 

 Boston" you must be aware, notwithstanding all 

 the gloss of advertising land agents, that i$\oOO 

 will go liut little ways towards paying for what is 

 considered a good, well stocked farm in Massa- 

 chusetts. After living elsewhere for a few years, 

 New England people seem to forget the unpleasant 

 of their old homes here, and to cherish recollec- 

 tions only of what was agrecalile. Somehow the 

 past becomes poetry, and distance lends enchant- 

 ments that are seldom realized on their return. 

 The loved valleys seem narrower; the hills higher, 

 nearer, and steeper; the rocks bolder and more 

 rugged ; and the soil thinner and poorer than they 

 "remembered them. Were you to return after your 

 experience with the "West, we fear you would be 

 disappointed, and perhaps wish yourself at the 

 West again. At least, we have known several 

 cases where the "homesick" instead of being cured 

 was aggravated by a return to New England. Our 

 advice to you is to do just as you think best, with 

 little regard to the opinion of Plorace Greeley, the 

 Ne-w England Fakmer, or any other man that 

 knows nothing about }"ou. 



also for pigs upon the manure, if the cellar is light 

 and ventilated. 



For tlie want of a little care and foresight, barns 

 are quite often constructed so as not to afford the 

 conveniences which they might, with the same 

 amount of room and the same cost. 



BARNS — BARN CELLARS AND TYING IP CATTLE. 



I wish you would inform me through the Far- 

 mer what the best way is to tie up cattle in the 

 barn, and give me any hints on pohits of conven- 

 ience in a barn and barn cellar ? 



Job N. Cordell. 



Tiverton Four Corners, R. I:, Oct. 1871. 



Remarks. — Having tried nearly every way that 

 has been devised for tying up cattle in the barn, we 

 are convinced that the common upright stanchion 

 is, all things considered, the best. It is not so 

 easy for the animal as a chain or the old-fashioned 

 bow, but it is safer, keeps the cattle cleaner, and is 

 the quickest and easiest way of tying them up. 



A bam should be constructed to afl'urd the most 

 conveniences for the olyects to be gained. If for 

 cattle alone, do not cut it up into small rooms, but 

 leave as much large, open space for stowing away 

 hay, as possible; good-sized bays, running from 

 the floor to the side of the barn. Have as few 

 scaffolds as possible, and let the one over the leanto 

 be seven feet high, so that you can walk in it with- 

 out stooping or bumping your head, if you are 

 standing up. In framing, the carpenter can mortice 

 the floor timbers and let the sleepers fall two or 

 three inches, so that the cattle can stand a little 

 below the level of the main floor. Then feed from 

 the floor before the cattle, which is far Ijetter than 

 boxes or troughs of any kind. If they stand a 

 little lower than the floor, they can reach their 

 food easily, and the hay or grain, or meal, can be 

 pushed to them with the rake head. The floor 

 does not become wet or dirty as boxes are apt to. 



Have a good cellar under tlie whole barn, as it 

 costs no more to put a roof over two rooms than it 

 does over one. With a tight cellar, the barn will 

 be warmer in the winter, and will be found very 

 .convenient for storing carts, tools, roots, &c., and 



LOW lands. 

 This year the hay crop is a small one in New 

 England. Many reports conlirm this conclusion, 

 altiH)Ugii in this town and vicinity tlie crop is satis- 

 factory, the fall feed abundant, and the second crop 

 of clover on land recently sown to grass has been 

 mown bj' myself and neighbors, making quite an 

 addition to tiie mows. 



I have about eight acres of land that lies in the 

 Ijottom of this valley, [Black River, we suppose — 

 Ed.,'\ which is nearlj' a dead level There was no 

 channel for a water course, and when the snows 

 melted in spring, or when the heavy fall rains came, 

 the surface drainage of about five hundred acres 

 flowed upon my low lands. I have dug an open 

 ditch through this meadow most of its length, but 

 left a few phices not ditched so that the water will 

 flow the whole meadow when it is abundant and 

 not hurry away too rapidly in the ditch. 



I find this low land excellent for grass, yielding 

 a heavy crop of natural varieties. One kind called 

 "liluc joint," grows five feet high, with a head re- 

 sembling redtop and a stock like rank timothy. 

 Another kind is a flat grass, apparently without 

 seeds. 



I find this meadowa great help in filling the bam, 

 yet I have been very slow in clearing it up. It was 

 covered with alders. I cut, piled and burned them 

 and since mowed the annual growth. A part not 

 thoroughly clcnred is in pasture, and some of it is 

 still covered with a growth of ash and alders. My 

 intention is to subdue the whole soon. 



In Vermont there are many acres of such Land. 

 It is of rich, mucky soil and yields a heavy crop of 

 weeds, bushes or grass. If partially cleared and 

 then neglected a year or two, it looks more forbid- 

 ding than at first. A fire will seldom run over such 

 land, but every thing must be pickeiland piled. 



My experience teaches me that it pays to reclaim 

 these low lands, as I find that whether the season is 

 wet or dry, I can calculate on about two tons per 

 acre of hay of fair quality. On this meadow the 

 grass roots are so strong that a horse can safely 

 travel on the surface, though beneath is a deep 

 muck bed. The portion pastured cpmprises al>out 

 three acres, and I pasture it so close as to prevent 

 its going back into wilderness, while I am waiting 

 for time to clear it thoroughly for the scythe. My 

 cows made .f'25 worth of butter from that small 

 pastttre. They were put in July lOtli, when the 

 weeds and grass were rank and tender. I ought 

 to sow grass seed on this land, lieing confident it 

 would be l)etter than to trust to nature alone for the 

 seeding. But the proper course is to clean it up. 

 Let those of us who own such land work upon it 

 this fall and improve it, and Ave shall be better able 

 to meet dry seasons as they come with their blight- 



,' influences. z. e. j. 



Irashurg, Vt., Oct., 1871. 



now AVAS the farm in ESSEX COrNTY MADE 

 PROFITABLE ? 



The question is often asked, "Does farming 

 pay ?" and it is often answered in a general way 

 that it does, and some particular farm is quoted 

 as havinff afforded a very large income. The last 

 questionof this kind that has come to Jiiy notice 

 was asked and answered by Mr. B. V. Ware ot 

 Marblehead, at the County Fair at Ipswich, the 

 other day. Ho says that "men had grown wealthy 



