1871. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



621 



on the farms of Essex county," and alludes to one 

 that was purchased thirty-tive years ago for $'4000, 

 the gross products of which had amounted to #10,- 

 000 per annum. 



Now will Mr. Ware give us a history of this farm, 

 its location, the kind of crops that arc raised on it, 

 the amount of money that has been invested in it 

 since the lirsl purchase, the cost of carrying it on, 

 and the present value of the form, so that we may 

 see how much should l)e allowed for interest on the 

 capital invested. Such is the kind of information 

 that the working farmer needs ; not the general as- 

 sertion that farming pays because somebody has 

 obtained an inc(ime of ^'oOOO or !giO,000 from his 

 farm in a year. 



The most of farmers are accused of ignorance of- 

 tentimes, and I am sorry to be obliged to say that 

 so far as I aui concerned as one of the nunil)er, the 

 charge is too true ; still it is information that I want, 

 in common with the rest of the working fraternity. 

 Now, Mr. Ware is, I think, just the man to give us 

 the elesired information. 1 know very well that in 

 Mr. Ware's vicinity the advantages are very much 

 greater for farming than in any other part of the 

 county with which I am acquainted. The large 

 quantities of kelp that old ocean's waves are con- 

 tinually casting upon the shore, which cost nothing 

 but teaming, and the location so near the sea gives a 

 season some two or three weeks longer than is en- 

 joyed a few miles further back. These facts, to my 

 mind, are of no small consideration. 



There is much that passes fen* successful farming 

 that, in my ujiinion, wont bear examination. I 

 have seen within a very short time the names of 

 gentlemen mentioned as being very successful 

 farmers, who, if I am not mistaken, would be very 

 loath to publish the lootings of their ledger, unless 

 they wisiied to make a display of the amount of 

 money they are willing to invest in their farm, 

 without the remotest prospect of ever receiving a 

 fair profit on the capital invested. 



J. L. Hlbbakd. 



Peabocly, Mass., Oct. 10, 1871. 



THE FOOT POTATO. 



AVhile at my place last year your agent requested 

 me to furnisli,you with a statement of my experi- 

 ment in planting the eyes of a single tuber of the 

 Foot potato. I planted them where my hens got 

 at them and destroyed perhaps one-fifth of the 

 crop, obliging me to dig them Sept. 6th, before they 

 were fully grown. The yield secured was 106 

 pounds. I think they cannot be beat in excellence 

 of quality. N. Hall. 



Canaan, Me.; Sejit. 13, 1S71. 



WILD CHERRY IN A PASTURE. 



I think the true theory respecting the poison of 

 wild cherry, is, that both the perfectly fresh leaves 

 and the thoroughly dried ones are harmless, while 

 in leaves in a icilted state the prussic acid is much 

 more active, producing injurious and often fatal 

 effects. I have known two instances where valua- 

 ble animals have died in consequence of eating 

 cherry branches in this half wilted state. 



C. N. S. Horner. 



Georgetown, Mass., Sept. 9, 1S71. 



STACKING BEANS. 



I have tried your plan for drying beans by stack- 

 ing on poles, with side 1n-anches left projecting a 

 foot or more, with satisfactory results; but last 

 year hit upon a plan I like still better. I have a 

 light scalfold in the roof of the barn ; to this the 

 beans were taken when first pulled, and set in small 

 bunches roots up. Windows were usually open in 

 each end of the barn in fair weather. In this way 

 they dried perfectly. i-. 



North Weave, N. E., Oct. 2, 1871. 



For the New England Farmer, 

 HARD TIMES FOR FARMERS. 



The times are very discouraging to most 

 farmers at the present time. A short hay crop 

 and the continued decline of prices for his 

 other products, especially live stock, must 

 more or less affect tlie farmer's tran<]_uillity, if 

 it does not even utterly discourage him and 

 cause him to feel like giving up his calling or 

 changing it to a more favored locality, if he 

 can find it — which I very much doubt. 



During the farmer's most prosperous tinges 

 he fails to obtain as remunerative returns in 

 money for his investment of capital and labor 

 as those in other callings usually realize for 

 theirs ; and when such a decline in prices as 

 has occurred in farm stock during the last fif- 

 teen months conies upon him, his lot is to be 

 commiserated. If such a decline in merchan- 

 dise had occurred, we should probably have 

 seen such a financial cra^h as we have not wit- 

 nessed in two score years last past. Very few 

 merchants and manufacturers could v/ithstand 

 a decline of from forty to fifty per cent, on 

 their goods and products ; yet the farmer has 

 had to submit to this, and stand it, too, in 

 some way. 



He has not learned the art of compromising 

 with his creditors for twenty-five or fifty cents 

 on the dollar. He expects, come what will, to 

 pay dollar for dollar on what he owes. He 

 will sit down to a very limited bill of fare, de- 

 ny himself on every hand and work persistent- 

 ly and hard to bridge over, if it is possible, 

 the chasms of insolvency and pay all his lia- 

 bilities. 



Not so the merchant. He innkes the very 

 best terms he can with his creditors, after ex- 

 aggerating his indebtedness in order to secure 

 to himself all that it is possible for him to do, 

 and to pay to his creditors as little. Very few 

 intend, hoT>'ever prosperous in after life, and 

 however great tlieir accumulation of wealth 

 may be, to pay off their old scores, as they term 

 them — no. not they — but the farmer mmt pay 

 the last mite and be turned adrift to get a liv- 

 ing as best he can, should he be embarrassed in 

 his business for want of ready means to meet his 

 liabilities. No compromise in his case. The 

 pound of flesh is exacted. 



It is an unpleasant picture, and we will turn 

 away from it and see if we cannot find some 

 alleviation from the weight of discouragement 

 that at present surrounds us. It is a trite 

 saying, and as true as trite, that where there is 

 a will there is a way. A determination made 

 in the proper spirit to surmount difficulties is 

 often more than half accomplishing the sought- 

 for object. The cjuestion now is, M-hat can 

 farmers do with their stock that have not suf- 

 ficient hay and other feed to carry them until 

 grass-growing another season ? At the present 

 low price of cattle it would be, financially, su- 

 icidal to sell it. That being so, the next ques- 

 tion is, how to keep it so as to secure a new 



