650 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 



NEW FARM OUT OF AN OLD ONE. 



MIDST the reitera- 

 t onsthaffarin- 

 i ig is unprofita- 

 ble," the fre- 

 'q lent unskilful 

 management of 

 ■i^f^^ the soil, and the 

 flight of the 

 young from their 

 ancestral acres, 

 it is pleasant oc- 

 casionally to find the re- 

 ^^ verse of all this ; to see 

 y>i^"^iP jj^^ buildings take the 

 place of old and dilapidated 

 ones ; snug, instead of incon- 

 venient barns ; substantial and 

 tidy fences instead of sprawl- 

 ing walls, skirted by ages of accumu- 

 lated weeds and brush ; and broad 

 and smooth fields which yield two to 

 three tons of hay per acre annually, instead of 

 rough, moss-grown "mowings." 



When Mr. R. W. Emerson delivered an 

 address before the Middlesex Agricultural So- 

 ciety several years ago, he said, "there is a 

 Concord under Concord," conveying the idea 

 that under the surface so long scraped and 

 robbed, there are large and fertile farms which 

 have not yetbeen cultivated. 



It was our good fortune a few days since 

 to find that one of these farms had been dis- 

 covered, and it reijuired about half a day to 

 examine it, and learn how a new farm had 

 been made out of an old one ! 



The farm to which we refer, lies in the 

 westerly part of Concord, Mass., is the prop- 

 erty of Mr. Joseph A. Smith, and twenty 

 years ago was one of the roughest and most 

 unpromising. It abounded with small stones 

 in some places, and bowlders, large loose 

 stones and ledges in others. The "balance" 

 walls had changed their centre of gravity, so 

 that it would be difl[icult to decide where it 

 was intended to be originally. Their sides 

 were flanked by lines of bushes and briars, 

 affording convenient retreats for wood'chucks, 

 from whence to issue to feed upon the beans 

 or clover in the fields, and for hosts of squir- 

 rels to emerge into the Indian corn hills. 



Six cows, a pair of oxen and one horse, 

 was the usual stock kept upon the farm. The 



hay upon which they fed, was mostly swale, 

 that is, from the wet runs among the uplands, 

 or from meadows that were never ploughed. 

 And this, fifty years ago, was the usual style of 

 farming, and was thought to be pretty good. 

 In a great many cases, the amount of stock 

 kept was less than on this farm. The idea of 

 improving the farm so as to feed double the 

 amount of stock, and raise double the amount 

 of vegetables, fruits and grains at the same 

 time, d[(\ not seem to have come into the cal- 

 culations of the owners. 



Out of this condition of things, is it any 

 wonder that the idea became popular, that 

 farming is unprofitable, and that the popula- 

 tion of the rural districts in New England, 

 has, and is constantly growing less ? 



At present, on this tiew farm, which consists 

 of about 75 acres, are kept twenty-five cows, 

 young and old, every one of which have been 

 raised on the farm. They are grades of Ayr- 

 shire and the old red cattle. Six horses are 

 also employed in farm work, taking milk to 

 the station, and for a portion of the year ia 

 the delivering of ice. 



All this stock is fed upon fodder cut upon 

 the farm, and some $200 to $300 worth of 

 hay annually sold besides. Ten cans, or 

 about eighty quarts, of milk per day are sold 

 through the year. This year, between the 

 10th of August and the 10th of September, 

 Mr. Smith sent to Boston, by cars, 325 bar- 

 rels of green corn, pickles and potatoes. 



Last year, on about one and a half acres of 

 orchard, he gathered 500 barrels of ai)i)les, 

 for which he received $1.77 per barrel in 

 Boston. This year he had twelve barrels, 

 and of very poor quality ! 



In addition to these products, he raises 

 vegetables, grapes, strawberries, asparagus, 

 and some of the small grains, and is raising a 

 pear orchard. The dwelling house has been 

 improved, a large and convenient barn erected, 

 together with carriage and other needed out- 

 buildings. Besides these, he has purchased 

 as much land as makes up the home farm, 

 which is devoted to pasture and wood. 



On the old farm, the annual products were 

 in a ratio with the amount of stock kept, and 

 about the same condition exists at this time. 

 For instance, the stock has been increased 

 fourfold, and so have all the other products 

 of the farm. 



