18G6.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
429 
partial returns of the census of 1SG5, taken l>y 
the States, the indications are tliat we have now 
a population of forty-five millions ! 
In 18C0 the total population of the country 
■was not quite 314 millions, and in 1850 33 mil- 
lions. From 1830 to 1860, a period of profound 
peace and prosperity, the increase in our agri- 
cultural products barelj' kept pace -with the in- 
crease iu population. And taking the country 
together — North and South — it is very doubtful 
if our aggregate production is any greater than 
iu 18G0, and )-et we have fm-ty-five millions of 
mouths to fill instead of thirtj'-one or two mil- 
lions. In 18G0 the Soutliern States produced 
nearly as much wheat, in proportion to popula- 
tion, as the Middle States, and three times as 
much corn. It is reasonable to suppose that 
their productions have Mien off greatly during 
the war. In 18G0, the New England and Mid- 
dle States did not raise enough produce for 
home consumption, and the deficiency was 
made up from the West. At the present time, 
the New England, Jliddle and Southern States 
must all more or less look to the West to make 
up their deficiencies. If we hare a population 
of forty-five millions, and if it keeps on increas- 
ing at this rate, the farmers of the United States 
must bestir themselves, or we shall come nearer 
to a famine than was ever dreamed possible in 
a country where land is so abundant. 
The fact is, farmers, until within a few years, 
have not received prices high enough to induce 
them to adopt an improved system of farming. 
They have been obliged to rely to a considerable 
extent on the native fertility of the soil, and 
could hardly afford to spend much labor or 
money in applj'ing manures. But this state of 
things is rapidly passing away. Prices are now 
high enough to warrant high farming, and he is 
a fortunate man who has a farm in a high state 
of cultivation, capable at once of producing 
good crops. A poor crop takes nearly as much 
labor to raise and gather it, as a good one, and 
the profits are all eaten up by the high wages, 
while the good crops leave a handsome balance. 
Look at the situation from what point we maj', 
one fact is prominent — the necessity and the ad- 
vantage of improved farming. 
We need more capital — or rather, perhaps, 
we need faith enough in good agriculture to use 
what we have, in improving our farms. Had 
the millions of dollars which have been sunk in 
oil wells, been invested in underdraining and 
other improvements, how much better it would 
have been for the country ! Those who com- 
plain so loudly of high prices of farm produce, 
should know that the absorption of capital for 
speculation is one cause of the present scarcity 
of the necessaries of life. The farmer needs 
capital to carry on his business as much as the 
merchant. But as things now are, it is rare that 
he gets any accommodation from the Banks. 
The necessity of capital among farmers is seen 
in the fact that at auction sales, where nine 
months on a years' credit is given, prices go far 
higher than at cash sales. There are few farm- 
ers who have anything like the amount of capi- 
tal that they could use to advantage. We in- 
vest our money in buying the land and have 
not enough left tofartii it properly. One reason 
of the high position occupied by English and 
Scotch farmers is, that their means are not locked 
up in the land. This is owned by the large 
landlords, while the farmer has all his capital 
free for active employment. Had he money 
enough to own tlie land and farm it too, he 
would probably feel that he was rich enough 
" to live without work," and the firm would 
soon run down. Of course I do not advocate 
this system of renting farms. It is far better to 
own them, but it involves the necessity of ob- 
taining more capital for active use. A merchant 
worth ten thousand dollars would probably 
borrow, directly or indirectl}-, twenty thous- 
and in addition to carry on his business. He 
gives notes at four or sis months to those who 
sell him goods, and takes notes from those to 
whom he sells, and gets them discounted at the 
bank. And in this way an enterprising merchant 
sometimes borrows three or four times as much 
money as his original capital. This is all very 
well. The business of the country could not be 
carried on without credit. But how is it with 
farming ? A farmer worth $10,000, which he is 
not risking in business, seldom uses his credit at 
all. He is "good," but the banks will not ac- 
commodate him, because he requires the money 
for 7iinc months or a year, and the banks can 
make more money on shorter paper. This is 
the real difficulty in the case. The firmer can 
seldom turn his money to advantage in a shorter 
time, and he is not safe in giving three months' 
paper, which must either be renewed when it 
comes due, or he must sacrifice something to 
meet it. There is probably no remedy for this 
state of things, except ia a superabundance of 
capital seeking investment at a low rate of in- 
terest, conjoined at the same time with a better 
knowledge on the part of bank managers with 
the business and wants of farmers, and con- 
fidence enough on the part of farmers them- 
selves to employ money in a better system of 
agriculture. 
" But f irmers are producers, and should not 
be under the necessity of borrowing money to 
carry on their business, like those engaged in 
buying and selling." This is true, in one sense. 
But formers are traders as well as producers. 
If I raise a litter of pigs, and at weaning time 
sell them for $2.00 a piece, or if I raise a crop of 
corn and sell it for $1.00 a bushel, I am so far 
a producer. I have produced these articles and 
sold them and got the money. But if instead 
of selling them, I feed out the corn to the pigs, 
and keep them six months, and then sell them, 
I am in one sense a trader or a manufacturer. 
The pigs and the corn are the raw material out 
of which I manufacture pork and manure. It 
is for this that I am warranted, on the ordinary 
principles of business, to borrow money from 
the bank. If I sell the pigs and the corn to a 
distiller instead of fattening them on the farm, 
he borrows money from the bank, and no 
questions are asked. Look at the thousands of 
half fat cattle that are sold in our large markets 
ever}' week. Would it not pay the farmer to 
get them in " ripe " condition before he parts 
with them ? Frequently he has the food to do 
it, but either lacks confidence to feed it out, or 
else is pressed for money, and not being able to 
borrow, must sacrifice his cattle — to his own 
loss and the loss of the community. -He loses 
half the benefit of all his feeding, for in fatten- 
ing cattle the last month gives the profit. 
Rats are a great nuisance. My pig-pens and 
buildings are overrun with them. I often wish 
for a pair or two of ferrets and a couple of good 
terrier dogs. We could have some glorious 
sport. When I was a boy, in England, I used 
to keep ferrets, and can well remember many 
days when I was too sick to go to school; but 
cannot re-call a day when I was not well enough 
to go "a ferreting!" We used to stack nearly 
all our grain, and as it was never threshed until 
the winter, and frequently not before the next 
summer, the stacks that were on the ground 
were a favorite haunt for rats. I have seen 
old stacks that were completely riddled with rat 
holes — sides, top, and bottom. Such a stack af- 
forded real sport for us youngsters. Armed 
with a good stick, we stood one on each side of 
the stack. The ferrets, having been fasted over 
night, were turned into the holes. They would 
creep along there slowly at first, but as soon as 
a rat was scented they were more active, and 
when the game was fairly started Master Rat, 
or Madam, must make good pace to save their 
skin. AVith a rush he leaps from the stack, 
when a terrier makes short work of him. When 
the sport is lively, half a dozen or more are on 
the ground at once, and dogs and hoys have all 
they can do to attend to them. AVe did not 
muzzle the ferrets when hunting rats — only 
when hunting rabbits. It is seldom that an old 
rat allows himself to be caught. Sometimes the 
ferrets catch a young one and may lie in the 
stack. But rats are not a favorite food of fer- 
rets. They seldom eat anything except the 
blood and the head and neck, and there is 
little risk of losing a ferret when hunting rats. 
The smaller the ferret the better, as she can 
follow the rats more easily and rapidly through 
the holes. The large male ferrets are seldom as 
good rat catchers — or more properly, rat /cf^^f- 
eners — as the small female ferret. We used to buy 
them for about a dollar a piece, sometimes for 
half a dollar. If kept perfectly clean and in a' 
warm but well ventilated pen or box, and fed 
regularl}' with a little new millc and scraps of 
fresh meat, birds, heads of chickens, blood, etc. ; 
there is no difficulty in raising them. The only 
disease that troubled them was the foot-rot, 
from neglect to keep their pens clean and dry. 
Why cannot we keep ferrets in this country? 
The only difficulty I can think of is our severe 
winters. But it would seem that this could be 
overcome by keeping them in a barn cellar and 
furnishing them with plenty of dry bedding, in 
which they can burrow and form a nest. 
Perhaps, as the Agriculturist suggested a 
month or two ago, there are American varieties 
of the ferret that could be domesticated, and 
which would stand our climate better than the 
imported ferrets. The subject is worthy of at- 
tention. Rats are getting to be such a nuisance 
that something must be done to destroy them. 
I see ferrets are advertised in the Agriculturist 
last month at $20 a pair ! When I was a boy I 
frequently raised seven, and in one case nine at 
a litter, and used to feel rich when I could sell 
the young ones for $1.50 per pair. They breed 
twice a year ; and some of our young farmers' 
sons, especially in the milder sections, would 
find a pleasure and profit in keeping them. 
Stone Walls— Raised or Sunken Foun- 
dations. 
Judge McVean, of Wheatland, whose name 
was printed McLean in the Sept. No. (page 318), 
sends us the following letter describing his 
method of raising the mounds upon which his 
walls stand. The objections of our correspond- 
ents are mainly, if not altogether, set aside bj' 
knowing accurately how the work is done. 
* * * "lassume that the essential thing is to 
secure a dry foundation by elevation ; or to pro- 
tect it by depression below the action of frost. 
The latter has been practiced here to some ex- 
tent, but space at present limits me to treat of 
the first mode only. The first person liere who 
adopted this plan was David McVean, about 30 
