360 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
refused to pay. He was kept incarcerated in the 
fort at New Amsterdam for about three months, 
and then transported to Holland. There he made 
his appeal to the West India Company, and was 
by them set at liberty, and returned to Flushing 
with a letter to Stuyvesant, severely reprimanding 
..ira for his course toward the Quakers, and coun¬ 
selling him to refrain from persecuting measures. 
For (he American Agriculturist . 
Hints on Clearing Woodlands- 
While fully endorsing the repeated protests of 
the Agriculturist against the universal destruction 
of forest trees, it is to be admitted that there are 
times when woodlands should be cleared. A 
farmer may keep, on an average, one-sixth of 
his land permanently in timber, and yet clear off 
a portion every ten or fifteen years. 
It is often recommended to cut out only the old 
and decaying trees in a wood-lot, leaving the 
younger to grow and fill their place. But experience 
has now pretty well shown that the best way is to 
cut off the entire growth at once, clean and 
smooth, and then let the trees sprout up again 
from the roots, or from new planting. In cutting 
out large trees, the smaller are inevitably broken 
or injured, and in the comparative shade, few 
young trees spring up. It is believed that a 
greater amount of fuel can be got in a given time 
from an acre of land entirely cleared at once, than 
from one merely culled of its large trees. It has 
been found that wood-lots should be cut over once 
in fifteen to twenty years. For the two or three 
years next after cutting, the lot should be fenced 
in, to prevent cattle from browsing down the 
young shoots. Care should be taken, also, to 
prevent fires from spreading into such lots. Land 
so managed will yield from eighteen to twenty 
cords of good wood per acre, at each cutting. 
It is important to cut trees close to the ground, 
whether the land is to be permanently cleared up 
or only stripped for the time of its trees. The 
best wood is often nearest the earth. If the field 
is to be tilled, teams can work better among low- 
stumps than high ones; and if the trees are to 
grow up again, the sprouts will grow more vig¬ 
orously from short stumps than long ones, and 
be less likely to be blown off at the base by the 
wind. 
Now then, in this month of December, is the 
best time for doing this part of farm-work. Now, 
while the snow is light, and the cold not intense, 
the trees can be cut closer to the ground 
than when the snow is deep, and the small limbs 
and brush can be more easily gathered and 
saved. 
-———a-©*—->- «-- 
That Plan of a House- 
A subscriber (E. A. S., of Galena, Illinois) ex¬ 
presses himself much pleased with tlif ground 
plan of a house which we gave in our October 
number. He makes also the following inquiries : 
“Is the house gothic in architecture! How many 
stories high! About what did it cost!... .The 
plan is an exceedingly good one, and does credit 
to its inventor. Perhaps you may be induced 
by inquirers like myself to publish an answer in 
your next issue.” 
To which we reply, giving some items he does 
notask for, but which may interest him and oth¬ 
ers : The house from which the “ plan ” was 
copied, is built in the Italian order of architecture, 
with a flat, metallic roof, wide cornices support¬ 
ed by brackets, etc., but it might as well be built 
in any other style. It is of wood, ceiled horizon¬ 
tally on three sides, and clapboarded in the rear. 
The part containing the parlor, hall, dining-room 
and bed-rooms, is two stories high ; the library 
and kitchen, are a story and a-half. The rooms 
on the first floor are ten-and-a-half feet high be¬ 
tween joists ; those on the second floor, nine feet. 
As te >ts cost, we cannot speak with certainty. The 
work was all done by the day, and few bills were 
long preserved. If we were to make a rough es¬ 
timate, we should fix the cost at about $3,500. 
Of course, a house could be built on the same 
general “ plan ” at a greater or less cost, accord¬ 
ing to the material used, and the style of finish 
adopted. 
Whether a happier house could be got up than 
the one described we very much doubt. 
--» -- ma*m -- 
Hints on Farm Buildings. 
BY A STATED CONTRIBUTOR. 
It is a sign of improvement in the condition of 
farmers that they are continually adding to the 
comfort and appearance of their buildings. This 
is to be rejoiced in. It is a good rule, however, 
to keep the cost of the buildings proportionate to 
the value of the farm. Should it not be less! 
As to position, no universal rule can be laid down. 
Yet it is plain, that both house and barn should 
be so situated as to be convenient to the public 
road and to the farm itself. To set a good house 
upon low land, detracts much from its good ap¬ 
pearance, and its cellar is quite sure to be wet. If 
placed on very high land, this may secure a dry 
cellar, pure air, finer appearance, and a more com¬ 
manding prospect; yet it will be exposed to 
strong winds, and much of the teaming up and 
down hill will be laborious and irksome. A site 
midway between the two will ordinarily be pre¬ 
ferable. In reference to cellars for fruit-keeping, 
we have noticed that very dry cellars are objec¬ 
tionable, causing fruits and vegetables to shrink 
and decay. A tolerably moist cellar, if cold, is 
preferable. 
For barns, a side-hill position has many advan¬ 
tages. Not the least of which is, that it affords 
an easily made cellar, light, dry and accessible. 
As to keeping cattle and hogs in the barn-cellar, 
in Winter, we question the expediency of it. The 
air becomes foul and close, and of course hurtful 
to the cattle. It rises, also, into the barn above, 
and penetrates the lofts of hay and grain, and se¬ 
riously injures them. Least of all do we approve 
of making barn cellars the place for manufactur¬ 
ing and storing manure. It may economise the 
dung-heap, but it harms the domestic animals and 
the hay and grain above. As an illustration of 
this, a writer in one of our exchanges speaks of a 
barn which he had made for storing manure be¬ 
neath. Thinking that he had thus got things fix¬ 
ed about right, “he purchased a good deal of ma¬ 
nure, and brought his lands into a high state of 
fertility, producing large crops of hay. This he 
allowed to accumulate in his barn. He finally 
sold his stock to be pressed into bundle-hay. 
Some of it had lain in the bay for three years, 
and when it was removed to be screwed down, 
it was so offensive, two or three feet from the 
floor, that the men employed to press it could not 
endure it, although the barn was entirely open, and 
a thorough ventilation was secured ; and they were 
obliged to throw away portions of it.” When 
one’s barns are already made in this way, it is a 
partial remedy of the evil to strew the stables 
every day with plaster, and to mix the manure 
below very freely with muck, or some similar 
absorbent. 
In building anew barn, the best way is to make 
the cattle-sheds distinct from the main barn, us¬ 
ing the cellar chiefly for storing turnips, carroti 
potatoes, pumpkins, and the like food lor stock 
In making stalls for horses, it is an excellent plan 
where it is practicable, to give them a floor o. 
earth, provided the soil is not wet. It is cruel f.c 
compel a horse to stand month after month upon 
a plank floor ; it is uncomfortable to him, and { 
prolific source of disease. 
Barns should be made as warm as possible, 
consistent with maintaining good ventilation. 
This promotes the comfort of stock, and is withal 
economical. And no barn is complete without, 
some contrivance for watering animals close at 
hand. A good pump is a good thing, but a run¬ 
ring stream or a pen-stock is better. The water 
from the last two sources is of just that quality 
and temperature which animals like, and is most 
favorable to their health. 
Thought—Profitable in Farming 
Perhaps there is no respect in which farmers 
differ more from each other than is\ the amount 
of thought they bring to their work. One man 
labors hard from January to December, yet won¬ 
ders to see that he accomplishes less than his 
neighbor who works fewer hours a-day than he. 
He toils on laboriously in the same old routine, 
without forethought, without skill ; his neighbor 
seeks to do everything intelligently, with a wise 
forecast of the best means of doing it Suppose 
the first farmer wished to remove a large bouldei 
from his wheat field. He had seen his father get 
rid of such rocks by calling together all his hands 
and a neighbor or two, and rolling it by mere mus¬ 
cular force into a corner by the fence. Now, he 
never bothers himself to inquire whether there 
is any better method than his father’s ; so 1>6 
spends a whole day in getting a single boulder in¬ 
to a corner, and thinks, after much straining and 
weariness, and many bruises, that he has really 
done a great deed. But the second farmer thinks 
twice before touching his boulder. He examines 
its shape, size, texture. Can it be sunk out ol 
sight, and below the reach of plow-point! Or 
can it be more easily rolled out of the way by 
good, stout levers ; or will blasting do the work 
as quickly, and save him the pieces for future use 1 
Having once settled the point, he goes to work 
with a will, and the boulder is soon disposed of. 
This as an example ; but the same principle ap¬ 
plies to every operation. The thinking farmei 
takes advantage of opportunities and means ol 
doing things, which escape the notice of careless 
men. His thought shows itself in his house, 
barns, stables, pig-sty, cow-yard, ditches, fen 
ces, fields, every where—Spring, Summer, Autumn 
and Winter. 
Hearken, now, to the “improvement ” of oui 
little sermon! Another season of out-door labor 
has closed ; the year, with its toils, successes and 
failures, cannot now be recalled ; but it can be 
reviewed. And let us review it. Neighbor Jones, 
how do you account for your ill-luck in that corn¬ 
field down in the corner lot! Is the ground cold, 
wet, and full of grubs and wire worms ! If so, 
or possibly so, think about it before you repeat 
the same profitless experiment. Read and think 
about the effects of draining, its cost and the prob¬ 
able gain to your crops. Then, if you determine 
on draining (and we really hope you will), make 
yourself master of all its details, such as drain¬ 
ing with plank, stones, tiles, and the best kinds of 
tile, the best way of digging the ditch, its depth, 
direction, its outlet, &c., &c. And so, when the 
season opens, you will be prepared to go to work 
intelligently and successfully. 
And, farmer Smith, what gave you such a 
