Q74 
AMERICAN AGRIC U LTURIST. 
[September, 
labor, and seed, with credit for returns, etc. Un¬ 
der a subdivision of family expenses, we find 
charges for carriage and horses with driver, but 
a credit was given for all the work the man did 
upon the farm, and the amount was charged to 
the farm. 
But to omit further particulars, let us look at 
the results shown by the balance sheet. The 
family live in good style, entertain their friends, 
travel somewhat, annually, etc., and yet, after de¬ 
ducting all expenses of every kind, including the 
interest on the land and stock, depreciation of 
implements and buildings by wear and age, and 
adding a small amount for permanent improve¬ 
ments, but nothing for increased value of land, 
the balance sheet showed a net profit for one 
year of $1,483 67. The total charge under fami¬ 
ly and personal expenses, exclusive of rent 
which was not reckoned, amounted to $1,321 44, 
which, added to the net income, would make the 
net profit $2,805 11. The principal crops were 
hay, corn, barley, oats, peas, potatoes, carrots, 
and turnips, and one acre in cabbages. 
Now for the lesson which this example teaches. 
The proprietor devotes the same thought, ener¬ 
gy, and business tact to his present occupation, 
that his father has given to his city pursuits. 
11 is table is supplied with half a dozen of the 
leading agricultural papers, two or three week¬ 
lies, (including one local paper, and one church 
paper,) and one daily which gives him the general 
news and keeps him up with the state of the 
market. One great secret of his success, and 
the one to which we wish to call particular at¬ 
tention, is in the fact that he cultivates no more 
land than he can cultivate well. He could, by 
the asking, have an adjoining farm, (his father 
would purchase it for him,) but he says he has 
all the land he can attend to, and doubts if he 
could use any more ■profitably. His soil is natural¬ 
ly of only about average quality, but every foot 
is brought to the highest fertility by thorough 
tillage, and especially by manuring. Besides the 
large amount of manure made upon the farm, we 
found charged to farm expenses for one year 
$816 25 paid out, in part for Peruvian guano, 
ashes, bone dust, etc., but mainly for stable ma¬ 
nure brought from New-York, partly in wagons 
returning from market, and partly in sloops by 
water, and carted inland. 
The above example is far from being the 
strongest one that could be given to show the 
profit of comparatively small areas of land ; it is 
a case of general farming done in a thorough 
manner, and it may be studied with profit by that 
large class who always feel poor until they own 
all the land in sight of their dwellings. From an 
observation somewhat extended, we have come 
to the conclusion that very few men compara¬ 
tively are capable of cultivating 100 acres of land 
perfectly; and we judge that by far the largest 
class would make more money at farming if their 
acres were positively limited to fifty, at most. 
Another lesson to be derived from the above 
example should not be passed over. We asked 
the proprietor if he did not sometimes regret that 
he had not gone into business in the city, where 
he might have accumulated a large fortune? His 
answer was in effect, that he was abundantly sat¬ 
isfied ; that he really labored less there, and suf¬ 
fered far less anxiety than most business men in 
the city; that ninety-five out of every hundred 
who commenced business failed, and not one in 
a hundred became wealthy, and lie was not sure 
of being among the successful ones ; that he 
lived independently on his farm, unannoyed by 
city turmoil, and untrammeled by city fashions ; 
that his children were growing up healthy and 
uncontaminated by the moral or physical atmos¬ 
phere of the city; and finally that his net income 
was enough to satisfy any reasonable man. 
Apropos to the above, we give an anecdote of 
the late Mr. Bakewell, the noted stock breeder of 
Dishley, England, which is related in a lecture by 
Mr. Beasly, recently published in London : Mr. 
Bakewell was not only an eminent farmer and 
stock breeder, but a very shrewd man, and his 
neighbors were in the habit of resorting to him 
for counsel and advice. On one occasion an old 
friend went to pay him a visit for the purpose of 
explaining to him his position, and at the same 
time begged that he would recommend him what 
to do. He had lived all his life upon his own 
farm of 1000 acres ; he lived very well, but he 
had never saved a shilling. He had three daugh¬ 
ters, and the eldest was about to be married ; he 
highly approved of the match, but the intended 
husband expected some portion, and he had 
nothing to give him. Should he mortgage his es¬ 
tate, or what should he do ? Mr. Bakewell 
begged him to spend the night with him, and 
promised the next morning to give him the result 
of his cogitations. Accordingly, the next morn¬ 
ing, when they met at breakfast, Bakewell said, 
“ I have made up my mind what you ought to 
do ; give your son-in-law one-fourth of the farm, 
keep the remaining three-fourths, do not part 
with any portion of your capital and stock, and 
work the remaining three-fourths with it. Do it 
better than you have hitherto done, and your in¬ 
come will be rather increased than diminished.” 
His friend followed his advice ; but at the end of 
two or three years, another daughter was to be 
married, and the perplexed father again resorted 
to his friend Bakewell for advice, under this new 
difficulty. Bakewell coolly said, he had watched 
his proceedings, and seen their results ; he must 
do in this case as he had done before ; he must 
give up another fourth of his farm, and keep the 
original capital and stock. The father seemed 
somewhat puzzled, but, as the first experiment 
had succeeded, he determined to try it in this 
case also. Last of all the youngest daughter 
was to be married, and, in utter despair, the poor 
father paid another visit to Dishley to explain his 
perplexity. “ Well,” said Bakewell, “ tell me 
honestly whether your income has diminished by 
having reduced your farm by one-half?” The 
father acknowledged he thought it had not. 
“Then,” said Bakewell, “you must give up an¬ 
other fourth of your farm, and keep the remain¬ 
ing 250 acres for yourself, and, to tell you the 
truth, you will then have just such a farm as your 
stock, your capital, and your head are fit fur, and 
will be a better and happier man than ever.” 
Old Bakewell used to tell this story with great 
glee, and declared his friend left as much stock 
and capital upon the 250 acres as he had ever had 
upon the one thousand, and, as lie believed, made 
a better income out of it. This may be a some¬ 
what exaggerated statement, but of this I am 
sure; a small, well cultivated farm, will make a 
better return than a large ill-cultivated one. 
We give up the Moles. 
For several years past we have taken the part 
of the moles, so much so, that one old gardener 
was heard to say : “.... the Agriculturist was 
generally so accurate that he could, without read¬ 
ing it, sign his name at the end of every number 
as an endorser, if the editor would only promise 
never to say another word in favor of moles.” 
Well, we are at last almost ready to make that 
promise. Moles feed largely on insects, and we 
have thought the good they do in this way, would 
overbalance any depredations they might be guil¬ 
ty of. Just walk out with us into our vegetable 
garden. Here are eight rows of corn, each six¬ 
ty feet long, and seven of the rows are good for 
nothing. They were planted iri drills, the soil 
being loosened and mixed with manure before the 
seed was put in. The corn came up nicely and 
promised well; but in one night, the moles, just 
for the fun of the thing, commenced at one end 
of each of the drills, and following the loosened 
earth from end to end, every shoot of corn in 
seven rows was unceremoniously lifted and up¬ 
rooted. The ground was replaced, and the soil 
packed down, and a flat stone set across the ends 
of the mole paths. Very soon after, the rascals 
entered the drills inside of the stones, and again 
threw out the corn. 
Here are 50 hills of sweet potatoes which 
were nicely formed and rounded up. The 
moles have plowed through the entire patch 
in all directions, disfiguring it, and spoiling 
many of the plants. There, are some nice straw¬ 
berry beds, all laid off with regular paths between 
them. The moles have cut up the ground as 
badly as a regular troop of sappers and miners, 
and but for the persistence of these hardy plants, 
many of them would have been killed. As it is, 
they are much injured, and the beauty of the beds 
is destroyed. 
So it is all over our grounds, not excepting a fine 
new lawn. The thorough spading of the earth 
last Spring seems to have prepared it just to suit 
the moles, and they have come from elsewhere, 
or multiplied wonderfully, so that there is no liv¬ 
ing with them. We can catch and destroy most 
insects, for they work above ground as if engaged 
in an honest business, but these sneaking “ var¬ 
mints ” that stealthily work under the ground, 
we can endure no longer. War is proclaimed, 
and we now write to ask some of our more ex¬ 
perienced readers to tell us how to wage it most 
successfully. Traps we have little faith in, so far 
as we have seen them. We would meet stealth 
with stealth, by resorting to secret poison, but we 
have not yet succeeded in getting the enemy to 
eat it. What shall be done? 
— -«0 <--p=a O- Cf" - » qa - 
Follow up the Apple Borer. 
It is not yet too late to get at this most destruc¬ 
tive enemy of our orchards. In the Summer, 
many farmers are so busy, that they do not find 
time to look after his depredations. He does his 
work in the dark, and, unlike other enemies, 
there is nothing to remind you of his presence, 
until he has done the mischief. Caterpillars at¬ 
tract attention to their mischief by weaving their 
silken web over their young. The signal is as 
distinct as the sign of small pox on a white flag, 
and you have fair warning. The scale bug also 
hangs out his banner, and the most careless ob¬ 
server can see, at a glance, that a brush and soap¬ 
suds are in demand. 
But that sly scoundrel grubs about the collar of 
the tree, on the most sheltered and secluded side, 
and nothing but close inspection will disclose the 
sawdust, which is the unfailing sign of his pres¬ 
ence. Every tree in the orchard, or garden, and 
every quince bush should be examined, at least 
twice a year, for these grubs. Trees six inches 
through are often destroyed by them before the 
fruit grower suspects their presence. Examine 
the trunk up to two feet above the ground, and 
also remove the dirt for a few inches around the 
collar, and with the back of your knife scrape the 
bark, removing the scarf. This will disclose the 
condition of the bark. If healthy, you are as¬ 
sured of the fact, and have no more solicitude 
