MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
ra 
282 
OGT. 30 
GOING ON A FARM. 
A New York Citt subscriber to the Ru¬ 
ral New-Yorker r»1;s our opinion as to the 
advisability of his removal to a farm. He 
has lost his property through dishonest part¬ 
ners and Is unable to engage in business here 
for want of capital. Now he wants our opin¬ 
ion as to his chances on a Western farm, to 
be purchased with a few thousand dollars 
which he can ubo for that purpose from sale 
of property belonging to his wife. Our cor¬ 
respondent has no practical knowledge of 
farming, but is a regular reader of the Rural 
and other Agricultural papers. Our first 
advice in ull such cases is to be cautious and 
slow in acting. The majority of ventures in 
farming by city-bred men result in losses, 
and we do not want to have our friend lose 
the few thousands which he can yet com¬ 
mand und which are every way important 
for his family of children and city-bred wife. 
These losses, however, generally result from 
extravagant ideas of the profits and advan¬ 
tages of a farmer’s business. Assuming that 
our correspondent is not cherishing such de- 
Jusiouu, we have considerable hopes that his 
change of business to farming will prove a 
wise and entirely safe one. He must not 
trust too much to his Agricultural newspa¬ 
pers for guidance, for even t he best of them 
are sometimes mistakou. It really needs a 
good, experienced and practical farmer to 
derive the most benefit from Agricultural 
newspapers, because such farmers know how 
to reject nonsense, while one who is inexpe¬ 
rienced in farming might make serious mis¬ 
takes in taking all the papers say as gospel. 
The best thing an inexperienced farmer can 
do is to learn to farm exactly as hi a neighbor# 
do. After this is thoroughly learned he will, 
if a man of sense, speedily find ways to make 
decided improvements on their management 
and improvements that will pay well. If he 
begius by making radical chances, most 
likely they will be at first more expensive 
than profitable—well suited to men of wealth 
who pursue farming as a recreation, but not 
to men of small capital who want to make 
everything pay. Jf our friend reads in the 
Rural New-Yorker, or any other paper, 
that some crop is extremely profitable, we 
trust he will believe it all, but that practi¬ 
cally be will begin by trj ing^ifc on a small 
scale until he finds it adapted to his soil, 
location and market. Don’t go into any one 
crop to the exclusion of all others. It is never 
safe to put all the eggs in one basket in farm¬ 
ing or anything else. 
Our correspondent thinks of going to Iowa, 
and that is an excellent State, with splendid 
soil and climate. There is not much furore 
just now about Western lands, and that is in 
his favor, for ho can buy improved farms 
cheaper now than two or three years ago, or 
than they will ever sell for again. An im¬ 
proved farm with good but not expensive 
buildings and as near as possible to a city or 
growing village, is what he should seek. His 
city-bred wife will probably want to be in a 
good neighborhood rather than away in the 
backwoods ; and if she has a few thousand 
dollare, (even if only four or five,) you can 
find suitable farms within your means with 
the advantages of good society. Don’t imi¬ 
tate Western farmers in one particular— /, e., 
in buying too much land. In the first place, 
you are a stranger to the place and inexpe¬ 
rienced in farming, and therefore liable t o 
pay higher prices than you ought. It would 
be really better if you could content yourself 
for one year with renting a cheap place and 
then look around, find how you like the 
country, and if satisfactory, you could prob¬ 
ably within twelve months locate yourself at 
a saving of one or two thousand dollars com¬ 
pared with what it would cost to buy imme¬ 
diately or even soon after arrival. By pur¬ 
chasing near a city or growing village, your 
laud will probably, if well bought, rapidly 
increase in value. Land near cities being 
higher priced, must bo cropped differently 
from cheaper land to be profitable. Your 
liking for cattle and other stock belongs to 
large farms and cheap land. Ou a small larm 
near the city small fruits, vegetables possi¬ 
bly a market garden if you can be sure of a 
good market) would be more in keeping. 
Read Henderson’s “ Gardening for Profit,” 
and if that does not make you enthusiastic 
for market gardening you had better go at 
regular farming. 
We infer that our correspondent, like thou¬ 
sands of others in New York City now, is 
out of business, earning little or nothing. If 
this be so, he should get out of this as speed- 
Jy as possible. Go west; but don’t be in a 
hurry about buying till you are posted about 
prices and understand the business of farm¬ 
ing. You can live much more cheaply in the 
West than here—probably earn your own 
living from the first, and so soon as yoa get 
on a farm the older children will be really a 
help instead of a burden, as now. Take good 
care of the few thousand dollars you have 
saved. In most Western States mouey can 
be loaned to farmers on Improved property 
at ten per cent. Remember this when buying 
your farm and save at least half your money 
for stock, implements and working capital. 
This is where almost all farmers and Western 
farmers especially are weak. They buy so 
much land that they have no money to prop¬ 
erly work it except by borrowing at rates 
higher than any business can profitably pay. 
Don’t make this mistake, whatever other 
you may fall into. 
It is a time of commercial distress nearly 
everywhere, and thousands of men out of 
business and even worse oil than our corres¬ 
pondent, are lingering in cities waiting for 
“something to turn uj).” They naturally 
think of the farm as a safe and sure refuge ; 
but they should remember that “ hard times” 
hare also affected farmers, not iudeed ruin¬ 
ously, but greatly reducing profits. This, 
however, gives one advantage to men like 
our correspondent, who can command some 
money, for farms can now be bought much 
cheaper than several yeurs ago. This is es¬ 
pecially true of Western and Southern lauds, 
some of which can now be bought for not 
more than what the improvements cost, and 
iu some localities, and good localities too, for 
even less. It is ft better time to buy when 
land is tbtlS low than when it is high. Good 
times must come again, and it is equally sure 
that they must first come to farmers before 
other classes of business can enjoy perma¬ 
nent prosperity. Hence, going into farming 
is more than ever a safe business, and if prop¬ 
erly managed is likely to be profitable as 
soon or sooner than any other. 
Wc have answered this letter more fully 
because we know it will be interesting to 
hundreds more who want information on 
the same subject*. Wodare not advise more 
positively about location, what kind of stock 
or crops to grow, us these matters depend 
altogether upon circumstances. In the gen¬ 
eral hints above given, we have been ex¬ 
tremely careful to say nothing that can mis¬ 
lead. 
-*-■*■-*- 
NOTES FROM CENTRAL NEW YORK. 
From Hancock on the East Branch of the 
Delaware our carriage route lies up a small 
mountain brook. The valley is only a few 
rods wide, the hillsides, or rather the moun¬ 
tain sides, steep and covered with forests, or 
with a bushy second growth—a country for 
a farmer to starve in, a Western man would 
Bay. Yet there must be compensations even 
here, for, alternating with less pretentious 
dwellings, there are some very neat two- 
story white houses, with ample porches, bay 
windows, displaying fine specimens of Mr. 
Jas. Vick’s flora) progeny, thady yards ami 
gardens, gay with petunias and phlox, the 
homes, 1 doubt not, of just as intelligent, 
happy families as dwell where Nature seems 
more kind. And here are means of liveli¬ 
hood not found in mauy sections. This rap¬ 
idly-descending mountaiu stream between 
two hills furnishes power and location for 
numerous mills, which convert the timber 
from the hills into lumber. Here, too, is a 
large tannery, which makes a market for 
the bark from the same timber. We won¬ 
der, as we ride along and notice the little, 
irregular patches of tilled land, generally an 
acre or less, why the owners do not convert 
them into very gardens of fertility, pro¬ 
ducing maximum crops of whatever will 
thrive iu the climate. Here is the brook, 
ever hurrying toward the river, but willing 
to be delayed in a pond or turned aside iu a 
new channel to irrigate these meadows and 
tilled spaces aud cause them to yield at the 
rate of G toms of hay, 2,000 bushels of beets 
or 400 bushels of strawberries per acre. 
Here, also, are ponds and little swamps full 
of rich muck, and untold quantities of wood 
going to waste which might readily be con¬ 
verted into ashes for fertilizing purposes. By 
thus appropriating the inexpensive stores 
which a provident Father has placed at 
hand, the owners of these few tillable acres 
might derive from them larger incomes than 
are generally obtained from large farms of 
level land. As we advance houses become 
less frequent, the cleared space grows nar¬ 
rower, until soon we are traversing a nar¬ 
row mountain road, beautifully edged with 
ferns on the lower side, steep, forest-clad 
mountain side to the right, above us, and 
the same to the left, below. At length, 
through the trees far down we catch 
glimpses of the river, the West Branch of 
the Delaware, which we are gradually ap¬ 
proaching. And now the whole mountain 
side across the river, from base to summit, 
gorgeous with autumn hues, breaks upon 
the sight. “Well,” says one, as the glori¬ 
ous, ever changing spectacle moves before 
us, “sin aside, this world is beautiful enough 
for Heaven.” Tims does a mountain home, 
though less suitable for corn raising, awaken 
noble sentiment, quicken mind and heart, 
aud send forth the grandest of all earth’s 
products, robust, intelligent, and virtuous 
men and women. Not only does much of 
the best butter, cheese and maple sugar con¬ 
sumed in your great city come from the 
sweet grass, the pure water and the stately 
trees of the Delaware Co. hills, but much 
also of'the best blood that courses through 
your citizens’ veins first began to flow be¬ 
neath the hearts of worthy m&troDR in these 
mountain homes. Notv we have descended 
to the river flats, and a few miles’ ride over 
a good road brings us to the pretty village of 
Walton, lying in a nearly circular valley 
mostly on the north bank of the river and 
girt about with forest-covered mountains. 
Many years ago my great-grandfather, Dr. 
Townsend, bought for one shilling per acre, 
SO I have been told, several thousand acres, 
including the valley now occupied by the 
village, the river flats two or three miles up 
and down and the june-clad bills arouud. 
His two sons, between whom most of the 
estate, was divided, established themselves, 
the one a mfie above the village site uud the 
other just below, a few rods only from the 
lately-built depot ot the 1>. Y. aud O. Mid¬ 
land Railroad, where a great-grandson ) <>•' 
resides. The Doctor’s grave and monument 
arc near. Cftpt. 1. J. Townsend and other 
descendants still occupy portions of the 
original purchase ; a greater number claim a 
few feet only in the village cemetery. 
Walton is growing, has many new build¬ 
ings, of which 1 can note only three—the 
palatial summer residences on the south 
river bank of Mr. George St. John and Mr. 
Henry St, John, both of New York, and 
that of Rev. D. McAllister, finished inside 
wtlh native woods. 
One cannot fail lo note the almost total 
want of culti vated fruits in the gardens here. 
This I attribute not so much to the unfriendly 
climate as to the lack of railroad communi¬ 
cation with auy nursery or fruit-growing 
section, previous to the building of the N. Y. 
and O. Midland. Occasionally a bearing 
pear tree is found, which shows that if trees 
were abundant fruit would be also. 
I took tea at Walton. I breakfasted at 
Port Byron. How different here in regard 
to fruit ! My friend’s half-acre lot, besides 
his house, with two rods wide of grass all 
around, contains 23 bearing pear trees, 8 
large apple trees, 7 plum trees, 4 cherry 
trees, G grape vines, a row of black caps 
across one end, a strawberry bed 20 by 40 
feet, with plenty of room for flowers aud 
vegetables. Judging from appeurunces, fruit 
ou the trees, on tke ground, in the pantry, in 
the cellar, on the table, everywhere, more 
fruit has grown on this ono litile lot than in 
all the village of Walton, apples excepted. 
Enjoying the freedom of the place, 1 rest 
from my writing occasionally to sample the 
melting Seckel, Duchesse, Virgalieu and 
Louise Bonne de Jersey pears, too luscious 
for description. Were I not a nurseryman, 
I should say that every man whose home 
does not afford such healthful luxuries should 
forthwith make out an order for trees. 
Mr . Samuel Hayden, who owns a small 
dairy farm on the Owaseo, is experimenting 
in irrigation. He has a 15-acre meadow 
which he can flood by simply opening one 
gate aud closing another, and Le can turn 
the water off as readily. He thiuks that he 
has doubled the crop of hay thereby, und 
that the yield per annum is between four 
and five bins per acre. A small corner he 
uses for garden. He has to-day gathered 
the beets, Lane’s Improved Sugar, which 
grew on 15 square rods and were irrigated. 
The product was 176 bushels. He thinks that, 
by filling all vacant spaces aud putting the 
rows nearer together he can raise nearly 
3,000 bushels per acre. The yield on other 
land equally good, but without irrigation, 
was about one fourth as great, A neighbor, 
Mr. Geo. Newkirk, has raised 416 bushels of 
Carter’s Mammoth MaDgel on 126 square 
rods. 
Mr. Hayden took me to visit the fine fam¬ 
ily aud residence of Mr. Wsi. D. Osborne. 
Space will not permit such description as I 
would like to give. Suffice it to say that, in 
view of Ills fine location, excellent land, ex¬ 
tensive, well-kept orchards and vineyards, 
beautiful residence and grounds, fine stock, 
intelligent wife, ambitious sons and lovely 
daughters, Mr. O. ought to be one of the 
happiest men in the world, and such he ap¬ 
pears to be. Here I first tried the Walter 
grapes, which I call excellent. C. H. Daxn. 
Nielli 
CULTIVATION OF RICE ON UPLAND. 
The culture of rice is popularly supposed 
to be restricted to the low lands in South 
Carolina and Louisiana which can be easily 
overflowed. So it is in fact, but not neces¬ 
sarily so as we find that rice can be and is 
grown on uplands in Georgia. From the 
Atlanta, Ga,, Constitution wc learn that not 
less than one thousand farmers in that 
vicinity are growing rice on upland with as 
great success as on the marshy and over¬ 
flowed lands near the coast. 
The areas planted vary from one-quarter 
toten and fifteen acres, and everywhere the 
reports are of the most flattering character. 
The yield per acre is far better than from 
cither oats or rye, and ranges from seventy- 
five to one hundred bushels, according to 
soil and care of cultivation. The only 
difference between the culture of rice iu this 
section and upon the court lies in care and 
cultivation. 
On the coast the rice is flooded when the 
grass begins to shoot in the field ; the grass 
ilies in the water, while the rice flourishes, 
takes the field and "is drained. Here, the 
field cannot be flooded for the destruction of 
•be grass and hence, must be carefully 
• . < 1 prevent the grasses from growing, 
until iLe rice is well enough advanced not to 
be choked out. This is the sole difference in 
the culture, and its only difficulty in this 
latitude. 
Mr. W. W. Brooks of Woodbury, Merr- 
wether Co., has some fifteen acres planted, 
and after supplying his home wants, will be 
able to sell upon the market from ten to 
twelve hundred bushels. 
A farmer even so high up as Cherokee 
Co. has several acres in successful cultiva¬ 
tion. Mr. W. W. Woodruff, near GriffiD, 
has a fine rice field growing, as also have L. 
S. Salmons and others in DeKalb Co. Mr. 
Johnson himself bus a lino prospect upon 
bis place at Kirkwood, near Atlanta, and 
says he is raising a quantity which would 
amply supply his family for two years to 
come. One-half the farmers in the imme¬ 
diate vicinity of Atlanta arc engaged in rais¬ 
ing rice to a greater or Jets extent, and will 
the coming season havecight or ten thousand 
bushels of unhulled rice to put upon the 
market. The recent invention, 1 1 Mr. John¬ 
son’s suggestion, of a family rice-huller, by 
which a family can raise and prepare their 
own rice, will tend to largely increase the 
production of lice for home consumption. 
A large rice mill for preparing rice for 
maiket is an enterprise almost at once 
necessary in Atlanta. 
--»»♦- 
WEEDS IN THE WEST. 
Talking with a western farmer, two or 
three years ago, we asked him why tbi) 
West universally preferred the mammoth 
corn rather than the smaller size grown iu 
York State. With not as rich land wc av¬ 
eraged more bushels per acre than were got 
at the West. Willi a laugh at the revelation 
he was making, cur friend frankly confessed 
that one important advantage of western 
corn was that it grew faster than the weeds, 
which would rise up and click i the smaller 
variety, but were themselves kept down by 
the monstrous growth of stalks and leave3 
on the com now grown. 
It was only a few years ago that western 
farmers had an important advantage over 
us at the East ou the freedom of their farms 
from weeds. This is still true in many pla¬ 
ces as respecting Canada thistles, quack and 
other perennial weeds, but the whole tribe 
ot annuals, especially rag-weed, is more num¬ 
erous on western fields than anywhere else. 
This is the double result of careless culture 
and the great fertility cf the soil. On west¬ 
ern corn fields rag weed often grows nearly 
a 9 high as a man’s head and filled with seed, 
while by eastern wood tide and stubble fields 
it is found from six inches to a foot aud a 
half high This filling up of western soil 
with weeds—even annuals, is a great lots to 
farmers. They hurt the corn crop, especially 
in such seasons as the present, and they make 
the growing of small grains more and more 
precarious. At the West as well as here, 
cleaD, thorough culture is the only live policy 
and pays best in the long run. 
