THE BUBAL MEW-Y 
JULY 20 
the other baud, stubble left unplowed three or 
four weeks, dry bo thoroughly, under a July 
and August nun, that it is almost impossible to 
make a good seed-bed of it. 
To-day, while riding by tho grounds of a good 
farmer i saw him turning under a heavy crop of 
timothy grass in fall head. He intends sowing 
the field with wheat. 1 think he in making a 
mistake. Tho field is a large one. fully twenty 
acres, and the hay will yield, at a low estimate, 
two tons per acre, worth on the land, as It stauds, 
ten dollars per ton. 1 do not adviso growing 
hay for sale, hut if I had such a crop of t imothy 
grass I should surely soli it and fertilize with 
some cheaper and better manure. There is not 
much mauurial value iu timothy grass, as com¬ 
pared with clover, and its root is far less valua¬ 
ble. Timothy fully headed out and nearly ripe 
as this was, has become hard and woody. It 
will not rot readily and I doubt whether the 
wheat crop, after such expensive manuring, will 
be worth more thau the average from a well- 
managed barley stubble. 
Monroe C'O., N. t. 
- 4 ~*~*- 
THE IRREPRESSIBLE QUESTION. 
DOES FARMING PAY? 
BY CONRAD WILSON'. 
This earnest inquiry continually meets us in 
every direction, and persistently claims an an- 
Bwer. It comes not only from practical fanners 
who still differ in opinion on the subject, but 
also from thousands of discouraged and despair¬ 
ing men in other pursuits, who are looking and 
longing for some reliable refuge from the uncer¬ 
tainty and disaster of commercial life. The 
swarming population and the stagnant t rade of 
our cities and towns, compel tho unsuccessful to 
eeek in other channels some surer means of sup¬ 
port ; and many a hapless merchant bending 
under financial pressure, turns a hopeful glance 
to the country, naturally supposing that an in¬ 
dustry so vast as husbandry, and so essential to 
the human race, will secure to faithful effort a 
fair reward. 
Yet, while ro many outside of farming circles 
are looking in this direction for a future career, 
it is surprising how many already in the busi¬ 
ness, and who win their livelihood from the soil, 
still remain apparently iu doubt whether or not 
the occupation pays. Results widely at variance 
aro frequently reported, and the testimony oven 
of practical men is not always uniform. One 
man finds success all around him, and contrives 
to make a profit from everything lie touches; 
while another, to all appearances no less intelli¬ 
gent, complains impatiently, that agriculture is 
a losing game, while he fails to discern the real 
cause. I once know a farmer who cloftrod over 
£50 from an acre of potatoes, while his neighbor, 
who planted the same variety on a similar soil, 
was barely able, as he affirmed, to get back the 
cost of his crop. 
The true explanation of these apparent dis¬ 
crepancies is not far to seek, but may properly 
be left for a separate discussion. For the pres¬ 
ent, it is sufficient to say that amid all the doubts 
and discouragements that provail iu some quart¬ 
ers, and iu spite of tho gloomy reports of unsuc¬ 
cessful men, it is gratifying to know that agri¬ 
culture “ still lives," and that tho calling which 
sustains and feeds the human family, will, if 
rightly pursued, sustain and feed those engaged 
in it. 
Let it, then, be confidently announced to all 
resolute and earnest meu vainly struggling in 
other over-crowded pursuits, as well as to all 
farmers who have not yet discovered the secret 
of success, that there is nothing more certain, 
or more easy to prove, thau the simple fact that, 
as a general rule, there is a profit in farming, 
when sound methods are adopted. We do not 
say that husbandry offers to every man the 
chance of a sudden leap from poverty to splen¬ 
did wealth, but rather a gradual and steady ad¬ 
vance. bringing nearly always ample support, 
and very often permanent prosperity. 
Not is this all. The argument in favor of prof¬ 
itable husbandry is broader still. The facts of 
experience tend to show that average results 
beyond any yet realized, aro clearly within roach, 
and tho frequont achievements of successful 
farmers, foreshadow possibilities in the future 
that may well animate the courage of despond¬ 
ing men. 
But., after' all, it must he admitted that in ag¬ 
riculture, as in everything else, the largest ele¬ 
ment of success is to be found in the man him¬ 
self. The personal qualities that determine the 
success or failure of a mechanic or a merchant, 
would go far to determine the same question for 
the tiller uf the soil. 
When, therefore, the inquiry is made whether 
or not farming is profitable, it should always be 
understood what kind of farming is meant. If 
the question refers to a class of men who have 
neither faith, enterprise, nor pluck; who are 
ignorant through choice, and disqualified for the 
husiuess by nature aud habit—such farming, of 
course, can never be expected to turn out suc¬ 
cessful. If, on the other baud, the inquiry is 
intended to apply to agriculture as pursued by 
practical men of fair average intelligence and 
reasonably qualified for the business, then it 
is certain, not only that such farming is prof¬ 
itable on a general average, but that it holds in 
reserve a still better rate of profit and a higher 
range of prizes for those who bring to it more 
energy, larger knowledge, and riper experience. 
That farmers are sometimes themselves mis¬ 
taken in regard to the actual profit of tho busi¬ 
ness, and that they very often fail to perceive 
in what direction the profit really lies, aro very 
important facts, aud deserve fuller consideration 
than tho present space admits. They arc, there¬ 
fore, reserved for future discussion and practi¬ 
cal illustration. 
-- » » 
Is Your Cellar Clean? —It would seem 
absurd that such a question as this should be 
asked as late as July, when tho winter has been 
gone for nearly five months, and the outside 
cellar door lias been open for more than three. 
Aud yet there are cellars in this country that are 
doing all they can to introduce fevers among the 
family that eat by day aud sleep at. night over 
them. Their floors are covered with rotten po¬ 
tatoes, decaying turnips, rat-gnawings and some 
other things that rats leave ; and what with this 
conglomerate and tho scent of old brine and 
other refuse, it is an evidence of a special prov¬ 
idence, if the family have not already had a 
funeral or two. 
Many farmers, intent upon out-door work, 
neglect things that need the earliest and most 
careful attention in and about the house, and 
nothing demands »o urgently an hour's labor on 
a rainy day as the cellar. What's the use of all 
your toils, if meanwhile your own health and 
that of your family aro constantly endangered 
and undermined by foul emanations from this 
subterranean pest-house ? it- 
fojiics. 
TUBE WELLS AGAIN. 
I understand that some four or five weeks 
since, something was published in the Rural 
New-Yorker relative to some moans of avoiding 
the royalty on tube-we!Is. If so, will you please 
refer me to tho numbers? 1 had commenced 
preparations for boring out some of the driven 
wells ill this vicinity, if l could success fully draw 
the pipes, and an acquaintance told me that there 
had been something published in your paper on 
the subject. If I understand this matter aright, 
the patent is not on tho pipe or point, but on 
driving the pipe and getting water without exca¬ 
vating the earth. Am 1 correct ? I would also 
like to ask you another questionDo you know 
whether the patent is valid ? If such is the case, 
they can make a great deal of trouble here. The 
agents have published their decree in this place, 
giving twenty days t.o report iu and pay £5, after 
which time, 810 will be charged, and then, if not 
paid, suit will be commenced. Auy information 
yon may give me on this subject will be a favor. 
Elmira, N. Y. E. L. Sanford, 
Every phase of the tube-well question has, 
from time to time, been exhaustively treated of 
in these columns, notably in the following arti- 
C ) 0M : _o q’ho Tube-Well and its History,” Sopt. 
,10, 1870; “The Tube-Well and tho Latent 
Laws,” May 8,1877 ; “The Tube-Well Again,” 
June 2, 1877. For a full exposition of the con¬ 
troversy, we refer our correspondent to our issues 
of tho dates mentioned. Here wc will say, briefly, 
that upwards of a year ago there had already 
been granted 01 patents on points, tilter-seo- 
tions, couplings, drive-heads, pipe-drivers, pipe- 
extractors, aud other appurtenances connected 
with tuhe-wella. 
A process or method of doing a thing is not 
patentable until it is embodied in a mechanical 
device. To the patent issued for au original con¬ 
trivance of this kind, all subsequent modifica¬ 
tions of it must pay a royalty, as they are in¬ 
fringements of it, even if acknowledged to be 
improvements upon it. If, however, the original 
patentee uses an improvement on his own device, 
invented by another, he owes the latter a royal¬ 
ty, unless an arrangement has been made with 
Ldm for the use of his invention. Among the 64 
patents referred to, was that of N- W. Green. 
He claims, however, that this patent substan¬ 
tially covers the process of making a well toilh- 
out bringing the earth to tlu- surface. We think 
wuoh a claim untenable, for reasons stated in the 
articles referred to, and have no doubt but that 
Green’s patent should be declared invalid. We 
have done all our duty in laying before our read¬ 
ers a true statement of this affair ; it depends 
upon them to take action in the matter.— Eds. 
-- 
MOULE’S EARTH-CLOSET SYSTEM. 
From accidental lameness, I am alone with a 
basket of books kindly furnished by a minister¬ 
ing spirit of goodness ; and among them it has 
chanced that I have just seen an account of [ 
Moule’s system of Earth-closets, which seems to 8 
be a decided improvement on the system of 8 
Water-closets so long and extensively in use. 1 
The death of Prince Albert, it appears, was * 
traced to tho noxious effects of the old system, 1 
and so, likewise, was the very serious illness of 5 
his son, tho Prince of Wales, years afterwards. 1 
Of course the occurrence of such evil* among a ] 
class which should be specially free from what 1 
is generally the result of mismanagement or ] 
sordid poverty, is a powerful argument for a 1 
change from the plan which, in addition to : 
causing such mischief, also allowB the wash¬ 
ing away of &o much fertilizing material which 
would renovate the soil, under Moule’s sys¬ 
tem. , 
It would he a great blessing to every class in 
the community, if the importauoe of this subject 
could be impressed on the minds of the publio, 
and means adopted for saving to agriculture the 
riches at present thu* drained from the soil. 
Such a novel system would have an additional 
advantage, for it would do away with tho pres¬ 
ent. costly and very wasteful method of disposing 
of what Nature must have intended to replace 
the materials in the earth, which contributed to 
their production. 
The Report of the Department of Agriculture, 
for 1871. gives figures and facts enough, on the 
above subject, to convince every reader of the 
importance of acting promptly in the matter. I 
have seen many sneers at the inefficiency of the 
above Department, yet thiB part of its Report., if 
commented on by tho Press, aud so brought 
forcibly to the notioo of tho thinking portion of 
the people, would do more good than the teach¬ 
ings of all tho agricultural colleges. These, in 
my estimation, are nearly useless as they are 
now conducted, for they never make a valuable 
discovery, nor invent anything of the least ser¬ 
vice to the great cause of agriculture. In short, 
tho salaries of their officials are drawu without 
their even attempting to promote the agricultu¬ 
ral prosperity of the country by judicious experi¬ 
ments, and by showing their pupils how a sys¬ 
tem of thoroughly recompensing tho soil. must, 
vastly benefit it. By this means the Eastern 
States might have been kept up to their original 
fertility, instead of being suffered to fall off. un¬ 
til half their surface is exhausted and tho other 
moiety not capable of producing half crop*, 
July 4. A Wokkinu Farmer. 
-♦♦♦- 
“HAVE A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING AND 
EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE.” 
This adage is right and good, but through 
the perversity of human nature, it is one of the 
most difficult rules to carry out. The saying 
will apply to more things than to the tools aud 
implements on a farm, for there should be a 
proper place for every animal before it is brought 
home, as half the accidents and casualties occur 
m consequence of improper fences to keep them 
in place, or unsuitable stables. There is also 
much misfortune with stock because the men 
who attend the animals are ignorant, and worse 
than that, are often absurdly given to quackery, 
thns causing the deaths of many animals which 
would live but for the ridiculous remedies re¬ 
sorted to. in treating various ailments. 
it is perfectly sickening to hear one of these 
pretended curers of imaginary diseases, debate 
on the herbs he boiled or the drugs he obtained; 
but these he keeps secret on tho plea that he 
bought tho recipe for them. Every slight ail¬ 
ment is claimed by these worthies to be horn- 
ail, or tail-ail in cows, and b! 1 lameness in the 
feet or foro-loge of horses is colled sweauie, and 
when the muscles of the shoulders show a de¬ 
pression from the manner of standing to rest 
the leg or foot, the seat of disease is said to he 
there and blistering etc. take place. 
Nine-tenth 9 of the temporary lamenesses and 
ailments attending horses would pass by, if lot 
alone and a day or two's rest given, without any 
application or medicine; hut the ignorant team¬ 
ster or opiuiouative farmer must be doing some¬ 
thing, and harm is almost sure to result, after 
rendering it necessary to call in a veterinarian to 
undo the evil committed. These meu arc out of 
their proper places, yet many gentlemen of 
education, who aro clever business men, are led 
by tho plausibility of these specious creatures to 
trust the lives of valuable animals to their care 
and treatment, and even the death of one poor 
victim after the other, will not always suffice to 
check the folly of the one or the trust of the 
other. 
Have a place for everything. Now, suppose 
a man buys sheep and hogs while his fences are 
in such a wretched condition that the animals 
can either creep under them or scramble over or 
through them, he is certainly violating this rule, 
for he has no proper place for them. Again, 
suppose he has a lot of poultry, but is without a 
fit and safe roosting place for them, he is once 
more guilty of a breach of this old adage, and 
worse still the foxes, and other “varmints” 
will destroy his fowls, and everything will go 
wrong with them. 
“Procrastination is the thief of time" is 
another old saying, and surely procrastination is 
a very bad habit, and does such irreparable 
mischief that any one giving way to it can never 
succeed in any undertaking. There are farmers 
who will put off the fixing of a suitable place for 
a sow to havo her young, till she has had them 
where the litter have died, but in some cases, in 
mild weather, the sow is a better judge in this 
matter than the owner ; for if she has sufficient 
range, and the season is warm, she is seldom 
at fault in searching for a snug and comfortable 
nook. °' G ' 
-- »♦-— 
BRIEFLETS. 
They have grass thirty feet high in Texas. 
The only way they can cut it down is to fire 
scythes at it out of a cannon. 
An old-style farmer had his eyes opened to 
tho utility of “book farming ” lately, by a sug¬ 
gestion that even Band and swamp muck, proper¬ 
ly applied, would increase the production of his 
stiff clay land from 50 to 75 per cent. He was 
tempted to try the experiment, and found it re¬ 
sulted even so. 
Now that Strawberry-vines are done bearing, 
new plants should be set out for next year. Let 
every farmer see to it now that a bed of this 
fine fruit is set out. A small patch will yield 
a supply for the table of this delicious fruit. Get 
your plants and set them out now, and you will 
have strawberries next year. Mulch them well. 
Let us tell the farmers of Kentucky again, 
says the Courier-Journal, for the we-don’t-know- 
how-oftenth time, that the surest way to keep 
the dogs from killing their sheep Is to swap their 
sheep off for dogs aud let the dogs kill somebody 
else’s sheep. We hate to be eternally hammer¬ 
ing this thing into people’s minds, but It will 
have to bo done, it seems. 
The introduction of the Dahlia into Europe is 
said to have been duo to the culiuary research of 
Lady Holland. Having eaten and enjoyed 
"Palestine soup” somewhere in the south of 
Europe, and learning that one chief ingredient 
was tho Jerusalem Artichoke, she procured a root 
of it, as she supposed, and sent it to her gardener 
at Holland House. At first she was not a little 
disappointed when a beautiful flower appeared in¬ 
stead of a succulent vegetable ; but the value of 
her acquisition began to be realized when a Lon¬ 
don florist who cauio to see it offered her thirty 
guineas for a root. 
Benjamin Franklin has the credit of being 
the first person iu this country who made iue of 
gypsum, or laud plaster, as a fertilizer. The 
manner iu which ho used it may seem somewhat 
egotistical. He Bowed it in the presence of a 
number of skeptical farmers on a portion of a 
field of grass, on a hill-side, in the form of largo 
letters, spelling his name. After a few weeks 
the grass upon which the plaster was sown so 
far outgrew the rest that the name, B. Frankliu 
could be plainly read for a long distance. From 
that time there was no doubt in the minds of 
those who knew tho secret, of tho value of laud 
plaster ae a fertilizer for grass. 
In the United States the Olive has been culti¬ 
vated successfully as far north as Charleston, 
South Carolina ; hut in South Florida it is said 
to bo a failure, on account of the heat of the 
summers, the trees not bearing at all. three 
barrels of olives are considered the average yield 
of a tree, though we have the authority of Mrs. 
Shaw, the daughter of Geu. Nathaniel Green, 
for saying that thirty bushels have been gathered 
from a single stock. One bushel of olives ex¬ 
pressed. produces a gallon of oil, and taking the 
first estimate as a basis, the trees heiug set at 
the usual distance, two hundred aud twenty-five 
gallons aro the product of one acre, worth, ac¬ 
cording to tho market, from 8500 to 81,000. 
Tho pickles salted down sell at about fifty cents 
per peck. __ 
Use of Bones in England.— Within the last 
eight years the use of Lones and bone-dust, as a 
manure, has become general throughout Great 
Britain, and the present fertile condition of that 
country is in a great measure due to their use. 
Some authors estimate that 810.000,000 of bones 
are annually imported into that country, princi¬ 
pally to be used as manures. They are obtained 
in the ports of Russia, Germany, Bouth America 
and the United States. After the bone-dust of 
Germany had been fully tested, aud proofs of 
its efficacy were fully established, a proverb 
arose that “ one ton of German bone-dust saves 
tho importation of ten tons of German corn. 
Throughout Great Britain bones aro collected 
from every possible source of supply, and the 
markotB of the world have been ransacked to 
i supply the demand created for them by the 
strong conviction of their value, which experi¬ 
ence has impressed upon the minds of tho 
British farmer. Even the hones of battle-fields 
have been collected and sold for this purpose. 
