THE CULTIVATOR. 
£22 
151 
within themselves; or they get out their own timber, draw tlnir own 
saw logs to the mill, if there be one near them ; quarry and haul lheir 
own stone, &c. &c. and so manage as to hire but a portion of their me¬ 
chanic work, turning in their own labor and that of lheir sons and hired 
men, if they have them, to assist in its erection. This is as it should 
be; but the difficuliy is that they often plan too largely, calculating on 
finishing cff only a small portion of the house at present, and to do off 
the rest at some future opportunity of more leisure and convenience. 
But these future opportunities of leisure and convenience rarely occur, 
and so much more capital is often expended in the inclosing of a large 
dwelling than had teen anticipated, or is at all useful to the family, 
that it remains forever unfinished, and a cold comfortless receptacle for 
them, when a snug, warm and delightful dwelling could be entirely 
finished, with every requisite comfort for a numerous family, at the cost 
of the unfinished shell! How painfully true is this fact in numberless 
instances. 
This fatal error oftentimes extends itself to the outer buildings of 
the farm, alike prejudicial to all descriptions of stock kept upon it, and 
of most serious account in the year’s results of its products. Fortu¬ 
nately there is so little intricacy or science needed in the construction of 
farm buildings, that even the least skilful may erect comfortable and 
necessary shelters for all his domestic animals, and materials abound so 
plentifully in our country, that they are every where to be found. It is 
better even, in my estimation, for a farmer to sell a small portion of 
his land, to accommodate the remainder with proper buildings, if he 
cannot do it otherwise, for he is actually richer in the end to do so; as 
for the most of them, the produce on an eqnal number of those acres 
would be annually wasted lor the want of them, besides all the discom¬ 
fort, misery, and suffering caused by exposure to the inclemency of the 
seasons. This may be unpleasant argument to those who are intent 
upon nothing but increasing the extent of their farms, regardless of the 
comforts and profits of their stock. Yet such, were they to pause in 
their acquisitions, and by the erection of necessary buildings on their 
farms, secure more effectually its products, would in a short time accu¬ 
mulate much more rapidly than before. I name these facts with more 
emphasis, because I am well assured by my observations throughout 
the country, that the want of necessary and proper buildings is the great¬ 
est drawback our farmers experience in the profits of their labor. 
Of what avail is it that I reap fifty bushels of wheat, or an hundred 
bushels of corn to the acre, and lose one-third of it for want of shelter, 
or waste in feeding? Unless I tan secure my crop, my profit in grow¬ 
ing it is of small account. If I cut fifty tons of hay, and, by exposure 
in stacks to the weather, only forty of it can be eaten by the cattle, and 
one-quarter part of that even is trampled under foot, I had better have 
had only thirty tons of good hay in my barn, and even then my stock 
would have consumed five tons less by being warmly housed i'or the 
winter. This is a view of the case which I think must strike every 
thinking mind, and will apply itself to every kind of domestic animal on 
the farm. To my mind it has been most strikingly presented by a year’s 
experience, and I am of opinion that the difference in the consumption 
of food for the domestic stock of a farm, taking in all the losses inci¬ 
dent to the forage itself by want of housing, &c. is at least thirty per¬ 
cent, compared with the most economical method of expending it; and 
in some cases oven forty or fifty I am aware that this calculation will 
strike the reader with surprise, and by many it will not be believed; 
but to such I only say, try it, and he will become satisfied of its truth. 
In the spring of 1834, the management of a large tract of land com¬ 
ing under my charge, portions of which had for years been most mise¬ 
rably mangled by a horde of squatters, who had cut, haggled, and work¬ 
ed the land after their own fashion, although abundantly productive by 
nature, I found it in a most miserable condition, requiring immediate 
care and attention. Numerous wretched log cabins were scattered over 
it with bark roofs; an occasional shed for cattle, with a parcel of old 
rails thrown over the top, and on them the remains of an old stack bot¬ 
tom, where their hay, stalks, or straw had been stored, were all the 
buildings or conveniences to be found on the premises. Three or four 
of these little squads or settlements had been made on different parts of 
the territory, and each one comprised within its compass from one to 
two hundred acres of this partially cleared, girdled and dilapidated im¬ 
provement. Having got rid of the squatters, and selected one of these 
settlements most conveniently located for immediate operations, and ta¬ 
ken the best cabin, well situated and convenient for a dwelling, I put 
into it a good family, fit to manage the place, built an addition to it also 
of logs, put on a good shingled roof, and with a hundred or two dol¬ 
lars expense, made a very comfortable affair of it. With sufficient 
help on the place, the fences were straightened and put into line, the old 
bouks, (bocks,) brush fences, logs, &c. See. cleared up and tolerable 
crops got in. Having come into the place about the middle of April, it 
was too late in the season to make rapid advances, but in the course of 
the summer perhaps 30 acres of oats, 5 or (i of corn, and as many of 
potatoes, were cultivated and yielded a tolerable crop, A dozen acres 
of wheat were also sown in the fall, and perhaps 70 or 80 acres of land 
worked into tolerable shape for another season. Yet we had no barns 
nor the means of building any during that year; one wretched log sta¬ 
ble, which stood near the house, was all that we had for she ter to any 
of our animals, and with that we shilted to get along. Our hay, of 
which we had some 60 or 70 tons cut from a distant clearing, our cats, 
corn, fodder, &e. &c. were all slacked out in the open air. Winter 
came upon us. With a few thousand feet of boards and the aid of 
crotches and poles, we made some sheds and mangers for our cattle, of 
which we had a large stock, composed of oxen and cows, and erected 
some racks in the yard to feed them in. By these means we got through 
the winter after the fashion. Our cattle had enough to eat, and during 
the cold weather looked tolerably well; but as the cold rain an 1 snow 
storms of Maich and April came on, they grew poor in spile of all we 
could do. Food enough to keep in high condition double their number, 
if well housed, was given them, but all to little purpose. The storms 
wet the fodder in the stacks, the cattle trampled it into the mud under 
their feet, anil with all the care given them, which was a great dea', I 
am fully satisfied that at least 25 per cent of the food given them was 
entirely lost! 
And yet this was better and more economical feeding than one-half 
the stock of our country get on the average' It may be a bold and 
sweeping remark, but it is neverlhe'ess a true one, and would every 
farmer make the experiments who thus practises, he would fully test 
its correctness. We had great labor to perform, and therefore submit¬ 
ted to the loss and inconvenience accruing to this mode of management. 
During the winter, we cleared up more of this slashed ground, enclosed 
.t, drew off its wood and timber, and last spring had perhaps 200 acres 
of pasture, mowing and plough land ready for use. We were now 
ready to build a barn, and after the spring crops had been put in, pro¬ 
ceeded to erect one proper for the uses of the farm. It was soon built, 
covered and inclosed, and by haying and harvest time was ready for 
use. It was placed on a central and convenient spot for the farm, which 
is a large one, and although this barn is 100 feet long, by 50 feet wide, 
and 18 feet posts, with leantos for stables on each side of it, with a floor 
14 feet wide lengthwise through the centre, more room will soon be re¬ 
quired. It was a matter of much wonder and inquiry by my neighbors 
who saw the barn, of what possible use it could be, supposing it a most 
extravagant building, although for the size, a very cheap one. Yet 
when we had cut and stored our hay, oats, and wheat, the tarn was 
crammed full to the roof, on the floor and all. We housed everything; 
all was put in, in perfect order and good condition. Ample room is 
there made to tie up every animal to be fed, and not a lock of hay or a 
spoonful of grain need be lost. The manure is all saved, and in a con¬ 
venient situation to be carried out, and a degree of economy, comfort, 
and satisfaction experienced in spending the food to the stock, that am¬ 
ply compensates for all the extra expense. The hay and grain it con¬ 
tains is more than 150 tons, enabling us to feed out every bundle of 
straw and coarse fodder, which is in most cases altogether lost or only 
used for manure: a plan of this barn is annexed. 
There are so many collateral subjects connected with the barn and 
other outbuildings of a farm, that it is hardly possible to give an essay 
on this subject without discussing the different methods and economy cf 
feeding stock, with the preparation of the food, preservation of manures, 
&c. &c. But as the principle of feeding is the same in all kinds of neat 
cattle and horses, it will apply to all cases. In the first place, I hold 
that there is no straw, corn, fodder or grass cut on a farm, with the ex¬ 
ception perhaps of the straw of peas, beans and buckwheat, but what 
may be consumed as food-, therefore all reasonable pains should be ta¬ 
ken to secure them in good order and have them well stored, and shel¬ 
tered for winter food. How many thousand tons of valuable wheat 
straw have I annually seen in our wheat counties thrown out from the 
thrashing mills, and piled up year after year to rot and taint the atmos¬ 
phere with its effensiveness, when it might all be made into the best of 
food for cattle, by being housed and chopped with trifling labor! It ap¬ 
pears with many farmers to be a matter of no sort of consequence uho 
feeds the stock, or how they are fed, provided they are only fed at all; 
not considering that there is equal economy in spending the food as in 
securing it. Look at the season of haying and harvest among our farm¬ 
ers. What preparation for toil and incessant labor, increase of help, 
high wages, &c. &c. Up by day-break in the morning, and at work, 
and no rest till dark. It is the extraordinary season of the farmer, 
when every thing is sacrificed, even the Sabbath oftentimes, to toil, and 
no cessation till it is all over. But when the winter comes cn, this in¬ 
valuable food, collected at so much cost and toil, is expended with a 
heedlessness and prodigality unaccountable to any rational or thinking 
mind. This indeed may seem foreign from the subject of which I am 
treating, but it is too nearly allied to it to be lost or overlooked. 
My own method of feeding is to cut every kind of straw, and even the 
coarse marsh or meadow hay, in the cutting box, and mix it with a 
light portion of shorts, bran or oatmeal, just enough for the cattle and 
horses to eat it. In this way they consume every thing. Nothing is 
lost; for what they leave is taken from the mangers and mixed over 
again with the new mess. It is the exclusive business of one man to 
cut the food, clean the stables, and feed the cattle; and if he needs as- 
