Martinsburg gazette and public advertiser. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1826-1833, 1827-11-08
II GOOD FARMER.

Willy Snug, or Snug Willy, as he
is sometimes called, is q good farm
er / do not mean by this that he cuI
~tivates q vast deal OF land; but what
he undertakes to cultivate he manages
IN the bes. manner, and rcaps more
profit from his small farm, than others
do from their large ~ 1t is not
those who plant and sos the mos
who gathers in the most abu ndan,
| harvest.
| Willy Snug has nc Improbable
land on his farm Every rod is requi
red TO produce It's due proportion OF the
yearly crops. MOI is this unreasona
BILE, for the ground is so well manured,
SO well TILED, and SO well fenced, that
10 a .olerablc season ~itcannot help ren
dering a good account of itself at the
time of harvest. Willy Snug knows
as well as any other man TIE value oil
manure. OF course, he suffers none
to be lost, nor indeed any thing ouI
OF which manure can be made. You
do no, see large heaps of manure lying
year after year in his barn yard for
wan, of carrying out. lie j, not afraid
of soiling his fingers with the manure
cart, well knowing that 20 man can
keep his hands cleaner of debts, law
suits, Sheriffs, and the jail, he has a sort
oil hole scooped on. near his barn,
which he calls the "catch all" and into
which, straw, weeds, ashes, the re.
fuse OF the wood pile, the cellar and
the kitchen, and whate Yer else may be
converted into manure, are constantly
thrown.
The consequence is, that hs carries
on. OF this place yearly several loads of
excellent manure, and brings back in
return a number of bushels OF as good,
sound corn as ever a granary was filled
with. Willy Snug is q mortal enemy
to bad .illage. His soil is always
ploughed in the very best manner, well
narrowed, and made mellow for the
seed. notwithstanding the we'll known
saying, chat more corn grows in
crooked rows than in straight TO ws,'
his rows are planted as straigh! as an
arrow, so that in ploughing between
them he is not obliged to tack every
row, like a vessel sailing with head
wind And as he is particular in the
preparation OF the soil, and planting
the seeds, SO he does not stand with
his hands in his pockets after planting.
His hoes, of which he has the best
kind, are bright, aud as it were, polish
ed with labor No, a weed is allowed
10 claim d right to his fields by long
possession. ln fact, he elects them las
the lawyers say) by a summary pro
cess. 10 the time ola drought he does
not keep turning his eyes to the clouds
with a lackadsisical ~countenance, and
exclaimlng there will be no corn this
year," while his fields are baking to
death for want of ploughing OK hoeing.
He is constantly on his feet, stirring
the ground, and keeping its bosom o
pen to the dews and whatever moisture
may bs gained from the atmosphere
or from the earth beneath. And while
the corn OF Look On is dropping its
head, rolling its blade with thirst, that
of Willy Snug is green and Furnishing,
and finally yields a reasonable if not
an abundant harvest,
Willy Snug is well aware of the
effect of moisture in producing crops.
Of course, wherever the water can be
turned by raising a small dam and dig
ging a channel, 1t is done, and the re.
freshlng element spread IN gentle and
almost invisible rills over the surface
OF his meadows, which are always to
DE seen smiling and verdant, and annu
ally repaying the small expense Of cul
tivatlon in double and treble crops Ct
excellent hay. Neither is the bounty
OF nature thrown away in haying time
by bad management. The grassis Gu!
IN the proper season for making the
best hay aud the most of il. 1t is not
mOwn SO early as to be what some
people call wishy- washy, or not allow.
ed 10 stand SO late as 10 loose all Its
sweet and nourishing juice and drop
OIL It's seed and blades IN landing, leav
ing nothing for the poor horses and
cattle but the bare, sere, good tor no
thing stalk. And when the grass is
cut, the boys are amongst it with their
rakes and pitchforks. aud keep it NOV
ing as lOnG as the sun shines. and.uDul