The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1853-08-31
FARM ECONOMY.

FARM ECONOMY.
81 am not rich s7aough to be econo-
mieal." said young friend Of ours.
when we strongly recommended TO him
the profits Of certain Improvement.
:. The want Of means compels me to
work constantly to disadvantage, and !
cannot enjoy the privileges and profits
ofmy richer neighbors." This is diff.
fculty in which many intelligent far.
mers have found themselves placed,
and from which they would gladly be
extricated. lnnumerable instances are
occurring in their daily practice. where
they could secure golden results. had
they only the lever Of capital placed in
their hands; but as they are now stu.
ated, they seem to themselves like the
man who is digging the earth with his
unassisted hands. or the one who is
compelled to carry water in an egg
she'll. while their more fortunate neigh
bors are turning up the deep soil with
the most perfect instruments. or send
ing streams Of refreshment and fertili-
ty through easy channels over their en-
tire farms. Now. we are not about to
plan a !" royal road" Of escape from this
difficulty; itmust be met and conquer
ed. II the attack is rightly made, the
conquest will be comparatively easy;
If wrongly, il will be the discouraging
and formidable task Of life time.
/ The eager inquiry is now made,
What is the easiest mode Of conquestf
We answer. the first and great leading
means, is large fund Of thorough and
practical knowledge. The man who
closely observes the results in his own
practice and in the experience Of 9th
ers, in connection with the immense
amount of useful suggestions, Ito say
nothing Of distinct practical directions)
contained in the best publications Of
the ,lay, possesses, even. with very
short purse, vast advantage over the
ort-sighted, ignorant, and unobser-
want capitalist. lie will turn to ad
vantage, even with his very limited
means, a thousand resources which
others would allow to sleep unemploy.
ed forever.
We once had occasion to observe the
contrast in the condition Of two young
farmers, one of whom had a four hum
dred acre farm left" to him; the 9th.
er had but fifty acres, which he had
paid for in part, by previously labor.
ing on a farm for some years by the
month in summer, api teaching dis.
trict school in wintSSt, The one had
the capital Of none (which his own
hands had never earned; the other
possessed the more valuable capital of
knowledge and indomitable perseyer-
: ance. The young heir was more inte-
1 rested in riding about, in parties, balls,
and in jaunts to the city. than in the
details Of farming, and knew the con-
, tents Of the tri-weekly political news
) paper, and of certain frivolous maya
zine, much better than Of any agricul-
tural journal, or Of Norton's Elements.
His farm became an exact reflection Of
its owners character. Fences were
soon obscured by belts Of alders, black
berries, and burdocks; and buildings
showed marks Of premature age ana
became dilapidated. There was mr.
: ty acre marsh, which might have Seen
drained, but it never was. And thefS
was a patch of Canada thistles, which
filled one twelve acre field, and part
Of another, which he could have de-
stroyed in one season, had he known
: how others had done. One hundred
and eighty loads of manure, as estimat-
ed at one time by a neighbor, were al
lowed to lie whole year about his
barn without application. His cattle
: were of long horned, big-headed,
: sharp-backed breed. His swine were
, the long bristled racers. His profits
/; in farming may be easily guessed,
! There was general complaint among
his neighbors, that his debts were ne.
. yer met within six months after the APP
pointed pay day. and that he endured
: sharp dun with extraordinary pa
tience. It is true, necessity drove him
to retrench his expenses, and the i'm.
9 proved examples about him induced
him to amend his practice, but not un-
til his farm was reduced to less than
half its original size, by portions sold
off at three different times to satisfy
!. mortgages.
Well, what became Of the young fif,
ty acre farmer, we are asked. He has
: ceased to be " fifty acre farmer
He began by examining closely what
improvements could be made, Of what.
ever character and kind, whether cheap
or expensive. Among these he was