Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1855-05-24

human lie itself. Never set fires, or carry
hre out Of doors, in dry weather, without the
greatest caution.
2. Early planting and sowing OiH pre-
vent, to great eatent, the effects Of drought,
by giving the crops an early gro,oth, before
the dry weather comes on. Last year, those
meadows that were allowed to start early,
yielded, in most cases, an average crop of hay;
and coru planted early, was far better than
the same grain planted late. To enable the
farmer to plant and SOW easily on clay soils,
drainage, sub-soil plo ughing, and ploughing
the fall before, should-some or all of them
be practiced. If the crops on the Western
Reserves could have been we'll in the ground,
before the great rain in May, 1854, thousands
of cattle and sheep, whose carcasses are now
decaying, might have been alive and prosper
ing. ~
3. Early and thorough tihh might have
saved many crop of corn and potatoes. The
farmer waited too long, and the drought came
and burned everything up.
4. No time should be lost, in providing a
generous supply Of aOells and eisterns, for
houses and barns, and Of reservoirs, ponds,
and ,oater tanks, for gardens and pastures.
How much suffering in nan and beast-how
many losses by fre-how much sickness,
might have been avoided last year, had this
been attended to! My friends, spend fifty or
q hundred dollars in these ways, and save five
hundred, or thousand thereby, in the next
ten years.
5. The experience of the last year, is in
valuable, in regard to the thorough planting
and watering Of trees. Those trees and
shrubs which were we'll planted on we'll pre-
pared soil and thoroughly watered, now and
then, during the severest drought, lived, in
most cases, and did well. Nine-tenths of those
that were otherwise dealt by persisted. Bya
little extra care, nearly all were saved, even
last year. In other cases, little carelessness
involved heavy loss. To this we can testify
from personal knowledge.
6. The drought teaches lesson, too, in
regard to PARITY Of crops. Unless the soil
admits of but one kind of crop-which is
rarely the ease-the farmer should not stake
his all, we think. on a single crop. Indepen.
dence is good thing both nationally and in
dividualy. And while we would not RECON-
mend the farmers of the North to grow oran-
ges, nor those of Louisiana to grow wheat, to
illustrate their independence, we do think that
many farmers are suffering now, because their
crops last year were not various enough. We
admit that, in many cases, euery thing failed.
In many others, however, portion of the loss
might have been saved, had suitable varie-
ty Of crops been seasonably and carefully put
in.
7. Does not the last year suggest wise
caution against selling ont ones entire sup
ply Of hay and grain? In our boyhood,
we used to hear old farmers say keep a
considerable quantity of hay and grain over.
1t is better than money at interest" We
recolect that we doubted the truth of the re.
mark. The experience Of the last winter has
we fancy, convinced many others, who have
been skeptical on this matter, Of the good
sense which dictated the injunction. Had il
been acted upon in the winters of 1858 and
"a, we should not be suffering now from the
distress, which amounts almost to famine
even among the producers of bread.
8. The drought of 1854, along with the
winter that has followed it, impresses this les
son, too. Limit your stock to your actua
supply Of .food. 1t was the farmers hope
that the winter would be light. This hope
was natural, but the terrible winer has shown
how delusive it was Drive your stock to 4
region where food is plenty and cheap-sel
it off at the lowest prices-kill it, and gel
what you can for the carcase and the hide-ol
secure, even at heavy prices, the necessary
food for it making provisions for long and
severe winter. Adopt We say, some one o
these courses. But do not enter on the win
ter without in some way limiting your stool
to your supply Of food.
.. The last year teaches lesson, too, abou
Outstanding the supply one has. Many mil
tions of tons of coarse fodder have been coast
ed, in the last few years, which, if judiciousl,
used in its time, would have left enough OIL
good food, to keep, we think, the entire stocl
Of Ohio during tho past winter. Or, a par
OF this coarse fodder might have been stacke'
out at small expense, and saved for just sucl
an emergency as this. Grain may be pur
chased, and stock may be fed on it. But tn
animals need something besides. And wher
hay is wanting, straw or stalks are far bette
than nothing. A farmer in Summit count
had large and very valuable flock of sheep
He tried to keep them on corn, and furnishes
il to them plentifully. On the LIST of March
a large portion of the flock was dead. H
imputed the mortality to the lack of coars
food. He was doubtless right, in part at leas,