Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1856-02-02
Aqritnltnrnl.

In the selection Of land for n farm,
there are thoughts and things to be taken
into Consideration that a volume would
scarcely serve to discuss, yet some of
them may be proftably limited at within
the limits which here circumscribe US.
What is a tarm ? should first be asked;
for in the consideration of any subject,
it is time well applied which is spent III
getting a clear idea Of the word which
names IT, A farm, for US, means por-
ton of land cultivated and managed by
the onaer, who lives upon it; and hence
it takes in the thought Of home, so that
homestead is almost synonymous term.
Hence, among things to be considered
in the choice of farm, we shall say:
LIST. The farm should be pleasantly
situated as q home. The health, com
fort, and happiness of those who are to
occupy it are of prime Importance so
every social and physical influence which
bear upon them should have due weight
in determining choice. However fertile
farm may be, if the locality is an I'M
healthy one, it cannot make a home. If
fertile and healthy, but surrounded by a
moral masma-or with but few social
privileges and adyantages-it cannot be
a pleasant home.
ID. The farm should be in agreement
with the means and circumstances of the
owner. A farmer needs capital as well
as land in order to operate proitably. -
The great error of American husbandry
is that farms are almost universally too
large for the labor and capital at the
command of those who carry them on.
Hence arises a train of evils which we
have often sought to bring before our
readers.
3D.. The farm should be suited to the
products proposed these should
conform with the demands of the market,
and the taste and experience of the
owner. Some farms are best calculated
for grain-growing, others for the purpose
Of stock and wool-growing In many
localities these may be probably com
bined, and land secured which shall be
appropriated to such a course of hus-
bandry. The recent great increase in
the facilities Of transportation, influences
a large extent Of country, and many
places, heretofore of small value on ac-
count Of distance from market, have now
become desirable for farming purposes.
Still, tits worthy to be thoughtof, whether
it will cost ten cents or one hundred to
bring product before the consumer,
and the value of farm will depend ma
terially upon the expense of inter-com-
munication. The domestic demand is
also Of importance, and always exists,
varying with locality. The taste and
experience of the farmer should Of course
influence his choice--he will be most
successful who is most fayorably and
agreeably situated, and who best knows
how to employ the advantages at his
command.
Other influences exist and should be
considered-these we have rather limited
at than discussed-we prefer to leave
the latter to our readers. If we can
only start topics in such way as to call
out and suggest further thinking by
those who read, our object will be ac-
complished. -RBd NcW YorLcr.
INTEREST AND DEBT.
forgot to ask, in the earnostness Of
my congratulations, whether the farm is
yours? Whether it is paid for? hope
the deeds are recorded, without mortgage
or lien of any kind. / hope no notes
are drawing interest. No blister draws
sharper than interest does OF all in
dustries none is comparable to that of
interest. 1t works day and night, in
fair weather and in foul. Ii has no sound
in its footsteps, but travels fast. 1t
gnaws at a mans substance with inyisi-
bic teeth. 1t binds industry with its
film, as a fly is bound apon spiders
web. Debt rolls a man over and over,
binding him hand and foot, and letting
him hang upon the fatal mesh until the
long-legged interest deyours him. There
is no crop that can afford to pay interest
money on a farm. There is but ont
thing raised on a farm like it, and that
is the Canada thistle, which swarms new
plants every time you break its roots
whose blossoms are prolific, and every
flower father of million seeds. Every
leaf is an awl, every branch a spear, and
every single plant is like n platoon Of
bayonets, and field full of them is like
an armed host. The whole plant is a
torment and vegetable curse. And
yet q farmer had better make his bed of
Canada thistles, than attempt to lie at
ease upon interest.