Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1858-02-04
farmtr's Department.
A Talk on Orderly Farming,

place and time which seeks, in short, to car
ry on all the operations of the farm in the
best possible manner 1t cannot be denied that
very many farmers lack the quality to which
we here allude They plow and manure, and
rotate crops they buy, raise and sell stock,
and manage their house hold fairs very much
at hap-hazard, with little ferethought and
method. We are we'll aware that it is hard
TO resist the power of bad example that it is
casv 10 do as our fathers did before us. and as
our neighbors do around that unforeseen cir
cumstances will arise to break in upon the
best matured system we admit all this, yet
We know that it is best to rednce our style of
farming to a well digestcd plan, and to strive
by all means to make circumstances bend to
that plan. BY firm resolution and energy,
more can be done in this matter than is often
supposed. There is meaning in the old prov
CRIBS that I" Fortune favors the brave" and
that " The lucky man is generally the ener-
getic and Industrious man." But now to the
picture
HEA1TH-The orderly farmer takes care of
his health. He does not expose himself un-
necessarily to wet and cold does not 90 with
damp feet and insufficient clothing does not
overwork himself in planting time, and in hay
ing and harvesting does not worry himself
with undue anxiety about the weather, or the
success of crops, and so expose himself to the
assaults of disease. He keeps his head cool.
his heart cheerful, his passions under control
and so builds up and fortities his citadel Of
strength that he is seldom interrupted in his
daily labors.
BUILDINGs.-Look now at his buildings
His dwelling house is not, indeed, pretcutions ::
that wonld be out Of keeping with the char.
acter of the man, and of his employment but
il is comfortable, convenient, neat Ii is roomy
like his heart. 1t is good protection against
all the vicissitudes of the seasons. What a
spacious cellar How well arranged for
storing all kinds of fruit and vegetables, and
the various other articles needful in good
housekeeping And then, it is rost-proof and
rat-proof, and is kept as neat as n pin. -
The rooms above ground are planned for con
venience in dspatching household duties
The parlor and living room look attractive
kitchen, pantries, closets, milk-room, wood
house, well-house, cistern sinks and drains, are
all just where they should be, or as near to
that as possible His barn and other out
buildings have no gingerbread work about
them, but they are substantial, suited 10 their
purpose, and are kept in repair
FENCEs-Glance at his fences. Some Of
them are the old Virginia rail- but they are
not suffered to become tipsy some of them
are post and board, aud here and there hedges
are beginning to appear. Lie is not yet per-
fectly satisfied with his hedge-plant for per
manent farm fence The buckthorn is hardly
thorny enough to turn cattle the hawthorn
is liable to several diseases the locust is ram
pant. and needs considerable care, but answers
tolerably we'll The Usage orange is Just the
thing, if it proves hardy. enough for his climate
He is giving it thorough trial. But what
ever kind of fence he may have for any field,
he does not suffer it to become dilapdated-
Good fences, he knows, have much to do in
making good neighbors he values his own
peace of mind too highly hly--saying nothing about
his crops-to leave his field exposed to the in
roads of vicious cattle Broken rails are there
fore, replaced with new ones, and if a board
gets off, il is soon observed and nailed on
again.
MODE OF TILLAGE-Notice his mode of IT,
lage. As a ground work of the whole, he has
drained his low, swampy lands, and not those
only. but other parts of his farm which were
found to have super-abundant moisture at any
season of the year. He was systematic even
in doing this 1t would have cost too much
labor and money to undertake all this at once
So he distributed the work through several
years, and the remainder as the time and means
permitted And the work pays as it goes
Thorough plowing and manuring go hand in
hand with draining The skinning system he
leaves for others his plows are Of the kind
olN L
the surface. No manures are wasted on his
premises they are never so highly concentra-
ted as to need diluton by exposure to rain, sun
and wind. If anything of this sort is needed,
he thinks it is best to incorporate with them
muck or straw, and to lay them up in heaps
under sheds or barn-celars Nor does he con-
fine his work to a single season Tie well
prepared field is sown or planted with good
seed, and then it is well titled throughout the
Summer. The cultivator and hoe are kept
bright, the soil kept mel low, the crops always
growing, and the weeds kept in constant sub
lection.
IMPLEMENTS, SEEDS AND SrocK.-IIis sclcc
tion of these is worthy of notice He likes
not to make farming an unnecessary dIudgery
Hence, whenever he can find machine that
will economically save human labor, lie buys
it at once He takes pains to inform himself
rs to the best patterns that he may not hc i'm
posed upon by unprinciplcd vendors So in
the choice of seeds He is careful TO save his
own crops of these which mature the earliest
and develop themselves in the best manner
And lest they should deteriorate somewhat, by
being too long grown on the same soil, lie ex-
changes with orderly farmers in other places
If he learns of new varieties which promise
well, he does not scout them at once as hum
bugs. lie goes to reliable sources of intorma-
tion, OR he makes careful experiments, and
then adopts or rejects the new conner as its
merits seem to require. He is not afraid to
prove new things, yet il is quite sure TO hold
TO the old which are known to be good. The
same system is shown In his nnrchaSaS and q arn