Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1858-08-13
From the Cosp,r, Geatkm man.
A Bad Farmer Put 70 a Good Use.

- StN ~ A4NA a ~ ~ N SSNS SeN-
One Of oor Agent. in Western State. in
recent letter. vrites as follows -" Ia
calling around for The purpose Of giving the
farmers of;he tovnshipa chance TO sub
scribe Cor your publications, | became ae-
quAinied with some fact. In regard TO the
farming Of two near neishblrs. which wero
80 surprising as TO set me 10 thinking and
inquirins about them, until | could c1.
plain them somewhat TO my own ,atislac
ton. As the facts which appeared 10 me
- strange. and the inquiries and reflections
10 which they lsI me. have been the mean.
OF imprcssins very deeply. perhaps iadel'-
Nv upon my own mind until had arrived
=: a knowledge Of the circumstances which
explained and fully accounted for them.
were these :-On two farms Of similar soil
And situation, adpining each other, the oc-
eupier OF one com mplalncd bitterly Of the
poorest luck in the world. Of very scanty
crops, and Of sundry mishaps, which had
made him 80 poor thai he could not posi-
bly, be said spare half dollar tor The Gull
tirAtor, even though a..sred b'a that be
woall End in its columns -omewhcre, daring
the year, a sovereign remedy for bad luck,
ann an inial,iole method Of securing good
luck while the occupier Of the other was
surrounded with abundant evidences Of
large crops. general prosperity. and the very
bcst OF luck. Upon inquiry, learned that
upon the same land. his last crop Of whea,
was 2s bushels pr acre, while that Of bis
neishbor was somewhat under 10 bushels
and that the difference between their crops
Of corn aud s1me other things was about in
the same proportion. was inlurmed that
the soll Of the two farms was originally very
much the sane. and as this difference in
CROPS and luck was matter about which
neither OF the parties seemed very willing
to talk. or to explain, had TO depart with
my curiosity very thoroughly aroused but
with nothing ~ sat'.iy it.
Having very liI,le acquaintance with
the parties. as they lived in a remote part
I Of the town. clnbraccI the frsi CpPorsu-
nifty Of being again in the nei:hborhOOd. TO
make some inquiries in regard to the modes
OF management Of tLcse two farmers, ~ far
as these might throw any light upon the
widely different results Of their farming.
learned that the one who had such super
abundance Of bad luck. was slack aud
sloycnly in oil his movements and operations
that be never, for example, had more than
one days wood CHOPPED at a time ;and that
DO kept but very little stock, and had OF
eourss bot very lit,le manure to draw out
upon bis fields Tie more lueky OF thee
settlers. upon the same quartcr'ssciion OF
land. was remarkably enersetic-an the
moro - probably from hi. disgust with the
slowness and slaekness Of his neighbor.-
and was bis exact opponent in almost every
trait Of character, aud every point OF con-
duet and mode Of management. Onc OF
their neighbors declared that he verify be-
lisyed the good and prosperous farmer bad
become -, more by the example OF the poor
and unlueky one acting as continual spur
and warning, than by any extraordinary
energy or good judgement OF bis own. The
latter had used the former as beacon, and
had thus avoided the rocks upon which his
neiehbOr VA, suffering an eyer'reeurring
shipwreek.
As to their farming operations, ther'
s,omed to be so far as could ascertain, Nc
point in which they differed so much as ia
the quantity Of stock which they differed SO
much as in the quantity Of stock which
they kept and their care of the manure
Both bad 80 acres apiece, and the imPro'
we'd portion Of each covered about so acres
but while the one was wintering only an
old horse, u yoke Of oxen, two cows. cal
a yeArling and 10 sheep. the other was win
tcring. after having sold OF several animals
in prime ft condition in the all,-twC
horses. two colts, Eve cows, with young
cattle and sheep enough to make the whole
stock (reckoncd as head OF nea, cattle eight
sheep as equal to Que COW, and one yearlin:
aud one calf as equal 10 one COW, &e.,) JUS
Eve times the amount KEEP, by the other
OF course be has Eve times US mnch manur'
and by hauling dry, well seasoned muck tC
his barn-cellsr every year to mix with hi'
manure. he had, it might be safe to say from
ten to twenty times as much icrtiliEins mat
ter 10 pa. upon bis land yearly, as his shif