Daily Democrat and news. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1859-1864, 1860-03-07

Taking this text, the Springfield,
Mass. y Republicans says large estates
are seldom productive in proportion to
small ones. A farm is class of proper
ty that cannot take care Of itself, and
rarely pays dividend without great
pains from its owner. Hence sometimes
the smaller the farm the greater the
profit. A few acres well cultivated may
be more remumerativc than twice the
acres carelessly run over. The story Of
the old vineyard owner il case in
point. When the eldest of his two
daughters married, she received as dow
ry onc-third of the fathers vineyard
This diminished the superficial area OF
bis property, but by bcstowing the same
labor on what remained, his profits were
undiminished. At length the youngest
daughter married, and again the pattern
al acres were sundered and apportioned.
The same industry was applied to the
one third left, as had previously been
bestowed upon the whole when togeth
er. To the surprise Of the venerable
husbandman, there was still no differ
encc in the profit, and late in life he
learned the important lesson Of our text.
1t would not be difficult to mention mod
ern cases of a similar natnre. Many a
man sacrifices profit on the altar OF an
insane greed of land.
Land ownership is not all that is re-
qusite in good farming. High farming
is accompanied with limited acres. The
time is coming, if it has not already,
when an inordnate ambition for more
land, by poor farmer, will be prima
facic evidence Of lunacy and when the
man who blocks the wheels of progress
by persisting to hold unimpreved lands
at such cxorbitant rates rs to preclude
improvement, will be accounted Grim
insl. No person has either a legal or
moral right to perpetrate an evil, and
what else can We call weedy soil, an
nsightly barren, or an offensive quag-
mire? These are nuisances, to be aba
ted principally by small land owners.
We have been led to these thoughts
by q recent letter from Mr.. Dan Hatch
of Alstead, N. H., a mechanic and farm
er subscriber, who since 1854 has owned
and cultivated little farm of acres
and 90 rods. The constant increase Of
its productive power is worth examining.
In 1854 he raised u tons hay, Is bush
els corn, 6 bushels barley, 10 bushels
potatoes, Ga bushels carrots, Ga bushels
turnip., and 2 cart load pumpkins. In
1855, the record is lost except that his
carrots were increased to 90 bushels, and
his turnips to 60 bushels. In 1856, his
crops were "a tons hay, 25 bushels pc.
tatoe., l3 bushels corn, G5 bushels car
rots, so bushels turn'ps. 4 bushels bar
ley, busbel peas, and bushels beans.
In 1857, he had from his ground tons
hay, 6 bushels barley, 8 bushels corn,
Sc bushels carrots, 20 bushels potatoes,
81 bushels turnips, II bushels beans, and
7 bushels peas, In 1853, 81 tons hay,
IA bushels corn, 40 bushels potatoes, 70
bushels carrots, 30 bushels other roots,
l bushel beans, II bushel peas, and a
cart load of pumpkins. In 1850, tons
hay, 10 bushels corn, II bushels pota-
toes, 20 bushels carrots, 26 bushels beets,
II bushels each peas and beans.
During all this time, he has had an
ample supply from the garden for two
families, and nothing is included above
except what was harvested in the au-
tumn. Besides on the same ground, he
has small supply of cherries, plums
and currents, and apple trees, six Of
which are in bearing, and have yielded
from to % bushels per annum. He
also states that his carrots have grown
year after year on the same 10 square
rods Of ground. His cultivation consists
in blowing with one yoke of cattle as
deep as he can, once in the autumn and
twice in the spring. He applies about 4
loads Of barn-yard manure in the spring,
broadcast, and uses ashes and other fer
tilizers. His absorbents are brakes,
shavings and turf, and he usually has
enough OF those things to hold the
liquids.
Where is the owner Of hundred
acres, that gets as much product in pro
portion 10 his land! The cases are rare,
but not impossible. Depend upon it,
nothing pays better for high feeding than
land. This starving the soil is the cause
Of much of the complaint of bad luck in
farming. High culture is the only elk
CIR to dcvelopc fully either farms, cattle
or men,