Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1869-09-24
RULES FOR FARMERS WHO PREFER
POVERTY TO RICHES.

The Rural american makes the following
clever hit Plow as ahallow as possible, plant
and sow the poorest seed you have, o week or
two after the right time, when the ground is
wet; and do not be particular as to the quaint.
ties Of weed that grow up, as it viii not pay
to keep them down.
Keep more stock than you can winter wen.
or have pasture for in summer; and when you
buy stock, select the cheapest you can find,
regardless of breed and other qualities.
Your hired men should be required to rise
from bed an hour at least before you do, and
have all the "chores' done when you "turn
out" Send them to their work at abou, eight
o'clock, and tell them thatyou win be along
in about an hour or two.
No fence should be repaired till after
damage has been done to your crops, as by
so doing you know exactly what fences need
repairing. A fence three and half or four
feet high, is high enough for stock tina; is not
high fed; and no farmer can afford to make
them higher.
Sow your wheat and rye where the water
stands, covering tbs surface Of the land in
winter; and be on your guard against being
persuaded to underdrain your land by men
who subscribe to agricultural papers.
When you buy swine, get the kind that
takes two or three, side by side, to make
shadow-the Gland shark breed is highly
recommended as good eaters
Kill your pullels at six or niue months old.
and keep all your old hens to lay eggs. By so
doing, it is much less labor to gather them.
Never change the males Of any stock, as in
and-in breeding viii, ifloug continued, ensure
you against having stock to sell, which is
troublesome.
Farming implements shouldn't be cleaned,
when used in wet weather. or when the soil adj
heres to them; and, especially, do not require
your hired help to bring plougbs, harrows,
ETC., from the fields. Let them lie by the
fence till you want them elsewhere, if be a
month or more. Nor should you trouble
yourself about providing q tool house or sheds
for wagons, as any place will do FOR your
tools, where they win get washed by rains,
and dried by the sun.
Your summer fuel should be cut between
April and October; and if you find Unnecessary
to send to the woods for load when YOU are
moving or doing other important work. it
will change the monotony Of your labors in a
great degree Moreover, be particular to
burn green wood, as it goes three times as
far as that which is dry.
A farmer should never paint his baildings,
nor have particle Of the oily istuf about
him. The thing was got up to speculate
on, and to rob farmers of their hard earnings.
Nature requires no paint, nor should the
tenement or out-buildings of farmers.
The owners Of farms should be careful not
to work with their hired help any more than
Is absolutely necessary, as it may cause the
hands to think that they require watching.
You can generally find enough .'tnkering''
to do about the house, while your men do
the hard work on the field. By 50 doing you
will have less need Of new barns, cribs, etc.
which are expensive.
No farmer of refinement will have a s'girl''
10 help his poor, broken-down wife, because
she is already ruined in health and spirits all
the girls in the land could not restore her to
perfect health again. Besides, these girls are
expensive things and will talk with the hired
men and keep them from their work.
No wise farmer will talk Of The pleasures of
agriculture before his sons, as it would lead
them to expect in after years, perhaps, de-
gree OF enjoyment, if they followed farming
as an occupation, that might never be reaIi.
zed. False hopes are ruinous to a risinq ear.
Grafton.
In hiring hands for tie season, do not mt
the contract in writing, nor have any witness
to 1t. This allows them to avail themselves
OF an offer in harvest time of double what YOU
pay them, from some other party; and if You
pay them in advance somewhat, they can
leave you in better spirits.
Every progressive farmer will be rosted in
the price of hides, as he is liable at any time,
but particularly in the spring to have cattle die
. natural death. To ieed in way to prevent
this is doubtful economy.