Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1871-08-05
Correspondence.
MY SUMMER ON A TwENTY-ACRE
FARM.
CHAPTER II.

a nc1HnDOT OF nllUe ciIUc lTOIn HIS
yard one day, where he had been getting out
manure, sat down on his door step, and tax
ing up II chip, began scraping the manure
from his boots and exclaimed, 1" o the filth
of farming"
That is about the light in which | viewed
the business until | learned to put science into
it. Now go into my manure heap with un-
bounded enthusiasm. Instead of drcading it
us used to- rather like it, and wish had Il
thousand cart-loads to handle. % Science
What's that" | fancy l hear some of my
brother farmers exclaim. Why simply a.
knowledge of the principles that underlie and
govern all the elements we have to deal with
in our noble calling. Why should knowl-
edge of first principles be such n bugbear as
it is to most farmers? The absurd and vu-
gar idea, so prevalent, that science is antago-
nistic to labor. ought to have exploded long
ago. How many farmers will tell you that
to educate II boy, will spoil him for work on
the farm! Any boy that was spoiled in that
way was spoiled before. 1t is not learning
that makes so many farmers boys quit the
farm just us soon us they can for some other
occupation. 1t is the laundering, heller
skelter, slovenly, slavish manner III which
farming is generally conducted, that disgusts
the boys. Any boy of spirit and enterprise
must necessarily he disguised with such
things.
The prevalent sentiment among our Yer
mont farmers is, (judging from their words
and actions,) that to work sis the chief end
of man." don't believe that doctrine. To
be sure II Book of the highest authority says,
Work while the day lasts" And six
days shalt thou labor and do all thy work. "
But that don't mean that Il man shall make
II perfect slave of himself, and all that are
under his control The physical, mental and
moral constitution of man demands that
some time should be devoted to relaxation,
and intellectual and moral culture. And
with this idea the Bible is not in conflict. |
have known men work not only all day, but
into the night and require their boys and
hired help to do the same. And have seen
these same men completely broken down,
and used mp by the time they were sixty.
] have known others who worked not only
six days but seven, and then did not get their
work done or gain one cent by it.
Dut 'tiu WtnttIlnS. wis BOiuS W spc'th
fmy method of applying my manure to my
land. / simply left the work | had in hand,
and ran after squirrel or woodchuck, or
II skunk, rs boys do sometimes. think it
was the latter by the smell. Whether have
dispatched him or not remains to be seen. So
will now go back to my work. used to
be in the habit of applying my manure for all
crops to the surface, and then pillow it under.
This method not being satisfactory on such a
heavy soil as mine, | have since plowed my
land first then for sowed crop, spread the
manure us evenly as possible upon the sur
face, sowcd my grain and narrowed all in
together find this method perfectly salts
factory thus far. For hoed crops | apply my
manure in the same way, harrow it in thor
oughly, then mark out my ground with the
rows three and one-half feet apart each way
put double handful of homemade super
phosphate or poudrette, or whatever it might
be called, composed of one-fourth hen ma