The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1871-09-19
Too Much Land.

In this country, above all others, lane
good, tillable, fertile land, is abundan
and cheap. This reason perhaps more
than any other, has caused our farmers
to fall into the erroneous notion that they
could not have too much land or in 9th.
er words, they could not own and cult.
vate too large farms for profit. This
long established idea, that in order to be
successful as tiller Of the soil one must
cultivate large tract of land, has been
over and over practically exploded. We
know from experience that farmers are
as a class timid, careful, conservative
men, not given to wild speculations, a.
verse to any, or at least sudden changes
in business. They like the old well-beat-
en- path. When they have little money
to invest they are apt to buy more land,
and without any additional help they try
to cultivate it in addition to the old farm
In looking back for score of years we
notice that the facilities for performing
farm labor have been wonderfully in:
creased. The genius of progress has not
made greater advances in any depart
ment of productive industry than in that
of agriculture. The number Of valuable
labor-saving implements for farm and
garden that have been brought into prac.
teal use within few years has been le-
gion, and the natural result should have
been everywhere, a deeper, more thor
ough and better tillage but instead we
lind our farmers buy more land, and con-
tinue as before the same loose, struggling
cultivation. In the eastern and middle
States, with few exceptions, the farms are
too large. Double the amount of land
is occupied and cropped after a fashion,
than ought to be, with the labor and cap.
ital the owner can command. Manure
and attention to the crop. is applied too
thinly and sparingly to produce marked
profitable results; besides on large farms
worked with little help, great amount
oftime is spent in travel. Farmers would
be surprised if they could have the actu-
al time, in days and hours, placed before
them which they spend in the course of
one year in useless travel over their large
farms.
Again, on large farms cut into numer-
GUS lots by expensive fences, after the old
method, the time and labor spent in look
ing after and keeping in repair these
fences, equals, in many cases, one-third
the net proceeds of the entire farm. Con.
centration is what we need. Less land,
less travel, more labor, more manure, and
more intelligence to understand the pos.
sibilities and the demands Of each crop.
Our farmers must undertake to do less
and do it better. If they would sell or
give away part of their land and then
double the labor and manure for the bal
ance, they would find the credit side of
their bank account increased, and there
would be less complaining that l." farming
don't pay" If properly conducted, there
is no business more permanently profta.
Bile than farming. There always is and
always will be demand for the products
of the farm. When men learn in this
business, as they soon learn in every 9th.
er, that they must not undertake to do
more than they can do well, then will
they prosper, and the sons of farmers
will learn to love their vocation, and not
be possessed OF an itching desire to go
into store"
Our English, Swede and German emf.
grant farmers are teaching the American
people some valuable lessons in farming,
the chief Of which is that small farms
are more profitable than large ones. They
believe in special crops,plenty of manure,
and stirring the soil often. Let us heed
the lesson. NJ. NJ. FRIssELLE, NJ. D.