The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-09-08
AGRICULTURAL BEREAVEMENT
Evciy Day Thoughts About Evcry
Day work.
ny 4 Young FARMER.

began haying little too vigorously,
and tric to do little too much, feeling
somcwh 1t in u hurry 10 get il finished In
consequence had a visit from an oil enc
my, called rheumatism. whose acquaintance
first mal' on Tn" sacred soil of Virginia
s,me to- years ago. and from whom | |
have had m my vlsitations, though | never |
have considered them as pleasant. or offer
ed my welcome to their coming or objec-
tons to their going away. This caused |
two or three weeks stoppagc of Labor for
me- though | cannot say that ! had much |
rest out of 1t. And when did get ready
to return to work again, found enough to
do, so that have not had any rest since.
II the old saying is true that there is no
rest for the wicked it is no use for me to
deny my sins. In fact, | was guilty of a
sin that | begin to think ! cannot free my
self from, of laying out more work than
| can attend TO properly, and then letting
work get little the start of me before get
ting extra help Each year do that, and
declare that will not do 1t again, and |
do not see any signs of reform yet. And
the unreiability of help has helped to make
it worse One man left me at an hours
notice, because of a quarrel with another
workman. Another left "by special inv-
tation,' being too apt to get asleep at the
end of his row, if put in the field alone.
Then trying to catch up the work by the
help of day hands, | have found them so
irregular about doing work, by reason OF
green apple sickness, clam bal>es. eXcur-
sions down the river, and other uaavoida-
able accidents, that know not what to-
morrow may bring about in the wy of
work done. do not know of anything
more unreliable than the average of help of
that sort, unless it be old, WON out rail
fences, which are another grievance with
me Just now. / have any quantity of old
fence and older stone wall on this farm,
which | agreed to keep in repair during my
lease, and they are both in tumbe-down
condition. | cannot afford to make them
anew, and the owner will not do it, and
they will not stay mended, any more than
than the boys old trousers. So it is ''sheep
in the meadow and COWS in the corn, until
think it would be cheaper for me to hire
boy to watch them all the time, if |
thought ! could find one who would not
let the cattle eat up the garden while he eat
up the apples and melons The cows are
not much to be blamed, for they will run
quietly enough as long as there is decent
feed in the pasture. By the time the pas
ture gets dry and poor. some hunter, berry,
picker, or stroller about the field, will
either take off q rail or two, where the
fence is too high to get over, or sit down on
the fence and break down the stakes or
rails, and the COWS finding the gap before
do, get the taste of better feed than the
pasture affords. and after that there is nc
persuading them that the pasture is the
proper place for them. The whole diff
cult might be easily overcome by proper
management on abe part of the owner, fol
there is but very little of the pasture thai
could not be easily brought into moving
land and at a comparatively light expense
If this were done, and well done, the farm
could easily keep Thirty cows in the BARI
the year round instead of half starving tel
head. as it would do now, if did not buy
hay in the winter and grain almost tin
year round. 1t is provoking to me to see
farm which, if rightly managed, might b.
one of the best, If not tie best in the coun
try, becoming one of the most unproduc
tive, and that, too, in the hands of ma
who has abundant capital to make improve
ments with, but is contented to take wha
he can get off it each year, without putin
out cent upon it. Let my lease come t
an end and ! will get out of this and IT.
something better another year, whether
be to work for some one who will pay 70
my labor, or somewhere that | can hay
the benefit of such improvement as max
and not have to improve the farm of
richer man than am, at my own expense
While ! was off work | took the oppo
tunity of going away from home to atten
to some little matters of business long NJ
elected, and | had the pleasure of seem
and inspecting farm which was almost ;
strong Il contrast to this as ould be. III
present owner is man well advanced
years, who was brought up rs Il boy upC
Il farm, it may be, but who has spent mo
of his years in other pursuits, and has,
old age brought to the farm the same bus
ness talent, energy and untiring perseye
ance that made him successful in preyio
occupations. The farm came into his pc
session some fourteen or fifteen years az
1t was then, judging from representatiC
and from present appearances, roug
rocky specimen of farm. Some parts
it naturally strong land (the hills must ha'
been very strong to have held up Il
weight of rock upon them), but none of
under very good cultivation Part of
worn out by cropping without manure, al
part of it simply neglected. 1t was G
numbered with "heads and piles of t
surface stone in various places, beside ma
useless stone walls, built simply for &
purpose of getting the stone out of the wa
though many farmers would have thong
the walls more in the way than the loo
stone. There was but a small old orcha
of apple trees, mostly fit for cider appl
only. He kept one COW and horse t
first year, and had to buy ton of hay
make out to feed them beside all he cut
the farm. Add to all this the fact I'll
there were several big holes in the best
the land, near the house, filled in the "
season with stagnant water, aud in the
season with the wash from the higher la
and the decomposing vegetable mattertl
came with it, which produced only bl
flag root, mosquitoes and myasma, and Al
the fact that the farm buildings were, Ii
the farm, IN a most neglected conditiC
and you have an idea of the task he h
before him. But 1t was not hopeless Oh
There was abundant chance for impro
ment and any change of management col
hardly fail to be for the better. The b.
bolaa xyara buU ont n the very bOtto