The Republican journal., 1875-02-18
Farm, Garden and Household,
Large OF Small Farms

Large OF Small Farms
After visiting such farms as those of
MIR Stanley of Attleboro, and Mr.. Wilson
of East Providence, the one Representing
the home of the small, independent farm
cr of New England, while the other re-
minds Us of the vast landed estates OF
Great Britain. and some other OF the ola
European countries, the question IS very
iorcibly presented to our minds whether
large or small farms are the more con-
duciyn To the general well-belng OF the
farming community here upon our own
New England hills
If H. very evident that on large estates,
Ike that at Rumtord, u certain amount of
labor is made to produce greater return
IN cash. than on small, one-horse farms.
Take the dairy for instance. With large
number of cows together, the cost of pre-
pairing the food and feeding it out is re-
ducel to the minimum point 1t is believ-
rd now 0v many Of the BEST farmers, that
Ittiug and steaming cattle fodder, in
winter, does aclaallv make it more valu-
able not that it adds ANYTHING to it, but
thar ID so soltenS and breaks down the tis-
sue as to render large proportion OF 1t
available az food
Feeding cooked food IN freezing wea-
ther. In Il slightly warm condition, also
adds to the comfort of the auimals and in
.rares the product. whether it be in milk
.- flesh erY cold food or ice-cold wa
1.r. given 10 any animal. does not give
tas Best results In return But, with most
ul us. .he extra labor Of cutting and steam
az or warming the food or water for our
DW~ would more than eat up all the
ultit lhat should be derived from the
practice
-, in the handling OF the products Of
le dany NitA "a large quantity OF milk
4 handle and convert into butter and
.4cesc. ~ viii pay To provide the vely
t,-t apparatus tOr doing the work, and 10
employ the most intelligent and skilled
labor Large amy rooms, convenience
tr heating the milk, at any season, plen-
w ot pure running water, and an ice
house and refrigerator rooms may, each
9.J l. be made to pay, and pay well,
lI.. la such an establishment, one or
Naa strong men, who thoroughly under
-.uI ther business. can, in three hours,
. llr work which it would take fifty
Iuuer- wives to do IN the same time, if
.b llorej in her own family Kitchen.
A--la4 l4 Lut HI4G IA Llt PiOhuNloi q
.-at saving is made at the factory or
re larm 1t takes 80 longer to sell
IuIsaud pounds oi putter or cheese than
sell the dairy products Of one COW, and
ia practice If j. found that the large guam
titles generally bring lhe higher price.
The sane reasoning may be applied to
t1- feeding of hogs. 1t IS claimed that
uu} ner cent may be saved on the
mY1nt oI food required for feeding swine,
ny grinding and cooking all the grain and
lihr' teej given. Experiments without
umber have been cited to show that
cooking food pays provided the extra
lhor II cooking does not eat up all the
r.tIt GAINED Now, with such convent
-rer~ a. We have Otter been familiar with
ya many small farms. il all the TODD We're
.ooked t2r one or two hogs only, the la
bor. u worth anything. would cost muell
more JAan the gam over feeding raw
TODD
With ne better conveniences tor cook
ug than on the farmers kitchen stove.
Np should not feel justified in recommend
az aailed potatoes Tor swine. Certainly
n.I f. the kitchen is used as the principal
living room oI the family. We have
1a-eu I'D feed all our own small potatoes
&, cattle. In preference to boiling them
t,r a half dozen hogs, not deeming them
worth enough more for the latter to pay
TIE eNtra cost OF cooking, but, if we We're
eeding y hundred, and had all the con-
eenieuaes for doing the cooking in the
most economical manner We should, un-
duUDtedlY, change our practice, especial
rs II iaediag store on breeding stock.
D.. -4 Il I1
meuts about the pggery 50 well planned
lur saving labor that one man was enabl-
r, .o d9 all the work of cooking and feed
lug nearly two hundred hogs, and doing
ID w the very best manner. Calling the
lJmlcr two hundred, and allowing ten
hours u day work, ii takes but Just three
minutes to- cook the feed for one hog and
deliver IL tJ him three times a day, at
-gulir Intervals Then there are other
advantages i'm having a large number fed
..V one man, besides the saving OF labog.
A person making this his whole business
would have time TO see that every animal
was wen cared tor, all the time, and would
learn the needs OF each pen and feed ac
rorljngIy
ON farms where many kinds of work
are carried ON by only one or two persons,
10 is next to impossible to prevent some
portions If the work from tagging. The
feeding IS often necessarily done quite IL
regularly and the animals suffer more OF
less lii consequence Mr. Wilson is the
only farmer in New England, that we
know pt, who always keeps a herdsman
with mis- cattle while they are at pasture,
uol because the pastures are unfenced,
but because cattle running at large are
always more or less subject to injury from
each other OF from dogs.
With large number to watch and care
for It becomes cheaper in the end to keep
Il Aerdcr than to take the risk of damage
from broken fences and cattle roaming at
large over gardens and cultivated fields,
as Well as from the injuries they are liable
10 receive from the horns of quarrelsome
individuals in the herd.
Again, in the use of machinery for plant
ing. sowing, cultivating and harvesting
our crops, the advantage is very much in
favor of large estates. There are thou
sands OF farmers in New England, at the
present time, who are pretty much forced
to cut their grass with machines which
they can use but a few days in the year
and then. perhaps, but an hour or two in
al udN -AS d Iule all hInuS Oh laf1n ma
ch.nery pay larger profit on their cost
When used on large than upon small farms,
and the division OF labor, 80 general among
mechanics, is only possible upon estates
Of considerable size.
We did not intend to discuss at this time
the question Of the money profit from large
or small farms, but. rather, the moral or
social tendencies connected with the ques-
ton. In theory, we should certainly ex :
pect the largest returns from capital in
vested in agricultural pursuits where the
business is carried on upon somewhat
extended scale. On large farms, the la
bor can be SO divided that one man may,
for long time, do one kind of work only
and thus gain degree Of expertness rare
ly possible to one who is constantly chang
ng from one thing to another
1t our New England farms get swallow
ed up, one by one, till there are but few
OF them in number, they must, of course,
he owned by a few men, or by corpora
tions made up of many stockholders In