The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-09-27

what Was Accomplishsd by Connecticut

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lFrom Harper's Magazine for October. ll
Why should farming not be scientific {?
Because the manufacturer labors in a
scientific way, his profits are greater and
surer than those of the agriculturist who
has neither machinery nor system; but
it is the unreasonable custom of many
to sneer at all innovations, and to look
at all methodic variations upon old us
ages as the fanciful and Improbable
schemes of Missionaries with more money
than common sense. 1t is the people
who sneer that are usually most def
cient in the latter quality, however; and
had they little more of it they might
perceive that careful book keeping and
the adoption of improved methods and
implements are as necessary in farming
as in any other business.
In side hollow of that hill from
which Litchfield first became visible to
tanned, and this responsiveness of the
purple glens" gave name to this
farm. 1t is Echo farm-a pretty and
POLITICALLY suggestive name, indeed,
which conjures up visions of loneliness,
and sets one to dreaming of intertwin-
ing vines knitting their plant tendrils
and sweet-scented leaves through the
hospitable porch and open lattice; the
checkered orchard of fruity abundance;
the garrulous brook that never tires of
its own monody; the reverberant hills
that appease life's turmoil with their
easy undulations; lofty barns mossy
with age; and Gathering mills down
in the seclusion of grassy hollows But,
alas dear reader, model farming is not
idyllic or Arcadian it is infexibly utih-
tartan; it keeps all it's buildings in
perfect state of repair; it subordinates
the picturesque, if it ever recognizes it
it pulls down the old mill because that
venerable is in the way of the rectangu-
lar new dairy; it diverts the brook from
its ferny course into the most common
place of earthen pipes: it tears away the
vines that obscure the light, and it looks
upon everything with pair of the most
practical eyes set in a head that weighs,
measures, audits, and analyses with
chemical exactness. The proprietor of
Echo farm conducts it as mandatory.
A record is kept of the milk and butter
produced by each cow for each day,
each month, each year; all the feed is
weighed, and the quantity entered upon
books, both that purchased and that
produced; and a separate account is
kept of the yield of each field. Nothing
is wasted, nothing done by guessing,
and nothing passes unrecorded. The
implements are of the latest or most APP
proved model. Three sets of horse"
hay-forks are in use, by which hay is
unloaded mt the rate of ton in four
forkfuls and in four minutes, including
hay $50 feet. The other machines also
embody some novel labor-saving princi
Piles. No manure or fertilizers are
found necessary, except the 1,500 loads
made upon the farm and a sort of muck,
of which there are several beds.
The history of the farm is interesting.
A gentleman of education, intelligence,
and wealth came to Litchfield some
nine years ago in search of summer
home. He had the most superficial
knowledge of farming, and entertained
no intention of entering that business.
But, having purchased sixty-six acres
and cleared them, he purchased addi
tional tracts, which became the nucleus
of Echo farm, whose area is now about
400 acres. His interest was enlisted
in the raising of choice stock, and, be-
ginning with herd of five, he has
gradually increased the number to 100,
all the herd being pure Jerseys, with
authentic and valuable pedigrees. The
rocky fields were cleared, laid out, and
inclosed by massive stone walls. Old
and inadequate buildings on the con-
solidated land were demolished, and
new ones of improved pattern erected.
In 1878 barn of 66 feet by % was
built an addition, 100 feet by 40, was
made the following year; and in 1875
another addition was made, of 191 by
30 feet. These three buildings form
the three sides of the barn-yard. They
are built of pine upon massive granite
foundations about two feet wide, which
are laid in cement. All the woodwork
is painted soft drab color, even
the proprietor's residence, and the
telegraph poles that line the roadway. A
desire for simplicity and durability in
preference to ornamentation or showi-
Itoo 10 'ioipiO 10 ~
litter, and there are no gaps in the
fences or walls, which are from eighteen
inches to twenty-four in thickness, every
crevice being filed like mosaic with
stone that exactly fits it. Care, thrift,
and ingenuity have acted like three
charms. When the fields were being
cleared, such large quantities of stones
were gathered that some perplexity
arose as to where they should be put.
Many hundreds of loads were used in
the foundations of the buildings, in the
fences, and in filling ravines, but more
remained, and these were deposited up
on several sterile hillocks of no value,
where masses of swamp grass were laid
over them, and covered with light
dressing of soil. Grass seed was sown
upon the soil, and it took well, soon
transforming the barren heaps to ver-
dant knobs, whose blades are remark
ably hardy. 1t was not so much for the
sake of the land gained that the stones
were thus disposed of, but it was rather
- ,,rayo,f tba form, f,op of ,,,,ruor, 90 &c