The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1879-12-19

farm Ia carried on at loss, and pred
SCENTS a negligent, slovenly appearance.
But this is not the case with our extern
sive cattle and wheat farmers of the
West. A farmer who has enterprise
and thrift enough to induce him TO take
up farm of several thousand acres,
usually knows what to do with 1t.
Such a farmer is better of with large
farm Than with small one.
In the neighborhood of our eastern
cities the other extreme prevails, for 1t
is here that we find our smallest farms.
Here are our market gardeners, who
make a good living on few acres.
The market garden is the small farm in
its perfection. The aim of the market
gardener is TO bring shiss garden up to
the highest attainabie degree of fertill-
ty, to reach perfection in cultivation,
andsecure the greatest possible profit
torsnoney invested. This also is the
aim of the farmer who carries on a
farm of from 80 to $50 acres of land de-
voted to mixed husbandry. There is
another class of small farmers near our
large cities who do not find ii desirable
to Increase their farms above a certain
extent, and that is our dairy farmers,
on whose farms the principal thing is
the dairy-the other stock kept and the
crops raised being merely incident to
| dairying. This system of farming fur.
nishes employment for the entire fami.
ly, with possibly the assistance of hired
help during the busy season. The dairy
farmer il usually certain of fair profits
It is in small farms rather than large
| ones that our wealth as O nation con
sists.
Those Western States that are divid
ed into large wheat farms and stocl
ranches can never become so wealthy
and populous as our Eastern States
where small farms prevail. This is al
important consideration. 1t may b,
urged that large farm is a good in
vestment for large capital. 1Ais i
true. but there are other channels il
which agricultural capital may be in
vested. A farmer owning 100 acres o
inferior land, with poor buildings, poo
fences and poor stock, has no bushes
buying more land. Ho has no excus,
for buying land at any price while hi
, can make much better Investment To-
his money in improving the land he al
ready has, in building fences, repairing
tUuiluluRo, uuuciul uihliS, vi iui oNihs
his stock. The farmer who raises l ,00'
bushels of oats from so acres, SHOULD
not produce 1900 bushels by sowinl
twice as many acres, but should I'm
prove his land and get the 1900 bush
els from fifty acres. A farmer VIII,
works 100 acres of land and desires t.
, increase his income, and attempts to d,
, so by increasing the size of his farm be
fore he has tried to increase lbs incom
! i by improved methods Of farming
should quit the business. The income
of the farmer should be increased il
every possible manner from his small
farm before he attempts to increase hi
3 income by mere addition 10 the nun
Der of his acres. When this has bee
, done, then, and not till then, Should tn
farm be Increased in extent. 1 am no
, inimical to large farms, but insist tina
they should be as fertile as small farms
and thus much more profitable. 1t
: unwise for farmer to purchase larg
tract of land for the mere purpose 1
owning it, but such seems to he tn
e idea of many of our large farmers.
, Country Gent.