St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1884-02-21
The Economies of the Farm.
A FAMILIAR DISCOURSE UPON MEANS
AND METHODS.


England where $1,000 will buy farm
of-say from % to 90 acres in extent.
OF course, much of the land is rocky
pasture but most of these farms have
five or ten acres of moving land, as
much more wood land. house, barn and
sheds that can be utilized by an ex
penditure of $500 or $500. Does it
pay to buy such farms and work them 2
The answer TO that question is matter
of great moment to thousands Of peO-
Pile. We propose to note only one of
the considerations involved, but that
is one fatally left ont of the account in
most discussions of the subject. 1t is
this Farm management by good
rights must be elaborate it is really
complicated system. To carry it on
well man must put brains into his
work just as earnest and carefully as if
he were managing a railroad company
or manufacturing enterprise.
. First and foremost, a farmer must
feed-nOt his family nor his cattle-but
his land. TO do this successfully he
must pay attention, the whole year
around, to his stables inside, his barn
ward outside. He must watch his COM
post heaps, have an eye to his pigs to
see that they do their very important
work of roofing to good purpose, must
economic the liquid manures with
care. The soap-suds, and refuse gen
orally from the houses, must be utilized.
When all this is done the fertilizer is
still to be applied, and this must be
done often on land that has been new
ly plowed to give it an appetite. But
on many of our new farms this blowing
can only be done advantageOusly in
dry weather and during the summer
months,-sO much the more need of
fOrethought aud system. By good
rights, too, the raw material of the
barnyard should frequently be aug
mented by loads of loan, as gardeners
and good farmers agree that thus its
value may he increased 80 per cent.
Peter Henderson puts it as high as 66
per cent. If loan is not to be had muck
must be used and this is of small ac-
count unless exposed to sun and air
several months, at least, before com
posted. Again, if the dressing came
mainly from horse stables, it must on
no account be allowed to burn, or it
may do more harm than good if from
the COW stable, its strength will vary
according as the creatures have had
coarse meadow hay or finer kinds. and
also with the amount and sort of meal
fed.
The most casual enumeration of the
points to be considered by the farmer
in doing one part only of his work
suggests to what an indefinite extent
his occupation may be made an exact
science, as it also suggests the obsta-
cles that prevent careless or ignorant
| tillers of the soil from succeeding. But
when we remember that this is only
one department of the farmers work
we realize it more forcibly still What
he gets from his land, grass, corn,
potatoes, oats, rye,-must be garnered
with watchfulness and judgment, kept
in good re-hOuses, fed or sold i'll the
right quantity and at the right moment.
The simple matter of fencing farm land
securely and economically is almost a
science in itself. Then by good rights
all his stock need careful honsing and
feeding as human beings-cows will
give at least half as much again milk
if kept clean, and warm, aud fed regu-
larly and horses will do twice the
work. There is no profit whatever i'll
poultry, quite the reverse unless they
are treated on precisely the principles
we use with people, that is kept warm
and clean, given variety of whole
some food, kept Il few only in Il place,
with fresh water always at hand. Ther
the farmer must cut his fuel at the
right time. He must be always ready
for accidents to harnesses, tires OF
wheels, carts, plows, and farming i'm
plements generally. As most farmers
must live away from villages, in tn,
very nature of things more or les.
knowledge of saddlery, carpentry
blacksmith operations will be yer!
useful, not to say indispensable.
If an estimate of the importance o
head work on a farm be correct
several practical differences may b'
} drawn. Unless an inexperienced per
son have a robust physique, and grea
natural love for it, he had better no
attempt making money on New Eng
land farm. Any one who does go OF
to farm,-and here is IA point o
prime Importance, will probably sue
: coed far better on small than a larg,
one. Increase of size requires increas,
of FRAMEWORK in genmetrical ratio
In other words it takes four times tn
skill and forethought to manage NV,
men that it does one man, or four yOk'
of oxen that 1t does two yoke, or tn
milk of four cows that it does the mill
of two. 1t is no exaggeration to sa!
that to every ten men who can manage
successfully farm that keeps ST!
creatures there is not more than on
| who can with equal success manage
farm that keeps twelve creatures
Failure to realize this is the occasion
, of untold loss, hardship, disappoint
4. ,..,,+ r,,,,.,, Na,r I,uI,nd farD,arS