The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-04-29

climbing cut-worm, which works at
night. 1t may be done by some of the
leaf-eating beetles. 2. You will find
extended analyses of the patent process
and other flours, and of their by-products
(bran, middlings, etc. in the last Re-
port of the United States Department
of Agriculture OSS4). The bran by
any of the newer processes of milling
has far less nutritive value than by the
old way of grinding.
G. H., Worcester, VT, writes: /" /
suppose am what you call scrub
farmer though am very sorry for it.
l am located on poor, run-out farm,
with no capital, no means to improve
it. Many in this section are leaving
their farms to engage in teaming, 60
ing to work in mills, etc. The pros
pect looks discouraging, very. l have
no means to buy manure of any kind,
and without it / cannot raise much.
No crop that can raise justifies me in
running in debt for fertilizers. OF
course you can give no specific direc-
tons, but thought perhaps you could
make some suggestions that would be
of benefit to me and many others of
the poorer class. My farm, small
one, is well situated, the soil mostly
sandy loan; some of it looks rich and
black, but will not produce well unless
very well MANFRED, and it is impossible
to go over it often enough to keep it in
good condition, so great deal of labor
is lost, / suppose, in working it. How
can one all alone make any progress
To hire is impossible. My farm has
kept nine head of cattle and horse;
now it will not keep more than two
cows and one horse, but it is not my
fault. / have read of other farms run
down as bad as that, which have been
reclaimed, but how to get started l
know not. | wish to know if the Bonn
mer method of making manure is worth
trying. Also the best way to make a
compost heap. am afraid you will
lose patience in reading this, yet l
think / have written about as good
many farmers feel that are just strug-
Cling for existence.
REPLY.-We have been several times
sorry that we ever used the term " scrub
farmer" 1t has gone all over the
United States, and become a stock
term, yet it is not often understood as
we meant it, which was to describe a
shiftless man, without either mental or
physical activity, who scorns all i'm
provement and lives cOntented, or not
fruitfully disconnected, with his sur
roundings. No "scrub farmer" ever
wrote to an agricultural editor to en-
quire about the BONNER method" or
how to make compost heap.
No man who owns even a small piece
of land, and is himself healthy and
"chock full of days works." can say
that he has no capital. All the wealth
of the world is but a combination of
these two factors-the ground and
mans labor. The science of farming
is the knowledge how to combine them
to good advantage. In writing on this
subject we write out of our own eXpe-
rience. We have twice in our life,
once in the West and once in Vermont,
taken small farm with little money
and made it yield us good living. We
do not boast of this; many others have
done the same, and have far exceeded
anything we can show. But we lay
emphasis on small farm as far more
profitable for man with little money
than a large one. And when we say
small we mean small, down to ten, five,
even two acres, and near village even
less. Have, or at least use, no more
land than you can thoroughly till and
fertilize. AS for team, one good
horse is enough, on light soils. If a
man can keep two cows and horse on
the present products of his farm, he has
a pretty good start.
There are great many ways to make
small farm pay more for the work of
its owner than he can get by working
for wages. Mechanics and laboring
men in villages, who work by the day,
have to support their families on their
wages, and pay for all they consume.
A farmer who can keep two cows can
keep two or more pigs, and he can keep
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