Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1886-02-19
GOOD FARMING.

/ IL tHcGP Is an occupation on caTIH Ill |
which order and thoroughness are of i'm |
portancc, it is that of farming. Order |
should be made the first and chief law of
the farm. Order everywhere and in all |
thngs-in the house. in the stable. in the
fields in times of labor and in times of
relaxation. If this is insisted upon as
the ineXorablc rule, the farmer will save
himself and his much fruitlcss toll and
more veXation of spirit.
TO be orderly, it is necessary that he
be thorough in all that he undertakes.
What is done once thoroughly will last
I longer, and prove more serviceable and
satisfactory, than what Is done dozen
time bunglingly. The farmer should be
provided with the best of everything. If
he is unable to obtain all that he needs.
let the quality of what he does purchase
be of the best. 1t pays in the long run.
His house, no matter how small, should
be constructed of the best materials in
the most thorough manner: much more.
the extra cost over shabbily-built house
will certainly be saved in fuel. and the
saving of time otherwise lost. through
colds and other ailments contracted in an
improperly built house to say nothing
of the satisfaction and comfort of living
in good one. His stable should be
built on the best model. Its interior ar
engagements should be built with view
to the comfort of beast and man. to saw
inr nf titpn md 1ahnr in
handling of stock, and ease of access to
all its parts. The barn should be care
fully and thoroughly constructed. water
tight and rat-proof. so far as may be-
His fields should be in the very best at
tainable order; soil loose and rich: fences
good; and weeds. non est. His cattle
should be of the most suitable breeds for
his purpose: his implements, such rs he
may be able to provide. of the very best
of their kind; his help. industrious and
orderly: himself, prudent. intelligent,
observing and enterprising.
Yet with all these desirable adiunctS
to Il good farm, the farmer will not be Il
= thrifty, successful one. unless his wife
this spirit of intelligent farming. and dis
charge the duties of her department with
care, order and fidelity.
The too frequent excuse of the farmer
the slow farmers that the best of
: everything costs too much. The truth
t is, it costs no more than to have the poor
= est: only you must have less of it. Far
mers are apt to look too much at quanti-
ty and not enough to quality. One good
cow will cost aS much aS three poor ones
they may reason: but she will give as
. much milk aS three poor ones. and her
: keeping will cost no more than one of
the three poor ones, and requires just
one-thrd the attendance. The writer
knows of Il farmer who keeps eight COWS
and is dependant upon his neighbor for
milk, who keeps but three cows. The cx-
PLANTATION is, that the former has
thought it too expensive to own high
priced cows, while the latter keeps the
best he can own. Which is the better
policy:
So with the farmer who has poor, rick
ETY., supcrannuated implements and takes
no care of what he does own: he works
harder, tasks his horses more severely,
. and accompliShes about half as much as
his wiser neighbor.
Riding through Michigan, Wisconsin,
Minnesota, and a part of Dakota not long
since the writer was struck by the con-
trast offered in different localities be-
; tween the order, tidiness, thrift and APP
= parent superb management of some farms,
! large and small, and the neglect, shift
lessnesS, ignorance and utterly disgrace
full state of things visible in others. 1t
seemed to me quite easy to point out
= where farmers lived, and where those
who made Il pretenSe of farming were
e barely pulling through the year and
: keeping soul and body together. 1t was
about the same in each State: could
see no great distinction and am led to be-
lieve that the two grades exist every
l where. The want of care in properly
I sheltering farm utensils, was the most
: glaring fault noticeable. ReaperS and
: mowers We're in many cases hauled up
D beside Il fence in the field where last
used, without protection of any kind.
: PlOws, harrowS and scrapers were scat
tered about the farm, regardless of place,
: and in perfect indifference as to the re-
/ suits. | thought that there We're, at
= least, two classes of people who actually
{ enjoyed seeing this; who rubbed their
t hands in delight at the waStetumeSs /;
: these are the manufacturers and dealers
c in these implements; it just suits them
e they don't advise care and order in look
y ing after agricultural tools-not they.
e The faster they wear, rust and rot out,
y the quicker will new ones be needed. If
+ IA farmer should be advised that it would
: be unwise to bore few augur holes in
II his wheat-bin, or breed few families of