Imatges de pàgina
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21. All kinds of domestic beasts, in order to be profitable, should be well. fed. Young cattle are often stunted in their growth, by fodder of a poor kind, or short in quantity. They should also be kept comfortably warm, by being sheltered from violent cold, rain and snow.

22. In the construction of barns and stables, particular care should be taken to provide for the saving of manure. Cattle should not be permitted to wander into the high-ways in winter; and both in winter and summer, cows should be kept in a yard, or in stables, at night. By running at large, great quantities of manure are wasted. It is all-important, also, that the manure of the yard should, early in spring, be housed, or piled in heaps. By exposure to the sun and rains in summer, half of the value of manure is lost.

23. To make the greatest quantity of manure possible, every animal and vegetable substance, that is useless for better purposes, should be thrown together in a heap, for digesting. But weeds intended for this purpose, should be collected before the seed is ripe.

24. Gypsum, or plaster, is a good manure for some kinds of soil; experience will determine when it answers a good purpose. The writer has not found it of much use, when applied to maiz, or Indian corn, in the hill. If it promotes the growth at first, it does not, as farmers say, carry out the crop. It seems to be most efficacious on land seeded with clover, or other grass; and this grass enriches the ground for wheat, rye, oats

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25. Ashes are an excellent manure on dry land. duce clover as thick as wool. Fish make a rich manure, and are much used near the sea. Land may be too rich for wheat and for beans; but not for maiz and potatoes. These must not be planted too thick. The writer has known crops entirely ruined by this means. These plants require the light of the sun, and a free circulation of air; and corn requires a considerable extent of earth for its roots.

26. It is found most beneficial to spread manure for maiz, rather than to throw it into the hills. The reason is, that the roots of this plant extend a considerable distance from the stalk, in search of nourishment, and if the manure is all in the hill, the first growth is rapid, but for want of nourishment at a distance from the hill, the spreading roots are not fed, and thus the crop is not carried out at the close of the season. Maiz should not be cleaned with the plow, after the roots have extended far from the hill.

27. Potatoes may be manured in the hill. It is a question, which is the best mode of planting them, whether whole, or in cuttings. By the experiments of the writer, it is proved, that

the difference is not great, but, that the oots or stalks from whole potatoes are rather earlier, and more vigorous, than from pieces. But potatoes on rich ground will produce well, however planted, and the seed, though pared, and all the germs cut off, will grow well; probably from the fibers which run through the potatoe.

28. Wet seasons produce the greatest quantity of herbage, but the quality of it is inferior. White crops are best in seasons moderately dry. The stalk may be less, but the seed or grain will be better. A very judicious farmer once said, "Many people complain of drouth; but I have always had the best crops in dry seasons. This, however, supposes the drouth not to be extreme. If there is moisture enough to give a tolerable growth to the stalk, the juices of the stalk supply food for the seed.

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29. Every kind of work should be done in the proper season. This is learned by experience. Some kinds of work may be done at any leisure time; but many sorts of work must be done at particular times, and cannot be delayed. The provident farmer will always try so to arrange his work, as not to have too many kinds press upon him at the same time.

30. Rotation of crops is of great importance on soils much exhausted. Green crops have a great effect in enriching such soils. Rye may indeed produce a moderate crop for many years in succession, without a change of crops; the stubble of one year being sufficient for the crop of the next. But most white crops are exhausting, and must be interchanged with green crops.

31. The practice of hilling corn and potatoes is common, but experience proves it not to be necessary. On the isles near the coast, the practice of hilling was abandoned, on account of the violent winds from the sea, which broke the stalks, if hilled; but the crops are as good as before the practice ceased.

32. In some countries, oxen are not used at all, for plowing or carting. In rough, hard land, oxen are best for plowing, as they are slow and steady. Horses travel faster than oxen, and are best on light land. In this country, oxen draw by the neck and shoulders; in some countries, they draw by the horns; and probably they can draw a greater load by the horns, than by the neck.

33. In regard to fruit-trees, those which produce the best kinds of fruit should be selected; for these cost no more than the poor kinds. Great pains should be taken, to procure the best kinds of apples for preservation in winter. Young trees may be planted late in autumn, or early in the spring; although some persons alledge the autumn to be the best time. All fruit-trees should be kept clean of small shoots or branches,

By neglect of this practice, or by being set too thick, many orchards are materially injured. Apples, in winter, are best preserved in dry sand, or by being placed separately on shelves.

34. Order and method are very useful for the farmer. For this purpose, all his instruments should be kept in good repair, and in their proper places. When a man wants a hammer, an ax, or a hoe, he should know where to find it without loss of time. Thoughtless boys, who misplace tools, and careless neighbors, who borrow and do not return them, give great trouble and vexation to a good farmer.

35. But the farmer can hardly ever thrive, unless his wife and daughters assist him by their industry, order, and good economy. A lazy man must necessarily come to want; and a lazy wife will waste every thing, or suffer every thing to go to ruin: Many a man is ruined, or condemned to drag along heavily, by the negligence of the females in his family. And a slut! O how detestable!

36. The best way to keep every thing neat and in good order, is, to put every thing in its place, as soon as one has done using it. The right method to preserve neatness, is, not to make more dirt than is necessary, and leave things scattered, foul, and unfit for use. How we delight to see the rooms of a house, the furniture, and the utensils, all clean, and in their proper places!

37. In conducting the affairs of a family, many vexations › will occur. Many things will be wrong, from ignorance or carelessness; some, from accident of unavoidable causes. But in such cases, never scold. Scolding never does good, but often makes things worse. Speak kindly to such as do wrong; tell them their fault, and kindness will usually make them more careful in future. Kindness excites sorrow and regret for what has been wrong; scolding and passion only excite

anger.

38. Persons destined to labor, should begin when young to use their muscular strength. The muscles gain strength_and firmness by use; and if boys neglect to exert their strength, till they are grown to be men, they cannot easily, nor without danger, betake themselves to hard labor. They should begin young, for another reason; this is, to learn the use of tools, and how every thing should be done. Skill and dexterity can be acquired only by use and experience.

39. Farmers should, if possible, avoid running in debt. This is not always practicable. But it is a rule to be invariably observed, when practicable, never to buy a thing, till money is in hand to pay for it. Especially, farmers should not resort to banks for money, unless in very peculiar circumstances, and for small sums. Farms will not pay bank interest.

40. The writer has never known a man fail of success, who began life with the determination to keep clear of debt. The farmer and the mechanic should, if practicable, always earn their money before they spend it. In some cases, they may safely borrow capital to begin business; but this should be under favorable circumstances, when there is a moral certainty of gaining the means of payment.

CHAPTER II.

41. It is useful for all persons, but particularly for farmers, to be able to judge of the weather. The causes of changes in the weather are so various, and so little known, that there are few signs of the coming weather, which are infallible. There are a few, however, that may be relied on with a good degree of probability.

42. Extreme heat in summer, in the Atlantic States, usually brings a shower, with lightning and thunder, in the course of two or three days. When such showers are accompanied with violent wind, the wind from the westward or north-west, usually continues a day or two, furnishing good weather for making hay.

43. When this western wind subsides, usually the second day, light clouds may be seen in the west or south-west, near the horizon. These indicate, that the wind will, come from that quarter the following day. When the cloud in the west is thick, and the sun sets obscured, this indicates, that the weather the next day will be cloudy, and perhaps rainy. In this case, the farmer will not cut his grass or grain.

44. A violent south or south-east wind usually brings rain; but the rain, with such wind, will rarely last more than twelve hours. With an east or north-east wind, rain often continues two or three days, and cloudy weather much longer.

45. When a north-east storm ceases, and the sky becomes clear in the night, or rather in the middle of the night, the wind veering from the north-east or north, to the north-west, clear weather will last only two or three days, or a little longer. If the wind veers from the eastern quarter, to the south and west, clear weather may be expected for a longer time.

46. North-eastern storms begin usually in the south. Very often we may know their approach, by clouds in the south-west. Thus great storms of snow from the north-east, are often indicated beforehand, by a cloud at evening or sun-set, in the south-west. That cloud is the front of the storm, which is pouring rain or snow upon the southern region, while it is clear in New-England. This cloud in the south-west may, however, be mistaken; for in summer, particularly, light clouds in the

south and west, are often indications of a southerly warm wind and clear weather the following day.

47. When a fog, in autumn, rises at night or near morning, over a river, as the Connecticut, for example, it indicates the certainty of a clear day. This is an infallible sign. But when,

in autumn, the sun rises in a clear sky, and soon passes behind a thick cloud, there will follow a cloudy day, and perhaps rain. 48. It often happens, that there are currents of air in the atmosphere, running in opposite directions. Air, like water in the ocean, is often in motion in different ways. When, in the morning, we can see clouds moving in opposite courses, we may judge tolerably well of the weather for that day. If the upper current is from the western quarter, it will be fair; for that is the governing wind of the day.

49. In the spring months, particularly in April, an uncommonly fine day, warm, with a clear sky, is, with almost infallible certainty, followed by a north-easterly rain or storm, within one, two or three days; usually by the second day. If, after such a fine day, the wind begins to blow from the north-east, at midnight, the ship-master on our coast should seek a harbor without delay.

50. When tempests are approaching, we often sec a particular wavy appearance in the clouds; which, however, cannot be well described, in a manner to distinguish this appearance from others which do not portend a storm.

51. A halo round the sun or moon, denotes the existence of vapor in the air, and sometimes forbodes a storm, or cloudy weather.

52. We often hear people remark, that the sun draws water into the clouds. But this is a mistake. The phenomenon is owing to rays of light passing between broken clouds, and it is no indication of coming rain. The sun exhales vapor from the earth, but it is invisible vapor. The sun never draws visible vapor or water from the earth.

53. The life of a farmer is laborious; and success demands early rising and steady application to business. But on the other hand, the farmer's life is favorable to health, and the chances of loss of crops, are not greater than the risk of loss in other occupations; probably less than the risks of merchants. If the gains are small, they are tolerably certain, and small gains, with a wise economy, are more likely to insure a good iving, and even wealth, than the precarious gains of speculation.

CHAPTER III.

54. The most useful and important instrument of husbandry, is the plow. This consists of a beam, a colter, a share, a mold

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