AN IDEAL SMALL FARM.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume XIV, Issue 611, 10 September 1868, Page 3

AN IDEAL SMALL FARM.

(From the Ballymahon Farmers’ Club Report.) , lx order to see what intelligent industry ' may do on a small farm of twenty Irish , acres, farmed on the Belgian principle, I . will make the following calculation ; and as all fanning must begin in the brain, I ; have tried so to arrange the farm that it will appear thus on paper : —Four acres for green crops, two for potatoes, and two for , turnips, said four acres to be followed by a crop of oats, and laid down with grass and clover : two acres of lea broken for oats, - making in all six acres of oats. The lea oat land to be succeeded by a crcp of flax. Sow an acre of vetches in the spring, to be used by the cattle in autumn or harvest, and have four acres of grass and clover, two for house feeding the milch cows, and two for hay, and keep the remaining five acres in pasture, thus making twenty acres. Beep four milch cows, aud feed them in the house winter and summer, on two acres of the clover and grass winch should be cut as soon as the scythe will catch it. By the time it is once cut over it will be ready to cut again, aud the farmer will now have four acres of a second cutting—the two acres cut first for the cattle and the two that were cut first for hay. After these four acres have been cut over a second time, then turn on the acre of vetches in the autumn, which will last until the winter feeding cf straw and turnips be introduced. Bear four calves on the four cows, and keep them until they are two years old, which can be grazed on the five acres of pasture, with the calves and horse occasionally. Give the four calves the autumn and winter run of the four acres cut over for the cattle; but by no means permit any stock of any kind to run on the new grass and clover, else there will be a disappointment in the following crop being as early as desired.

Winter the cows on the straw and turnips. Give the hay, with a change occasionally of straw, to the horse and young stock, and let the calves in winter have a lew turnips, let the sis acres of oats be carefully cut before it is too ripe ; a little green when there is some sop in the straw, which will leave it sweet for the cattle. Draw the oats out of the stocks into the yard, which should be stacked on good stands, and thatched as soon as the stacks are By no means stack in the field, as the straw will b« injured h>-» nr more by the rain, and. of course, lose its sweetness. The oats should be threshed just as the cattle use the straw in order to have it sweet and fresh. Keep four pigs, which can be fattened on milk of the cows in summer, with some potatoes, and occasionally fed on vetches. The two acres of potatoes will be quite sufficient tor this and the use of the family. Allowing two tubs of butter made on each cow. with the calf reared ; fifteen barrels of oats to the acre at an average ofi I2s per barrel; flax, at, an average of £2O per acre ; four two year olds, at £lO eacli ; and four pigs, at £5 per pig, the result will stand thus : Sis acres of oats, at thirteen bar-

—Subtract this amount from the above, and the farmer lias £IOO dear money to support himself and family. In managing this firm we have calculated that everything ; s done by educated industry, and that the system is carried out perfectly. Wo have estimated everything at a fair average. In some things as to the produce we might have gone up. The oat crop might be estimated at twenty barrels to the acre instead of thirteen barrels, and sis pigs might fatten on two good acres of potatoes instead of four, but wo prefer to be under than over. In consequence of the large quantities of excellent manure laid on the farm from year to year, it will be very rich, and the crops may be estimated proportionately large. If this system is to be worked out either by the small farmer or the large, ii must be consequent upon a good agricul tural training which should be given in youth.

rcls to the acre, average price 12s per barrel £5-s 0 0 Two acres of flax, at £20 per acre 40 0 0 Foar acres, produce two tubs to endi cow, at £3 per tub ... 24 0 0 Four pigs fattened, at £5 each ... 20 0 0 Four twoyearolds,at£10each ... 40 0 0 Total 178 0 0 —Out of this sum wo make the following deductions:— Font of farm, at £2 per acre ... £10 0 0 Fences on the same O 0 0 Servant man.lsperdav to work.,. IS 0 0 Servant maid’s support 10 0 0 \t ear and loss on farm s 0 0 Total 78 0 0