Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 January 1892 — HOME AND THE FARM. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HOME AND THE FARM.

A DEPARTMENT MADE UP FOR OUR RURAL FRIENDS. Baying Out the Farm fnr Convenience and Profit—What It Costs to Feßit I'igs--The Creamery Fraud—Hayseed* ,or Chicks— Household and Kitchen. The Plan nt the Farm.

F FARMERS of this country will do well to take a • lesson from those jjS. of England . Many of them vvM have maps of i..V** their farms, flneJ * ly executed and absolutely cora rect In scale and 'mmm&* form. They also // have a year book in which is shown not only the locapYJfc tion of the fields, but also what crops were grown

on any particular field at any given time. Their system of rotation of crops greatly facilitates the keeping of such a record. In the East, says the American Farmer, the situation of affairs is probably worse than here. The farms there are small and badly divided up into small “two acre pieces,” “half acre Helds,” etc. Here in the Northwest we too often go to the other extreme and have our farms unfenced. We have seen a single farm in the East which had several miles of fences and walls, while we have also traveled several miles in the West without observing a single fence. A fence should be placed around the farm. It Is oftentimes the means of saving its cost in keeping away stray cattle from the growing crops, and is a benefit at all times. A State may fortify itself with herd laws forever but a fence well made is better than all the statutes on this subject. The .pasturage must be divided from the tilled land by a good fence, for obvious reasons; but as it is unwise to continuously keep a certain part of the farm for pasturage, it is well to plan for this before fencing. A plan can easily be formed bv which the changing of the pasture will necessitate the changing of only two sides of the fence. In laying out the prat rie farm, the buildings must be placed in some convenient position Many farmers put their buildings near one corner of the farm; a few moments’ reflection will -convince.any one that this is a most unwise thing to do. A good plan is to lay out the quarter section into lots of twenty acres each. By doing this you can easily compute how much land you have to any crop, and the total Held being given it is then easy to estimate the yield per acre. This division .of the land into plats of equal size, cannot easily be done unless it is very nearly- level. In the majority of farms more attention is paid to the natural surface contour. A little forethought tin locating roads on the farm will prevent much unnecessary labor. 1 The distance around the hemisphere is no greater than the distance over it, and the former course is much the -easier for the team. Of course, many circumstances must be considered in laying dut the farm. It will probably be impossible to have the artificial divisions always suit the farmer and yet conform to the surface contour. The great thing is to make a beginning, to get to thinking, and then apply that thought in practice.