The farm-yard club of Jotham : an account of the families and farms of that famous town

Front matter

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Dedication

To our Rural Homes, with their tender memories and all their rare associations, this record of their life and labor ts affectionately dedicated by one of their sons.

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WHEN I was induced to furnish the “ Boston Globe” with a series of articles on agricultural subjects, i determined to present my views, if possible, in a form which would arrest the attention of every reader interested in the homes and farms and institutions and social habits of the American people. While I have called the practical farmers of an educated community, therefore, to the discussions, I have endeavored to portray the society in which they live, and the thoughts, character, and experience of their neighbors and friends, as well as of themselves ; and I have done this with the hope that I might inspire a love of rural life, and also furnish some useful information upon rural pursuits. It is undoubtedly true, that, although the importance of agriculture as an industry can never be lost sight of, its delicate and intricate relations to society are in danger of being forgotten. The deliberate business of applying scientific rules to the cultivation of the earth, and the serious business of drawing a subsistence from her: bosom, have wellnigh blinded us to the delightful associations and the natural beauty which belong to this primary and fundamental occupation. When the ancient Greeks organized their Olympian court, they gave almost the highest place to Demeter, the goddess of the cultivated and fruitful earth, of cornfields and vineyards, and at the same time the goddess of domestic att ' ‘PREFACE. 2 joys, who not only taught men to sow and reap, but taught man and woman also to unite in the work of organizing a refined and cultivated and happy home. Not in our own day has this true and charming conception been destroyed ; and I have endeavored to open the doors upon the refinement of thought and feeling which should naturally belong to our rural homes, and to give to the daily toil of the farmer in our Christian age the high and cultivated place assigned it by the most practical as well as the most poetical people of ancient times. It is not the mere possession of land which has, in all ages of the world, made an agricultural people strong and enduring ; but it is the sturdy characteristics and ardent attachments growing out of such possession which constitute that vital force of a nation so much admired by the careful observer and student of history. And it has been left for us to prove that an independent and responsible community of small landholders, living in a land of social and civil equality, and tilling their own soil, stands foremost among those who are distinguished for intelligence and self-assertion, for devotion to human rights and progress, and for a lordly determination to preserve their own prerogatives. With this estimate of American agriculture I have written this book.

Preface

INTRODUCTORY . : : The Town of Jotham. — The Stonbing Family. —The Old Farm and the New Barn.

THE FIRST MEETING.

ORGANIZATION OF THE CLUB ; The Thanksgiving. — Mr. Hopkins cau Brecident of the Club. — His Speech of Acceptance.

SECOND MEETING.

CATTLE . Prey Mr. Howe oA John Fhowise commence their Pebors: — Mr.

Howe’s Essay.— Mrs. Howe and Mrs. Thomas rejoice.

THIRD MEETING.

CATTLE (Continued ) ; Fanny Wright appears. — Dr. Darker comes sptel the’ Stage fad discourses on the Structure of Cattle.

FOURTH MEETING.

‘CATTLE (Continued ) Dr. Parker continues. — His Opinion of fonestted Faculties ari

Characteristics. — He soars aloft and rejects Evolution.

FIFTH MEETING.

CATTLE (Continued ) P How to cut and use Fire- sti Mees Thomas accakae Cattle. — Swedes. — Mangolds. — Fodder-Corn. — A Controversy.— Peter

Isley shows his Temper.

PAGE viil CONTENTS.

SIXTH (MEETING.

CATTLE (Continued) . 3 ' 4 2 : ; ; ‘ . Os John Thomas and Huldah.— Family Jars. — Peace. — Modes of feeding Cattle. — Charles Ingalls appears. SEVENTH MEETING.

CATTLE (Continued ) 97

Spring opens. — A Northeast Storm. — Disease and Weakness in Cows. — The Milk-mirror.

EIGHTH MEETING.

FERTILIZERS . : . : ; F : : : : ° » WEES The District School. — An Educational Struggle.

NINTH MEETING.

FERTILIZERS (Continued ) ; : : ; : ; ? . as The Drive to the Seaside. —Dr. Parker and Clara Bell.—An Exciting Time followed by Repose.

TENTH MEETING.

FERTILIZERS (Coztinued ) ‘ ; ‘ 142

Charles Ingalls returns. — His Disappointment. — Mr. Howe discusses Fertilizers.

ELEVENTH MEETING.

DRAINAGE. : : : , ; ; , ; : F - ISS President Hopkins speaks, and tells how he drained his Land.

TWELFTH MEETING.

BRE STAY. CROP 82 597) Oe 0) er 168 The Trials of the Schoolmaster and Clara Bell. — Imaginary Trials the most difficult to overcome. — Mr. Hopkins delivers a Lecture on the Hay Crop.

THIRTEENTH MEETING.

THE Hay Crop ( Continued ) : ¢ 183

Seeding Grass lands, — Peter Ilsley debates and wanders. — Dr. Parker loses his Temper.