This etext was produced by Jared Fuller.
Miss Coulton
From the Twelfth London Edition.
1860
Preface to the Twelfth London Edition.
This little volume has been received with so much favor, both by thepublic and the press, that I cannot refrain from expressing mygratitude for the kind treatment I have experienced. From many of thecriticisms which have appeared respecting "Our Farm of Four Acres," Ihave received not only complimentary remarks, but likewise some usefulhints on the subjects of which I have written. With the praise comessome little censure; and I am charged by more than one friendly criticwith stupidity for not ordering the legs of our first cow to bestrapped, which would, they consider, have prevented both milk andmilker from being knocked over. Now this was done, but the animal hada way of knocking the man and pail down with her side; every means wastried, but nothing succeeded till her calf was parted with. We havebeen asked whether we had to keep gates, hedges, &c., in repair, orwhether it was done at the expense of the landlord. As far as regardedthe gates and buildings, that gentleman was bound by agreement to keepthem in order, and as for hedges we have none. A stream runs round themeadows, and forms the boundary of our small domain. Since our littlework was written we have had nearly eighteen months' furtherexperience, and have as much reason now as then to be satisfied withthe profits we receive from our four acres. I must add a few wordsconcerning our butter-making. Some doubts have been expressed relativeto our power of churning for four hours at a time. Now it certainlywas not pleasant, but it was not the hard work that some peopleimagine: fatiguing certainly; but then H. and myself took it, aschildren say, "turn and turn about." We did not entrust the churn toTom, because he was liable to be called away to perform some of hismany duties. Had we not had the toil, we should not have acquired theknowledge which now enables us to complete our work in three-quartersof an hour. We have been pitied for being always employed, and toldthat we can never know the luxury of leisure. We answer this remarkwith the words of "Poor Richard," that "leisure is the time for doingsomething useful."
This little volume will possess rare interest for all who own a"four-acre farm," or, indeed, a farm of any number of acres. Its chiefvalue to the American reader does not consist in its details ofpractice, but in the enunciation and demonstration of certainprinciples of domestic economy of universal application. The practiceof terra-culture must be varied to meet the different conditions ofsoil and climate under which it is pursued; but sound generalprinciples hold good everywhere, and only need the exercise ofordinary judgment and common sense for their application to our ownwants. This is now better understood than heretofore, and hence we arebetter prepared to profit by draughts from the fount of universalknowledge. We would not be understood as intimating, however, thatonly the general principles set forth in this little book are of valueto us; the details of making butter and bread, feeding stock, etc.,are just as useful to us as to the English reader. The two chapters onmaking butter and bread are admirable in their way, and alone areworth the price of the book. So, too, of domestics and theirmanagement; we have to go through pretty much the same vexations,probably a little intensified