Title:  Our Farm of Four Acres and the Money we Made by it

Author:  Miss Coulton

Release Date:  March 13, 2004 [EBook #11555]

Language:  English

Character set encoding:  ASCII

*** Start of this project gutenberg EBOOK our farm of four acres ***

This etext was produced by Jared Fuller.

OUR FARM OF FOUR ACRES AND THE MONEY WE MADE BY IT.

Miss Coulton

From the Twelfth London Edition.

With an introduction by
Peter B. Mead,
editor of the horticulturist.

1860

Preface to the Twelfth London Edition.

This little volume has been received with so much favor, both by the public and the press, that I cannot refrain from expressing my gratitude for the kind treatment I have experienced.  From many of the criticisms which have appeared respecting “Our Farm of Four Acres,” I have received not only complimentary remarks, but likewise some useful hints on the subjects of which I have written.  With the praise comes some little censure; and I am charged by more than one friendly critic with stupidity for not ordering the legs of our first cow to be strapped, which would, they consider, have prevented both milk and milker from being knocked over.  Now this was done, but the animal had a way of knocking the man and pail down with her side; every means was tried, but nothing succeeded till her calf was parted with.  We have been asked whether we had to keep gates, hedges, &c., in repair, or whether it was done at the expense of the landlord.  As far as regarded the gates and buildings, that gentleman was bound by agreement to keep them in order, and as for hedges we have none.  A stream runs round the meadows, and forms the boundary of our small domain.  Since our little work was written we have had nearly eighteen months’ further experience, and have as much reason now as then to be satisfied with the profits we receive from our four acres.  I must add a few words concerning our butter-making.  Some doubts have been expressed relative to our power of churning for four hours at a time.  Now it certainly was not pleasant, but it was not the hard work that some people imagine:  fatiguing certainly; but then H. and myself took it, as children say, “turn and turn about.”  We did not entrust the churn to Tom, because he was liable to be called away to perform some of his many duties.  Had we not had the toil, we should not have acquired the knowledge which now enables us to complete our work in three-quarters of an hour.  We have been pitied for being always employed, and told that we can never know the luxury of leisure.  We answer this remark with the words of “Poor Richard,” that “leisure is the time for doing something useful.”