FARLEY, MICHAEL, 1719-89; b. Mass. ; arevolutionary leader; member of the gen eral court; delegate to the provincial congress; member of the executive council, and delegate to the convention for framing the U. S. constitution.
FARM (of uncertain derivation), the term usually employed in Britain to signify a piece of land, either in pasture or in cultivation, held in lease by a tenant from the pro prietor. In the United States, the term farmer is often applied to a person who owns as well as cultivates land. The tenure on which land is held by farmers varies in dif ferent countries. In some parts of continental Europe, the farmer hires the land on the principle of a kind of:partnership with the proprietor. See METATER. In England, much of the land is let for a certain annual rent, and mostly either by a yearly term, or at the good-will of the landlord. Leases of different durations have latterly been introduced. In Scotland, the process of land-letting is on a footing which has been advantageous for tenant and proprietor, and has served the best interests of aericul ture. The greatly altered and improved system of husbandry of the last half-score years or so, demands something more for successful agriculture than the provisions of the ordinary lease contain. Under the Scotch 19-years lease, the farmer is encouraged to starve the land towards the close of the period of contract, in order to recoup him self as far as possible for his outlays in the shape of manure, by the expiry of the lease, should he have to quit the holding then. The practical result of this is that the land is in a fully productive state about half the duration of the lease. The vastly increased expenditure connected with farming, and the growing and already great necessity for the most being made of the limited land resources of this country, call for more security to the tenants capital than the lease provides. A strong desire has therefore lately sprung up in Scotland and England for compensation to outgoing tenants for per manent improvements, and even unexhausted manures. This is as much a tenant's as a landlord's question, as it will require more capital to enter a farm than is prcs. ently needed. The landlord presumably provides the houses for the farms, but the higher farming of recent years having rendered the former supply of buildings insufficient, considerable difficulty is experienced in obtaining proper house accommo dation on many farms, on estates where the landlord's capital happens to be locked up by the keys of entail.
The method of paying rent for farms in Scotland is not uniform. In some districts the annual rent is a fixed sum; but in others, such as the Lothians and best wheat-grow ing districts, it is a common practice to pay partly a fixed sum, and to leave another portion to be paid in grain, or rather the money value of so much grain according to the average market prices each year, as determined by a jury in every county. See FIARS. This last plan is not so popular as it once was, and most farmers now pre fer to pay a fixed sum. In whatever manner the rent is adjusted, it is stipulated to be paid, as nearly as possible, in two equal portions, at Whitsunday (May 15) and Martinmas (Nov. 11), but in practice many of the landlords give three months' credit on each occasion—the Whitsunday rent being exigible at Lammas (Aug. 4),
and the Martinmas rent at Candlemas (Feb. 2). At all times, however, the landlord has a right of hypothec (q.v.) over the crops, and can take measures to avoid being defrauded of his proper claims. Usually good feeling subsists between landlord and tenant.
The landlord commonly binds his tenant to farm or cultivate the land according to the most approved systems in use in the district. Such a course may be necessary in some cases to prevent the abuses that might arise from negligence or ignorance; but the restrictions have often been carried too far, and have formed barriers in the way of improvements. So far as regards mere cropping, it would not be much amiss, however, on most arable farms, to forbid more than one half of the land being in white crops during the last four years of the lease. Green crops prevent the land being overrun with weeds. It is perhaps not superfluous to observe here that leases should be written iu clear add concise language, and as far removed from ambiguity as possible. There is much need of more simplicity and brevity in the agricultural lease The size of farms is regulated by many circumstances. On land adapted for green cropping, and remote from towns, large farms form good subjects for capitalists, and consequently prevail. Stiff clay soils are rather against extensive culture. Where crops are grown that require much hand-labor, farms become small in size. Flax, rape, vines, and market-garden produce all tend to lessen the size of farms. In new countries, too, where there is no slave labor, farms are mostly small. To the discomfit ure of many a family, the custom was in Scotland, some twenty years ago, to enlarge the arable farms by grouping two or three into one. Bad on principle, however, this system has had its day, and the tendency of affairs is now if anything in the opposite direction. Grazing farms, whether in the Highlands or Australia, form good outlets for large capitalists.
Under the modern system of farming in Britain, from £12 to 218 of capital per acre is required to farm arable land; and if a heavy live-stock is kept, more capital is required. The rent of Highland grazing varies from ls. 6d. to 6s. a head for each sheep kept; the value of each sheep being from £1 to £3, according to the kind and age of the The profits of farming fluctuate quite as much as those of any other trade. Strict personal superintendence is one of the requisites of success. Without this, the details will be neglected, and loss will ensue. Ten per cent on the capital invested is a good return, but very few have so much. For several years back many farmers have lost money, while few have exceeded 3 per cent profit on the capital invested. Better times, however, appear in store for the farmer. Skill and attention are the qualities which command success in farming as in other things.
A farmer necessarily possesses large numbers of animals—horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry. These have all to be reared and tended, and demand no little care and experience. Proper‘seeds must be selected; and the proper cultivation of the land for the different crops necessitates a succession of processes which require to be attended to. These, however, will be taken up under their respective heads.