Old Farm Almanacs

Riches & Happiness: 1845

2008-03-22T19:52:00.005-04:00

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Economical Habits & Christian Virtue: 1865

2008-03-22T19:39:00.004-04:00

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Wisdom For Raising Children: 1850

2008-03-22T19:32:00.005-04:00

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The Woodlot in March: 1856

2008-03-22T19:24:00.004-04:00

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Sheep & Lambs in March: 1869

2008-03-22T19:17:00.003-04:00

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More Selections from March "Farmer's Calendar" Essays

2008-03-21T11:37:00.004-04:00

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Picking Rocks: 1882

2008-03-21T11:26:00.005-04:00

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Feeding Horses: 1875

2008-03-21T11:22:00.004-04:00

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Farmers Are "Lords of Creation": 1864

2008-03-21T08:20:00.006-04:00

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Selections From March "Farmer's Calendar" Essays

2008-03-21T07:57:00.005-04:00

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Get Ready For Spring Work : 1867

2008-03-21T07:53:00.002-04:00

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Take Your Work by the Forelock: 1859

2008-03-21T07:41:00.004-04:00

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"Who or What?"...Questioning Creation in 1878

2008-03-21T06:33:00.007-04:00

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Questioning Progress: 1867

2008-03-09T14:22:00.006-05:00

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March & Mars, The God of War: 1851

2008-03-09T07:46:00.005-05:00

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Dealing With Udder Inflamation: 1885

2008-03-09T07:17:00.004-05:00

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The Diet of Children: 1879

2008-02-29T05:25:00.004-05:00

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Facts About Laying: 1867

2008-02-28T18:00:00.001-05:00

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Poultry: 1866

2008-02-28T17:18:00.001-05:00

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What Young People Should Know: 1867

2008-02-24T21:11:00.003-05:00

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Farm Life, by John Burroughs: 1887

2008-02-24T03:58:00.004-05:00

This essay is from the “Old Farmer’s Almanac” of 1887 and is titled FARM LIFE. The byline of John Burroughs accompanies the entry.

Burroughs was born on a farm in New York’s Catskill Mountains. His Wikipedia link (provided above) made me want to know more about him. His observations about farm life, as opposed to city life, as expressed in the sentences that follow, resonate with me.

It is a common complaint that the farm and farm life are not appreciated by our people. We long for the more elegant pursuits or the ways and fashion of the town. But the farmer has the most sane and natural occupation, and ought to find life sweeter, if less highly seasoned, than any other. He alone, strictly speaking, has a home. How can a man take root and thrive without land? He writes his history upon his field. How many ties, how many resources, he has! His friendships with his cattle, his team, his dog, his trees; the satisfaction in his growing crops, in his improved fields; his intimacy with nature, with bird and beast, and with the quickening elemental forces; his cooperations with the cloud, the sun, the seasons, heat, wind, rain, frost. Nothing will take the various social distempers, which the city and artificial life breed, out of a man like farming, like direct and loving contact with the soil. It draws out the poison. It humbles him, teaches him patience and reverence, and restores the proper tone to the system.

Cling to the farm, make much of it, put yourself into it, bestow your heart and your brain upon it, so that it shall savor of you and radiate your virtue after your day’s work is done!

“Be thou diligent to know the state of they flocks, and look well to thy herds.
“For riches are not forever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?
“The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.
“The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of thy field.
“And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance of thy maidens.”

Fattening Poultry: 1867

2008-02-24T03:56:00.001-05:00

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Honor The Wife: 1888

2008-02-20T20:31:00.003-05:00

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Labor: 1849

2008-02-20T20:21:00.004-05:00

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How to Lengthen Life: 1857

2008-02-20T20:13:00.002-05:00

This excerpt, titled, "How to Lengthen Life," comes from the 1857 edition of Robert B. Thomas's Old farmer's Almanac.

How to Lengthen Life:

A venerable minister, who has preached some sixty-five years in the same place, being asked what was the secret of long life, replied, "Rise early, live temperately, work hard, and keep cheerful." Another person, who lived to the great age of 110 years, said, in reply to the inquiry how he lived so long, "I have always been kind and obliging; have never quarrelled with any one; have eaten and drank only to satisfy hunger and thirst, and have never been idle."

How To Shorten Life: 1857

2008-02-20T18:41:00.004-05:00

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Some Examples From My Almanac Collection

2008-02-15T21:40:00.003-05:00

I currently have around 100 different Old Farm Almanacs from the 1800’s in my collection. All of them are from the New England region of the United States. There were three major almanacs published in that area during nineteenth century. They are pictured below. These photos give you a good idea of what my current collection is like.

The above 1875 edition of Dudley Leavitt’s Farmer’s Almanac features a picture of father time. This particular example is in pretty good condition for 133 years old. As I was taking a close look at the picture, I was surprised to see a signature. It says, "Herrick," which is my first name.

Here’s another example of a Leavitt’s almanac, this one from 1862. It features a very simple woodcut illustration. Look closely in the upper left hand corner of the almanac and you will see a small piece of string. It was typical for the farmer to punch a hole in the corner of his almanac and tie a loop of string there so the booklet could be hung in a convenient place for frequent reference. About half of my collection still has the string loops.

The binding on this 1873 copy of the Maine Farmer’s Almanac was reinforced by its owner with some string. Repairs to the bindings are not unusual. These books were highly regarded by their owners. And they were saved for years. I have one old almanac with a torn page that was carefully stitched back together with fine thread.

Here is another example of a Maine Farmer’s Almanac, showing a clearer view of the typical cover woodcut for this publisher. The editor, Daniel Robinson, was a direct descendent of Pastor John Robinson, the beloved spiritual leader of the Mayflower Pilgrims when they were in Leyden, Holland. I do not think Pastor Robinson ever made it to America. But his son Issac did. Some of my favorite Farmer’s Calendar essays are found in the Maine Farmer’s Almanac.

Many of the almanacs in my collection look like this example of an 1853 Old Farmer’s Almanac by Robert B. Thomas. They are fragile, stained, faded, and freckled by thousands of fly specks. The deteriorating condition of these old almanacs is part of the reason I have established this web site. I want to preserve the old writings before they are gone and completely forgotten.

This example of a Thomas’s Old Farmer’s Almanac may look familiar to you. The almanac is still being published and the same distinctive cover design is still used. Note the fine example of a hanging string on this 134-year-old relic.

Saving Manure: 1864

2008-02-13T17:47:00.002-05:00

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Poetry & The Old Farmers

2008-02-10T20:36:00.001-05:00

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A Valuable Cow : 1859

2008-02-09T06:57:00.001-05:00

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About Roots: 1864

2008-02-07T19:48:00.001-05:00

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Easy And Safe Puke: 1830

2008-02-07T18:45:00.001-05:00

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Buying a Farm: 1890

2008-02-07T18:31:00.001-05:00

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Tax-Free Alcohol On The Farm: 1907

2008-02-07T17:29:00.001-05:00

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Farmer’s Calendar: February 1907

2008-02-06T20:11:00.000-05:00

The following Farmer’s Calendar essay for February 1907 comes from “The Old Farmer’s Almanac” by Robert B. Thomas.

Oxen as draft animals are becoming scarce. Two generations ago ox-teams were common everywhere; now a yoke of oxen in the streets of cities or populous towns will attract almost as much attention as a pair of elephants or camels. The patient ox is too slow for this hurrying age and is being supplanted by the horse. But on many of our rocky New England farms the slow but sure ox is not to be despised. He has been an important factor in the past in reclaiming these farms from the wilderness and bringing them into their present state of cultivation, and he is still very useful in operations where speed is not a consideration. For clearing fields of rocks or braking up and plowing rocky land he cannot be equaled.

All the tackle required for a pair of cattle is a yoke, and chain. Compare this with the expensive harness needed for a pair of horses. Put two bow-pins in place, slip the ring on the cart tongue or hook on the chain, and your team is ready for business before one of your horses is half harnessed. The slowness of motion lessens the chances of accident to team or plow. When the latter strikes a fast rock, the oxen do not become nervous and jump forward, breaking some of the tackle, but wait with unbounded patience until the plowman has cleared the obstacle. See if your tools, planters, sprayers, etc., are in order. Patch up those that need repair and are worth it, and be sure that the new ones you buy are up to date and just the things for your purpose.

Poultry on the Farm: 1873

2008-02-06T17:40:00.001-05:00

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Farmer's Calendar: February 1850

2008-02-05T17:14:00.001-05:00

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Archive & Subject Index

2008-02-05T17:08:00.008-05:00

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