Marshall County Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1855-1859, 1857-02-12
Unproitable Farming.

Improbable Farming
The following extract from an address
by Mr. Greeley before the Erie County Ag-
ricutural Society at BnGalo, \. Y, con-
tains some useful hints:
"rhe truth which an most anxious 70
impress is, that no poor man can afford to
be poor farmer. When have recon-
mepded agricultural improvements, / have
often been told this expensive farming will
do well enough for lich people, but we
who are in moderate circumstances can
not afford it. Now, it is not ornamented
farming that | recommend, but profitable
farming. 1t is true tLat the amount Of 2
mans capital must fix tie limit of his bust
ness--.n agriculture as in everything
else But however poor You may be, You
can afford 10 cultivate land well, if YOU can
afford TO cultivate It at all. Ii may be out
of your power to keep large farm in a
high state Of cultivation. but You should
sell a part Of i, and cultivate Il small one.
Ii yoa are a poor man You cannot afford
to raise small crops: you caunot afford to
accept half crop from land capable OF
yielding whole crop. If You are poor
man You cannot afford to fence two acres to
secure the crop YOU ought TO grow on one;
YOU cannot afford to pay or lose the inter-
Is. on the cost of hundred acres Of land
TO get he crops that will grow on fifty
acres No one can afford 70 raise twenty
bushels OF corn per acre, no. even ii The
land were given him, for twenty bushels
per acre will not pay the cost Of the mise
rable cultivation that produces It.
''No man can afford to produce weeds.
They grow, to be sure, without cultivation:
They spring up spontaneously on all land
and especially rich land; but though they
cost no toll, farmer can't afford t. raise
them: tic same clements that feed them,
would, with proper cultivation, noursh a
crop, and no farmer can afford to expend
on weeds the natural wealth which was
bestowed by Providence to fill his grana-
.ries. | am accustomed, nay friends, to es
tima.e the christianity .of the localities
through which pass, by the absence Of
weeds on OF about the farm. When | see
one covered with a gigantic growth of
weeds, take It for granted that the owner
Is n heathen, a hereto, or an infdel a
Christian he cannot be, or Inc would. rot
allow ths heritage which God gaze him to
dress and keep, 70 be 50 defomcd and pro-
famed And to'make napplcation Of the
above remark, | must say, there is much
ground between New York and
Buffalo. Nature has been bountiful to you,
but there IS a great need OF better cul5i
valiop. TO prevent the growth of weeds
is equivalent to errichng your land with
manure; for to retain in it the elements of
whicn crops are formed, is rs profitable rs
10 bring them there. 1t is better that
weeds should not grow At ali; bat when
they exis', and You undertake to destroy
them, 1T is economy TO gather them up and
carry them to Your barnyards. and con
vert them into manure. You will in tli-
manner restore 10 your farms the fertility
of which the weeds had drained it.
Farmers cannot afford to grow crop
on a soil that does not contain the natural
elements hat enter into is composition.
When you burn vegetable, a large part
of it passes away, during. the process of
combustion, into the air. But there is al
WAYS residue. of mineral matter consist
ing of lime, potash, and other ingredients
that entered into lis composition Now,
the plant drew these materials on. of the
earth. aud if you attempts 10 CROW that in
soil that is deficient in these ingredients,
YOU are driving al unsuccessful business.
Nature does not make vegetables out Of
nail IN fol.
crop after crop from tiold that does not
contain the elements of which it is formed.
If you wish to maintain the fe tiity of your
farms, you must constantly restore TO them
the materials which are lost in cropping.
No farmer can afford to sell his ashes
1ou annually export from Western New
York lar3e amount of potash Depend
upon it there is nobody in the world to
whom it is worth SO much as ii is TO your
selves You can't afford to sell, but
farmer can afford to buy ashes at Il higher
price than is paid by anybody that does
not wish to use them as fertilizer Of soil
Situated as the farmers of this county are,
in the ueighborhood of ci,y that burns
large quantities ofwood for fuel. you should
make it a part Of Your system of farming
to secure tie ashes ii procurcs.
When your teams go into town with
loads of wood, it would cost comparative
ly little to bring back loads of ashes and
other fertilizers, that would improve the
producliveness Of Your farm.
''No poor farmer..can afford to keep poor
fruit trees that do 10. bear good fruit