The Jeffersonian Democrat. [volume] (Chardon, Ohio) 1854-1865, 1864-10-28

&, all along the way oil the farmer Of thirty
or forty years experience, ARE TO be founc
unnumbered wrecks OF exploded agricul
,urai ideas and theories. lie sees along
his pathway this method of culture ant
that set up as the true one, for this anC
that crop--anG, in few years, peradven
ture. each system condemned. Aud vet
Tor tbs, again, there may be a reason. Az
riculturisIs have, in the past, jumped oC
much al conclusions; hence these exploded
theories. A new system of Gu ,ure needs tc
be tested for series OF years, before being
adopted. aud the ground for il is this -
There are no two seasons just alike in al
particulars, and therefore no system, how
ever good, will, under all circumstances
be good; but that one which succeeds bes
In given number @: yenrs,i is the true one
Ii requires time, then, 10 determine these
things. and hence conclusions too hastily
formed in agricultural affairs are loo otter
Iourd TO be erroneous.
The farmer should always keep liber.
al.sized memorandum book, entering The
date OF putting in every crop, the condi
lion and quality Of The soil, the mode Of
cultivation, the weather during the sea.
son, and, lastly, the result then he may
compare years. culture, yield, &C., and
arrive at correct conclusions. .
With all Of our experience and that OF the
past, there are things being discovered
daily. weekly or yearly, which are so
common-sense in their general character
istics that it would seem that they were
self evident,a and ought TO have been see n,
or thought OF, and acted upon, long be.
fore. 1t isa truth that it requires circum.
stances in relation TO all things, of what
ever nature, at first, to point out to us,
directly, the most palpable facts, before
we see them. We look at circumstances
and things almost daily without discover
ing the advantages to be derived from The
first, or the uses to which the latter may
be subjected. For example We learu-
ed long ago, that certain crops may fol-
-ow others with success but we have
hardly yet discovered that this fac, teach
es us another OF much more importance,
that the two may be grown together with
equal success. West, in some localities,
spring wheat and oats are grown together.
know of a farmer out there, who grew a
large field with this mixed crop, and, when
the ,hrcshed grain had been separated bv
mills made for The purpose, he measured
25 bushels Of uhea, 10 the acre, and so
OF oats, a first rate yield OF eilher,i sown
alone. Each kind of grain requires sim
ply a place to stand upon, since what prop.
critics in the soil wanted for the growth OF
the oats, are not needed for the wheat.
Now see,as rational as this double crop.
growing was, it yet needed TO he present.
ed to the farmer, so that he must think
Of it, Now see. too, how this WAS done
in the West. The chin'z bug there is
the great enemy Of wheat, and observa.
ton showed the farmer that the bug did
oats with lis wheat, merely as protector,
and thus ascer,aiued, what he ought 10
have known before, that the two would
make crop, each, il sown together.
But, whist we are considering the SLOW.
ness OF our progress, let me mention two
or three Improvements, small matters, it
is true, but they show how we 90 on,
made right under our eyes. 1t was not
many years ago, when we plowcd green
swsrd exclusively in the FALL for plant.
ing corn in the following Spring. without,
seeing that the Spring time was very
much better. How many are there among
us now, who yet remember when the
dragging Of green sward was not thought
Of, as facilitating planting, and as render
,,,,, il flo plI e
Sensible as the converse OF these customs
was. how long did it take the farming
community to think to do better
Again, how recent is it that we began
to think of some way of meeting the drain
upon our lands from cropping,b by our mode
Of cultivation, and how much do We lack
of meeting the necessity yet?
But have been remarking. mainly, thus
far, upon what the agricullurist is it is
proper that l should conclude, in sug-
gesling the more important characters.
tics OF the man he should be.
He should be the deviser, first, of bet
ter system OF culture, and carry it into
practical operation. Our custom now is,
to cultivate, (if do moi misuse the term, J
after manner, the largest number OF acres
possible, whilst it should be to SO TIL the
soil rs TO produce the largest number Of
duShelS of grain TO the acre, limiting the
acres 10 our means Of accomplishing this
end. This is a statement which we all
will affirm. but very few OF us do put in
practice. The least number of acres OF
ground that a given number of bushels of
grain can be grown upon, by the CON-
pleteness OF its cultivation, the better for
the soil, and the more profitable for the
farmer. Why, is it not fact that cult.
walton accomplishes two very important
things? Whis. it destroys the weeds,
which would otherwise choke the grain,
it enrlches the soil. Our word manure is
derived from the Latin word naonus, sig
nifying hand. The French word for ma
nure is derived from the two Latin words,
manus, hand and Qperor. to work. The
work;nn of The land doas for II ,ybat Al, :,