Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1869-03-10
for the farmer.
How to Make Farming Profitable.

How to Make Farming Profitable.
Except in the neighborhood of large cit
les, High Farming may not pay, owing to
the fact that we have so much land. But
whether this is so or not, there can be DO
doubt that the only profitable way of farm
ing is to raise large crops on such land as we
cultivate. High farming gives US large crops
and many of them. At present, while We
have so much land in proportion to popula-
tion, we must, perhaps, be content with
large crops of grain, and few of them. We
must adopt the slower but less expensive
means of enrichng our land from natural
sources, rather than the quicker, more artl-
fetal means adopted by many farmers in
England and by market gardeners, seed
growers, and nurserymeu in this country.
labor is so high that we cannot afford to
raise small crop. If we sow but half the
number of acres and double the yield, we
should quadruple our profits. have made
up my mind to let tie land lie in clover for
three years instead of two. This will lessen
the number of acres under cultivation, and
enable us to bestow more care in plowing
er and produce better crops. The atmo,-
phere is capable of supplying certain guam
tity OF ammonia to the soil in rains and
dews every year, and by giving the wheat
crop three years supply instead of two
years, we gain so much Plaster the clover,
top dress it in the fall, if You have the ma
nure, and stimulate its growth in every way
possible, and consume all the clover on the
land or in the barn-yard. Do not sell sin
gle ton; let not a weed grow, and the land
will certainly improve.
The first object should be to destroy the
weeds. l do lot know how it is in other
sections, but with us the majority of farms
are completely ovenuD with weeds. They
are eating out the life of the land, and if |
something is not done to destroy them, even
the present high prices cannot make faru-
ing profitable. A farmer the other day
was contending that it did not pay to sun
mer fallow. He has taken a run down farm,
and a year ago last spring, he had plowed
up ten acres OF a Geld, ard sowed it in bar
ley and oats. The remainder of the field he
summer fallowed, plowing it four times, and
narrowing thoroughly after each plowing.
Alter the barley and oats were off, he plow- |
ed the land once, narrowed it and sowed |
Mediterranean wheat. On the summer fall |
low he drilled in Diehl wheat. He has just |
threshed and got % bushels per acre of the
Mediterranean wheat after the spring crop, |
at one plowing, and 26 bushels per acre of |
Dlehl wheat on the summer falow This, |
he said, would not pay, as it cost him $50 |
per acre to summer tallow, and he lost the
use of the lana for one season. Now this
may be true, and yet it is no argument a
gainst summer-tallowing. Wait few years.
Farming is slow work Geddes remarked
to ME, when told him | was trying to rem
ovate run down farm, you will find it the |
work of your life. " We ought not to expect |
big crop on poor, run down land, simply |
plowiug it three or four times in as many
months. Time is required for the chemical !
changes TO take place in the soil. But watch |
the effect on clover for the next two years, |
and when the land is plowed again see if it |
Is not in ar better condition than the part |
not summer fallowed. | should expect the |
clover on the summer falow TO be fully one
third better in quantity and of better quail
ty than on the other part, and this extra
quality of clover viii make an extra quartitv
OF good manure, land there will be more
clover roots in the land), and thus we have !
the means of going on and improving the
FARM. Harris