Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1869-11-18
farm aaa 5tOasfhuli.
Letter on Agriculture.

|
Agriculture, are given some twenty oi
what are called plain rules" taken
from an Eastern Agricultural paper,
which are commended as practical and
worthy of remembrance"
Some of these rules are doubtless cor
rect enough, but most of them would
make better subjects for discussion than
axioms of agricultural economy, 10 be
taken for granted.
1t would take too much time and
space to notice all these ''plain rules" i'll
their order, So we will commence with
number 8.
"All grain crops should be harvested
several days before the grain is thor
oughly ripe.'
Ofcourse corn was not Intended to be
included in this rule; corn should be
ripe before it is harvested, if the season
will permit. If wheat alone was meant
the language is still not definite enough
for an axiom. The query suggests itself
when is wheat thoroughly ripe; is it
when the grain is in doughy state p
Ifso, that is the precise time TO cut it,
provided it can be done, and not several
days previous to that time when the
grain is full of milk. If cut when in "a
milky state the grain will shrivel and
the crop be more or less injured. This
is known to all farmers, and it is also
known that to let wheat stand until the
straw is what is called dead ripe, is at
tended with more or less loss in harvest
ing and is bad policy generally.
RULE 10. "Clover as well as other
grasses intended for hay should be mown
when in bloom"
Now, this is contrary to the well set
tied convictions of most OF our best
farmers so far as clover is concerned,
and not by any means an admitted AK
iom for the other grasses. The proper
time to cut clover is held by most farm
ers to be when about half the blossoms
are dry. If cut when in full bloom it is
very difficult to cure out and the shrink
age is much greater, without any inn
provement to the quality of the ihay.-
AS to the other grasses the time for cut
ting is still an open question, and very
proper one for discussion.
RULE IL. 'Sandy lands can be most
effetually improved by clay. If such
lands require lime it is done best by
compost of lime and clay. In Stacking
lime, salt brine is better than water"
Clay is formed by the wearing down
in part, of rocks, largely
of sandstone and other rocks containing
minerals, as granite, &C.
Lime, magnesia, oxide of iron and other
ingredients are often present but not al
ways, and but seldom in the same rela-
tive proportions. What kind of clay
then is to be used in manuring sandy
lands, and in what proportions? Our
clay lands in this County in their con-
stituent elements are very similar to the
sandy lands, except that the latter has
not progressed so far i'll their natural
course of decomposition, and a slight de-
ficiency in lime may also exist. IF this
be so would it not be better TO use some
of our rich limestone bottom lands to
both our sandy and clay lands
object, but then they are largely in the
and would have to submit for
the good of the majority. The idea of
Stacking lime with salt brine is doubtless
intended for the sea-shore and not for
a locality where salt is worth three dol
lars per barrel.
RULE II. '"The chopping or grinding
of grain to be fed to stock effects asaving
of at least 25 per cent"
This may be partly so, but as a whole
is more false than true. The assertion,
however, is more than backed up by
another article in the same column from
Hearth and Home" which commences
as follows: MODES of Fattening Hogs"
mot few farmers feed corn in the |
ear and some even raw potatoes to their
swine. One half would prob
ably be an under estimate of the loss by
this easiest but most slOvenly and costly |
practice"
The palpable extravaganza of these es-
Inmates of loss in feeding unground corn
is well calculated to create distrust if
not contempt in the minds of intelli-
gent, practical agriculturalists for the
authors. The evident conclusion is, that |
such writers have little if any practical
knowledge of the subject ON which they
write, and are more liable to mislead |
than to instruct. To grind corn for all |
classes of cattle is advantageous, but for
horses and most kinds of sheep the time
and expense of shelling, milling and toll
would be lost.
For fattening hogs new corn is mostly |
used from early in September until the
middle of December, during 10 part of
which time could the corn be ground so
as to effect any saving at all, but-wouId
result in the loss of at least the |
,oll. Hogs can manage new corn very
we'll, and the digestion is nearly if not
Iuite as complete as if the corn were
ground. With old corn the case is
slightly different; it is harder to masti-
cate and not quite as digestible; but
it would pay expenses for she'll
ng, milling and toll in order to have it
ground for hogs is not very apparent. 1t
would depend somewhat upon the excess
If labor on the farm and the price of corn.
The idea of saving one-half or even
5 per cent. is wholly absurd. The ex-
ravagance of such claims under the
head of Fundamental Maxims," ;" is we'll
calculated to prevent many persons
rom making even proper experiments
IN the subject.
Eastern agricultural theories, set forth
rs sfundamentalprinciples in agriculture,