Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1870-06-03
Farmers Column.
Live thoughts on Agricultural Nat
ters solicited.


We presume but few of our farmers
have ever given much attention TO
the prevalent waste that is annually
permittedto take place on their farms.
We have observed this matter for
years, and had frequent talks with
our farmers on the subject, which
have brought us to the conclusion
that the 10000 farmers in the State
waste in the aggregate not less than
10000, 900 dollars annually of all they
produce.
This is sum that appears startling,
and many will, at first, think il an
exageration, but we appeal to their
own experience for its truth, when
we have but little doubt that they
This wastage on the farm is matter
of such serious Importance as to de-
serve the immediate attention of our
farmers, and one which demands a
reformation if they ever expect TO
make farming as profitable as ii can
readily be made by little ordinary
care. "a penny saved is as good as
a penny earned"
The iodstc Of labor is another very
serious item, equal, if not greater in
magnitude than the waste of product.
A writer in the Livingston IN. "
Republican gives his views on this
subject as follows:
There is probably no branch of
business where the waste OF labor is
so great as in our agricultural pur-
suits. 1t costs as much. to plow a
piece of land and fit it for a crop,
that will produce ten bushels of grain
per acre, as it does to fit place that
will produce twenty or thirty bush
els.
1.-THE waste of labor here is by ap
plying a certain kind of grain where
another should have been planted or
sown., The application was wrong.
] is the next thing to folly to try TO
raise barley on loose, dry, sandy soil,
when the same lot will raise q good
crop of corn, a fair crop of wheat,
and, by the aid of plaster, O good
crop of timothy and clover.
ut is folly to plant corn on hard
clay soil if you have lighter sandy
soils to plant, for it requires great
deal more laborto fit and tend q crop
upon clay soil, besides not being so
sure of good condition of the differ.
ent soils being alike. 1t is also a
great waste of labor to cut and cure
hay, and pay mans wages to feed
it out 10 flock of sheep that will
shear only three or four pounds of
wool per head, when you can feed
the same hay (costing no more to
make it Or feed it, to flock of sheep
that will shear from six to eight
pounds of wool per head, and the in
crease of which is worth more than
double the former, Here, if we state
facts, is dead loss OF over one humid
red per cent. on the labor and feed.
so with cattle. The cost of keeping
good cow, bull or steer, is not great
er than keeping poor one, while the
good one will be worth more per
pound when taken to market and
will weigh great deal more besides !;
and it costs as much to prepare food
and feed il i'm one case as in the other.
This matter of preparing for stock,
for our long winters, is a very i'm
portant one, and il is necessary that
every farmer should look the matter
straight in the face, and see whether
for the sake of keeping a certain
amount of stock, he is not running
himself in debt by so doing. From
my own experience, as well as obser-
walton, | am thoroughly convinced
that much of the stock that are kept
are debtors to their owners. If farm
ers would take into account the cost
of moving machines, the wear and
tear, together with the high price of
labor in haying, they will find the
amount of hay consumed is very
large item in the farm account
much more can and should be said
upon the labOr.saving question
more that should be said in one arti-
Gle, and we leave it, hoping that
some of our farmers will take it up
and enlarge upon it,"
notwithstanding the draw backs we
have named, and those contained in
the above extract, farming does pay
i'm Iowa, as is evinced by the i'm
proved condition of the farms and
those who cultivate them, but it
would not set our farmers back any,
we think, to have added some TWEEN
ty millions of dollars to their accu-
mulations.-I0Wd Homestead.