Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-03-02
THE IOWA VOTER.
Making waste Places GLAD.

1ucfc Ss,tfs n i1tHC HI tFC "tct
when land WAS so cheap, crops were
Sd abundant and prices were SO low,
that it seemed TO make little differ
ence whether all the soil was occu-
pied by valuable plants or not. There
were thousands Of unencIosed acres
where stock could range at will and
from which hay conld be secured for
keeping them over the winter. What
mattered it in those old days if there
were patches here and there too wet
to be piowed orf6 produce sweet and
nutritious grass? The corn cribs and
granaries were filed if there were
gravelly knobs that produced nothing
and whose earth was never disturbed
except by ground squirrels. There
might be gullies wearing away hill
sides, and hazel bushes eDcroaching
on the pillow land, but as nearly every
man had more acres than he could
till, and NEST farmers raised more
grain than they could sell; why not
let the water run as it pleased and
the bushes extend their roots as they
liked? There was plenty Of every
thing except money, If only the best
soil was plowed and only the thickest
Of the grain was gathered. But few
years have changed all this. The
West is fast becoming densely pop
ulated region of country. If taxes
are true indications, land is becoming
valuable. We do not have to ride
on horseback three or four miles TO
hunt up ,the.oattle that are pastured
on the open prairie; we no longer
cut pur hay on government land or
on tnenclosed sections belonging to
spectators. Indeed, in the dairy
region, farmers are talking of soiling
cattle instead of pasturiDg them; and
are raising the question whether it is
not best to winter cows on cultivated
crops instead of hay. In spite OF
railroad charges and warehouse
frauds, grain brings fair price, and
there is market at our doors for all
that can be raised. All these things
tell us that there should be no waste
places on the farm; that every bog
hole should be drained; every brush
patch grubbed out; every barren spot
made productive. Even on our best
farms there are in the aggregate
many unproductive acres, or acres
that oaiy produce half what they
might If slight pains were taken to
improve their condition.
An old maxim says IAN idle brain
ist!e devils Workshop" and with
equal truth it may be said neglect
cd spot OF land is the bane Of good
farming. Enough weeds will grow
ina single fence corner to seed forty
acre lot. There is bare soil enough
in nearly every pasture where five
cows are kept, to raise sufficient grass
to keep one more. This state of
things may be remedied if a little
attention is given to the matter.
The month OF March Is perhaps the
best time to look after these waste
places in the pastnrage. On every
spot where the sod has been broken
Ivy the tread Of animals, the passage
Of wheels, or by other causes, grass
seed should be sOwn AS soon as the
melting snow renders the bare places
visible. Advantage should be taken
Of the popularity Of each portion Of
pasture land, to SOW on it the seed
most likely to flourish there. Red
top should be scattered on the lower
portions, and white clover on those
that are high. Moses and sOrrel
may be in measure eradicated by
going over the ground with a harrow
rs soon as the frost is out, and then
scattering grass seed.
>h AE'ttS ilSAoS diiu 6DSStuOWs tIItTc
IRE places nearly barren because the
soil is almost exclusively composed
Of sand or stiff clay. If these sub
stances can be mixed, n productive
alld Eiable soil will be the result. In
,rany eases 1t Is comparatively easy
TO do this. "A scraper may often be
used to advantage, to bring sand
from a hill Or knoll on TO piece Of
stiff clay, Even II a cart has to be
called into requisi tion 1t will often be
found economical to use it, since n
load Of clay can be brought back to
the place from which the sand was
taken. The reward for this labor
,nay not be gained the first season, as
it would be in the case of carting
manure, but the benefit would be a
lasting one as compared with the
advantage Of applying barn ward