Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-09-27
agricultural.
sensible Advice

Mr.. Harris. in one Of his interesting
-' Talks on the Farm, " SAYS:
Tn sharp advance in tie price Of WOO
VIII % u great benefit to our agriculture.
lt viii save the sheep Inte-est hive done
all l could during the depression TO persuade
farmers not To sacrifice their sheen. but ratf-
or to weed out the poor ones and retain theI,
best ewes, take good care Of them. and bra,d
70 the best rams they could find Those VIII,
nave done so viii now receive their reward
Ion then perseverance and comm n seu-t.
Ihcrc r nothing more certain than that q
great leading pr. duet like wool, or wheat
corn, oats, pork. OF beef. cannot iorg re-
main below the cost OF production. And 81
farmer cannot make greater mistake thar.
to abandon WOO. growing or Whctt-gr0wing
or beef or pork growing. daring a period OF
temporary depression. and ot engaging H.
something t.at for the moment hattcns t.
be paying uHusu ally well. Everybody will
now Tush .ntD Woodworking Pork and
beet are low, aaI thousands Of farmers wh,
have been epdeavarng to Improve their stock
of hogs ur cattle Will now neglect ~ sacrl-
fee item. whereas the wise farmer VIII hold
on to bis stock and continue to improve It
and bT Che time the tide turns. a- turn To-
must, he VIII BE ready to avail himself of the
increased demand for his products a yeaI
5t ten cents bushels This sprIns tH.g
were worth :Si.5U and yet we had % bettol
yield than the year before. The price was 81
low ~ UHe spring yf 1870 shat farmers plant
ID far less chan usual. Take one wear witl
another, that farmer makes the most Ia. .ncy
WHO puTsucs the even tenor OF his vav IN
influenced ~ the fluctuations IL the price
produc.s " may ae said char tins il uIod
ding work, calling for little intelligence ano
no enterprise. But this mistake Their,
are abundant opportunities TOR the exercise
or skill, intelligence, Iatience. persevere-
anc industry, enterprise and everything
that makes man 4 farmer had far better
occupy his thoughts and his energies in de-
termlnIng the best method OF er richn- anC
preparing his land for potatoes, and how e.
plant, cultivate, Dig, and market them, rather
than ~ worrying. unsatisfactory. and uncer-
tam sueculatl1ns as 10 whether the crop vii
or viii not be largely grown and command q
low y high price. American
farmers cannot BE too often remiudei thai
what we should aim 10 is, fewer crops. clean
CT culture, and larger yield per acre. We
arc a great beef eating people, and are taking
kindly to good mutton when 1t can be found
Already a large proportion Of the beef con
stunned III the Atlantic cities is raised west Of
the Miss ssIppI. The price for the momenr
h"ppens to re low, but it Will not remain ~
long Tie farmer who raises good beef OF
mutton 10 New England, New York. Penn
sylvania, Ohil. Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, o.
any Of the older settled States need not fear
that the halt-wIld cattle Of Texas or else
where are gong % drive him 70 the wal.
There is no sort 81 danger. Unaided. nature
cannot compete with agriculture any better
than the Indian can compete with the Augl,
saxon. Our population is rapidly increas-
ing, and tie demand for meat Will continue
to increase from year to year. The cause,
which lead to an CVer-supply for q few month
are Oniy temporary. The demand Is unceas-
ing, and he ise farmer who looks ahea,
aud quietly and perseveringly improves his
farm and his stock He is certain Of his re
ward Wool, mutton, beef, pork, ch, Csc
butter, milk, poultry, and al other animal
products Will be wanted more and more az
the condition of the world improves. lher,
are millions OF people, even IN Europe, VII,
seldom taste fresh meat. An Irl-hman cat,
double the meat and docs double the worn
here that he dId at home. Even the Chine e
IN this country eat meat az soon a. they car
earn money enough to GUY it. I point
want TO get at Is this We have a larg,
country Land Is comparatively cheap. anc
labor comparatively high. Crops are greaI
IN extent but small in yield, and many o
cur farms are getting more weedy anu les
fIN0uCtiNt- wow WIFI We must ann dl q
u make them cleaner and richer. We mus
devote less land to the prod uction Of heal
and other grain that Is sold, and more to tie
production Of such crops as are led cut {,
animals on the farm. Ne ali know that it ],
far better To raise 300 bushels of wheat from
TO acres than to plough, seed and reap 90 OF
80 acres TO get the same amount. We Oh
tam no more money Tor the crop IN the on,
case than the other. but the profits are quad
rupled. The market j. not gluted with grain
an there will be more meat and wool to sell
and more manure to use. To bring thi
about we must summer-iall0w when nee $
sell pound let our land he 10 LONGER il
grass; and when it is broken up and planteC
60 corn, cultivate it very thoroughly. an,
not over crop il before 1t IL seeccd Gowl
again. In some cases it viii pay I'd summer
lalow, and then seed the land down 10 gras
without grain crop. y e must aim to "a !,
labor, enrich our land, reduce the area undt
tillage, and, When it Is plowed. cultiyat
thoroughly. to Kill weeds and develop the IA
tent plant food IN the soil. Plant-iOod is til
fIImer's capital Il IS present in lare
Quantities in most Of our soils hut grea
proportion Of II lies idle. Our profits vii
lie in proportion TO the amount Of this plant
food that we can render available and kee
N active circulation without allowing it t
diminish faster than resi- qua ntites are d,
veOItd from the soil by the decomposing an
dIslntegrating action OF the atmosphere.
C0y,r Zone G,v,o ---~- T.