American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-07-26
Why Not Try 1t.

IF you believe, as thousands of farmers
do, that the moon has n powerful influ-
cnce on the growth of plants and animals
which inhabit this globe, try and find out
just how far it extends, and not say this or
that is so, because my father or grand
father said so. Perhaps you believe that
pea-pods will not fill well unless the seeds
are sown at a certain time of the moon, or
that pork and beef will shrink in the pot
when boiled if the animals are killed when
the moon is on the wanc. There are hun
dreds of other things upon which the
moon is supposed to exert an influence,
and we suggest that the believers in these
signs make a few experiments, and once
and for all settle the question whether
they contain a particle of truth or not
But in making such experiments for the
purpose of learning the truth, Il man must
lay aside all his beliefs and go in only for
facts. Neither will it do to render de-
cision from the results of one experiment,
because variations may occur through
changing the time week or two, or the
| weather may be more or less favorable.
This of course would only need to be
taken into consideration in putting in
certain kinds of crops. The true believer
in signs and wonders is usually the last
man to seek the truth, for fear he may
find himself in error; hence the difficulty
of getting a ray of light into his brain.
SOWING GRASS SEED.
The almost universal practice of our
farmers is to- SOW their grass seed with
some kind of grain when they wish to
seed down a field for meadow or pasture.
The idea that the grass seed would do far
better if sown alone, seems never to have
entered the heads of one farmer in hun
dred. We mentioned this subject Il year
or two ago, and endcavored to show the
folly of this double-crop system, and at
most intelligent farmers in the Eastern
States, who had practiced the sowing of
grass alone for years with the most salts
factory results. A writer in Il cotempOr-
AIRY journal, published not hundred miles
from New York, took us to task for talk
ing so flippantly about seeding down land
by sowing grass seed alone, and then ask
ed if anybody had ever done such a thing
and succeeded. If any farmer has doubts
in regard to this system, why not try it,
instead of living year after year without
giving it Il trial. If his faith is not strong
enough to carry him over Il ten-acre field,
let him confinc his experiments to Il half
acre, and determine for himself its prac
ticability. The result may not be the
same upon all kinds of land or in all To-
calities; hence the necessity of expert
mcnts.
DEEP OR SHALLOW FLOWING.
This is another question frequently de-
bated without arriving at any satisfactory
conclusion, simply because soils and eli
mates vary, and system of culture which
may be very profitable in one locality
might be ruinOus in another. The farmer
has the privilege of trying both, and he
should do so, and decide from experience
which is best for him, without regard to
the opinions of others.
APPLICATION AND KIND OF FERTILIZERS.
Formerly the rule was to mix all kinds
of fertilizers with the soil at the time of
application, but Il later school of agricul-
turiSts advocate surface manuring instead.
1t is claimed that the soluble portions of
coarse manure arc carried down into the
soil, and more thoroughly and evenly dis
tributed by the rain when spread upon
the surface than when plowed under. 1t
is II very simple matter to test the two
methods side by side, and determine
which is best. A thousand times year
come the questions-Is lime valuable to
spread upon land and how much can
man afford to pay per bushel for it
What about land plaster and would you
advise IL man to pay five, ten, or twenty
dollars per ton for the same to apply to
| some particular crop? Our answers to all
such inquiries are: Why not try it? For
who can determine the value of such
things better than yourself? We have
known the application of few bushels of
| lime per acre to produce most wonderful
results, and in other localities and upon
different kind of soil it had no apparent
effect. The same is true of plaster, salt,
and many Of the concentrated manures
| sold in our markets, and II man need not
act as though he was blind while he has
eyes and opportunities for deciding such
| mOotcd questions for himself
Every mans life is full of opportunities
| for obtaining knowledge, and the farmer
| especially needs to be on the alert, in gain
ing that which shall aid him in securing
the fullest return for his labor. So varied
and variable are the circumstances under
which he is placed, that general princi-
| pies must not be considered more than IL
| foundation upon which he builds the
structure. Even seed-time and harvest
vary in different seasons, and so must all
the operations upon the farm, which
| should be occasionally varied 70 suit
varying circumstances.