The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1874-09-19

and their chemical composition, their rela.
ton 20 the atmosphere, the effects Of drain
ing, deep Flowing and the rotation Of crops.
he. cannot afford to be ignorant Of vegetable
stand heinfl1ence light, heat, and mois-:
sture in the germinati OF seeds, and in the
growth ofplants, their structure, respiration,
and circulation; the process Of towering and
seed bearing )! the proper;tim tor and effects
|, OF. cultivation !, the products Of lnatired
plants and their relative value; for food, as
sugar, starch and gum; or gluten, casein
and albQmen.. Nor. should he be ignorant
OF the products resulting. from the trans
| formations and decay OF the plants lie Gull
tiyates.; ...::.5: - ~ -: 49,.
He should be perfectly familiar with the
plants that grow upon it, and the animals
that feed upon thu plants.
He should understand that selling prod
uce is selling soil, and how to prevent the
iMpoverishMent Of his farm. He should
know something of entomology, and the
origin, nature and ha bits of those insects.
his crops. He should know the kinds of
domestic animals that he should keep on his
farm-the different breeds and their. points
/ Of; STANDARDIZATION; for service Or Tor
their products, Or for food--how they should
! be treated, cared for and fed, so that he NAV
not be guilty ofthe mistake that the ,najori-
ty are cow making, OF feeding the pig he
| proposes to Eat with nothing but muscle and
brain producing food, while he appropriates
TO himself that portion Of the food which
will produce nothing but fat Such treat
ment, confess, is all right if the mans OBJ
ject is to fit himself for TIE shamb!es, and
| give to the world All educated pig. The
above topics have mentioned are so init
mately connected with every lay life upon
! the farm, that the highest interests of agri-
| culture now imperatively demand that dei-
mite knowledge upon these and kindred
subjects, presented i'll clear and comprchen-
reach Of all the youth Of our State,
who propose to make farming their vocation
for life. -.
That labor is an important requisite, we
readily grant, but not the only nor even the
Chief requisite ofsuocessful hilsbandry Gull
tiyated minds, matured judgment, good,
sound common sense, enlightened by study
and experience, find no better field OH
which to exert themselves than the farm.
Another Important question to the Min
nesota farmers is that Of cultivating diver
wheat growing State. But fifteen years ago
our cereal products were insufficient for
home consumption; now in the amount we
; produce, we occupy t g first rank among
! our sister States and, in proportion to our
population, we are ontstr,pptng them all,
not only il the quantity but in the quality
OF the wheat we are growing. Our wheat
not only commands the highest price in
market; but from this cereal, grown and
manufactured in our own State, We are OBJ
tanning quality OF flour which may chal-
lenge the admiration aud competition of the
world, and its market value is greater than
that OF any flour in the United States.
While many of our farmers are decidedly
anti-lnonopoly in their political faith, be-
lieve that all will concede that it is most
clearly our duty to perpetuate, if possible,
this one monopoly forever. While we are
maintaining this supremacy over our sister
states, let US not forget the important truth
that the highest measure Of success can only
be attained by the cultivation of variety Of
products. Millions of acres of prairie grass
are annually consumed by fire or otherwise
wasted. Here is source Of profit which if
turned to account, would greatly surpass
all we realize from every other farm produc-
ton: How shall we utilize this important
product which is growing spontaneously and
most abundantly throughout our Statei
How shall we condense such coarse prod
ucts Of bulky nature, requiring large space
ton to their value? We cannot ourselves
eat grass, because our stomachs cannot di-
gest the woody fibre, but the stomach of the
OK or the sheep is exactly adapted to this
kind OF food, and so we may employ them
to do this work for us ; and this grass being
thus transmitted into frst-rate rounds and
surloins, and we'll mottled beef, becomes
food for men: Thus very animal that
chcws its cud is preparing feed for us, TAX
I rc yuh 90 l1
tible to US, it eliminates, refines and concen-
trates the nourishment we need to build up
our own bodies. By thus employing the
assimulatlve powers Of the lower animals,
we provide sustenance for the human fami-
~, in the form of flesh, and fat. the very es-
sence of food.
1t may be objected that our long winters
are untavorable to stock raising. I answer
that they are no longer those Of the New
England States, northern New York, and
central Michigan, and that ours are more
favorable on account of the dryness Of
our climate, and the entire absence Of rain
and mud during. the winter months.
II our winters are q little longer than those
Of the Middle States, we still have
great advantage over those States
in the cost of hay. In many parts OF
our State, we can contract for good hay, fur
nished in the stack at 81 q ton. This differ
NAAN~
the small difference in the length Of time we
are required to feed our: live stock, but will
still leave margin sufficient to pay the cost
OF their transportation to All Eastern market.
The cost of shipping fat cattle from the Mis-
sissippi river to Chicago does not exceed &
q per cent. of their value in that market,
While the cost Of transporting grain from
o. eur r. state to the same market varies from Is
Annft ,1co ~ xrh;o1, In ,.,o:.:o .-.~:~
may be applied is in converting it by means
||ot associated dairies'' into butter and
cheese There are thousands of these diaries
in the State of New York, and they almost
universally prove good investment to the
stockholders. It is there found that
the average produce of a COW for the season
is five hundred pounds OF cheese, which, at
amounts to $50. Her calf and whey are
each worth IS, making in all sou to be cred
lted to the COW: After deducting $40 for
mllklng and SIS for keeping, We have net
profit on each COW Of 35. But, if the dairy
business will pay there, where land is worth
from $50 TO 500 an acre, and hay from $40
7 to 20 ton, ought it not to yield a much
greater profit here, where our farms are
werth only from $40 to $40 an acre, and lay
making butter and cheese enough to
the cost Of transportation both WAYS
first, on the wheat we send
out OF the State; second, on
these dairy products which we bring in.
Under these circumstances, can there be any
doubt as to this business proving highly re-
muneratiye ? Should large number 20 in
to this business, SO that the home simply
would be greater than the demand, then our III
surplus dairy products would seed distant
market; but, as in the case Of beef and NUT
ton, the value is SO great III comparison with
the bulk and weight that it will always pay
we'll for shipping.