The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1874-11-19
TIME TABLES.
IL
GRANGE DEPARTMENT..
Facts Dun. Gre as Need

There never was time VIII IN the
a,,ieunuri,t had SO much need of facts,
r5rtanng to bis occupation, as he does
j, the present time. Not one farmer in
-snrhousand eau tell the exact cost fany
ane Df the articles he produces. The i'm
p9rtance Of such knowledge can hardly
he over estimated. Without such knowl-
eige. lis statement that he is selling be-
low cost cannot be substantlated, and the
trade against monopoles, etc, is no bet
Ter than bIindly beating the air. Not
mly does the farmer need facts relative
70 the cost of production but there is
great dearth Of aggregated facts, concern
ing the best methods Of producing
large crops in the most economical man
ler.
Nomatter what branch Of farming we
take up, nor in what locality, advice is
abundant and cheap and Of the most I'M
satisfactory character; because the few
individual opinions that are available,
are not supported by proper array of
facts Opinions are so easily formed,
and the pride of opinion is 50 universal
and so irresistible, tAat the simplest facts
are absorbed and assimilated to support
them. Most men seek for facts, not
merely as such, not for their commercial
value, but as props to sustain individual
opinion. Our success in farming, in a
business like manner, depends to a great
extent upon facts which have been deter
minated byrepeated experiments. Iffarm-
ers would experiment more and record
the methods pursued as well as the result,
and then see that they We're published in
the leading agricultural papers printed in
the same latitude, or better, on the same
isothermaI line, where the hygrometrical
condition OF the atmosphere is the same,
would be at least one step in the right
1rectien,
Neither farming, nor any other kind Of
business, can be carried on successfully
for any great length of time without the
proper application Of principles founded
upon facts, which are the result of expe-
renee. Temporary success may by the
result Of chance, or favorable conditions
Of soil and climate, but fact that the soil
will become unfertle without manure
and proper rotation Of crops, is equally
apparent, The repetition Of the same
questions in our agricultural papers year
after year, Is an evidence that the de-
mand for facts concerning this or that
crop, or mode Of culture, or method of
rotation, Or value OF the various fertilizers,
or the time to sow grass, or clover seed
Is increasing.
One cause for such a diversity of opin-
On among the many farmers who have
mad years OF experience even, is, that
having removed at a late period in life
Tom one section Of the country to anoth-
En- they do not know how to ad1pt a svs-
lem OF farming to which they have been
4ccustomed, 70 change of soil and the
unerence ~ the climatic condition how
surrounding them. How unlike are the
fqurements for successful farming in
Iae New England states and Colorado,
IN Minnesota and Louisianr and
many farmer has learned to his sorrow
mat facts at his old home have proved to
Oe lallacles in his new one.
Facts IN regard to certain things per-
aiming to culture of the soil, are as valu
"Cle Tor practical application in one part
u The country. For instance, when
uImestle animals have been picking and
sleanlng the scarce atoms of phosphate
material IN the grass fer ages past, and |
Ig frames of herd after herd have been |
Slu' up Of those minute particles that
.oIm bone, the tiller Of the soil can
I@:ee'{ make a mistake by literally APP |
p!lng bone dust or bone -four on his
auu stable manure that is made by
a aolsts Or cattle which consume a generous
si ,'ouuI OF meal or grain, contains all the
ra a1,ne''S OF fertility that almost any soil |
a. fa an yet II would be a great mistake
vb;a aL! IaFmer to apply strawy manure
orl '" Yields but little beside carbonace-
v6iob lateral a: to mueky, peaty soil,
, 'uien requires inorganic mineral matter
s sia as lime. potash or soda and phosphate
f .nle; When there is already a supply
phate Of lime in soil it wouId he nm
~ 10 apply gypsum. When the ground
Al ahleaGy SO rich that the crops fall down,
A. Is }oH Is not of a gigantic character,
ouly fertilizer required in many in
--1' : . OF the potash or the siicate OF
A. >, ouch facts as the foregoing, which
4,na me universal application, are of
l. 'taLenf value, and are just the thing
!, i d needs to guide him in order
.osa ue may attain an enviable degree of
~Perlty. Rural Word.