Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1874-09-24
What Crops to Cultivate.

There is an extensive lack of proper
admiration of crops to the soil culti-
waited. Farmers are required TO take the
soil as they find it, as it is not practical
lille 10 effect any considerable change In
the geological formation of any plat of
ground, unless the task is performed at
an enormous expense. Hence, when clay
soil preponderates on farm 1T will be
found more profitable to cultivate such
crops as may be adapted to heavy land.
On the contrary, if mucky or peaty
| soil prevails, it will be more profitable and
satisfactory in every respect TO raise
| such crops as may be produced at the
| lowest expense, and which will return
| the most profit. Some farmers Will per-
| sist in their efforts to raise wheat every
season on some part of the farm, when
there is not an acre of ground in any
| field that Is at all adapted to this grain.
Others will persist in raising barley,
when the soil is of such a character that
with excellent cultivation the product
per acre will not exceed fifteen or twenty
bushels of marketable grain.
There are numerous sections OF coun-
| try where nearly all the soil consists OF
muck and peat, with only slight traces
of argilaceous and calcarcous soil. Such
land can never be made to produce pay
| ing crops of wheat or barley unless a
heavy dressing of clay be spread over
the land and afterward thoroughly
Incorporated with the soil, which
would be an outlay that the re-
turns would not warrant. On such
land the proprietor should study adapta--
| ton. If the soil consists largely of
heavy loan, or is composed OF several
kinds OF soil, with large portion cal
careous clay, grain of all sorts may be
raised with profit. Or grass, stock and
some grain may be produced at the same
time. Heavy land may be used as grass
| land quite as profitably and often more
| so than light land. The error consists in
attempting to produce certain crops on
| light land which can be raised with sat
| isfactory profit only on heavy soils
Hence II will be perceived that an excel
| lent rotation of crops for one farm and
| for one section of country would not be
| properly adapted to other sections where
The character of the soil is different. 1t
| will require critical observation on the
part of an intelligent tiller of the soil for
| several successive seasons before he Will
be able to determine with satisfactory
| certainty what crops are well adapted to
| his land and what crops cannot be raised
| with profit.
Certain writers have asserted that
wherever abundant crops OF red clover
will grow wheat and barley and other
cereals will grow" Wheat, rye and bar
ley will grow, it is true, where red clover
| will flourish But the product will not
| always be paying crop. Every farmer,
| by exercising his good judgment in
| this regard, may soon determine whether
| he is cultivating such crops as are most
congenial to his particular soil.
| The most successful farmers OF our
| country feel satisfied that mixed hus-
| bandry constitutes the most profitable
| farm management, especially where the
soil is considered rather light for pro-
ducing fair crops of grain. The question
then arises, shall sheep be kept in con-
nection with the cultivation of grain TO a
| limited extent? Or will the land be Bet
| ter adapted to dairying? There is great
profit in raising sheep and in producing
wool; and so there Is satisfactory profit
in keeping cows, whether the milk is en-
ployed for making butter or cheese or
sold to dealers in milk. If one chooses
to keep either cows or sheep on light
land it will be necessary to pillow the
ground occasionally for the purpose OF
developing the fertility, exterminating
weeds and reseeding. Hence it will be
advisable to raise grain of some sort. If
| land will produce abundant crops OF
good grass, Indian corn, oats and flax
may be raised with profit. In numerous
| instances the oats or corn raised on one
| acre will be worth more than the guam
tity of wheat that could be produced on
| two acres Of the same kind of ground
| If man is judicious manager and his
soil is of light, mucky and peaty char
| acter, sheep of the right sort, in conncc-
| ton with some corn and oats, will be
| found the most profitable system of hus-
bandry that can be adopted.-Ne,o York
Observer.