American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1875-10-30
Fall Farming.

If every farmer could do just as we'll as
he knows how to do farming would be a
different thing from what il now is. 1t is
a very easy thing 10 say to farmer:
Here, if you know how to raise heavy
crops, why don't you do it? If you know
that blooded stock is more profitable than
scrubs, why don't you manage to get
blooded animals? Why don't you have
the best of fruit and lots of it to sell? Why
don't you have big piles of compost in
every field ready to spread out over the
hungry soil? Why don't you have fat
steer, hog or sheep to sell in October, No
vember, December, January, February
and March?" These and many other
questions are easily asked; and almost
every farmer would make ready answer,
but the reasons would be as varied as the
circumstances of each, or the condition OF
the land on which each man operates.
While the rules and laws of farming are
to certain extent of general application;
while the American farmer studies Liebig
and Johnston, the experiments of Lawes
and Gilbert, as well as the writings of his
own countrymen and the practical tests
made in his own climate, vet he finds that
he can use only certain portion of the
truths and tests and examples brought out.
Flowing the land for crops, or cultivat-
ing it in some way to given depth to give
plants foothold, is a general necessity,
a universal practice; but are all soils
equally benefited by working at any GER
tain season? Is fall blowing equally bene-
flcial and profitable on all soils? Fall
blowing of clays and clay-loams seems to
be the readiest and cheapest way of getting
such soils into fine condition for receiv-
ing the seeds of spring grains. The fire.
quent freezings and thawings act upon
the physical structure of the soil in way
similar to that of the harrow or cultiva-
tor, in reducing the mass to a fine filth,
and very little labor is needed in prepar-
ing in the spring this fall plowed land.
As sandy lands are not tenacious, and are
SO easily brought into fine condition,
fall blowing is not considered so impor-
tant; yet there are reasons which are
worth considering in favor of allplowing
OF all lands: g. The weather is cool and
teams are strong and in good flesh for
work-neither too thin nor too fat. e.
The land is nearly always in just the right
condition as to moisture and dryness to
work to the best advantage. (3) Fall
blowing is destructive of the cut-worm,
which SO often takes the first planting of
corn a. 1t completely destroys sorrel
by exposing its roots to the frost and sun
(o) 1t enables the farmer to get
his spring crops into the ground
earlier than he possibly could if the
plowlng had to be done in spring. These
are important considerations and deserve
attention now. Fall pasturing of meadows
is practiced by some farmers, and we are
sure it must be done contrary to their bet
ter knowledge and judgment. Meadows
pastured in the fall prove failures in the
following season in all cases, we may vent
ure to assert. We know of nothing so
hurtful as close cropping of grass lands in
the fall. Nothing can redeem the prac-
tice from the stigma of bad farming but
spreading over them just before winter a
good coating of rotted manure and then
the lands to be narrowed in the spring
Though corn is hardening up finely dur
ing the present warm, dry weather, vet
the husking and storing of this crop will
be late at best, owing to the green and soft
condition it was in when the first frosts
scared the leaves. 1t will not be safe to
crib it until cool weather comes, except in
rare cases of early ripening. Fall dairy
ing proves one of the most profitable in
terests of the farm. The fine butter which
the rich clover with pumpkins and a little
bran and corn meal turn out makes very
attractive product in market and yields
very fair profit indeed. But to make a
salable article one wants good butter cows
as well as TO be good butter maker
MT Oif T'yibUDP