The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1875-09-23
Only Good Farming Profitable.

unskilled labor, worn out unfertilized
coils will not serve us against science
skill, labor saving implements, and
heavy manuring. On fertile, virgin
soils, the old, rude, wasteiul system
may, for a while, give tho farmer
living, by robbmg posterity, but in al
the older parts of the country wo hav'
got beyond that. If we can not manure
our lands, adopt the best and mos
economic methods of working them
train and skillfully direct our labor ant
use wherever practicable, improved
labor. saving implements, or we shall g
under in "the struggle for life" Fly,
bushels of corn to the acre, or one'fourtl
or one third of balo of cotton Il
not remunerativo crop, at any prlc'
for products that we are likely to get
II we cannot do better, VIC may as vel
"lay down the shovel and the hoe" a
once. 1t is the same elsewhere. IL
New England, in New York, in Pennsyl
yania, and even in the great fertile west
there is the same complaint" tanning
don't pay" But good farming doe'
"pay" still better here Make a bale o.
cotton to forty bushels of corn-whict
is setting the figures very low, again
and other crops in proportion, and farm
ing will no longer be unvemunerative.
SOW THE SMALL GRAINS, SOW EARLY, SOW
LARGELY.
We make no apology for any reitera-
ton which the reader may observe in
these injunctions and In the brief re-
marks which follow. We repeat /:
"Sow oats, SOW barley, SOW rye, and,
where you have good wheat land, SOW
wheat" Increase the area in the small
grains. 1t will pay, Sow your fall oats
early. The exact time must depend
upon the state Of the weather and the
exigencies of tho other plantation work,
as we'll as upon the degree OF latitude
but in our own experience, oats sown IN
September have generally proved de-
cidedly better than later sowings. 1t IL
mooted question how it is best to
cover oats, the general practice, how
ever, being to plough them in. Run
ming the plough very lightly, this does
tolerabIy we'll, but better way, we
think, is to cover with the harrow, and
then pass n roller over the field. The
red oat is the best kind to SOW, as not
liable to rust. 1t is known by it's
brownish red husk, and has thinner
and more flexible but strong stem. The
black Poland oat is very heavy and
very valuable kind, but not 30 safe from
rust as the red. The Sand Hill oat, not
vet much known here, should have fair
trial, and may prove great acquisition.
By the middle of this month, or at latest
by the end of the month, rye for winter
grazing should be sown; also, barley Tor
the same,purpose. The ground should be
well enriched, especially for the barley
Both should be heavily seeaed-rye
two bushels to the acre, and barley from
three to four.
THE POSSIBILITIES or AN ACRE OF LAND.
No man knows what these are. We
know that two hundred bushels OF corn
were grown on one acre, and that five
bales of cotton bave been made on the
SAN, area of soil, bnt we do not know
that the limits of production were
reached in either case. We should try
to find ont not merely how much OF any
given crop can be produced on an acre
OF land, but how cheaply it can be
grown. A big crop may not, in all
cases, be profitable one. 1t may cost
too much to make it. The greatest
Weld with the smallest possible outlay
of capitnl and labor is what we must
aim at. Az we have said beforehand
we wish to impress the truth on thu
readers mind-our farmers are oftei
poor, not 80 much because their crop
are small-aud small they are compared
with that they might De-as because
costs too much to make them. w
must learn to make larger crops wit
less labor. To do this, we must go owe
less gound, and make science and prat
tical skill properly supplement muscl
and machinery.
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS.
We fear that many, if not most OF on
agricultural colleges, are likely to prov
failures, so far as the practical part o
an agricultural education ID concerned
but it is an encouraging indication o
progress that experiment stations or,
gaining ground in ell tho most advanced
agricultural communities. In Belgium
the "ASSociatiOn pour te foundation a.
Stations Agrico,es," society OF agri
culturists and others, was, some tint
since, successful in establishing station
in connection with the agriculture
school at GembIoux. The same societ.
has decided to found another station a
Gand. For the support OF this, as c
the one at Gembloux, large approprll
lions have been made by the govern
ment, and now we have intelligence c
the establishment of the first regl'a
experimental station in America. IL
at Middletowp, Conn, and is state II
stitution. The plan is to appropria'
seven hundred dollars quarterly to th
Wesleyan University, of Middleton
the money to be used in testing fe,
tilizers, and performing in the extensi1
laboratories of the institution those O.
periments so beneficial to agriculture
which are familiar in Germany, an
other parts of Europe.
WHERE IS THE MANURE TO COME FROM
Two facts in farming are becoming
year by year, more and more eviden
and every thinking farmer must neoe
sarily accept them. First, (as a rul
farming without manure is unremuner
tive ; Second, homemade manures al
commercial fertilizers arc very e1pe
sive. What is to be done! One THU
to be done is illustrated in the followll
experiment narrated by corresponds
of the Ohio Farmer:
A neighbor and myself bought q t
acre field that had been badly run do'
by its previous owner. This field "
originally rich clay loam, and OF III
form quality throughout, as far as COZ
be judged. We divided it in the M
die, one taking the east and the ott