The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1875-05-01
FAB Ga'AaND GARDEN.
n;
/ pr.f on the Farm.

April the Farm.
1t /, lime now that wise aud iudiciouS plans
were perfected for the summer, work. Don't
try TO do too much. 1t is better to DO things
well than to do great deal poorly The pre-
yaillng fault with Us is trying to 30 too much.
Why i II that we see such varied success, SO
many failures in farming? Why DO some
farmers get on so much better than others.
Farms equally well located, and having II
SOIL 20 lar as VIC can see, equally good, will
often present quite strange contrasts to the
eye OF even II casual observer How do YOU
account for this? With land very nearly
cqua! in point of quality, with nearly the
same Oi labor, perhaps, how Is it that results
so widely differ? 1t Is Lot the difference in
the quality Of the labor? The one seems to be
merely physical force, the other is guided by
mind and thought, calculation and energy.
1t might be comprehended perhaps under the
general head of 1.-The Methods Of Farming"
There is many Woodworking farmer who
is up caily and down late, who seems to be
trying 10 do his best, and yet he doesn't seem
10 get ahead in the world. The neighbors
would suppose he ought to be forehanded.
They say there Is want of calculation some
where, and SO they let him plod on. But it is
clear that he is rowing up stream Stralning
every nerve to do his best, it'll the current
against him. The trouble is not in want of
willingness to work, but he does at 4 loss
what nature, n little more Skilltully managed
would spontaneously do for him. Work as
hard as he may, he does not do all that is
necessary for the complete success of his
labors He loses half the result by omittiug
a third of the tail and he risks the loss of the
entire crop by little negligence ia the pre-
paration.
He has adopted wrong method, lie is
more ambitious OF large than good farm,
and he takes burdens upon his shoulders that
he cannot safely or securely carry. The con-
sequence is he has no time fer that early,
minute and careful supervision OF details that
economy demands. He suffers all the acct
dents OF things left to themselves Fences,
perhaps, are broken down, and crops or cat
lie injured, Orchards are planted and left to
the Uorer, Or what is worse to be browscd or
broken by cattle. Tools and wagons and
sleghs and sleds swell in the ram, shrink in
the sun, till, like the Deacon'S old "one-hoss
shay they suddenly break down to the stop
page Of work and the damage OF temper or
property. Farming after this method is u
kind Of uphill business. And yet is it not
too common? The earth is starved because
of the wastes from the manure head till 1t is
hardly able to hold up ton Of hay to the
acre, Is that economy?
We could point to many farmer who lets
things slide generally. If the trees are all
loaded down with apples, no matter In 90
the cows and browse and strip the lower
limbs, eating bushel after bushel of Baldwins
and Hubbardstons or Winter Sweets and Por-
tiers, and perhaps he would say If his atten-
ton were called to it, oh, never mind, don't
worry about that they won't hurt 'em any"
But this is only an illustration of his gen
era management. The weeds grow up in
dense masses in his corn and his potato patch,
overlapping the crop, but il his attention is
called to it the reply may be, Yes, the land
IS fall OF weed seed; ii Is no use to try to get
it out" And so every weed sucks away at
the vital elements of the corn and potato in
the soil, reducing the yield from d spendid
crop 70 one of only ordinary extent Every
weed stonds in place OF potato or "a stalk
Of corn, ripening its seed for another crop
next year and SO it goes. There is ~ waste,
Il leak in the potatotield leak ia the corn
field, a leak in the orchard But there Is the
biggest kind of a leak in the barnyard, No
cellar burst with swelling fairness, The team.
ing pile of manure seldom feels the piercing
tines of the fork to Tighten it up to the air
and to start the warm fermentation. No muck
OF ioam Or leaves reach it regularly to be
mixed up so as to divide the richness of the
keap and absorb and retain its evansccnt vir-
tues Perhaps the rain pours down from the
lofty caves and washes away the best soluble
salt of the yard Perhaps now and then, at
rare intervals Spasmodic effort is made to
ret 4 few loads Of loan, but no systematic
ans persistent plan of action is adopted and
20 there Is a waste in the barn and a waste
uader the barn. If you talk with such far
me- you may be sure he'll maintain that
there's no profit IN farming. He does not see
tAe eaks that might be stopped, or ifhc does,
they seem SO small as to be quite unworthy
Of notice, while in the aggregate they are eat
ing up his substance, and are the source Of
all MS embarrassments And ten chances to
one ne will tell you he wants capital. Can't
farm i, without capital, Can't adopt the i'm
proved methods Of farming without capital.
We are sometimes tempted to ask: Haven't
y0U hand, aud feet, bone and sinCw, and
brGsas' Ard VIII It are these but capital
What more did G d give any man in the way
ot capital? They are more than money, ior
hey cant be tSkCn away. II you don I know
hoN to use them, isn't it time 10 begin t."
earn? Grap.1u he handles of the plOw th
hoe or the a.. Your capital wtjl soon bcgil
= well up intlE,,t Go to work with the cap
/ I,al you have Sop the leaks about the pihc,
Look after a"i cut off the sources ot WASTE
"A The farm save something out of wha
You earn, BE- ii iaore or less. II you can
make money on the capital you have, yol
couldn't prObthl make it if you had mil
non 10 work with. y man who doesn't know
how to use bone and muscle, snew and
brains wouldn't know to use gold. II you
et such productive power lie idle, it would
DC the same with capital. The true way is to
cultivate little well rather than much in
differently well.
The seeds of many plants, Covers and gar.
den vegetables ought to be sown this month
Par3nips, carrats, peas and some others can
hardly be planted too early after the land is
Try enough to work. Beets will do as well Il
-rifc later, and for field crop of mangolds
we think about the 10Th of May is carly
enough.
Where land was laid down to grass last fall
j. IS good plan now to SOW on clover seed,
and if the surface is dry and hard enough a
roller will do it good 1t presses the seed
INTO the soil and the roots of the grassess that