Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1875-09-15

Al great practical ability quibbling owe
9 n dogmatic abstraction which nigh
u have been settled in the time o
0 Charlemagne, while questions reall,
Q affecting the moral and religious lif,
: OF the world are daily pressing for Q
b solution. .-NeU York Sun.
I HOW MAY WE BEST IMPROVL
!. OUR FARMS?
5 A correspondent of the New Eng
: land Farmer saysit is fact that many
/. OF our farmers are growing poorer each
s year, though not to the extent that
I croakers allege, for we must remem.
| ber that the ton of hay now is worth
J well nigh as much as two that our ia.
tber cut when the country was new,
and the grasses coarsc, and thut IL our
, flocks' and herds are less in number.
} yet the discrepancy is not as great as
II at first appears, for two such ami
mails us are now found in most of our
farm yards arc as large as three were
before the improvements that have
beon brought about by agricultural
societies, shows and fairs, and we must
also remember that, in addition to the
other productions of the past genera
tion, farmers usually had long rows of
olive plants growing around them
in other words a goodly number of
manly boys and womanly girls
instead of reveling in patent leather,
grecian bends, paper collars, hashy
jewelry, hair oil and cigars, were wont
to take hold and fill the barns with
fodder, the cribs with golden corn, the
garrets with dried apples, the cellars
with roots, the closets with durable
and comfortable clothing, manufactured
by themselves from the foclSs that
adorned and enriched their hilIsides.
and if the boys had suit of find fulled
cloth, or the girls boughten dress,
they were kept for Sunday, and after
meeting were carefully brushed and
put away for another special occasion.
Our fathers, as a rule, raised what
they ate, and ate what they raised | |
do not speak of this because wish for
those times TO return, but to show
some Of the reasons why we find our
selves in less favorable circumstances
than we think our fathers were. In
thinking the matter over, do not
know as it is so much our farms that
are poorer, as ourselves. Perhaps, on
the whole, we had best, as a class for
a time at least, give more attention to
diminishing our outgoes, and less to in
creasing our incomes, 1t costs us too
much to live--we are too much afraid
of Mrs. Grundy or Mrs. Shoddy. Some
soft Drained scion Of the Goldfish aris-
tocracy is allowed to set examples for
us, and we are confounded fools enough
to follow them, and run into all man
ner of extipvagances, and then cast
about us for some means to pay the
bills.
So long as il costs us annually ST.
600 TO live, while our income is but
5000, we shall be poor and it will avail
us nothing to Increase -anr innanos, if
vur vursvvs arc 10 DC corrcspUnuingiy
increased, as is usually the case with
those who live close up to or beyond
their means. But, say you, what has
all this to do with the matter before
us2 Excuse me, ! am little off the
track.
The question before us does not ad-
nit of q specific answer. fyou were
to ask me how | might best improve
my farm, the same rules would not ap-
ply to each field. One may be heavy,
one light, one dry, and another wet,
one level plain, and one a steep hill
side. AS general answer, | would
say sell no fodder or grain; improve
every source of fertality about the !
house, barn and farm see that no !
manure is wasted, and that all is put
wherc il will do the most good" If
you have level fields that are liable to
winter or spring kill, get them well
iwarded over and then keep them in :,
grass by top-dressing with whatever !.
ertilizers you can get. II you have
lay lands, by all means use plaster.
If you have mellow fields, free from y
stones and surface water SOW wheat :.
with super-phosphate and clover, take "
)ff your wheat and cut one crop of y
nay, and when the second crop is well u u
Up, plough under and SOW with wheat !
md plaster and warrant your ex- =
lerment TO succeed. I
If You have an old field completely y !
'un out, aud nothing to manure il with, "
urn in ms many sheep as it will carry, : :
md in four years that field will be 3
eady for the scythe again, and the =
heep will pay their way while they \
re doing the work. If you have runs y :,
II swales in your fields, put deep y y
Itch through them and dump in your :,
urplus rocks and stones, a. ~
If your have good wood-lot, cut ~ y
lean and keep out the cattle. If you !;
ave an old orchard, dying scraggy g =,
nd unsightly cut down such trees as ~ ~
re past all hope, take the dead wood ~
rom the remainder, dig around the y, =,
rown, turn in the sheep, and in three ~ =,
ears you will be surprised at the "
rowth of wood and fruit.
II you pastures are poor and messy -,
ut on good harrow and tear up the e.. e.
ward, then sow two bushels of plaster 49,
} the acre and plenty of white aud ~ ~
I'd cloyer seed on the knobs, and that 90
ill pay This applies to those good, oV 81
onest, hard working farmers who are =
,ally desrous TO find the solution to va va
iis question. a.
There is another class to whom | sb
'onld say, get up little earlier in W
he morning don't hitch up your team es
yo or three or half dozen times q nc
eek and go TO the village or post on
Ilice or some other place where loaf. dr.
s congregate don't spend n day to eli
'ade a dollar out Of your neighbor sit
hen you can earn it in hall the lime th
4 your farm, and be improving II and m,
our morals at the same time, Haul Co
your stone heaps and run no risk tb,
breaking your moving machine and th,
le OF the commandments at the same fic
me. Build stone wall for fence,
I'd let your second growth fuel stand
r your grandchildren to warm them no
Ives by. Have good kitchen gar is
IN, plenty Of grated fruit the year wi
ound compost heap in process of fro
and keep IL dcodorized vii
ith fresh loan, muck or plaster Go am
Ithout what you cantpay for. Have wo
good political, religious and agricul- the
raj paper each week and read them
cnings and Sundays Work stoadi- :
from early morn TO dewy eve five ino
d one-half days in each week, and bar,
rscvore in this way for ten to twenty mo
ars, and see if your circumstances,
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