The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1876-06-15
EARN AVE- E1REs1DE.

YIELD AND CosT.-The problem for
the agriculturist is to get the highest
yield per acre from the smallest cash in
vestment, and the practical mode of solv-
ing this problem makes the whole
difference between the thriftless and
thrifty farmer. Just here arises a very
important inquiry. Does the largest
product from an acre necessarily give the
lowest net cost per bushel for the article
raised, and if not, is there any definite
relation between these two factors7 The
obvious answers, that though the largest
yield does not always give the lowest
cost, yet the chances are greatly in its
favor if reasonable care and economy are
used. There is Of course a limit of out
lay on every crop, beyond which it will
not be profitable; but inside of this
limit it is safe to say that, as a general
rule, the more bushels or tons you get
from an acre the less each busher OF ton
will cost.
The reason of this is 50 perfectly plain
It seems incredible that our farmers do
not give more attention to the principle
and take advantage of it to increase their
profits. The usual explanation with
most of them is that, capital being
limited, they cannot put more than a GER
tain amount of expense in each acre of
ground, even though every additional
dollar should bring back ahundred-fold.
This is plausible enough at first sight,
but it does not meet the case, as may
easily be made to appear. Nor is there,
in fact, any sufficient reason why farmers
should not raise much larger crops, and
at much lower cost than the average of
the present, or of recent years.
This topic is very prolific and full of
interest to the husbandry of this country.
The prolific possibilities of the soil, un-
der a proper system of treatment, may
well challenge the attention of farmers,
for it offers the readiest and surest, if
not the only means of rendering their
acres productive and their calling thrifty.
How DEEP TO PLow.-Intelligent
practical men, who agree on most other
subjects, still differ widely on this. 1t
seems to be an irrepressible question, and
the apparent discrepancies growing out
of it have a tendency to bring discredit
on enlightened ~husbandry.
Why is it that the discussion of this
question has been SO long and earnestly
continued with so little real profit The
answer is: First, because it has in too
many instances degenerated into a mere
party question between rival theories,
wherein victory is the object rather than
truth; and secondly, because the parti-
sans on both sides have attempted to &C
complish an impossibility. They have
undertaken to set up an invariable rule
for all cases, as if it were possible to con-
vert individual experience into universal
truth, without due regard to the neces-
sary conditions.
One man believes and stoutly maintains
that deep blowing gives the best result,
while another is equally positive that
the reverse of this is true. Yet both are
intelligent men and each appeals to the
facts of his own experience. The trouble
is they have undertaken to generalize
without a sufficient range of facts to the
problem. The consequence is that both
sides Of the question have been proved
and yet neither side is true. 1t is simply
one of those problems in which the con
ditions are SO numerous and SO valuable
that it is impossible to lay down in prac
tice any general rule on the subject, o.
to make one mans experience a safi
guide for all others.
Co.'s AND THEIR UsEs.-As the corr
! cob contains less than one-half per cent
of albuminoids and nearly forty per cent
of crude fiber, it is clearly a mistaken
economy to grind it with the grain TO
feeding purposes. There is just one wa.
to utilize the cob of Indian corn. It'll
good for fuel, and the ash is an excellen
manure. Though the total value result
lily HUH luo ubcb 10 uOb fOiJ AdiSO, l
makes a very p~erceptible addition to tn
! aggregate value of the yearly crop.
The weight of the cob averages abou
one-ifth the weight of the ear, or one
fourth the weight of the grain, while th
ash of the cob is very nearly equal t
three per cent. of its weight. Hence 70
! every hundred bushels of cobs that fan
: mers raise, the cobs are equivalent t
: fourteen hundred pounds of fuel, plu
forty-two pounds of valuable manure.
In a larger viewof the case, the annua
!. corn crop of the country produces, il
addition to the grain and slower, abou
, seven million tons of fuel in the cobs
and two hundred and ten thousand ton
, of fertility in the ashes of the cob.
!, this twofold value of the cob is no
. realized by the farmer, it is not the faul
: of the cob, but the fault of the man.