Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1876-06-22

is a way" besides some of the branches now
taught in our common as well high schools
might be laid aside for others which are far
more useful.
Natural history in its various branches
must become the leading feature in the edu-
cation of our rural population ere they be-
come highly prosperous, financially and E
socially. The farmers sons and daughters |
must each pursue some line of study which |
shall carry them deeper into the mysteries
of nature than their parents have ever gone
or thought OF going, thereby finding pleas
ant and profitable pastime and reverend |
ing source of enjoyment. 1t matters very
little what object they may select for study
animals, minerals or plants, each one of
which will furnish more material than can
be investigated in a lifetimc and these are
always at hand when desired.
We will suppose for instance, that one
child takes up the study Of Coleoptera (beetles)
another of Lepidopetera butterflies and
moths), another Of Diptera (two-winged
tlies), and so on through the different orders
OF Entomology; each would find enough
| ms
bring contentment and fame, if not great
wealth. The same may be said of the study
of plants, birds, minerals, shells, as well as
the larger animals. Thousands of men have
bred and raised horses all their lives without
knowing anything in regard to the anat-
omy of the animal or the structure and
growth of the hairs on his hide If the
farmer keeps sheep, let him encourage his
sons to learn all that there is to be known
about this useful animal, to the final
disposition of the fleece and the why and
wherefore of the difference in value of the
various qualities.
s'He don't know beans, is an epithet often
bestowed upon persons supposed to be very
ignorant; but the man who does know beans
in the fullest sense Of the term is yet to be
born, and he who attempts to even collect
the various known species and varieties, will
find he has no easy task, and this, when
accomplished, would be but the first step in
knowing much about beans.-Rural Ne,o
Yorker.
WHAT CROPS LEAVE IN THE SOIL.-Ex-
periments made in Germany, by DR.. Weiske
and several other savants, show that the
! stubble and roots in the earth, by crops thai
3 have been harvested, add to the soil much
:, more nutritiye value than is commonly sup
posed. These experiments fully explain the
. great value of clover as preparatory croI
for wheat and for all other crops that are
;, not manured with nitrogen, potash an(
. phosphates.
= The clover of single acre has been fount
= to leave nitrogen enough for l16 bushels o
' wheat, phosphoric acid enoughfor ia bush
:, els, and potash enough for 78 bushels More
= over, it is found tfat most of this valuabl
- material is left in the best possible condition
~ for use. Whether the nitrogen of the Glove
~ comes wholly or partly from the soil or all
- it is certainly taken from u condition i
.s which it is of little use to most crops, an
- ;, is converted into an available one, SO thai
- practically, the clover is a creator of nitro
gen in the soil, as it is also an efficient pu1
49, veyor of potash and phosphoric acid.
ks Your land had better run to waste tina
ed be exhausted by imperfect cultivation. Plo'
nd deep and till thoroughly, and you will rea
ey abundantly.
ry Iowa raised last year 147 10000 bushe
nd of corn, and 43, ,OOO, 600 bushels of wheat.
's 'ss Lake county, Ohio, raised last year 25a
~, 600 bushels of potatoes; Ashtabula, 26s
os+ 900 bushels.