The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1877-10-10
THEORY AND PKACTICE.

There are farmers who are as as STUB.
born and unwilling to accept the teach
ings OF theory as are men In any other
relation of lie. They entertain a con-
tempt ior book farming, as they call 1t,
tuat Is absolutely wltheriug. Fancy
farming and fancy Stock breeding are
TO sucn mel the most trifllug pueulity
it is boys play that was never equaled
in friv0lity by any game al the ii esIde
or on the green. Yet 1t Is a TACT hal
some Of our m rst important and prof a
bic practice in both these Industries mas
been taught us by fancy operations.
Fancy farming Is largely experimental
and it is seldom That experiment IN
anything ais to result IN some benefit
A prejudice againsv UneogetIcal ia NJ
ing, experimental farming, OF book farm
ing, Whatever you choOse to call it, is IL
prejudice which other cullings have
never cherished toward similar teach.
iGgs. Ii is true LnHL muen Oh this fancy
or experimental work amounts to nolu-
ing. Tuere are visionary mn in all
spheres OF action, aud tUey disgust Us
with wild vagaries and scuemes; but an
Intelligent eXperimeuter WIll usually
do sometning TO benetL himself anu the
world. Rogers, lor lnsJance, was eX-
perlmentlng i'll growing grapes from
seedlings Tor a quart ter OF d century, and
during that lime failed in many,
many instances TO produce any
thing of Value in The way
of variety; but we all know that he pr, :
duceu the choicest varieties of grapes
thai we have.
All Intelligent experiments result III
similar blessings to Lue world, and gen.
orally IN pecuniary profit TO the experI.
menter in the end. Ihe breeding OF
Snort-nGrn cattle ls another example.
Mr. Thomas Bates, Tor lnstauce-alhong Z
the greatest, ii not The greatest among
bree eders-deJermIned TO hx the type OF
the best animal tor all purpOses-more
especially for beel. He mad fixed Lneo-
rIes, and labored TO reduce them t.
practice. In doing SO he sacrificed auy.
Lning that prevented success or retarded
his progress. Ii an animal was in any
manner deficient it was rulhiessly
slaughtered, and the result has been II
perfect animal and an inesCimable bless
ing TO breeders and the world.
1t is our neglect to theOriZe, together
with our neglect to reduce existing
theories to practice, that Is proving an
incalculable Injury to our agricultural
interests. In the former wheat-growing
regions, or the East, there is now
scarcely any wheat grown. The wheal
belt OF our country has been constantly
moving westward. Indiana, Michiga
and Illinois Comprised the wheat-pro-
ducing sections, when the East ceased
to produce it. Now the still more
Western States are the wheat-pro.
ducins sections. Well, why is 1t Inat
the East doesn't any longer grow
wheat? Because it can't do il
with profit. Why dort Indiana, Mich.
igan and Illinois produce as much
wheat as tormerly3 Because they can't;
and why? For the reason that The mat
ural richness OF the soil tempted men
to grow wheat year after year, without
returning 70 the soil any of the elements
taken from it, until the soil was tnor
oughly exhausted, ana refused longer To
nourish this crop. But tue same thing
, Is being done in the present wheat re-
gions, and it will 90 on moving West
until we reduce to practice the Theory
that the elements which the crops take
from the soil must be replaced.-[ " est
ern Rural.