The Portland daily press., 1878-04-22
Planting.Time.

The most important question of the year
for the farmer. to settle is what it will be
most profitable for him to plant, because the
success of bis seasons business will depend
very largely on the wisdom and foresight of
his answer. If he attempts to raise crops
for which his soil is not suitable or for which
the demand is inconstant or unreliable when
fall comes and he proceeds to gather the
fruits of bis labor he will find the return very
small. If on the other hand he exercises
sound judgment in the selection of crops
and sees that each has its proper soil his la
bors will be amply rewarded. Many of the
failures in farming eau undoubtedly be traced
to an unwise selection at planting time.
1t is impossible to lay down any arbitrary
set of rules for guidance in this matter. One
farmer can raise with profit what another
would make..a failure OF. A list of vegeta-
bles all of which might be adapted to the
land of one would probably contain many
totally unfit for the land of another. Crops
which one farmer could easily find a profita.
BILE market for another might not be able to
sell at all. Still there are some general prin-
ciples which apply equally to all farmers.
First and foremost the average farmer should
avoid making any one thing specially.
Special fsrnaiug can only be successful when
the farmer has capital enough to enable him
to stand the occasional loss of seasons
business. Manifestly the average farmer
does not possess this and therefore cannot
afford to run such risk. He must plant
variety in the hope that if one fail by reason
of. unfavorabe circumstances, another will
prove successful. And in selecting what
specific articles to plant regard should always
be had to what is wanted for his own use
and that of his family as well as
to what can be proftably sold. Un-
doubtedly farmers buy many things which
they could raise more cheaply and by
so doing effect saving in the cost of living.
For market the best crops to raise are those
the demand for which is most certain and
constant. The farmer should know these
and plant them, and not waste his time on
those things for which there is only very
limited sale. he should not be discouraged
and discontinue the cultivation of any one of
them because the price he obtained for it
last season was low, no more than he should
be betrayed into planting an excess of any
one because 1t commanded high price the
previous year. On the contrary he should
endeavor to ascertain the average demand
for each and regulate the proportion he
raises by this average. An unusually high
price for an article generally increases its pro-
duction the next season and low price has
the opposite effect, so that the best results
will be obtained In the long run by regulating
production by the average demand.
After it has been decided what to plant the
question Of seed claims attention, and this is
a very important one. There is nothing
more discouragng than after days and weeks
of severe labor, to find that by reason of bad
seed the seasons work is wasted. Such a
misfortune Is peculiarly hard one because 1t
admits of no remedy, or at best OF only par
'iai one. Wneu ~ ,s -snnrtained that the
seed had no vitality it is generally too i.te
to raise any but comparatively worthless
crop.
The time for planting depends on so many
conditions that every farmer must settle 1t
for himself. Land which is dry can be
planted to advantage early, but in heavy, wet
soils haste generally results disastrously.
The seed rots and more must be planted,
thus doubling the labor with no correspond
ing advantage. 1t is doubtless true that
farmers are generally too much in hurry to
get the seed into the grouad. At first glance
it would seem that seeds planted earliest
would spring up earliest. This would doubt
less be true if other conditions were always
the same. But notoriously they are not.
The early planted seed has to contend with
cold and wet and the struggle is not without
injury to its vitality. The late planted seed
escapes these enemies and when it springs up
the plant is generally stronger and grows fast
er. Ofcourse there is danger in putting off
planting too long. Our season is short at
best and many of our staple crops have bare
ly time to come.to maturity before the hard
frosts of fall put an effectual stop to thei
growth. The intelligent farmer will study to
avoid both evils.