The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1879-02-15
FARMERS COLUMN.

AAANllLL -lAr<ss@ a1sAlAla-lAA~
DO NOT LET THE FARM RUN DOWN
The fertility Of the soil IS the farmer Is
capital; on this depends largely bis
snccp.s Ol failure, and his great anxiety
should he how best to keep it up to the
highest point, at the least expense. 1t
a we'll known fact that IL is much
easier to keeph up as we go along, than,
after It has been allowed To run down
ip make spasmudic efforts to restore its
! rmer viguf. 1t does not pay to aisp
small crops Of any kind; medium crops
may Just pay expenses, while that part
oi u large crop which is in excess nt the
medium crop Is nearly all profit. Hence
We know where Ia look for OuI profit,
mud study to devise the best means OF
PDriCnlng our lands at the least expense.
There are several ways suggested One
man feeds stock; another pIuughs clio
yer under; another Guys commercial
fertilizers The western nan uses up
all the fertility ut the soil, and then
goes father west to repeat the process.
] have seen something of this system,
having known lauds in Central Illinois
which few years ago produced one
luhdred bushels Of ears of corn, and
which now produce but eighteen bush.
els in favorable seasOni They tell
us that this soil will never wear out;
inOw Of move that wears out quicker.
The same is the case in our eastern
states. The writer Was on some New
England farms some months ago, that
had once heen the home of thrifty hui
imprOvident people. The life Of the
land was gone; families were separated
and there was dull prospect tor q
young man to begin life on such an i'm.
rrovprishrd farm, so these bright boys
tr m the New England hilIsdcs seek
other and more lucrative avOcatiOns.
They are fun of energy and vitality,
Injured to the rgur of the climate, auu
the rough, hard land. Agriculture
cNnnot afford to sacrifice such men. If
farmers wish to keep their sons at home
they mu"t keep up the fertility of the
soil. Stock feeding Is one OF the most
inportant branches OF farming, and re-
quires much Judgment care aud alter.
tlnn, A prominent man said that 10
be successful with flowers you must
love tlowers, and so to be successful
with stock you must love stock. The
venerable John johnson once told the
writer that he owed his fortune and hi>
reput. tiOn a. a farmer to one pile of
manure. While poor and IN debt he
bought an adjoining fifty acres on
which there was AL old baruyard con-
tanning an accumulation OF twenty
three years manure. lie found it tn
be- mine of wealth. lie applied it to
his crops which in turn gave great re
tn'ns, and this not only gave him no
toriety as a good ruItlyatOr, but gave
lin credit with mOuryrd men, who
freely rendered hin, all the funds that
he desired u buy stock with. After
securing an immense crop of corn, he
fed it to stock and made another great
quantity of valuable manure, aud so
on, year after year. Mr.. Johnson has
fed thousands OF sheep and vast mum
bers Of cattle. 1t has been stated that
in eighteen years of sheep feeding,
buying in the tall and selling in the
winter or Spring, he never but once
talied III getting pay Tor his feed, and
a handsome profit on the investment.
This shows that his Judgment must have
been superior, ard that stock had lis
personal and individual attention. A
wealthy stock farmer in Pennsy sylvani,
once told tie writer that one dove Of
cattle will half teed the next; meaning
that by applying the manure from one
lot Of cattle to the ground intended for
corn, the crop would be much larger,
and that this increased yield would cost
almost nothing, while the extra burden
nf OF al h tai in " M lg,4i hn in
crease donation year after year. After
the farm has become rich it costs almost
nothing to feed tie stock, as they will
live ON the surplus. believe it cosi
thirty cents Ter bushCl to raise corn
when you only raise fifty bushels OF ears
Ia AL acre, but when one huudred and
h'ty bushels are raised, the cost is r..
du"'d TO less than ten Ct n,s per bulshcl
NV. NJ. H., in the Country Gentle
man.
SILVER CHAFF WINTER WHEAT, -
Last summer received eight quarts o
this wheat 1t was accompanied will
tie following edigree," or history
This wheat comes from New Yurl
county, Province OF Ontario, Canada
where it has been successfully grow,
for two years. 1t is a distinct variet,
of winter wheat, withstands the sever
est tTostS. and is not liable to disease o
rust. Its average weight is sixty tw'
p0nnd to the measured bushel."
gave the eight quarts of S, ed to one O
my neghbors, who SOwed it, Septem
ber pa, 1877, on twenty six square IOd
Icing at the rate of about u bushe
and half Of seed to the acre. 1t wa
sown broadcast on rolling prairie soil
black, rich loan nearly level, uu
facing the south, well drained natural
ly, plOughed OF medium depth, not sub
sOiled, and narrowed well after sowing
No fertilizers were applied, and tn
seed was not prepared" in any way
but sOwn as received. 1t escaped win
ter killing, but was injured some wha
by storms and hot weather few day
before harvesting, and was also slight
ly rusted. 1t sustained no injury from
insects was harvested July D, 1873
when fdlly ripe, and yielded whpI
ihre>hed three hundred and seventeen
POUNDS, being at the rate of about thir
ty two and onr-half bushels per acre
mostly good quality though some grain
we're shIunkpn. The average weigh
was about sIxty.three pounds to tn,
measured bushel. The straw wa
strong and tall, some talks measured
six feet with heads six inches in lengtl
The straw of the crop was not Weighed
The wheat produced was all sown thi.
fall, aud before snow covered 1t 1t bal
promising appearance. think thi
Is an improved variety Of hardy ,smootl
winter wheat.
BEAUTY OF lIERBoN PoTAToEs -Ol
April 81, 1878, We planted five quart,
of these potatoes, cut to two hundred
aud fifty pieces OF one to two eyes each
in row in the garden, planting til,
pieces about six inches apart. The sol
was Iich but had never been tertiizr,
with anything hut stable manure. Thl
foliage WAS luXuriant and the blossom
prOtuse. They commenced to bloom
June lS. About eighty-hve or ninet,
days elapsed from the time of planting
til the decay ot the foliage, but ON thu
point cannUt speak definitely. On
August 20 We dug nearly five bushel
bV measure from the Eve uuarts nf saa,