Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1881-09-14
RESTORING, MAINTAINING AND IN.
CREASfNG THE FERTILITY or
FARMS.
ESSAY OF COL. JAMES YOUNG, OF MIDDLE
TOWN, Pa, RECENTLY READ BEFORE
THE PENNSYLVANIA BOARD OF
AGRICULTURE.

/ NhN liON W ~ utSlbI uHu uctptI tutu
time the ground is gone over until
good depth is reached This way Of
plowing commends itself in two ways: /:
1t acts TO the maintaining Of moisture
in dry weather; and when the sea.
son is wet the ground absorbs the wa.
ter After plowing let all the barn
yard manure be applied that can be
had, preference being given to grain.
fed. would recommend little lime
about the time of plowing. Now the
land is ready for crop. Corn is sug-
gested to begin with; the farmer to be
! guided by his own best judgment rs
to the rotation of crops. Land, as to
feeding, is much like an animal to be
put into good condition it must be well
fed and well taken care Of. TO bring
up'the fertility, each succeeding year
you must put more on than you take
off. The better il is fed the sooner it
will produce abundant harvests.
The land having been restored to a
good, fertile condition, the owner can
now proceed to let his grass grow. One
good, as well as economical, plan is TO
encourage large grass growth, and
plow it all down in August Get o
good clover crop, say; then turn in
your cattle until they have tramped it
down a little, and then plow it down
with good big growth OF grass. AT
forwards put il into wheat. This plan
is perhaps one Of the cheapest where
the farmer has not plenty of barnyard
manure, With plenty OF the latter
would not take this course but use
the barnyard manure without stint,
and occasionally little lime.
To maintain land in good condition,
the proper way is to keep the smallest
number Of stock or cattle the fore part
Of the season, letting the grass grow
up, and then plowing down as much
Of it as possible after cropping. My
opinion is that iour.fifths of the farm.
ers keep too much stock for their land
during the growing season. If they
would only keep more stock in the
Winter and less in the Summer, they
would do great deal better. Land
eaten off so closely becomes sun.baked
and burnt out. A wise farmer will
watch that his land Is not pasturod too
closely, but will keep a good coat on
the surface. After taking off his hay
and grain crops, he will try to let that
which remains get as good start as
possible before putting any cattle on
at all and, where he can do so, he
does not pasture until away in the lat.
ter part Of the Summer. The forego.
ing suggestions not only apply TO
maintaining, but TO increasing the fer.
tility of the land
But l. want TO re-Impress this
thought, if possible that a majority
Of the farmers Of this country keep
too large a stock in the Summer sea.
son, whereby too much to the sub
stance Of the land is consumed and
too small stock in the Winter to
make sufficient manure for the manur.
ing seasons. If this rule were chang.
ed, it would aid largely in increasing
the fertility of their farms. The fer.
tility Of farms cannot be maintained by
constantly draining off the substance,
any more than can meal bag con.
tain meal, if you are always taking
out and putting nothing in. My
father, when ! was a boy, once took
me past a farm which was pointed out
by him as the best in all the country
round. A number of years afterwards
before il came into my possession il
had grown to be one of the poorest.
The reason Of the great change was,
the death Of the owner, and the pass
ing Of the entire place into the hands
Of the executors, guardians and ten.
ants, who, by taking much off from
year to year, and putting little on, re.
duced it to its lowest stages. This one
farm is not an exception. All over
the country land owners place their
broad fields into the care OF tenants,
who strive TO take off all they possibly |
can, and put back only what they can.
not avoid. Thus the lands become
poorer and poorer, until they pass into !
wiser and more skillful control. In the
neighborhood of which speak many
OF the farms have gone back in the
same way / have described. Those
farms that have degenerated the least
are those where the most cattle were
fed in Winter, and the land the least
exhausted in the Summer, Other
farms have been cropped and cropped
until they have gone hack, in some in
stances, almost past redemption and
to bring them up again to their old.
time condition will be very expon.
sive job.
Economy does not follow in cheap
farming Wearing out lands is econ
omical sham, for at the end OF the road
are disaster and ruin. If you want
good crops, you have got to put on
large amounts Of manure your land
must be fed. II you have not enough
manure OF your own, there is economy
in getting it from others in your neigh
borhood, or in using muck hauling
this soilfood on rainy days, and thus
keeping the teams going. Much ma.
nure might be hauled during those
hours that many farmers consume in
attending sales. Farm economy con
sists in not losing the time Of ourselves
or our workmen. One great element
of successful farming is for the men to
have work every day, and for oil con.
neoted with the place 10 idle away no
time at the bar.rooms and corner gro.
ceries \ successful farmers life is
not lazy life. IL is nothing but work,
work, TO bring his farm into good or.
der; and after it is in the most fertile
condition the labor does not cease for
the better the farm becomes the more
work there is to be done but with the
increased work there is the faster.
growing disposition TO do it, because
work on an economically maintained
and fertile farm yields the best agri.
cultural results.
Do not forget TO give plentiful sup.
ply Of cool water TO stock OF all kinds.
A pailful Of water into which large
handful Of bran has been stirred should
be given. TO each COW at noon. II will
very perceptibly increase the quanti-
" Of milk.