The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1881-05-19

What Shall Be the Money CropG
As it Is important for every farmer
to sell enough of the products of his
farm to furnish sufficient money to pay
for the numerous articles he is COM
PEELED to buy, the important question is
ever kept before him, "What shall be
the money cropa'' To answer this
question correctly is as difficult as it is
important. There are three principal
reasons for this. First, the great vari-
ETY. of soils, elevations and depressions.
Second, the great variety of products
which our climate and the soil will pro-
duce in great perfection. Third, the
uneven manner in which the popula-
ton is distributed, creating in some To-
calities . demand for everything that
the farmer can produce, while in other
localities the demand is limited to such
products as can be cheaply and safely
transported long distances. Thus it
will be seen that, while the farmer has
great variety of products to select
from, he must not only understand what
his particular farm will produce to the
best advantage, but he must also ascer-
tain the wants of the market where his
products must be sold. Every farmer
should make himself acquainted with
the peculiar qualities of each piece of
land on his own farm, and should be-
come so familiar with the requirements
OF each crop that he will make no
mistake in assigning each to the
soil best adapted to its growth. The
farmer who has raised him
self to position to understand
these points IS on the road which leads
to success, but. with only this knowl-
edge, success is but an accident; there
are other points that follow in close
proximity. The farmer must never lose
sight of the fact that it is not always
the crop that will bring the most money
for the labor that it is most desirable
to make his money crop; he must re-
member that while to sell one crop
would rapidly exhaust the fertility of
his farm, another crop could be sold
which would draw so large a proportion
of its substance from the air that the
land would be exhausted but very little,
if any; for example, if the farmer
should sell his corn and his corn fodder,
he would require large quantities of
phosphate, potash and nitrogen to keep
his land up, but if the fodder should be
fed to milch cows and only the butter
from the milk sold, and the skim-m milk
and corn fed out to fatten store hogs,
selling only thoroughly-fattened hogs,
the farm would hold its fertility to a
wonderful degree, especially if the
cows be soil fed. The selling of milk
exhausts the land much faster than the
selling of butter; there are, however,
some locations where the selling of the
raw materials from the farm can be
made more profitable than the more
concentrated; the prices obtained being
sufficient to pay a good price for the
labor, and leave a balance sufficient to
purchase fertilizers enough to keep up
the fertility of the land.
In deciding what shall be the money
crop, the farmer should not rely on the
success of his neighbor, unless the con-
ditions and the surroundings are the
same; for while one, by long practice
and close observation, may grow a crop
with great success, another with equal
ly as good soil, for the want of practi-
cal experience and ability to supply the
wants of the particular crop, will make
a perfect failure. There are many ar
ticlcs sold in the market that require to
be grown to full perfection. If the cul-
tivator does not fully understand his
business he will go into the market with
an article below the standard of good
quality, and will be obliged to sell at
less than cost, while he who fully un-
derstands his business will 90 into the
market with an article so much above
the standard of good quality that he
will obtain price that will not only
pay the cost of labor and material, but
will leave large margin for profit.
A careful examination will convince
every farmer that whatever may be his
money crop, it must be one the nature
and culture of which he thoroughly I'M
derstands. Some farmers are so stu
ated that they can grow variety of
crops for sale, but as rule the farmer
of to-day finds it for his interest to have
one leading crop, and upon that spend
his best thoughts and the principal por-
ton of his time. BY so doing in few
years he becomes an expert in that par
ticular business, provided he has select
ed crop that is well adapted TO his
land and particular locality. On these
points he should make no mistake, I'M
less he wishes to invite failure.
The crops which farmer can grow
to the best advantage depend not only
on the conditions already named, but
also on the help which his family can
give him. If the help in the house is
abundant and efficient, then the manu-
facture of gilt-edge butter may be
made successful; but if the help is
small and inefficient, then it would be
very unwise to attempt to make good
butter, unless a herd of COWS was kept
large enough to warrant the employ
ment of an expert to make the butter.
If the outdoor help be large and the
boys are attached to the farm, then
crops may be grown that require large
expenditure of labor, while if the farm
er has to depend on the labor of his
own hands he must confine himself to
such crops as require but little labor
that cannot be done with the horse.
As no rules can be laid down, each
farmer must consult his own surround.
ings, and select for his money crops
such productions as are best adapted to
the soil of his particular farm. --MassG-
clusetts Ploughman.
Animal Parasites.
The internal parasites of animals are
wonderfully numerous and varied.