St. Landry democrat., 1881-11-05
Science the Farmers Friend.
Mankind grows more enlightened an

Notwithstanding, waves or ignorance
dash upon the evergreen shores of edu-
cation, and make unsightly spots on the
disk of the world of science. One man,
who for forty years has titled the soil
and earned an honest living by blowing
and sowing, reaping and moving, still
has the weakness to assert that science
is a nuisance, book learning fraud, and
newspapers but an invention of the
cold boy' to cheat farmers out of a lit
tie money. When you know he has
never taken a newspaper, never attends
church, don't know how to read or
write. your establishment ceases, and
you pity the poor man from the bottom
of your heart. Such men as this believe
in moon farming, butchering by the
moon, in charms, and evil spirits only a
little less powerful than our Creator.
They are full of the strangest notions,
the most preposterous superstitions, and
the clear reasonings of the scientist
make no impression on them, because
they do not understand the reasonings
that prove the truth of the PROPOSE
ton. They are the next door
to barbarism, and all that saves
them is their living in the midst of
education and scientific minds, and alb
sorb, as it were, the dews of example,
and almost unconsciously practice the
precepts of civilization, The farmer is
Instructed by science that the continual
raising of one kind of grain from the
same piece of ground takes from it
the peculiar elements necessary to the
growth of the grain, and so the quanti-
ty raised per acre diminishes until the
crop no longer pays for raising. Sci
ence points out what special elements
have been used, and as science can
tell the particular kinds of manure re-
quired to supply the loss there need be
no loss of time experimenting. or vain
ly trying to raise the same crop on the
exhausted soil. Silica and lime for
wheat, ammoniacal and heterogeneous
manures for corn, and so on, but as a
general thing barnyard manure, es-
pecially for corn and grass, is sufficient,
and will increase the corn crop from
fifteen to twenty-five or thirty bushels
to the acre, while the meadow is cor
respondingly benefited. Manure in any
quantity is never wasted on corn
ground, but for an oat crop on our
prairie soil it will almost certainly
cause such rank growth as to cause it
to lodge and spoil one-half Of the crop.
Ornithology teaches us that thrushes
and many other birds are great lovers
Of worms and caterpillars, and that
each bird makes away with an hundred or
more of them every day as long as they
abound, and thus are the means OF saw
ing fruit and flowers for our use. The
u1lscientific and ignorant, instead of
encouraging the birds to stay and eat
what fruit they want, load their old
murder the innocents. We see in this
case that science protects while igno-
rance kills. Zoology teaches us what
are our enemies, and experiments and
experience points out what cases the
shot gun, traps or poison is best adapted
to rid US of the pests. Geology I'M
earths the fossil remains of extinct ami
mails in regions where now no cognate
species exist, and the leaves of plants
have left their everlasting impression
upon stone, and the different forma-
tions OF earth and rocks which have
been elevated by volcanic power bring
together links of prehistoric history
which makes our earth venerable with
age, say hundred thousand years,
since God set it in its place among the
innumerable host that lights up the
blue vault above US. Geology shows
us how water, air and chemical changes
form the soil which is rich inheritance
from our Father in Heaven. Mineral
ogy and metallurgy have unearthed the
precious metals and converted them to
the uses of man. The rich vintage Of
Europe is drank from gold and silver
goblets in the mansions of the rich
our money is made of them, and orna-
ments of great value set with precious
stones grace the arms, ears and fin
gers of bellies and mothers whose
frivolity leads to ornament rather
than usefulness. But the science
Of entomology, which embraces the
whole list of insects injurious to vegeta-
BILE or animal life, is ofvast Importance. to
the farmer. for, unless he understands
itsin part, he cannot alWyys 0rimin-
ateis between his enA aies nd fS ffiAnds;
and hence, to act Alright under all cir
cumstances he wants to know tkeir
individual history, habits, and their
changes from larva. to pupa and from
pupa to the perfect insect--the time
they remain in their different states.
We want to know their enemies, and the
best method of producing them in num-
bers sufficient to annihilate the enemy,
or at least render them comparatively
harmless by reduction of their numbers.
The quail eats millions of chinch bugs,
and therefore should be fed and raised
in numerous focks,, protected By
stringent laws. The lady bug destroys
large quantities of the Colorado bee
ties eggs and young larvm; and young
ducks in sufficient numbers will clean
out potato patch in few days. The
science of entomology as applied to the
interests of the farmer is yet in its in
fancy, and we believe its thorough
knowledge is destined to work remark
oh lo oh -, Aho f,o IS