Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1882-08-10
Farmers Bane. end Their Remedies.

The farm ought to be the farmers
bank. TO be trusted with bis spare dol
lars not needed by himself and family.
safe from dsfaulting savings tnnks-
treasurers and clerks. and the disasters
of stock speculation. Better invested
in the farm in these DAYS OF low inter-
est, when savings banks and towns pay
only about four per cent. interest and
the u. $. four per cent. bonds not even
so much. after paving in the ncighbor-
hood of twenty per cent premium.
which they now command in the mar
Set; Yet farmers in BODY, will sell hay
for SlS or so per ton, often for sl2 or
SIS TO be sent in bales to the cities.
while it should be. consumed on the
farm. thereby selling oil u little piece Of
his ancestral farm until it is all gone. so
far as its value and fertility is concerned.
and helping TO fill the pockets Of the
middleman who thrives by the foolish
ness of others. Thus such farmers. dur
ing their lifetime. NAV rake u few thou
sand dollars from the farm, if they have
been lucky. place it in other investments
outside, which they NAV look upon with
satisfaction towards the sunset Of life.
and exclaim, see. all this ] have made
from selling hay off the farm. and the
farm left; but alas. what farm. COM
pared with the ancestral farm Of fifty
years ago, with four oxen and six or
eight cows. and the proportionate num-
Der of Young cattle that once graced the
stalls Of the average farmer OF that day
By strange metamOrphosis. the oxen
have become old team horses. so poor
that their hips almost protrude through
the skin. laboring. both they and their
masters. at starvation prices. drawing
cord wood and saw logs for the lumber
spectators. who ride BY in their top
buggies with splendid outfit
Now we are talking about these hay
selling farmers. let us go up into their
corn chambers that their fathers built
over the great beams Of the barn. which
were annually spread deep with corn
from one end to the other-there is moth
ing here now but old farm trumpery;
here raj would starve; even the old
corn smell has long since passed away;
but one thing has not passed await
haunts him ike ghost--he has to meet
it once year at least-I mean great
store bill for Western corn and meal.
This comes ofhay-selling. The hay sold
brings no manure: no manure, no corn;
the corn must be bought to feed the
teams and other farm stock ont Of the
sales Of the hay. When that is done
what is left? '.Of two evils choose the
least" Ii must do either let me buy
hay, rather than sell.
Another bane TO the farmer is 10 feed
the moving fields with cattle in the fall.
before coming to the barn; nothing will
run down the hay land SC fasr as this
pernicious practice-more rapidly than
selling hay. The aftermath. If Suffered
to remain on the grass roots and rot. is
both mulch and manure; it prevents
the sun Of summer. and the frost of win
ter. from injuring the grass roots We
have been told this by the editor of the
Farmer for many year. yet we have
suffered il Ito pass by US rs the idle
wind that we respect not" ]. for one,
have put it in practice for about three
years past. and the hay crop has nearly
doubled. But what is to feed the cat
tie from the dried up pastures for about
six weeks before coming to the barn at
the ordinary time? The remedy is fod-
der corn, that grows mainly from the
air. If we judge from appearance, as il
grows where nothing else will. without
the trouble of curing it Tor winter
storage. without the aid Of silos. to the
charging Of the manure pile. Cor.