Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1882-02-23
WHAT DOES OUR FARMERS
NEED?

hens VINO are engaged In agriculture
as we'll as by the business men who re-
allie that the great future of our city
must depend largely on the agricultu-
raj development of the county.
In II few years the great lumber in
terests that now demand the attention
and capital of the masses will have
passed from us. and it behooves all
who are interested here to see to il
that the transition from lumber town
TO one supported by cereal and stock
production is not II period of loss and
depreciation of property here.
That it may not b. so, the farms
must be developed as rapidly at least
as other interests decline, and the light
warm soil of the plains brought up to
the highest standard of fertility. That
this may be accomplished there is not
particle of doubt, but how can it be
done without too great an outlay of
money TO make it pay, for the great
yankee question, "wiIl it payl" Is the
one we have first to meet.
We answer, Yes! But what do we
need what shall we do? Commercial
fertilizers arc too expensive for the
man of small means, though they
might pay i'm the end. He has not the
capital necessary for the first invest
ment. Neither can he use barn-yard
manure, for it is not to be had; he has
no stock, and if he had has nothing
to feed them until il can be raised on
the tarm--so what shall he do. but put
in little patch of vegetables that will
grow without care, and work part of
the time in the woods to obtain the
little he does not raise. and spend the
rest of the time with an old gun or
fishing rod, thus passing the time with
out making visible improvement iu the
production of crops3
In reply TO the above. we say first Of
all, make up your mind that i'm this
! undertaking as in all others, success
depends upon labor. You may have
mountain Of gold, but it is useless
without tire shovel and pick and smelt-
| inS furnace is used. So hera, where
you have every advantage of healthful
air, pure water, and as beautiful a
| country as the sun ever shone upon; q
naturally quick, rich soil, lacking only
the vegetable mold destroyed by the
oft-recurring fires of past years; if you
hope to succeed you must work, and
TO restore what is lost we believe the
whole secret is told in one word-clo-
yer. The seed is but small item, but
when and how to SOW it to secure the
best result is a question open for dis
cussion, and one that has many an
swers among farmers We do not pro-
fess infallibility, and shall not in this
item give our views, which would of
course be theoretical, as we have not
been with you long enough TO practi-
cally test our theory, and the AVA
LANCHE proposes TO speGkonly what il
knows TO be true, but will give one in
stance of last years work, and hope,
for the good of all, that those who
have used clover will give their plan,
as practiced, and the result.
On sec. 2S, 26 n, @, is farm in
charge of Mr.. \. Lovesy. In May last
he plowed piece of nine acres, a part
of which was unbroken. part once
plowed part twice plowed, and the
balance older. No manure was ever
used. Five acres were sowed to oats.
three to rye, and one TO barley. and all
seeded TO clover, eight quarts of seed
to the acre, about the 2Jth. The ter
rible frost of June 9TH, followed later
10y the drouth, entirely ruined the
grain, but the clover, looking sickly
and yellow enough to almost disheart-
Ell any one, held to life, sending its
rootlets down after drink, till they
had reached depth of ten inches be-
fore the welcome rains of August,
which lifted the bilious leaflets out of
the sand into the air and sunshine and
changed their color to a lively green.
There was n good and fairly uniform
catch over the whole piece, but little
difference being seen i'm the fall on old
or new ground, and when the snow
came, all looked fairly and promised
well. Another year will prove its sue
cess or failure. lie has now fifteen
acres of winter rye looking well in the
fall, which will be seeded in the same
way this spring, and we believe, as
soon as good crop of clover can be
plowed under the future of that farm
is secure, for there will be returned to
the soil what it has lost.
We would like reports from every
township in the county of the area
sown to clover last year, and the pro-
posed area for this. Also the time and
manner of sowing, and the preparation
: of the seed-bed.
, Ella, is your father at homeg" said
! FL 4 n