Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1883-07-13

use lhal is abandonment necessarily
stamp. Il as a failure. There are ~
times ''men ot whom the world is not
worthy now as heretofore and men,
too, who were born helom the world
was ready Tor them, Intellect il, and
has always been, Ia advance 0i popular
appreciation. and the most eNlraordi.
nary successes In science and art have
grown to perfection under the pressure
Of adgersliy, lu,l ~ hFr smoiheTed
under load 0i wet matter smolder
slowly and painfully until BY constant
persistence u has dried up the resisting
water and spread all through the mass,
and lastly burst out into a brilliant
flame, Thorc ls nothing new under the
sun. Long after the world has been
startled by some wonderful invention,
such a. the telephone or the electric
light, Il Is found by some patient eNca'
yator In musly records that the lnyen-
ton was made, perhaps, a century ago,
hut the time being nnrlpe, the unioflu-
nate inventor lived and died in neglect
and poverty, pitied and suffered 10 eN-
ist merely as a crank or an enthusiast
whose brain was q little turned, It's con-
yolutions perhaps twisted the wrung
way And he Is forgotten, until In time
his remains are dlslnterred by some &C.
cldent II Is so In agriculture and has
heen 50 always from rs earliest history.
And now, In thepursull Of investigation
and thoughtful observation Of modern
practice, old things become new again.
A hundred years ago Jethro rull, AN
English farmer, thought he discovered
that the soil could be greatly improved
IN fertility by thorough tillage, and his
theory that 'tillage Is manure became
"A by-word Of the period. This brought
up the practice Of summer iallowing
which became very popular, and re-
manned so mp to within few years,
when il was discovered that the soil
might be made to grow a crop and at
the same time be subjected TO q course
of tillage which we call cultivation with
equal advantage. Cultivated crops then
became the means Of adding to the fer
tility Of the soil, while 1t was made to
Weld up portion OF is fertility TO the
crop grown. After Tulls time came
Rev. Mr.. Smith, of Lois-Weedon, an
English preacher, who cultivated his
"gleben himself, and became a thor
ough, practical and a passable scientific
farmer. He mingled the two ideas
above referred to in one practice, and
called II alternate cultivation. His
method was TO grow crops upon strips
two or three feet wide, saving a bare
strip of equal width between them,
which was frequently plowcd and cul.
tivated In this manner he
succeeded in producing unheard-of
Yields of wheat and yet prescrv-
ing his fields in high state Of fertility.
Last week there appeared commun-
ication in these columns from corc-
spondent in Alabama, which we hope
was carefully read as it deserved. 1t
describes Whist, to the author OF it, is
undoubtedly new discovery, but yet It
is practically a tried and successful
method Of growing crops But years
ago, when it come first into notice, it
was premature and found but few
friends, and was soon forgotten except
ing by few persons who keep them
selves acquainted with the history Of
agriculture, Perhaps it is time to re-
vive this system Of cultivation, for it is
undoubtedly worthy of practice both
upon poor and rich soils 1t is rarely
believed that by giving a plant fom
times the usual space on the ground, up
to certain limit, more than four times
the production can be grown. But this
is a fact that may be proved by any
farmer who will follow the method out
lined by the correspondent who favors
us with his valuable experience. Two
years ago the writer planted
mammoth sweet corn in rows nine
feet apart, with hills six feet apart, thus
giving the three plants in each hill six
times as much room as had been usual
and was given to the remainder Of the
crop. The plants grew enormously,
under the stimulus, too, of six times
the quantity of fertilizer usually applied
to n Hill, and which could be afforded
without increasing the amount used per
acre Each stalk produced two perfect
ears of much larger size than is usual
even in this large variety, besides an oc-
casional nubbin of unusual bulk for a
'nubbin.n The grain was much larg-
er, cleaner, sweeter and finer in every
way than that Of the same kind of corn
grown three feet apart and the yield OF
the plot so planted was considerably
more than that Of any other part of the
field. Besides the extra quality gave 1t
a greater value both for "sweet corn
in the ear and for seed when ma
ture. The advantage of the wide roomy
rows which gave facility for constant
cultivation up TO the last helped consld-
erably to the result, and the succeeding
crop on the same ground, which was
planted in corn in rows in what
were the previous year the spaces,
showed that the soil itself had been ben
Gifted by the method Of cultivation.
Few farmers know to what length
and depth the roots Of corn extend. In
a case where freshet had washed the
soil out of several rows of field corn,
and had left the network Of roots bare,
these were found interlacing the rows
and filling the soil, even spreading be-
yond the adjoining rows over into the
next spaces. Many roots were traced
eight feet before they were broken, and
one corn plant, whose roots were care
fully measured, was found to have more
than 260 feet in total length of roots
still remaining, besides the finer libers
which had been torn away with the
soil.
Such experiments as these are of the
greatest value. We know really very
little of the ultimate possibilities Of our
soil or our principal crops. And it is
Of the highest Importance that farmers
should make experiments themselves
to corroborate those Of which they read
others have made. We are glad to
have reports Of such experiments,
knowing personally how much there is
vet TO learn in our farm and garden
Practice I. Times.
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A Dog Mourning His Master.