Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-05-12

~ 10 sun no lncohsiderable loss from
the aecumuiatlon of plant nutrition in
.n N oooles OF the animals grown upon.
anu formed out of the Substance ri
one SOIL. The bodies of animals are but,
acc"muiatlons of plant food. when thew
are soid OFT from the farm thew carry
away the richness of that farm. accord
ing ing 10 the extent of the sales made.
lne loss OF fertility from this source is
generally less than the increase of fer
tlilty from the decomposition Of soil.
winch continued on the cultivated
1arms' and hence land devoted largely
o stock-ggrowing generally crows
richer instead of poorer, as Is n]snallv
the case when devoted exclusively ~
grain growing. 1t must be evident how.
eyer that exhausted land would grow
flcn raster if even the drain upon it
rom selling ffthe flesh and bones grown
on 1t was stopped. This is effected
when butter production takes the place
OF grain and stock growing. Butter
carries off nothing from the Soil which
either animals or soil does not derive
from lnexhaustible supplies in the air.
10 make the advantages OF butter
dalrylng most efficient in recruiting an
exhausted farm the butter should he
made upon the farm, or by a creamery
system, so the skim-milk Shall be fed
on the farm. While butter alone makes
no draft upon the soil, milk carries off
no lnconslderable amount of fertilizino
matters from the fields upon which the
m%llk-glving animals feed. An average
COW uses annually in her milk about
forty pounds of bone earth, which is
lost to the soil if the milk is carried off
from the farm for consumption of man.
ufacture. This in time will impoverish
the soil, because when land lies to grass
and gets no cultivation or stirring it's
limited exposure to the elements will
MOI cause a sufficient solution of min
eral matter to keep up such a drain,
n sooner or later it will fail in pro-
ductiveness. Farms from which milkis
continually sold soon show the effects
OF the draft made upon their stock of
fertility, if they are wholly or chiefly
devoted to the production Of milk for
market, unless manure of some sort is
brought on from sources outside of the
farm. When all the milk produced up
on q dairy farm is sent to market or to
a cheese or butter factory, with no re-
turn OF whey or skim-milk, there is not
much difference, so far as recruiting the
farm is concerned, between dairying
and any kind of stock-raising. In view
OF the fact that when land lies constant
ly to grass, without any stirring or Gull
tivation, the development of plant food
from decomposition of the soil is too
slow, usually, to supply the material
for a heavy crop of grass, it has proved
the best policy for most dairy farmers
not to keep the whole farm to grass or
forage plants, but to cultivate every
year a considerable fraction of the ara
BILE land for the purpose of loosening
and aerating the soil, to hasten decom-
position. Such a course improves the
productiveness of the soil faster than to
let it lie still too long, and makes a bet
ter division of labor and q larger an
nual return than when the whole farm
is devoted exclusively to the production
of milk, OF to any other single product,
and diminishes the danger of fatal or
distressing loss from a failure when all
is staked on a single production.
When WORKOUT grain farms are
turned into dairy farms, a better thrift
seldom fails to be observed, whatever
may be the particular mode of dairyino
adopted. When such farms are seeded
down much better crops Of grass can
be grown than of grain, notwithstand-
standing grass and grain belong to the
same family of plants, and hence are
expected to use the same kinds of
nutrient elements in their growth. Then
there is a more certain reliance to be
placed on crops of grass than on grain.
1t is much less liable to injury from wet
or drought, heat or cold, or from hail or
storms of wind Or rain. This greater
security against adverse seasons is an
important element in favor of dairying,
over almost any other rural industry.
In whatever way we may compare
them, the chances are far better for the
owner of a failing grain farm to turn his
attention to dairyingg, than to exc out a
scanty and uncertain livelihood in grow
ing diminutive crops of grain, to reduce
year by year the producing capacity o.
his farm still lower and lower.-0vo