The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1885-02-27


to see Il dedicated. The military ar |
rangements of the parade were particu-
larry complete and effective, and prove
General Sheridans competency to mar. |
shall forces for memorial purposes az
well as for sterner work.
PRACTICAL FARMING.
Editor Free Pres.
A number of my old acquaintances
have been enquiring Of me lately, whT'l
don't write any more articles on farm
ing, 30 ! concluded to send another
chapter to THE FREE PRESS.
One reason why kept quite was, that
there were so many to pick flaws, for
YOU know that little minds mind little
things, and another reason IL, that
fancy my articles take up too much of
your valuable space; perhaps more than
you can really spare, that Ia, ifthey were
coming often, but AZ you have never
found any fault, / don't know 40 !
should have any reason TO find any, but
in this chapter ] will endeayor to be rs
say all / wish to. Now in my intro
duction l will commence by saying:
A hundred years ago the agriculture
of Scotland was extremely bad. Hardly
any wheat was attempted to be grown,
oats full of thistles was the standing
crop. Few potatoes We're raised, turn
Ups were hardly known, and no grass
seeds or clover was sown. All the ma
nure accumulated on the farm was put
on small patch Of ground near the
house where was raised crop of barley,
from which was made bread, broth,
beer and whisky.
Now the agriculture of Scotland il
probably the best in the world. Beauti.
full fields Of wheat are everywhere TO be
seen, the average yield being double
that of ours. Low lands have been
drained, thistles no longer exist, turnips
are raised in large quantities, unsightly
marshes have been transformed into
fertile fields, and barren hilltops have
been covered with thriving forests. How
work of the Highland Agricultural So
ciety. 1t has given premiums for stock,
for Implements, for tree planting and
other experiments.
One hundred years ago. 1874, q few
Scotch gentlemen, anxious to improve
the agriculture OF their country, organ.
lied club at the Exchange coffee house
near the market Of Edinburgh. There
met once week to talk over their plans
! for the improvements ofagriculture, and
from that nucleus arose the now widely
extended and powerful Highland Agri
cultural Society.
l believe it would benefit Minnesota
very much, if some of our monied men
would organize some such O society. and
even 20 q step farther and pass an act in
our legislature to exempt from taxation
all improvements in the way of building
barns for the shelter of cattle, etc., etc
Let them cast their bread upon the
water and see II it will not return after
many days.
II you nave cattle to care for in winter
the first thing niece ssary Is TO provide
good shelter Tor them and then liberia
feeding, so Us to keep them growing al
! through the winter, and reach maturity
as soon as possible. Cattle that are KEEP
Just alive through the winter, there il 4
loss of at least half their time, conse
quently you haye to keep them until
four years old to obtain the same growth
that they might reach in two years BY
liberal feeding. 1t has been the custom
with men raising wheat to think that If
ter harvest is over and the grain al
gathered, that their work 10 finished
} for that season, such an one need mo-
expect to prosper, No farmer can ex
pect to prosper, unless he 10 engaged In
winter as we'll as summer. He must cul
tivate during the winter those industries
which will make the land yield her fruit:
in summer, and to accomplish that, hi
: must be engaged in the care OF stock, 81
for the soil in the shape of manure, anG
without stock it cannot be done.
The soil as 1t comes to US from the
beneficent hand Of the Creator was 9
perpetual heritage and would have re.
manned abundantly fruitful, had q wise
and economical use of it been made, by
giving back to the soil as much as VIC
took therefrom, but by gathering in the
crops at harvest and then sitting down
and do so, year after year, without Civ
ing to the land anything in return, IL
like expecting TO gather figs from thorni
or grapes from thistles.
BY practicing a judicious 81 stem of ro'
tation of crops and by manuring the
soil, the fields will retain their fertility
and this is the only true and successful
foundation in agriculture. Every farmer
should realize it, and should make it q
constant study. And this is a very con.
venient time for thinking over this mat.
ter, and especially in regard to the best
use of those products OF the farm, which
can be fed to stock for the purpose oil
making them more profitable, and fol
securing sufficient supply of manure
by which the land may be preserved in
its full fertility, or restored to 1t when II
has suffered by wasteful culture. II we
allow our soil to be run down TO q much
lower ebb of exhaustation, we will have
a long and wearisome task to restore the
waste. 1t has been the result Of ruinous
culture, which has driven thousands oil
families from once happy and pleasant
homes, into places where the hardships
of pioneer life had to be gone through
again.
ture, all lands that contain more water
should be drained. Land that Is intend
ed for wheat, corn, oats, potatoes and
such crops, need more drainage than
land intended for grasses, but even grass
lands need drainage if wet. tits very
mistaken idea to think that grass will
grow best on wet land. Nothing could
Do wider off the mark, though 1t is true
that wet lands, after being drained,
make valuable pastures and meadows.
The roots of cereals need depth Of soil
enough to root down into, without gett.
ing in contact with the water. No plants
of cereals or grasses, except aquatic
| plants, like to get their feet wet. The
water being removed, air and wal NTH
are being admitted to the soil, and the
drier land is made by drainage, the more
drought il will stand, because it don't
leak and become impervious to the
atmosphere, but remains porous, 30 that
the atmosphere can enter II and leave
It's moister in the land. Clover sown
on the land makes the land more por-
GUS, so that the water can escape better
than anything else, except under drain
age, and it will always pay well 70 under.
drain where land is valuable, but where
land is cheap it will not always pay, 30
that on cheap lands drain with the pillow
by blowing narrow lands 30 AZ to carry
oh the surface water, and let me here
add few words on blowing.
There are some farmers who advocate
early blowing. They claim that early
blowing is as good as summer following,
but there is very great difference be.
tween early blowing and summer fallow.
ing. In the first place summer following
if attended to properly will clean the
land of foul seeds and also rest the land.
But early blowing will do neither, all
the advantage of early blowing is, where
You are turning up new soil that has
never been brought up before, 1t gives
a chance for that soil to become pre-
pared for the following crop, therefore
it is necessary to have new soil turned
IN i'm season, 80 that see but very little