The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1885-09-03
OUR RQRbL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers.

Agricultural Readers
WHY FARMING DOES NOT PAY.
Farmers who complain that farming does not
pay do not realizt how far agriculture is behind
other industries in the use of labor-saving ap-
plances which so greatly cheaper the products.
Steel which formerly cost 800 ton is now
made for S25 aiiroads carry for 10 cents what
would cost SO to haul by wagon; watch
which cost 500 25 years ago is now made by
machinery for SEQ; one operative in a cotton
mill now makes %, o32 yards of cloth in year,
while in 1870 only 4321 yards were made-an
increase of product of six times for the same
labor. BY the use of machinery one mans
labor makes nine pairs of shoes per day, one
pair being days work by hand Such manu-
features as envelopes brushes, screws, TOOLS
clothing, and other necessary articles Of daily
life cost, for labor, on an average one-twefth as
much rs they did formerly. The wheat grower
of the great Northwest, with his gang plows
pulverizers seed drills, self binders, and gigan-
tic thraSherS, elevators and the general dis
cipline of the great farms, has reduced the cost
of growing wheat to One-fourth its former
amount; the great cOrngrower has lessened the
cost of his staple in the same ratio and yet he
cuts and husks his crop by hand How, then,
can the farmer who still drops and covers and
cultivates his corn by hand, cradles his wheat
and thrashes it with the fail, compete favor
ably with the great wheat and corn growers
or work on the same terms with the shoemaker
or the artisan? Time does not count now, it is
the work DONE and every man is paid in the uni
versal labor market for precisely what effective
| work ba vnrfnrmS Uithnut relation fO the
time spent in it. And this is why old fashioned
farming does not pay.-N. 7. Times.
WHEAT FOR FALL SEEDING.
Some of the successful wheat growers in
Pennsylvania and Maryland have custom of
selecting their seed wheat from fields that have
remarkably vigorous development of straw,
but little regard being paid to the fulness OF
the berry. The custom originated with MIR. ID.
M. Good, of Washington Co., Md, who, on one
OCCASION being short of plump wheat, sowed a
part of the field with shrunken seed procured
from neighbor Contrary to expectations, the
shrunken seed produced much the finest crop,
and on investigation Mr. Good found that it
was from field that had produced a very heavy
growth that lodged and thus caused the shrivel-
ing of the berry. The theory is that the
strength Of constitution of wheat can be de-
termined more by the growth of the straw than
by the fulness of the berry on any given lot
Those who accept this theory procure their
seed from those farmers who have exception
ally heavy fields of wheat, and would on no
account use seed from small yields, however
plump the berry itself might be- The same
theory has been practically accepted by many
New England farmers in the selection of seed
rye as when crop on new land is found ex-
CeptiOnally heavy, as it sometimes will be from
the excess of plant fertility in the soil, the en-
tire crop is bought for seed by neghboring
E,rp OF N 1iuh I'D RI, at prippS
Short straw carries short heads and conse-
quently the yield must be light. however plump
the kernel may be. Selecting continually from
tall straw with long heads would naturally
tend to increase productiveness.-N Y. Farmer.
BALKY HORSES.
The habit of baking in double harness can
be easily overcome by means of a cord one
fourth of an inch in diameter and Is feet in
length an iron ring about one and half inches
in diameter and a piece of strong Irvine some
two feet in length. Fasten the ring securely
by means of the Irvine to the back strap, where
it is crossed by the breeching strap, then double
the cord, placing the loop formed by the center
under the balky horses tail like q crupper
Cross the cord, ana pass both ends through the
ring attached to the back strap. Carry them
forward and pass them through that ferret ring
on the saddle of the harness which is next TO
the balky candidates mate, then carry them
through the hame ring of the kind horse and
fasten them. leaving little sla"k. but not suf-
fcient to allow the balky horse to settle into
the breeching of thefharness. After complet-
ing this arrangement step back, take the rens
and start slowly. OF course the balky one will
attempt to hang back, but the sensation pro-
duced by the cord will divert his attention in
a very short time. and before he realizes what
he is doing he will put his shoulder TO the col
lar and help draw the load. This is much bet
for han x,ii md faxZia SSnnc will
orally effect a permanent cure.-Catttvator and
Country Gentleman.
DRYING OFF CALvING COWS.
If cows are not properly dried of, if milk in
considerable amount is allowed to collect and
remain in the udder after ceasng to milk regu-
larly there is great danger from permanent OBJ
structiOn of the milk flow in future. In dry
ing off cows it is we'll to skip milking few
times before ceasing entirely. If the quantity
secreted is not large nature may be able to take
care of it by absorbing it again into the system,
but if the flow is large the absorbing vessels are
unable to dispose of the excess and the milk
then becomes foreign substance to be dis
posed of in the next best way not to endanger
the life of the animal The milk may become
cheesey and the cheeSey matter may fill the
milk ducts and permanently close them to the
flow of milk. 1t is good rule to milk drying
up COW just often enough to keep the milk
ducts Tree from Cl0LCeQ mllk. AS CalSlnS tluG
approaches extra care should be taken at this
season to see that the udder does not become too
much crowded with milk.
NoTELETA
A contributor to the New York World says:
" I think 20 cents worth of plaster on clover
meadow will make half ton of hay worth 81.
/ consider this good investment while, at the
same time, your land is becoming richer"
Teach the calf to eat whole oats by the
time it ID three weeks or a month DID, by Slip
ping few small handfuls into its mouth just
after it has drank milk. When it has learned to
eat them keep supply before it in a little box.
Chicago packs more pork than all other
cities combined, Kansas City ranking second.
Cincinnati, formerly the chief pork packing
city, is now exceeded by several other places.
- Farmers who use pork as food in their
families should produce it as healthy as the
nature of the beast will admit of. Hogs should
have range in a spacious lot, and have the free
use of their nose, and all the pure water they
want to drink; and if it is convenient let them
have plenty of water to wallOw in. 1t is claimed
by some that when fattened under the most
favorable circumstances there is not more than
one out of ten not diseased, if they have at
tanned Is months.
- If any tOlerably fine manure can be spared
from hoed crops it will do good service as top
dressing for oats and barley. A little manure
is especially advisable if grass seed is to be
sown with the grain and scarcely less so if the