Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-01-28

| year the same substance is taken from
the land until nothing remains. A
proper rotation of crops, however.
coupled with some manure, increases
the productive capacity of the land. A
poor rundown farm can be brought up
by this means to a high state of fertility.
he said that since his residence in
Patch Grove, he had brought up two
such farms Mr.. Curtis has the repu-
tation of being one of the most success
full farmers in Patch Grove, which fact
the speaker expressed himself very
proud of. Manures are the foundation
OF all success in farming. 1t will take
about seven years to bring up a poor
farm to high state of cultivation. II
man has 100 acres of land and sows it
all to wheat, or plants it to corn, he will
he worked to death at one season of the
year and have very little to do the rest.
A three years rotation is usually con-
sidered the best Start with clover,
then with corn, then small grain and
then seed it down. This will be found
more remuneratiye than any other kind
OF farming. | have never used COM
mercial fertilizers, except plaster, and
l do not think that paid very well.
Plaster, however. is very good on tim
Der or bluff farms. A good rotation
greatly assists clean cultivation If
grass land be plowed up every two or
three years, the farmer will never be
troubled with grub or wire worms.
Mr.. Curtis said flax was very hard on
ground unless it is given proper cult
walton. But with all your rotation
don't rotate with tobacco. A crop of
1000 pounds of tobacco depletes the
soil more than that of eleven crops of
wheat
Mr.. John Gould, of Ohio, presented
the subject of ensi!age. He spoke rapid
ly and held the closest attention of his
audience. He said that on the western
reserve the ''sllo'' chad come to stay.''
Its use had greatly Augmented the pro-
duets of many farm. The silos there
are mainly built above ground, the vital
point being TO make them so as to ex-
clude the air. The ideas of haste in
filling and of heayily-weighting the fod-
der at the top have been very generally
abandoned as unnecessary Twenty-Five
tons of nearly ripened sweet ensilage
corn-fodder is not an unsuual Weld
Three tons of it are equal to one ton of
common hay in feeding value. From
the standing stalks, it was put into the
silo by many at cost of only 12l cents
per ton, and it costs no more to cult
vate than the same acre of corn. Some
fitted up alright rooms inside of their
barns. The top is covered with paper,
boards, sawdust and dampened clay,
according as the material is at the COM
mand of the farmer. To cover fodder
tightly is all that is essential. Every
forty cubic feet in the silo will hold a
ton of eusilage. The speaker said one
of his neighbors, who had made twenty
five cows earn about $1,000 per annum
on his dairy farm under the old prac-
tice now with 500 ton silo. kept sixty
four cows on the same land, and they
earned him $4,000 per annum. This
he accomplished by means of the slo,
the needed extra stabling for the COWS
and the employment of hired man in
addition to his family help.
FRIDAY.
The exercises were opened with music,
after which Aaron Broughton read an
able paper on Swine Husbandry.n
He said that swine well handled would bring
many dollars into our pockets. Swine is unlike
any other domestic animal with which we have
to deal They are not gregarious ard we make a
large focks or herds. We should change our hog
pasture each year. and sometimes two or three
times year. Hog cholera is doubt caused
by bad management IN feeding We should give
them variety OF good food as well as a variety
Of surroundings. They should never be ringed
but should be allowed TO root all they have a
nina TO. Dirt Is Denenelal to them. and in win
ter they should be given something as a snbsti-
tute They like to lie alone and don't pair only
at intervals, and don't breed in and in but breed
apart Their sleeping place should be like cave.
make my sleeping place by setting up three
forks and building straw stack over it. the open.
ing toward the south, with small ventilator to-
ward the north, II should be large enough so
they will have plenty OF room without lying atop
of each other Don't feed too early. Give them
time to get mp and air themselves. If all natural
conditions were observed there there would be
! n IN hnU ri I'll ms
acre to ten hogs, but do not turn them in too
soon, We should keep two hogs to one steer
Feed some clover during the winter. and don't
begin feeding too rapidly. Give pigs milk as
much as possible. The presumption is that if we
| were to feed milk to pigs instead of making il
| into cheese we would be more successful. Com
mence to feed to fatten ut ten months old, say
| Feb |, and sell about April /, when you will get
the highest price. Be sure to have your hogs
healthy so that the market will not be tainted
| Feed clean and do not allow any fattening hogs
| to eat their excrement. Pork in temperate
| climate is as healthy as mutton. But wild meat
| is acknowledged to be the healthiest, and the
nearer can keep the animal to the natural
state the better. IL usually takes six pounds OF
| corn to make one pound of pork.
| Mr. Morrison read letter from MIR.
0. l.. DeForest, of GAINESVILLE, whose
name is on the programme for paper
on Tobacco Culture. There was some
mistake in regard to assigning this
topic to Mr.. DeForest. He is not in
the business himself, and he advises
everybody else to keep out of it.
The question boing opened, IL. G..
| Adams, of Dane, was called for. He
thought the tobacco industry was one
of the most important ones we have.
1t has grown to be an immense indus
try. The tobacco crop of Dane county
was larger last year than the corn crop.
Land in Dane county which formerly
sold for $50 is now sold for 800 per
acre. The industry, however, is threat
ened with almost certain extinction by
the influx of Sumatra tobacco, which is
now being brought into this country at
a cost of cents per pound. The wrap
ping capacity of this Sumatra is four
times that of American tobacco, so that
it practically reduces the price to one
cent per pound. He proceeded to
make very convincing argument in
favor of placing such duty upon
Sumatra tobacco as would enable tbs
growers in this country to protitably
compete with it.
The suggestion of tariff brought t
l.. Cleary to the floor He was opposed
to any duty, and proceeded to discuss
the question at some length from free
trade standpoint.
In the afternoon O. M. Richards, OF
Elk Grove, read an interesting paper on
Pastures and their Treatment, and wa.
followed by III. C. Adams, with an ex
cellent paper on Farming as Pro.