Wichita eagle., 1886-10-06
9ai1gRE eagle
FARMING In GERMANY.
RESULTS OBTAINED EY WORKING
UPON SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES.
Some Points that May Provo Of Benefit
to the American Farmer-The Triumph
of System - Buildings, Feeding, Etc.
Scientific Institutes.

VrlumDI
of System - Buildings, Feeding, Etc
Scientific Institutes.
The farm which 1 visited is owned bv /
man who, until recently, has been a tenant
farmer, but year ago bought for 40, 900 thai
ers about 200 acres of unentailed land from thu
Tierstorf- -Cramm estate. He is a brother oi
the widely known Professor Waldeyer, Of
Berlin, and found him not only a typically
sturdy "son Of the soil, but man of unusual
intelligence and enterprise, who in the mos,
hospitable spirit offered to show me anything
and everything connected with German farm
ing. The morning we called upon him he
was bemoaning the partial destruction OF bis
rye by hail. The hail fell without wind ane
only the dropping heads of the grain wer
harmed. His enthusiasm and his dlsappolnt'
lnent were interesting. In the last ten or
twelve years the changes in the German eli
mate have been considerable; the insurance
rates were based ON the former condition Of
things and inasmuch as hail storms have in
crease in frequency and violence in the time
referred to by about 50 per cent, the COM
panies demand three days notice, which in
this country is regarded as peremptory. Mr..
Waldeyer's grain covers nearly twothirds Of
farmers he is the only ono who was insured
TIE TRIUMPH OF SYSTEM
The exactitude with which q given amount
OF fodder is estimated for individual animals,
Is part Of a system which is an actual tri-
umph, because it is universal among all con-
siderable proprietors, and the intelligent Ger
man farmer makes estimates, in this and all
other matters, with something of the exacti.
tudc of the managers Of an insurance COM
pany, even to estimating the amount of loss
per mile in driving to ''the village" in time,
and in wear and tear of material
The talents of the German are almost un-
available without direction and discipline:
the inability in the way of self-help is some
times quite amusing, but when Investigations
are made in a prescribed and scientific man
ncr they are usually accurate.
The farm buildings having been erected by
q peasant, it is Mr.. Waldeyer's intention to
reconstruct them, as he already has his house
to some extent, from civilized prejudice
against dwelling under the same roof with
his stock. The buildings are scattered, and l
saw no ice house, no dairy and nc corn crib.
They are, however, not representative, yet
the stock barn was not impractical, the cattle
and horses being stalled around the sides Of
main inclosed floor, upon which tho food is
cut by hand with an ordinary cutter, and
where the hay is dropped from above. Mr..
Waldeyer showed us his horses with some
pride. Most of them arc more like fox hum
tiers in their build than are American farm
horses, and look like good roadsters. In
feeding, each animal receives in the working
season fifteen German or about seventeen
81, ,,,,I, ~ a. --kl r.
oats and bran, daily, together with five Ger
man pounds of hay. At other times they re-
ceive the same quantity Of hay and nine Ger
man pounds Of cut straw, oats and bran, and
for six weeks in the summer, beginning in
June, each horse is given fifty-four English
pounds of cut clover daily.
This careful system is also carried into tho
management of the soil A hundred and thir-
teen pounds of manure is here worth ten cents
for the ammonia, phosphoric acid and potash
1t contains Six dollars worth Of manure is
put upon each aero yearly. In what is called
intensive" Misunderstanding farming on
strictly business basis-artificiald dressing COM
nosed of phosphoric acid and ammonia in the
proportion of 2 to 3 is used to the amount Of
S11.25 per acre yearly, and over and above
the usual su, ply there is an extra supply
ty-five or thirty extra head of cattle every
autumn Manure is drawn on to to the fields
all winter and plowed in at the first oppor.
tunity, and there is q constant reserve kept III
an open, water-tight compost vat.
SCIENCE AT ONES FINGER-ENDS."
Calling upon a scientist rs lecturer for adj
vice is characteristic, and it was easy to see in
conversation with Mr. Waldeyer that farm
ing as practical science was fairly at his
"fnger-ends." In extent and appearance,
aside from the rlaryellously finished appear
ance of tho finely pulverized fields, German
agriculture does not compare with our own,
and naturally its possibilities are nothing
compared with land in which a single state
produces over thirty million bushels of wheat,
and in which a small part of one state can
produce more cotton than tho world can use
ct present; but, however talented and ver-
satile the American agriculturist may he, tho
German farmer of the future will try titles
with hin in some respects with methods a.
nearly like the results Of genius rs Won
Moltke's celebrated tactics. The constant
marvel is that, with such evident capacity,
such widespread higher education, such pre-
eminent ability in every walk OF life, that
Germany has not done even mora than she
has, and the world may look for rs much
progress in the future as the unfortunate con-
ditions which inevitably prevail in Europe
wuI permit. Nearly every German farmer is
graduate of one OF the higher schools, gym
nas,a, or scientific institutes subsequently
he has two years practical experience on
'n, for which privilege he pays $50 thalels
y"ar, and is fitted for two years course in
ths excellent agricultural schools, which he
Invariably takes
Naturally. the small peasant proprietors d.
aot enjoy ell tllese privileges, lut it Is mainly
because they do not wish to. They arc pro-
,id.,d in the winter schools with all the agri-
cultural knowledge, including a system OF &C
cxalnts. which the meager common school
education has fitted them 70 receive. It will
be wondered that it does not enable them to
tarn moro, but the education Of the newspa-
ger does not reach them here AS it does in
America There are no circulating libraries
IN tbe smaller towns, and certainly no paperx
IN village of 5000 people like joufna in
such places in America, which corresponds to
md imply o general civilization and refine
r,cnt Of life unknown in such towns here. 1t
Is. bowev r. not because Che government docs
cot desire to elevate its subjects. On the con-
trary, Relieve there is no country with
such widespread higher education not only,
tu: where such persistent efforts are MADE to
promote universal intelligence. and IN 1t al
one of the most creditable features Is tho
premium which the government places or
scientific, and therefore truly
practical, agricultural knowledge by exempt
ing the we'll instructed far,.:er fiN'n two q
tie usual three years of military -er,f&
A List OF American Earthquakes.
The carefully compiled list Of Professor