Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1886-05-03
WHY DO FARmEns KEEP srooK,

Il The following instructive article W,
take from the American Rural Home
published at Rochester, N. Y:
There is true economy in heav,
dropping. Every year, by the actiof
Iof natures forces, elements of plan
food are disintegrated, separated from
the compounds in which they exist il
1.-THE soil, rendered soluble and, if no
taken up by growing crops, partially
wasted. heterogeneous compounds are
'jquite prone to leach down through the
soil until they reach an impelviou.
hard pan, on mich they flow into de.
Ipressions and are carried by rills into
creeks, by creeks into rivers, thence
into the ocean, where they are deposi.
ted in sedimentary rocks, to form con
tinents for the dwelling place of some
future people. At least, such is the
Tendency of the wasted plant food, OF
wasted force of this age.
All of this force, contained in the
soil, that farmers can arrest and utilize
though not permanently diverted from
its final destination, is arrested and
compelled to pass through mutations
for the benefit of the human family
THE force, latent in the plant food in
the soil, is converted into higher forms
,of use before passing beyond the con-
ttrOl of. the man of the present aye
Hence, there is economy in keeping
the soil so covered with growing vege.
tation that only the minimum OF plant
food shall pass beyond the farmers
reach.
] Now, to return 10 the question at the
head of this article: "Why do farmers
keep stockp One reason is, because
the lower animals can consume and
lconvert-into forms convenient for man
great many of the products OF the
soil that man cannot use in'their cruder
forms. They feed upon grass, the
straw and husks or chaf of grain, the
outer skins or coverings of the grains
| and many of the coarser grains not
very palatable for human food, but
which, when changed by the digestive
and assimilative organs of animals into
beef, milk, mutton, pork, poultry,
eggs, etc, become very healthiul and
nutritious food. In this way animals
perform the Office of machines, con-
vcrting crude, raw material into more
valuable fabrics
Horses perform quite different office
on the farm from that of other animals.
The force which they extract from the
products of the earth and store up in
their bones, sinews, muscles and
NERVES, is not converted directly into
force in the human system, but is ex-
pended in aiding men in tilling the
earth, in harvesting and housing
crops, in hauling them to market and
in various ways for mans utility and
convenience.
That the farmer shall derive the
greatest aid and profit from his dones-I
tic animals, how important is ii that
they Shall be OF the very best OF theirl
kind. Through the laws of evolution,
nearly every species of domestic ami
mails has been greatly improved until, |
with some species, but little further
improvement would seem possible, yet i
how little some farmers seem to have
awaited themselves of these improve
ments. Visit the farms in any of our |
best agricultural sections, and how
few you shall see stocked with the best
animals of the best breeds OF the differ
ent species.
Take horses, for example, and
although farmers, as a rule, drive |
much better teams than they did
thirty to fifty years since, how manyI
have teams OF draft horses, combining
strength, endurance and facility of
movement to that degree that they can
walk off with pillow in stiff sod, at |
the rate of two to two and half acrrs
u day and keep it up, day after day, |
week after week? Yet ii would cost
no more for man to follow such a |
team than one that would accomplish
hut little more than half rs much |
Then farmer will spend as muth /
time going TO market with team thu |
can draw bnt ton of grain as with
one that can draw two tons. Theb, |
how different man feels when drik-I
ing to town in carriage with n SLOW
team, everyone passing him and throw
ing their dust in his face, from one
who is always able to hold his place in !
the procession.
Too many farmers, finley breed their
own horses, will use any mare that is
worth the least fCf WORK and employI
the services Of the horse that can be
Obtained Tor the least money with butt
little regad for the characteristics OIL
either. Horses are but machines fori
acuuirrg and conserving the force
contdned in their food and eXpendingI
tor the use, convenience and gratiti-
-alion OF man; then why be content
with the weak, clumsy, mmberingl
machines of our fathers when so much
'ettor can be obtained, with but little
additional cost?
Then, what wide difference in the )
apacities for secreting milk, rich in D
utter, between the average cowIl
mixed by farmers, giving, at their
est, but 10 to 20 quarts OF milk day, | =
laking only about pound OF butter, :,
nd the possibilities of a COW, as exem- O
Hhed IN the Holstein, giving from 40i !,
90 quarts of milk and five to six
ounds of butter in a day, or in thel
ersey, giving an equal amount of butt
II. Can farmer wonder that he isl
1T behind in the sharply contested
ICE Tor success when he is content toI "
so much less than is possible? =,
And the same thing is true in regard to
all kinds of stock kept by the ma
rity OF farmers. They are far below r.
hat they might be; far below the Of
est, and as they must sell their stock a
their products in competition with r
e best, is it surprising that so many 81,
e complaining that there is no money Ip'
farming? t1S
Let every farmer resolve that he will vi