Madison times. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1884-1???, 1886-05-15
Butter Holds Its Price Better Than Any
Other Product Of Western Farms.
Utilizing Poor Land.


are several acres of land from which
no returnes are received. What is
worse, they greatly injure the appear
ance of the farm and diminish its Pc
cuniary value if it is offered for sale. 1t
may be said that these waste places
cost the owner of the farm nothing, as
he spends neither time nor money in
cultivating them. Such, however. Is
not the fact. They are taxed like other
portions, and as rule they are sur
rounded by fences. They call for an
annual outlay of time and money, and
they afford neither pleasure nor gain.
Sometimes the waste places are high,
steep. and rocky, or have had the pro-
ductive soil removed from them by the
continued washings that follow heavy
rains. At other times they are low and
marshy. and have no natural outlet for
the water that collects in them. In
some cases they can not he drained
without the consent of the owner Of the
adjoining property. Occasionally the
waste land is chiefly occupied by a ra-
vine, that is annually growing wider
and deeper for the reason that the
banks and bottom are not protected as
they might be.
There are few sorts of land that can
not be made productive of either pleas
ure or profit, and which would Tot be
made 10 afford both if they were in
countries where land is scarcer and
labor more plenty. However steep and
rocky land may be it can be made to
produce trees that are both useful and
ornaments. There are scarcely any
hills or mountains in this country that
are not covered with trees, shrubs, and
vines, if they have been protected from
fires. The roots of trees and hardy
vines find their way among rocks and
obtain all the nutriment they require.
All the nutbearing trees do exceedingly
well on these rocky elevations. So do
all varieties Of evergreens. A hill COW
cred with nutbearing trees and ever
greens presents very beautiful appear
ance and ornaments farm better than
expensive buildings do. Many hardy
apple trees and grapevines do well on
these rocky elevations. The like Is true
of wild plum and cherry trees. A hill
covered with trees and vines will soon
become a source of delight to the occu-
pants of farm. II they are from a
place where forests abound it will re-
mind them of their old home. 1t will
be seen and admired by travellers and
people living several miles from it.
Many pieces of land that are too
rocky. broken, or unproductive to be
plowed can be made to produce certain
crops without much expenditure of
labor or money. Good crops of pump
kins, squsshes, melons, and cucumbers
can be raised on land of which not
more than one-fifteenth part is worked
by any implement. Large hills can be
made by the use of the spade, pick, or
mattock, a liberal amount of stable
manure applied and the best soil mixed
with it. On this the seeds of the vines
can be planted and the young plants
tended in the usual manner As the
vines increase inlength they will extend
over the hard earth and do quite as
well as they would on the most fertile
soil. Pumpkins, squashes, and melons
will ripen finely if they lie on high and
rocky land. These vine crops are gen.
orally neglected by western farmers be-
cause they are voted a bother" in corn |
fields, and for the additional reason that |
farmers do not like to devote good |
corn land to their production. Toma-
tues also do very we'll if planted in SIM |
liar situations, and the fruit ripens |
much better than in comparatively low
and moist places.
Ravines can be utilized in various |
ways. Some that are quite wide and |
have firm banks can be rooted over and |
made 10 protect all kinds of farm stock.
The Indians used ravines for the pro-
lection of their ponies long before this
country was discovered and occupied |
by the whites. Some ravines that have |
hard canks and bottoms can be used tor
the storage of water to use in time of |
drought. All that is necessary to con-
vert them into reservoirs is to build
strong dam of stone or timber, and to |
furnish it with discharge pipe. and /
spout for carrying off the superfiuous
water. 1t is easy to prevent ravines
from increasing in size by sowing the
banks with the seeds of grasses that |
have long and tenacious roots. The
grass may never be of any value as food
for animals, but it will protect the
banks, and will help make them beau
tiful. Trees will grow in ravines, and
many tender varieties will do better in \
them than in places where they are en-
posed to the sun and to high winds.
Recently several writers have advocat-
ed planting gooseberry and black berry
bushes in ravines. They state that they
are well protected in them, and that
they produce more and better fruit if
they have partial shade.
Ii low places can not DO drained 30
as to render the soil capable of being
TILED, an effort should be made to make
them OF value for other purposes. A
pond suitable for raising carp and some
other kinds of fish can often be made in
, portion of a slough at very small ex-
pense. During a dry time a portion of
he earth can be moved with q scraper,
70 as to make an excavation deep
enough for fish pond. The earth re-
moved can be used to raise part of the
and high enough to be of value in rails
ng cultivated crops. In Michigan i'm
'roved boys have been used during the
'ast few years for raising celery, which
loes best in q moist soil. In New York
improved boys have been used for pro-