Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1886-02-26


it was planted very late He often un-
dertakes to plow more land than can
be turned by the teams he has. He
makes no allowance for rainy days,
which greatly interfere with doing farm
work in the spring. If he has been &C.
customed to work on farm in Sec
ton of country where the land is hilly
or rolling he is not aware of the time
required for level prairie land to be-
come sufficiently dry to work after
heavy rain. In his anxiety to plant and
SOW many acres he plows land when it
IS very wet, and often seeds it when it
is III like condition. In some cases
the seed dQes not gsrminate for the rea-
son that the soil about it is too moist
IN other Eases the corn and grain pre-
SCENTS sickly appearance during the en-
TIRE season, because the ground ON
Which it grows was never properly pre-
pared for producing crop, or was pre-
pared at an unsuitable time.
Farmers in the ewly-settled portions
Of the west undertake to do large
amount Of work with very little help.
Labor is high, and the farmer who is
struggling to pay for his place and to
make improvements often hesitates
about employing hiredmen. Perhaps he
has got very small house, that does not
contain sufficient room to accommodate
more persons than the members of his
own family, and lives at distance from
any place where a man can obtain
board. Still he undertakes to cultivate
a garden, to raise small fruits, and, per-
haps, to keep bees. but fails in all these
operations for the reason that he had no
time to deyoet to them. His field crops
require all his time from early spring
till late in the fall. He may prepare
some ground for garden in the same
way that he does for ordinary field
crops, and plant some vegetable seeds.
But he has no time to devote to the cul-
tiyation of the plants. In the majority
OF cases the weeds get the start OF the
vegetables, and keep it during the en-
tire season. AS with the garden, so
with the planting of small fruits. Run
ncrs can not be cut from strawberry
lants at the season Of cutting grass for
'Iy or during the harvesting of wheat,
oats, or flax. There is no time for pru-
ming grapevines or for cutting back
raspberry canes A man who is under
taking to do all the ordinary work on
farm has no time to devote to bees, and
the chances are that he will not add to
the number of his colonies. The ma
jority of western farmers who under
take to- keep bees do not find them a
source of profit, partly because they
have not learned how to manage them
properly and partly for the reason that
they have no time to devote to them.
Bees need the largest amount of atten-
ton at the time when there is the most
to be done in the fields.
The task of improving a new farm is
not slight one. It is true that there
are no Forests to be cleared in the prair-
lie regions Of the west before crop can
be planted. But the demands for mon
ey are very numerous. It requires
much labor to clear up farm that is
covered with trees, but the trees afford
materials for fencing, building and fuel
On prairie farm all these things must
be purchased. Generally the price of
them is high. Few men who take up a
piece of raw prairie have a sufficient
number of horses to break the sod, and
the crop that can be obtained from re-
cently-turned prairie sod will scarcely
pay for the seed and harvesting. Gel
lars and wells on prairie farms are gen.
orally costly, on account Of the stone
needed to make walls. There are many
discoHragements to be surmounted In
improving prairie farm. If there is
no considerable sum of money to draw
from the improvements must be slowly
made. Undertaking to do too much in
a short time often results in disappoint-
ment OF complete failure. Especially is
this the case when the place is mors>
gaged.-Chicugo Times