Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-01-26
ATTENTION TO DETAILS

ATTENTION TO DETAILS.
Why soms Farnsr. Fail Whsre OtAses
Are Remarkably Sueees 'fal.
Many persons meet with very poor
success in farming. not because they
do any thing that Is radically wrong.
but for the reason that they do scarcely
any thing quite right Most Of their
neighbors have good crops, while the
crops they generally produce are very
poor. They wonder 1t this because
they practice substantially the same
methods They have similar land. own
the same kinds of farming implements.
pillow, plant and SOW at about the same
time. and fot.ew the same general plan
in cultivating. Still. at harvest time
the crops on their neighbors' land are
much better than theirs. Their pOsa-
toes are larger, much finer and more
numerous Their ears Of corn are
longer and better filled. Their neigh
bors' beans do not need to be sorted by
hand before they are sent to market
They are of nearly uniform size. and
bushel of them contains scarcely any
bad specimens Their neighbors' small
grain of all kinds is ordinarily good
enough for seed Their punkins are
large, their squashes get ripe. their
melons are sweet and their cabbage
heads are firm.
Close attention to all the details of
preparing land. of the time and man.
ner of planting and sowing. and Of the
mode of culture is the cause of the sue
cess of their neighbors who rarely ever
fail to have excellent crops. Paying
small attention to little things Is the
cause of their own failure. A break in
a furrow leaves some land in so poor
condition that 1t will not produce grain.
and the seed that is sown on it will be
lost. Flowing land when it is so wet
that water can be pressed out of it as
from sponge will insure poor crop.
When planted land contains so many
weeds and cornstalks that they are con-
stantly collecting before the teeth of a
harrow or the points of grain-drill
these implements can not do good
work. This vegetable rubbish must be
burned or buried deep or the prepara-
ton of the soil for seeding will be very
difficult, and the chances are that it
will be imperfect. Much rubbish on
the surface of the soil generally pre-
vents it from being suitably prepared
for planting and sowing, and this
faulty preparation results in poor crops.
Many farmers are very careless
about the time of planting and sowing.
They know that delay of week in
sowing grain will be likely to lessen
the yield by several bushels to the
acre. but they get behind with their
work, SOW their wheat and oats late,
expect small crop, and are rarely
disappointed. In planting corn they
are careless about the number Of
grains in each hill. They find when
it is too late to replant that there
are not enough stalks to insure large
crop. In some hills there are none,
and in others only half the number
desired. A large crop of corn can not
be produced in field when the stand
is uneven. Every hill should have its
full quota of stalks, and no more than
can mature. What are called "naiss-
ing hills" reduce the corn crop, but
they do not lessen the work of cultiva-
ton. Too much or too little seed may
be the cause of failure in the potato
field. The yield of potatoes in the
West is generally small and the cause
may often be found in the careless way
in which they are planted and culti-
waited. Little attention is given to the
details of cutting the seed, preparing
the land. dropping. covering or hoe
ing.
If manufacturers gave no moro at
tention to details than farmers DO no
one would buy the articles they turn
out. They do not expect to produce q
good article without giving very close
attention to many little things. A
knife blade is not tempered BY simply
keeping it in fire an indefinite time
and then plunging it in water OF oil
till it becomes cool enough to handle.
Should cabinet-maker be as careless
about little things as most farmers are
he would have no sale for his wares.
A florist generally succeeds in produce
ing flowers out of season because he
gives great attention to details. He is
more likely to have a supply of roses
in January than farmer is to have
them in June, though the latter may
have large number Of bushes in his
garden. The florist examines every
one of his bushes every week. supplies
them with proper fertilizers, keeps the
air Of the greenhouse at the right tenn
perature, and is able to supply orders
for roses with rs great certainty as the
manufacturer is the articles he makes.
Close attention to details enables .
florist to have crop Of flowers to dis
pose of every week in the year.
Market gardeners seldom fail in
raising good crops Of vegetables.