Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1888-01-19
FOR THE FARMER.
How Wasteful Methods of Western Farm
ers Appear to Those In the East--An
Improved Corn Crib.
How Farmers Institutes May be Made OF
Value to Distinguishing
Marks of Good Cow.
WASTE on WESTERN FARMs.

WASTE ON WESTERN tAHAiS.
That nearly rs much is wasted on
farm in the west rs is raised ON one OF
the same size in the east has often
been remarked when a farmer from
the first-namod region visits this part
of the country. He often sees many
acres Of grass that have rot been cut
and over which prairie fires will run.
He is surprised to see the eornstaiks
in the fall aud winter on { 6 hills
where they grew, the foliage destroyed
by the frost and wind. He kno
that these cornstalks if cut in time
and properly cured and protected are
worth as much Tor feeding stock as the
hay that could be cut on the same
amount Of land. The waste is painful
to him. He does not wonder that the
average western farmer has hard
time when he allows 50 much good
stock food to 90 to decay. He looks
over township aud estimates the
value of tho corn fodder that has been
wasted at some $4,000. lie multipies
this sum by the number OF townships
in the State, and ascertains that the
waste amounts to tens of millions of
dollars. On his return home he writes
to some paper an account Of what he
saw. In his article he states that the
farmers in the region he visited could
all become rich in few years if they
would practice the methods of saving
that are common in the Eastern States,
where corn fodder is all cut when the
foliage is green, and where the husks
are saved for making mattresses. He
notices that other things than corn
stalks and grass are wasted. He OBJ
serves that grain springs up in every
field after harvest because no attempt
was made to collect the stalks that
were not secured by the harvester. He
also sees that much of the grain straw
is burned or allowed to rot
He forgets the old adage that "cir-
cumstances alter cases" He does not
take into consideration the fact that
there is not stock enough in that part
of the country TO eat all the grass that
is produced, and that the price of hay
may not pay the cost of preparing it
and sending it to market. 1t does not
occur to hiri that farmer can cut aud
cure four acres of grass easier than he
can one acre of eornstalks, and that
lac has not time to secure both grass
and corn fodder before they are killed
by the frost His stay in the west is
so short that he does not ascertain
that farm labor is more scarce and eX-
pcusive than It is at home; the farm
products sell for much less, and that
there is no market for many of the
things that command good prices IN
the east. On his farm, which is near
large town, straw and small hay are
worth sowing for bedding horses, and
command as high a price as timothy
hay does in Iowa or Nebraska, This
being the case, he SONS them and
takes them to market, though he is
obliged to hire help to enable him to
do the work He cuts, cures, and puts
undcr cover all the cornstaiks he
raises There may be no demand for
them in towns, but they take the place
of hay in his own feeding yard, and
the hay commands a good price. 1t
will pay him to employ men to rake
over grain-lields after the harvester
has done its work 1t also pays tim
TO use the mandrake in the moving
hcld. He would probably find that he
could not make living wages by using
a mandrake in a grain or grass field
in many places in the west. In them
the waste of hay and grain can only
be prevented by greater waste of
labor and money. may not pay to
save itaud he can not collect enough TO
support him, Cleaning is only profit
able in countries where grain is scarce
and many persons are without profit
able employment