The Grenada gazette., 1888-07-05
PROFITABLE FARMING.
ow to Make Cultivation OF the Soil .
Remunerative Industry.

many cultiyators OF the soil are not
making money these times is because
they have never learned how to farm.
In most kinds OF business, other than
farming, failures are usually and prop
erly ascribed to a lack OF knowledge OF
what needs to be done, or lack of ex-
perience in knowing how to do it. But
usually the farmer ascribes his ill sue
cess to low prices, drought or hard
times, never attributing it to lack of
knowledge. Simply because a man
has been brought up on a farm is no
assurance that he has been taught how
to farm. 1t is an easy matter to learn
routine work; to cultivate crops in a
certain prescribed manner, and GER
tain number OF times, regardless of
season or condition of soil. The very
poorest farmers | know are men who
never did a days work excepting on a
farm, while on the other hand, some
of our leading agriculturists to-
day knew nothing whatever
about the farm or farm
work until they had arrived at
the age of maturity The best way to
learn farming is to serve an apprentice
ship at it, as the beginner does in other
trades and industries, doing every de-
tail Of farm work until practice en-
ables the tyro to perform it. Expert
ence should proceed theory to some
extent. If during his apprenticeship
his eyes and ears are kept open, vari-
Gus improvements upon manners and
methods will suggest themselves from
time to time. After a good founda-
ton is thus reached the beginner is
ready for the supplementary lessons
which agricultural science teaches.
Our agricultural colleges are good in
stitutions and are doing good work,
but most frequently they begin at The
wrong end, teaching theory and science
before any experimental knowledge
has been gained. They could accom-,
plish much more good if they would
require students to perform certain
amount of practical work upon the
farm before entering upon the thcorc'
tical and scientific branches Of the
business. l am glad to see that the
old notion that anybody can be farmer
without experience or training has eX
ploded, and that farmers feel the ne
cessity of a finished education and ripe
experience as much as those OF Other
avocations.
In addition to fertile lands and {
favorable season there must be fail
amount of tillage to insure good crop
A large percentage of the crop depends
on the tillage. After the spring crop
are all planted the cultivators must b.
kept going. 1t is much easier to keel
them moving and keep ahead OF weed
than it is to wait till the weeds get
start and then have to smother then
out. In fact, it is hard matter to re
deem the crop after they have allowed
the weeds to get healthy start, and
| good crop can not be realized from
land that is allowed to become weed
| or sour, or that remains clOddy frOr
insufficient working, or from working
when too wet. We usually have
! good deal of wet weather in cultivatin
time, and it behooves us to keep tn
cultivator moving when the weather
| favorable and soil in the proper cor
dition And the drier the weather tn
more we need to cultivate. The moist
ure of the soil can only De retained O
increased in dry weather by frequer
light surface cultivation. A finely an
freshly pulverized surface acts as
mulch, absorbing dews, which
packed surface soil could not dc
Weeds are not a bad thing, bu
rather blessing in disguise, every
thing considered. Very little cultiva
ton much of our crops would get wer
it not necessary to work the soil to kee
down weeds. Where one farmer stil
his soil to loosen it and put it in cond
ton to absorb food from the atmos
phere, a half-dozen at least cultivat
only to keep down weeds. Nor shoul
the cultivators be stopped too soor
Where corn stubble is to be seeded
Wheat, which | find is the most certai
and profitable way of growing a whei
crop, the cultivation should be kept u
as late as possible without injuring tn
corn crop, in order that there may b
no weeds or grass to interfere with tn
work of fall seeding. There are ye
too many farmers who think thu
no matter what the soil or season, n
matter what the crop that has precee
ed or is to follow it, the time-honore
custom of giving just three cultivating
must not be violated. And we don
suppose these old stiff-necked fellow
can ever be convinced of the error {
their way, but the next generation
farmers can be advised properly an
induced to make o change when the
!? become tillers of the lands that are b'
ing so badly abused.-W w. Steuen
in Ohio Farmer.
SONG OF THE SHIRT.