Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1889-02-14

rotation should not be used for pasture.
If our supply of manure is not sufficient,
we are either plowing too much land or
not saving our manure as We should.
such a system does not contemplate the
keeping of all our land in rotation.
We must keep stock enough through
! the summer to consume all our forage
in the winter; this will require a large
amount of pasture. Indeed, we think, on
most farms not more than One-third of
/ the whole amount of land should be in
! the rotation. We would select the best
portions of the farm, and cOnfine our
operations TO these. 1t is comparative
( ly easy matter to bring this limited
area into high state of cultivation, and
to improve 1t by draining, etc. There
are scarcely any farms in this neighbOr-
hood which do not have portions which
! yield uniformly good crops, and there are
only few which do not have some parts
which are scarcely worth cultivating Is
il not time that we stop cultivating these
poor spots which so reduce the average
per acre that the whole crop is cultivated
at loss?
Belmont county frequently reports a
corn crop of but little over 80 bushels per
acre, and what a miserable little crop this
is, When We consider that hundreds of
farmers report crops which average 90,
60 and more bushels per acre, how many
acres must be reported which do not pay
for the labor that is put upon them? Be
sides, the common practice is to apply
the manure made on the farm to these
poor places where it does but little good
and the whole farm grows poorer and
poorer; whereas, If We would apply both
our labor and our manure to the best
parts OF the farm, our labor would be re-
warded, and our farms would constantly
grow richer. 1t is upon good land that
we can hope to be benefited by growing
clover, and one load of manure upon good
land is worth two or three loads put upon
sterile soil. 10 matter how circum-
Scribed the area, we would cOntine our
operation to such parts of the farm as
were capable of producing profitable
crops. and all the rest of the farm we
would keep in permanent pasture. In
this condition it would constantly i'm
prove, though the improvement might be
slow; and even if all the farm be prOduc-
tive, these permanent pastures are very
valuable and will constantly increase in
value.
We very much desire to see Belmont
county report an average of 30 bushels Of
corn per acre, and 20 of wheat, and we
feel confident if the system of manage
ment we have indicated were generally
adopted, viz: confining our rotation to a
limited area and growing frequent crops
of clover, we would very soon be able to
do this, and we need have no fears of eX-
hausting our soil by such management
but instead it would constantly increase
in productive capacity.
Such system does not necessarily
mean the growing of more bushels of
corn and wheat in the aggregate, but it
does mean more bushels per acre. 1t
means more stock; it means more butter
and milk; more beef and pork; more nut
ton and wool 1t means larger net profits
for the farmer. 1t means more comforts
for the farmers family. 1t means in
creased ability to do good in the world
1t means preservation of the heritage we
have got, which eXcelS in beauty.
Will you not think of these things?
And now, we may not have told you
anything you did not know before, but
we hope we may have called some things
to your remembrance; and if what we
have said shall lead any of you to put more
thought into your work, and to inquire, is
there better way ? we will have accom-
plished our purpose, and have gained our
reward.