The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1891-08-20
TUE FARMERS CORNER.
MATTERS OF INTEREST TO
RURAL, READERS.
lFertilizing New Land--Farm But
ter NJ Observation-Disclosures OF Food
ON Quality Of Butter--Ring-
Ing Hogs--M
mer Mistakes.
Fertilizing New Land.

The Northwestern Farmer discusses
the subject at length for the benefit Of
Montana, Dakota and Minnesota
farmers. But while we give the arti-
Gle for what it is worth we would say
to Montna farmers to farm their
land alternate years, summer follow
and irrigate the land thoroughly in
the fall and our word for it twenty
years OF cultivation will find it pro-
ducing as much as it did the first few
years, proving this our contemporary
says: H..
The subject OF fertilizing lands
throughout the newer portions of Min
nesota, and throughout the Dakotas
and Montana, may not be regarded,
by some, as one which they are just
yet interested in. The common re-
mark heard, with respect to the fertll-
lty OF some of these new lands, is that
such farm has been cultivated to
wheat for ten, twelve or even fifteen
years successfully, without the use of
fertilizers. One large farmer in North
Dakota coolly informed the writer
that he calculated that there was
fertility enough in his farm to give
him good returns as long as he lived,
and as he had no immediate family,
he thought posterity could find some
way to bring fertility back to his land
If they wanted to. To be sure this
was quite a philosophical as we'll as
an extremely selfish view of the sub
ject. No sorJ of argument will fit such
a mans case, but to the other ninety
nine farmers in a hundred, fertil-
izing is an important consideration
and it is a very exceptionally good
farm that can stand many years of
consecutive drain upon it's stored
fertility-and isn't it a foolish waste
OF natures bounty to exhaust her
strength before giving anything back
to sustain it? We all know that it
takes longer to build up, than to DIES
troy. Worn-olt lands require a great
amount of expense to bring back
paying fertility.
1t would be we'll, for those who have
not g wen much thought to fertilizing
their lands, to study this subject. A
few simple experiments should bemade
to see whether it would not even pay
them now, good profit on the in
vestment, to ascertain in what parti-
cular their soil is deficient, and then
substitute a fertilizer to fill the re-
qulrements. Our agricultural colleges,
through their chemical departments,
would do vast amount of service,
that would be e1ninently practical, by
giving any farmer, who applies for it,
a free analysis of his soil, and also in
form the applicant what is required
to supply the deficiency, and thus in
crease the yield upon his farm.
Influence of Food on Quality of But
ter.
Bulletin Is OF the New Hampshire
experiment station reports as the re-
suit Of experiments testing the effects
OF food on butter:
LIST. That gluten meal tends to
produce a much softer quality OF but
ter than corn meal or cottonseed
meal; and, other things being equal,
tends to lessen the churnability of
butter fat.
I'd. That with the same COWS the
hardness of butter depends much more
upon the character of the food than
upon the nutritive ratio.
3d.. That ensilage produces a some
what softer butter than does good
hay, but it is also favorable to the
flavor and texture Of the butter pro-
duct.
18th. That skim milk has a. very
favorable effect upon the churnability
and quality of the butter fat, and in
a single trial apparently reversed the
general rule that the volatile fatty
acids decrease as the period OF lacta-
ton advances.
9th. That cottonseed meal tends
to produce an unusually hard quanti-
ty Of butter, and that cottonseed
together with excellent client res sgS ~ '''O
9Th. That contrary TO general be-
lief the melting point Of butter fat is
not good index OF the commercial
hardness of butter That while in
general a soft butter melts at a lower
temperature than hard butter, there
is no definite relation between melt
ing point and actual hardness
9TH. That norelation can be traced
between food and volatile. fatty acids,
accept in the case OF skimmilk. That |
usually hardness and volatile acids
very inversely, hardness generally in
creasing and volatile acids decreasing,
as the period OF lactation advances