The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1891-02-25
Progress in Farming and I'm
provemen in Farming Imple-
Tnents.
BY HENRY rAUcH. Esq.

AC -g- toN az "a FtI " 1S tCaA " l4cA4 y
Raueh, Esq, Of Jenner township, before
the recent Farmers Institute
Agriculture may be defined as the art
Of disposing the soil in such a manner as
to make it produce in the greatest abund-
ance and perfection those cereals and
vegetables which are useful 70 man aud
the animals depending on him for sub
! sistance. The earth, in state of nature,
/ possesses a certain degree of fertility, 50
as to produce plants more or less suitable
/ for the subsistence of man and beast, but
/ It's spontaneous productions are small in
comparison with those which can be rails
ed from it by mans industry and intelli-
gence-
Savage nations, ss well as some Of those
living in tropical climates, usually rest
content with the natural production and
Z they are accordingly found to be few IL
( proportion to the surface which they pos
sess, and oftentimes live in the lowest
state Of miserg. But wherever man has
I possessed intelligence, he has spplied
himself to cultivate the soil so as to make
/ it capable Of supporting in comparative
( comfort, large number OF our popula-
ton
The earliest efforts in farming BY the
/ first settlers or pioneers Of Somerset coun-
/ ty, have been few, and limited in their
object. The land was cleared and plow-
I ed, the cereal grains-wheat, rye, oats.
buckwheat, etc, were sown, and such a
crop as nature gave was conten,edly re-
/ peated no more was done than merely
/ to take advantage of the natural fertility
+ Of the soil, and in this manner farming
was carried on to within about the last
thirty or forty years, and in some locai-
Ties to later date
/ When, by repeated cropping, the soil
/ became exhausted in one field, the farm
I er resorted to the axe and mattock, and
cleared another. They were more famil-
lar with the process Of clearing and Of
breaking up new land, of which they had
an abundance within reach, than manur-
ing and fertilizing old and WON out
fields. Consequently the process Of maz-
uring has been much neglected By many
of our farmers, both as regards the use of
( ordinary stable manure and lime. They
/ claimed that the labor required in the
application Of manure and lime would be
50 expensive from the high wages Of Ia
Dor that the returns would be unprofta-
T bic But the truth seemed to be tsat
( they had never given manure and lime
a fair trial, and commercial fertilizers
were then unknown. 1t has only been
/ in recent times that farmers throughout
the county thought ofcultivating the soil
/ under certain advantageous circumstan-
ees 50 AS 10 increase the natural produc-
I tons Of the soil and consequently raise
heavier crops of grain and grass. There
were several remedies which in time ef-
feeted these mprovements-first to in
crease the extent Of tillable land for
grain, and also for sufficient food for hor-
ses and cattle, in or Ter to secure an abun-
dant supply Of barnyard manure, and
the other vas lime.
In the application Of lime there are
certain rules which should invariably be
attended to, always to give abundance
and in a newly slaked condition. in order
that it may have its full effects. II slaked
a considerable length Of time before it i.
applied it does not act so promptly eitheI
in reducing the natural herbage or neu.
tralizing the acids as when applied in q
hot and powdery state. Dry lime from
the kiln IS a powerful exciting agent il
agriculture. 1t possesses the power oi
decomposiug animal and vegetable mat
TER, and enters into the fabric Of plants
and is therefore an exceedingly valuable
Ingredient to the farmer, and wherever
farming is carried on with spirit, IS ca
gerly souzat after and commercia! fer
tihzers have been successfully used With.
IN the last ten years.
The leading varieties Of grain raised in
Somerset county are wheat, rye. oats
corn and buekwheat. Whea. IS more
extensively raised now than formerly
and instead Of shipping wheat cut OF the
county, We had to importlit
Ryeis not as extensively raised as form
erly; the farmers mostly raised II to feed
their horses corn has taken its place
now. There was 8 prevailing opinion
among the farmers, 10 within about one
third Of a century. that field crop Of
I corn could not be successfully raised in
Somerset county. Buckwheat is mostly
raised along our mountain ridges, bat
every farmer raises few acres for fami-
I ly use, as bUckwheat cakes are one Of the
standing dainties of farmers break
fast
/ A great part Of Somerset county is as
well. if not better, adapted for grazing
than for agricultural purposes. Stock
raising is therefore carried on on large
scale, and farmers have grezly improved
/ their stock within the last twenty years
The dairy business was carried on extern
sively before the daysof -oleomsrgzrine
Butter was one Of the staple commodities
Of the county, and the name giades
butter was familiar in all the eastern
markets.
/ There is another industry Of the coun-
/ ~ in which there has been a great i'm
provenent made within the last halfcen-
tury, and that Is the making OF maple su-
gar, which Is Of excellent quality. and is
made At a time when not much else could
be done. Fifty years ago al the boiling
was done with wood, which was natural