Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1892-07-28
FARM, FIELD AND GARDEN.
USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT
FARMING MATTERS.
For Restoring Exhausted Fertility.
The Coming Hog--Help the
Small oairyman--Care Of
Calving CoWs--Num-
Der of Eggs.
For Restoring Exhausted Fertr-


~ dOeS not always 1OllOW that De
cause a farm S poor" it was once
rich, and is simply run down" 1t
may never have been good, and to
get into fertile condition it might be
necessary, as Peter Henderson once
sarcastically remarked, to spread a
good soil over it hall foot thick.
But when the land has. really been
exhausted by continuous cropping
without restoring the elements with
drawn from the soil, the fertility may
be restored to it in various ways. A
flock OF sheep, pastured all over it,
would soon work a transformation.
But in many cases the best reliance
would probably be upon green ma.
nurimg.
When q farmer is Obliged, from
economical reasons, TO purchase a
rundown farm, henaturally desires
to improve it in the quickest possible
way consistent with his means. Both
sheep and manure, it may be, are be-
You'd his means. But he can grow a
crop OF green manure in IL few weeks,
and then, by turning it under enrich
his land with rs much fertilizing mat
ter as will equal eight or ten tons Of
manure.
Ii, for example, he plows the land in
October and SONS rye. he may turn it
under in May or June and plant corn.
This will be ready to turn under early
IN August, and, with the help OF Il
chain looped from the plow-beam to
the land side end OF the inner while
tree, may be buried under the soil.
This will furnish ten or twelve tons
more ofvaluab!e matter This, again,
may be followed with rye, and with
clover in the spring. After the clover
I! as been cut for hay and the second
crop plowed in, the land will, il not
too severely impoverished, be in fair
condition TO begin cropping for
harves..
> Buckwheat is frequently used as
first crop and is Very economical for
this purpose, as the seed costs but
little. 1t may be sown in May and
turned under and sowed again in July,
and this, when plowed under in the
fall, may be followed by rye. A dress.
ing OF lime on the ground after the
second crop is sowed will aid in de.
the green matter turned
under, and also greatly help the
growth of the rye.
The use OF clover for green manurine
is very earnestly recommended; but
before it can be grown to advantage
the soil must be in pretty good con-
dition. Clover is especially desirable
as means OF maintaining the fertil-
ity OF the soil after it has been
brought into good "heart" by other
means. One OF the most intelligent
farmers in New York State for years
practiced this system He sowed the
distant fields on his farm, to which it
was not convenient TO haul manure,
with clover along with wheat. The
following year he took Off crop OF
hay, dressed literally with plaster,
and the next year pastured the field,
then plowed it underugain and sowed
with wheat. Under this system, fol-
lowed for fifty years by his father and
they were able to grow crop
OF thirtytive orforty bushels OF wheat
to the acre one year get n good crop
OF hay the next, pasture the third
year, and SOW to wheat again the
fourth year.