The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1892-01-15
THE FARM AND HOME.
A FARMERS COMPARISON OF
THE EAST AND WEST.
Agriculturists Of Both Sections Can
Learn of Each Other-Destroying
Tree Borers-StOck Notes
and Home Hints.
From Maine to Miss ouri.

1nero are many things that farm
er going from the extreme East to the
West and Southwest cannot help but
notice. It would do many New Eng
land farmers good to take a trip
through the West and many western
farmers could learn something from q
visit to the East You say conditions
vary SO that people in one section can
not do as may be wisest in some other
locality. and that the general way OF
doing in any given section is the
wisest and safest for the place. This
is remark often made by intelligent
men. But 1t isn't always true. For
example. have attended an institute
in section where stock keeping was
followed largely by all, writes 7. B.
Terry in the Practical Farmer. There
were perhaps, 200 farmers present
Out of that number there were but
or 8 who had water-tight stable floors
and saved all their manure in bust
ness-like way. Was common custom
right or these two or three 'cranksp"
Now let US consider one point
wherein little change both in the
East and West would be wise. Let us
look at Maine, which is the extreme
northeast. They can grow good corn
there of the early maturing kinds.
saw plenty of it. and know of men
who grew large paying crops. ] know
what it cost them and just how much
profit there was in it. They can also
grow spring wheat oats and barley
But they do not do very much in this
line. A farm is measured in Maine
by the number of tons of hay it will
cut Hay is king. I rode many miles
by carriage: Invariably when I was
told about a farm we were passing
they spoke like this: There is 200
acre farm that cuts 1876 tons of hay.
Here is one OF sixty acres that l bought
last spring, that cuts thirty-five tons
of hay. This is the way the ninety do.
Is it the bestp No, sir. They had
better raise more grain. pillow more
and reseed oftener.
Grass should be the foundation, but
not the whole end of their farming.
The first year or two after re-seeding
they get largo crops; then the yield
grows less and less. 1t dwindles down
to half ton or less per acre, I am
told by good authority. Now this
they can do establish say four year
rotation, and raise a good deal of grain
and have more hay than they have
now. Suppose one has forty acres of
pillow land. He is moving it all and
getting thirty tons of hay on the av-
erage. He can put out ten acres to
corn each year and ten to spring grain,
seed largely with clover and NOW it
two years and get fifty tons of hay,
say, per year from the twenty acres.
Perhaps not at first but eventually. if
he manages wisely. Oh! said some
farmers to me, but we cannot sell
clover hay. No. and / wouldn't want
to. would feed it out If living where
you do, and save the manure care
fully. Some said to me, but it is no
use to put out any crop without put
ting on dressing" Glover in short
rotation. and all manure saved. and
the grain that you raise fed out prop
erly, will soon settle the dressing"
matter Maine farmers in some To-
calities need to pattern after western
ones to the extent Of growing more
grain to turn into butter, beef and
wool and lambs. They can get more
for all these products than western
farmera Under skillful management
they may raise as much grain per acre
as their western friends do. as they
are now managing.
One point is very noticeable-the
eastern farmer saves every spear of
what he grows There was no corn to
be seen outdoors, every stalk was Sc
cured; nor were there any straw stacks
even. The waste in this line is enor-
nous in the West Millions and mil
lions are wasted that would be saved
by New England farmers By SO doing
they can we'll afford to grow grain. if
soil and season are not as favorable as
in some western states
But now what can the western farm
sr learn of the eastern one? Why to
save what be grows; more carefully
and turn it into money; but more par
ticularly to grow more grass in his
rotation. In many sections here it is
most all grain. They need rotation,
with clover perhaps clover anc limo
thy. brought in more. They could
thus grow more grain than they now
do and have lots OF grass and hay be-
sides. Much Of the land has been
grained to death. True. most of the
land between here and my home in
Ohio is natural corn land; but the
yield is getting down altogether too
low. BY good management in the
way spoken above, it would be doubled.
Again. do not suppose that change
in the single line mentioned East and
West is all that is needed to make
farming more profitable. We can all
improve in many directions. l have
tried only to point one way.
Farming Pays.
Farming pays If you farm in tho
right place and in the right way.
William /. Kennedy. of Falling Creek.