The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1892-10-28
THE FARM AND HOME.
SOMETHING ABOUT GROWING
CROPS CHEAPLY.
Fertility Of Soil the First Requisite-Dur-
able Gate Posts-General Purpose
Horse-Farm and Home
Hints.
Growing Crops Chcaply.

1
The first requisite in growing crops
cheaply is to secure rich land and to
restore fertility to that whose plant
food has been exhausted. The fact
that the richest lands in this country
were new and could be had for nothing
has. been against efforts to increase or
even maintain fertility. But that
fact no longer holds good. Much of
the best managed land in the older
states has more available fertility
| than it had when first cleared of the
forest Market gardeners cannot be-
gin on land newly cleared. with its
mass of vegetable matter that to SUI
perficiAl view seems inexhaustibly
fertile. Such land is not rich enough
for the crops they grow without two
or three years heavy manurlng. with
thorough culture to mix manure with
the soil. The mass of leaves and
other rubbish. which newly cleared
land holds has very small proportion
OF either heterogeneous or mineral plant
food. 1t does not heat rapidly. A
growth OF clover blossom plowed
under is far richer. and 1t decays more
rapidly.
We have frequently heard good
farmers declare that fields that have
come under their regular course Of
tillage manure and clover. were richer
than the new cleared woodlands No
doubt this is true, says the American
Cultivator. When the first forests
rnn0NunH 1C~ra1
burned as they fell. The large guam
THY Of ashes that thus became mixed
with the soil increased it's available
fertility. 1t is true that the ashes
were gathered and sold. but some
could not be saved. and there was al
ways more or less burned vegetable
matter mixed with the so.f after
clearing was made.
Cheap production in these times
means a continued increase in soil
fertility. What is put into the soil 10
enable it to produce larger crops is
better than any other use farmers can
make OF their surplus. 1t will enable
the farmer each year to put his own
labor or that he hires to more effect
i've use. If the same crop is grown it
will be larger per acre. and with only
tritiing extra expense But better
even than this. the increased fertility
will enable the farmer to change his
crop to something that pays better
On poor farm can only be grown
crops that give little or no profit any
where. Hence such land is left idle.
or only half worked. In the same
neighborhood perhaps. will be land
naturally no better than the other. but
whose fertility has been increased so
that large amounts of labor can be
put on it. and still leave a profit over
cost of cultivation and marketing.
AS a rule the more labor crop re-
quires the better it pays. provided al
ways the LAND be rich enough to Sc
cure the maximum YIELD.
Improved implements are to GER
tain extent a help in producing
cheaply. This is especially so of i'm
plements that aid in cultivating the
soil and destroying weeds. Those
that merely help the farmer to har-
vest large acreage with little labor
are not so promotive of good farm
ing. Some modern grain harvesters
secure crops and pay a nominal profit
on land so poor. that the crop without
such aid to harvesting would be left
ungathered. When all the grain had
to be- cut by a cradle q small crop
did not pay. 1t can be cut now with
weeds and thistles by self binding
harvesting machines and this leads
to sowing more grain than can be
properly MANFRED or the ground be
properly prepared for. But this is
no real gain to the large farmer. 1t
has.simply enabled him to sell the
fertility Of his land at a lower price
than he can afford to. After the mis-
chief has been done he finds that he
has not grown his crops SO cheaply as
he thought and has sold them too
low for profit.