The Progress., 1894-09-01
r1-rrpT.ys Of the EeOrpia station

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the ashes of which contain great
deal Of potash and considerable phos-
phoric acid, will only grow spontane'
ousiy upon soils rich in potash and
fairly well supplied with phosphates.
The cedar and certain grasses, whose
ashes contain much lime, grow natur-
ally upon limestone soils. The pine,
which contains but little ash, grows
naturally upon poor soil, as it makes
but a small demand upon the soil for
food of anu kind. tt frequently hap
pens that when hard wood timber (oali,
hickory, ETC. has been cut
off from a tract OF land and
the soil cultivated for con-
siderable period Of time and
then thrown out Of cultivation, it is
followed by a spontaneous growth of
pine (old field pine especially. This
indicates that the soil originally con-
tanned sufficient supply Of available
potash and phosphoric acid compounds
to support the growth of hard wood
trees. The timber in its growth, how
ever, followed by period of exhaust
i've cropping, exhausted the soil of its
available mineral food, and the subse-
quent spontaneous growth upon it,
therefore, would only be pine trees
and similar vegetation requiring but
little mineral food. During the growth
of the pine the minerals of the soil
undergo additional weathering and de-
composition, thus storing up in the soil
fresh supply of availa bile plant food.
When the pine is cut off it is, there
fore, frequently followed by a spon-
aneous growth of oak, hickory, etc
Farmers Review.
FUTURE OF FARMING The socalled
bonanza wheat farms Of the north.
west and the big farms of the Cali
fornia valleys grow out of transient
conditions that no longer prevail-the
California farms out of the old Span
ish land grants and the Minnesota
and Dakota farms out Of the congress
sional grants to railroads. The his.
tory of the northwestern big farms is
that the land was purchased from
the railroad companies with depreci-
ated stock and cost originally about
81 per acre The low price of wheat
and the higher price of land have
changed the whole aspect of large
farming. There is no bonanza in the
big farm now. 1t makes but moder.
ate profit on the capital it represents
in average crop years, and with bad
crop it barely pays running expenses.
1t requires as careful management as
a factory. believe that we are now
in a transition period in agriculture.
The influence Of machinery has been
fully exerted. There are no more
fertile lands on the globe to be con-
quered by civilization and to increase
the food supply. With growth of
population will come better prices for
farm products Farm life will become
more attractive. The tendency to large
farms will be checked. A hundred
acres, even with exclusive grain farm
ing, will afford good living to
family. Better times for American
agriculture are not far OFF, V
Smalley in Forum.
PLUMBs.-Fruit growers have me.
with difficulty in the successful cult
walton of the native plum in the fact
that some varieties are self-sterile,
that is, they do not fertilize them
| selves. Isolated trees and large
orchards of Wild Goose and Miner
have proven shy bearers, while when
planted intermingled with other varie
ties blooming at the same time and
furnishing an abundance of pollen,
they have borne heavy crops Hence
it is important to determine the most
suitable list of Varieties for an orchard
so as to ensure the most perfect pol
lination of all the blossoms Newman
| is considered good pollenizer for
Wild Goose, while De Soto, Wolf and
Forest Garden are regarded as good
fertilizers for Miner. Isolated trees
of the self-sterile varieties may be
made fruitful by top grating some OF
the limbs with suitable varieties, or
by planting trees Of these sorts ada
cent. Mixed planting of self-fertile
and important varieties in hedge-like
rows or in alternate rows is now ad-
vocated and practiced by our best
| growers. Some growers, however,
! prefer to confne their choice of varie-
ties to those that are self-fertile.
RETIRED FARMERS Statistics show
even in the west that large proper
ton of farmers rent instead of own
their land. 1T is probably due to
the retirement of those who have
passed the three score and ten limit,
and yet hold on to their farms as
safe means of securing revenue for
their remaining days. We can not be-
lieve that the renters will not buy the
farms if they have good charih The
money is safer on a mortgage than the
rent would be- When a man works
rented land there is constant temp.
tation to take all from it he can and
leave it poorer than he found It.
Ownership gives an interest to make
the farm better, and this is the con.
dition that is best for both parties
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