The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1894-03-15
The Profession Of Farming.

Notes.
The Profession of Farming.
Not many years have transpired
since it was believed that anybody
could farm it well enough" The
farm became the 'catch all" for per-
sons who failed to make a living at
any other or all other business. The
bright young men of the farm were
sent to learn professions, but the
mediocre and the numbskulls were
kept at home to till the soil. How
poorly they have done is proved by
the fact that, as a rule, with exceed
1ngly rare exceptions, farming up to
date in this country has only been a
system OF exhausting the soil of it's
plant food. as witness the abandoned
farms of New England, where tilling
the soil first commenced. AS this
territory filled up farmers pushed on
to New York State, where the same
system of soil exhaustion was pur-
sued, and where now abandoned
farms are numerous. The farmer
leaves a trail OF impoverished soil be-
hind him as surely as a snake leaves
his trail in the sand. Most of this
comes of the best talent seeking
other channels Of business, leaving
the POOREST to till the soil. 1t would
be better for the country we're there
an equitable division of talent among
the various kinds of employment. In
two years time a young lpan can be-
come a full Pledged lawyer or doctor;
but farming is so much more intri-
cate that a lifetime is scarcely suf-
flcient to comprehend it fully. Sir
j. b. Lawes has devoted over half a
century to its study, and now laments
that he knows so little compared
with what there is to know. There
is no business or profession that re-
Quires so bright an intellect and so
deep study fully to comprehend as
that of agriculture, and this fact is
just beginning to be realized. To be
a u eSsful farmer at the present
day requires constant reading and eX-
pertinent. Such a one must he a
studiOus, rejecting So many
conditions and circumstances con-
front him from day to day, that often
hundreds of points should he con.
sidered before a wise step a be
taken.
These predatory remarks were in
duced by reading an article in a late
English paper in relation to lean
pigs and bacon pork. Millions and
millions Of hogs are grown in the
West, and much of the pork in the
form of bacon and otherwise finds a
market in Great Britain; yet how
few FORK producers know Just what
quality of meat that market demands,
and if this quality is not furnished,
of course, the grower must be content
with an inferior price. A cOmbina-
tion of English dealers issued a Cir
cular which embraces the following
statement: In consequence of so
many feeders continuing to make
their pigs too tat, and the great Diff
Guilty we find in disposing of over-fat
bacon. we are obliged to take some
very definite steps to obtain leaner
pigs" Then the circular proceeds to
state a scale of prices which has been
adopted, and which is dependent OH
the leanness of the pig as we'll as on
the weight, tine leanest (buU plump
commanding the highest price. The
circular then continues: "We would
impress on feeders the desirability Of
breeding only such swine as are Of
good frame and growth and refusing
to feed for bacon purpose all short,
thick pigs which must prove unsatis-
factory to them as to US. They will
undoubtedly best serve their interests
by studying the public taste, thus
creating an increased demand and a
higher standard of prices for their
pigs" l commend these remarks to
the consideration of the pork grow
ers of the West, adding that the best
pigs as herein described bring in En-
gland about two cents a pound more
than the short fat pigs, and, Of
course. this ratio should prevail here.
There might not be any difference in
price in a small quantity. but in car
load and larger lots any large slaugh-
UCTCIS WOulu pay AiOIO' SAhSAnAAnOA
Enquire.
Choice of Soils.
In selecting farms and gardens In
new places, purchasers often make
the mistake Of giving preference to
light, sandy soils, which can be
worked with less labor than clay, and
never become muddy. But such
light Soils although good for some
special crops, possess much less
strength than others, and are en-
riched at more expense, and while a
clay soil will retain for years the
manure that is washed into it, a
sandy soil al never be permanently
enriched.
Some years ago a gentleman called
on the late Mr.. Barry for advice,