The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1894-03-15

LIVING ON POOR LAND.
An Absorbing Question In the Daily Life
of Many Farmers.


An Absorbing Question In the Daily Life
of Many Farmers.
With large number of farmers the
absorbing question is, how on a poor,
run down farm, without capital, to get
enough supplies to last through the
year, and the little money absolutely
necessary. This question is often flip
PANTY answered by the advice to move
to a better farm, as tenant, or to go
west, ETC., but this is generally imprac-
tlca BILE, as in most cases the farmer is
too poor to change, and he and his fam
lily are neither able nor willing to do
the large amount of rough work which
such move would necessitate. Be-
sides foothold or home of your own,
with all it's accomplishments of old
friends, local attachments and fixed
habits, is gift of God not to be light
ly abandoned.
Having to face such conditions, the
first thought should be economy; not
seeing how the family and animals
could be fed on the proverbial one
straw day of which the old horse
died, but the management of the land
in such way that the greatest net in
come could be produced from it with
out injuring it.
If any farmer who feels hopeless of
his ability to support his family will
sit down and figure up the supplies alb
solutely necessary, he will be surprised
at how small a part of the products of
the poorest farm it takes
My experience has been that the
largest waste on the average farm is
from unproductive stock. ] mean the
keeping of two or more poor, ill-fed an
lmals when one good one would answer
better. Do not sell what you have and
buy fancy stock, but keep the best you
have, and feed and care for them bet
ter, even if this reduces you to one
horse, one cow, and even one hog. l
put this waste first because it actually
wastes something in hand, viz: crops
already secured.
The most important waste comes in
trying to work too much land. This
means i'll preparation and i'll cultiva-
ton, the working of poor land which
might be left to rest and recuperate,
the taking of what little profit might
be made on the better parts of the land
to pay the poorer, having to provide
pay, board and labor for which you not
only receive no reward, but draw on
yourself vexation and loss, the forcing
of your dearly bought crop on a glut-
ted market, with the laborers waiting
at your door for all the money received.
Farmers are prone to denounce specu-
lators. All men are spectators who
by hired labor produce more of any
article than they need for their own
use. What shall we say of the
Spectator who speculates with
not only the proba bilities, but
the certainties against him, as
any man does who attempts to
make staple crops for sale from poor
land, and with hired labor. And just
how many men, knowing this, plunge
from the frying-pan into the fire, by
buying manipulated commercial fer
tilizers. From an experience dating
back to the conclusion of the war, as a
market gardner, farmer and travelling
salesman of agricultural implements,
l can say that as rule, it does not pay
to use for staple crops manipulated
fertilizers on land originally poor,
either for the crop to which it is ap-
piled, or for the future benefit of the
land. do not mean to decry the use
of commercial fertilizers for special
crops, or for giving tobacco a good
| start, or for getting a stand of clover.
but for the last two, it is neces-
sary that the land should
have been originally poor. 1 also
think that there is no way so cheap or
easy to improve land as by the free use
of pure bone -four and potash salts,
but this is like saying that the best
way to improve poor land is to buy
good, for less than 400 pounds of bone
and 200 pounds of KANT has no ap.
preciable effect on poor land, and less
than 100 pounds of each has no very
marked effect. Another waste is try
ing to do more than your own labor,
money on command and supplies on
hand will allow you to do at the proper
time and in the proper way. And
last, but not least, the making of a
debt of any kind is to be avoided
Men on good farms may sometimes be
right in anticipating future income
from their property, but on a poor
farm this is never justifa ble.-Cor
Home and Farm.
CLEAN UTENSILS.