The National tribune., 1895-07-04
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers
Summer crons Profitable.

! ing crops are those that are grown during tho
! Summer, and have the advantage of making
| rapid growth, being harvested as soon as
some of the early -planted Spring crops Late
cabbage, millet, Hungarian grass, buckwheat,
turnips, and late potatoes are among those in
the list, all of which may be gotten out of the
! way for wheat in the FAN. One of the adj
vantages in growing Summer crop is that it
kills the weeds
Cabbage, potatoes, and turnips require good
cultivation, and frequently the hoe must be-
used, which keeps the weeds down, thus pre-
venting seeding the land with weeds next
! year. Hungarian grass and milIet take pos
session of the land in a short time, and crowd
/ the weeds out, the mower also assisting to
clear ont the weeds when the crops are har-
| vested, all Of which cleans the land for wheat,
and lessons the labor next season.
Whenever crop is grown in the Summer
it protects the soil from the direct rays of the
SUM- which promotes the formation of humus,
and more particularly when the soil is
covered with sod, but an advantage is also
secured when hOed crops are grown, by
reason of the incorporation of the manure
with the soil, and the mulching Of the sur
face with loose earth by cultivation.
The gain in this direction may not be
great, but it assists to retain fertility and
prepare the plant-food for the present and
future crops The Summer crop demands
that the work be done carefully, so as to get
ahead Of dry weather, and also that plenty OF
manure be used, all of which puts the land
in good condition for another season. The
cuItivatOr should be kept in operation, 80 as
to have the land always loose ON the surface
As corn need not fully mature its seed
when intended as fodder or for the silo. it isa
crop that may now be made a speciality,
while buckwheat or millet may be grown for
blowing under, but it viii pay any farmer to
grow late crop of corn for fodder, which
may be drilled in rows. and cut when the
ears are just beginning to glaze. Peas ara
broadcasted in Canada, and plosed under as
soon as they begin to blossom, but the cost Of
seed is an obstacle to such methods in this
section.
The blowing under of green crop, and the
land lined Immediately after, will be of
benefit to wheat, and enable it to get good
start before Winter. Summer crops. such as
cabbage, potatoes and turnips, can be grown
at small cost, compared with the prices OBJ
tanned, and should be made portion of the
regular rotation on the farm; but one of the
best, but most neglected, of crops is the corn
that is grown for ensilage or curing as fodder.
Cultivation of Potatoes.
In large number Of experiments at the 10
stations in Illinois comparisons have been
made OF methods of cultivating potatoes
Seasons vary so much that the results of diff
ferent methods are continually contradicting
each other. One season potatoes mulched
VIII yield two or three times as much as those
grown IN the ordinary way, and the next year
the results will be almost the opposite In
trials where direct comparisons were made,
results from Alabama, Kansas, and Utah
favor tat, while Indiana faVOrs ridge eulti-
Walton
Maryland, New York, and Ohio report
practically no difference in yield between
fiat and ridge culture. Vermont reports that
IN one seasons trial mulching when four
inches high gave better results than ridging
Results obtained at the stations in Colorado,
Indiana, Michigan, and New York are against
mulching The general tendency seems to
DC toward thorough preparation of soil, and
level culture
Comparisons of deep and shallow cultiva-
ton have been made at the Michigan and
Utah stations, with very different results.
In 10 trials at the Michigan station, the yield
OF marketable tubers was, i'm 40 cases. in
favor OF deep culture, while in Utah shallow
culture gave greater yield than deep. Re
suits are so conflicting that no conclusions can
as yet be drawn.
Uneyenly- Matched Teams.
The worst result of having the team m
pypDiu pnafphnd N, Vvorb - bot =
to exert its fun power in pulling. The slow
and fast each binders the other, and neither
can do its best. This is practical basis for
the ancient injunction in the law of Moses
that the OK and the ass should not be vOked
together. There is also n need for due pro-
portion between the team and its driver.
The great majority of farm work requires
that the driver shall walk, and slow team
limits the amount that an active, able-bodied
man can accomplish. We well remember
while boy on farm blowing with an OK
team that could not be made to turn over an
acre day. A smart horse team with the
same pillow would turn an acre and a half or
two acres. Such difference as this explains
why much farm help fails to earn its wages.
The team for farm work should be active
rather than plodding. This activity is not at
all incompatible with superior strength and
endurance.
Trees by the Roadside.
The pleasure of riding or walking through
country places would be greatly increased if
fruit trees lined the readsides OF course,
some of the fruit there grown would be taken
and eaten by the passefs-by, but except near
cities and large villages, this demand would
be quickly satisfied. With the roadside fruit
held as common property it would be less
difficult to protect the fruit in nearby
orchards. The fruit trees would have fur
ther advantage that they do not grow so
large. nor do their roots extend so far as to in
jure the fields beside them. We know some
fine rows of large trees by Toadsides which
destroy the soil for one or,two rods
inside the field, and make it not worth cult
waiting. The elm, whose roots always run
near the surface, is one of the worst trees in
this respect.
Why Put on
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