The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1895-06-15
FARMER AND PLANTER.
GOOD FARMING.

GOOD Farming Is Based.
The farmer who has always in his
mind the six principles or factors in
plant growth should never be bothered
about what work he should do every
day in the year.
1t is absolutely necessary to his sue
cess in crop raising that he should
know not by name merely, but thor
oughly understand the work and iniu-
ence Of every one Of these principles.
AS they are all necessary factors or
agents In the growth and maturity Of
good crop of anything, it follows that
II one is absent and neglected there
will be failure, sometimes more and
sometimes less.
These principles are good seed, good
seed-bed, fertility of soil, moisture,
heat and sunshine. Ignorance of one
or more of these in farming makes
rote farming. This kind is frequently
successful. but sometimes not; and
when not, the rote farmer doesn't know
the reason why, and can not correct
his errors.
The object of this writing is to stim-
ulate study of all of these principles,
because knowledge of them will be
guide to the farmer, telling him
every morning what work he should
do that day, and how he should do it.
Good seed means a well-developed
and matured seed of its kind free from
the seed OF every other growth. The
largest is not always the best. 1t is
Important that it should have grown
ma crop that was as pure of its kind,
and as free from disease as possible.
The fall months is the best time to
select seed corn. All through the
winter while feeding stock is next best
time. just before planting is the worst
time.
Much good work in the making of a
good seed bed can be done in the fall,
even for the next spring planting.
January and February are generally
wet months in my latitude Southern
Kentucky, no profitable work can be
done in or on ground when it is wet at
any season of the year. By good
seed bed / mean soil thoroughly pull
verified before or at the time of plant
ing and then packed if the ground is
dry. Some work in the making of a
poor soil richer can be done all the
year round. The only rule wish to
advise at this time is that soluble
manures put on land when wet, is
more than one-half lost Dry ground
has strong affinity for attracting and
preserving liquid manure, but if it is
already wet the fertility will pass off
with the surplus water.
The meaning OF moisture as here
contemplated is that the soil in which
the plant roots are feeding shall have
just enough water in it to make the
plant food soluble and the soil friable,
but not sticky. Our crops don't wish
to have their roots in either wet or dry
ground.
The meaning of heat is that the soil
shall have that degree of temperature
most favorable to the termination and
growth of the desired crop. In some,
such as garden peas, Irish potatoes,
rye, wheat and some other grains, a
low temperature is best But for beans,
sweet potatoes. corn, cotton, tobacco,
sorghum and southern stock pea the |
soil can hardly have too much warmth |
IN it.
BY sunshine is meant that every |
plant shall receive its share OF the d. |
rect rays of the sun. Because it is |
solar light pulsating its ETHEREAL waves
through soil and plants that creates |
vegetable life and stimulates growth. |
We may talk about artificial heat,
light and electricity; but there would |
not be upon this globe either vegetable
or animal life II it were not for the |
power. the agency and guardianship
Of the sun. The short-sighted farmer
may say that he will make his land |
rich, that he will make good seed |
bed. that he will plant good seed, that |
he will cultivate well bnt for the matter |
of moisture, heat and sunshine, he will |
trust to Providence. He may quote |
Scripture and say that God said to |
Noah that, "While the earth re-
maineth, seed time and harvest, and |
cold and heat, and summer and winter, |
and day and night, shall not cease"
This was promise that is being full
filled. But there came with that |
promise the command to live by the |
sweat of the face-to subdue the earth,
and to possess 1t, and to be co-labor-
er with nature. Where moisture and |
heat are deficient we can increase |
them. Where there is too much |
moisture, heat or sunshine we /
can diminish them, or which is |
the same thing, protect our crops from
them. We can SO cultivate as to in
tensify the influence of either of these |
on our crops when needed. / remem-
Der one late, wet spring while / was a
young man l covered my corn from
three to four inches deep. while my ad-
joining neighbor covered his one inch.
dis came up and did well, and mine
rotted. His corn had around it proper
amount of moisture; mine had too
much. His corn had temperature Of
90 or 80 degrees of heat more than
l. Ii