Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1895-05-23


Dchorning.
One of the essentials to better and
cheaper beef making in the cattle re-
gions is the improvement ofthe grass
ranges. In many parts of the South
and Southwest, where drovcs of our
beef cattle are raised, the chief fodder
of the animal is coarse unnitritious
grass,supplementcd Will little grain,
and general heritage of an inferior
character. These natural products of
the soil produced the poor scrub cattle
that have for years been coming from
the Southwestern regions
A complete revolution can be made
In that vast cattle country, and there
are some signs of such changes bein:,
inauguratcd. Bermuda grass. alfalfa.
luceln and many other grasses are
roofing out the old tough heritage and
covering the country with a rich, sue
culcnt grass. This is one of the great
economies OF beef raising. This grass,
once started. will not only produce
larger crops than the present inferior
stuff, but it will give licher and heav-
Ter beef.
1t will make the animals grow to a
larger and heavier weight, and in ev-
cry respect show economy. Why so
many cattle owners Still cling to the
, old natural heritage instead of adopt
ing the better policy can only be eS-
planned by n shortsightcdness stingi-
mes, or Il belief that there is no i'm
proving scrub cattle. and that the best
q q hi
The latter error is too common in
this country. SO many farmers have
have been taught to believe that the
best thing they can do With their native
stock is to kill them off and buy new
and selected stock. They cannot af
ford TO do this. and cor sequcntly They
cling to their old animals and starve
them along as ever.
The native stock has many fine
points and qualities, aud if they can
not be supplantcd, by others they
should he improved by better cart and
feeding. Good food will do great
things for animals. 1t may require Il
generation or two, but the signs of i'm
provement will inevitably appear. The
tough, muscular system will relax n
little. forming a fine basis upon Which
to put flesh. In fact. in crosses be-
tween the scrub stock and superior
breeds the former contributes nothing
so valuable as a tough muscular sNs-
TEN. Our tine-bred cattle usually lack
this, and 1t is Il good thing to infuse n
little into the new blood of the future
generations.
This question of cheaper food pro-
duction can he applied to farmers in
other parts of the country. There is
no state where too much grass is rails
ed. When we reach that stage it may
be time to call a halt. but as grass is
at the foundation of all good farming,
we are long distance from having q
surplus. Grass will always be useful
in improving the soil and feeding more
stock If this was in abundance the
j. cost of raising stock would be but
Z small for pure grass-rased stock are
not by any means poor animals. WITH
plenty of this small quantity OF
grain will not be MISUNDERSTANDING
Journtl.
Growing Peanuts in the North.
Most of people think that peanuts
cannot be grown in the North but
this is a mistake, as they will mature
crop dS lol loi VI s'CuaAASAA' w -
consin, if the soil is suitable and the
7 planting is done early. The early va
rieties mature in about five months
from planting. l prefer for garden
purposes the small Spanish sort. a:
they mature early, are Of finer flavor
than the large Virginia nuts and ma!
be planted closer. l am not describing
how to grow them as a field crop now
though there are large parts of South
/. ern Illinois and of the section in tina
latitude where they would make
profitable crop. To grow four or fly,
rods of them is not hard and the nuts
will be found to be very nice to hav,
through the winter
The ground should be plowed flv'
+, inches deep at least, and made yer.
p fine. The soil should be of such text
ure that it does not bake, for the pea
nut has the peculiar property of bloom
ing above the surface and then TIL
flower spike turns into the ground an
the nut grows beneath the surface. l
the surface is hard the spike canno
penetrate it and dies in few hours
Soil that has q considerable propol
ton OF sand is best, and lime is nee
cssary to Il good crop. For five rod
of ground bushel of air-slackcd linn
is about the proper quantity, ard
this is sown after blowing it will be
come thoroughly mixed with the so
e by the work of tinins it and will b
". ready for the use of the plant. Woo
ashes are good fertilizers and pho,
pilates show good results when use
on peanuts.
For garden plat the rows need nc
be more than thirty inches apart, an
the seeds may be planted eightee
inches apart in rows, one kernel in
place, for the larger sorts, and two
Spanish nuts are planted.
The seeds must be taken from tn
shells before planting, but the kerne
must not be broken. Plant about I'll
same time that corn is planted an
about the same depth. Keep the SUI
face stirred and free from weeds, an