The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1895-08-23
Z .Al2sLER AND PLANTER.
CATCH THE SUNSHINE.

II Is me of the Essentials to Successful
Farming.
Snrshine is such potent factor in
the growth of crops that all farmers
sAeuld give it a good opportunity to
rightly do it's work. 1t is an item in
tie weather reports about crop pros
poets. Family physicians prescribe it
for many human diseases. Stockmen
and dairymen are learning to let the
sun shine on their stock. Its health
full influence upon vegetation is more
obvious than upon animal life A
sprout growing from potato in dark
cellar will point toward window CIV
ing even faint light. There could be
no vegetable or animal life on the
globe without sunshine. And still 1t
sometimes happens that crop re-
ceives too much sunshine.
| 1t is the work of a good farmer that
he shall so select his crops, his ground
and seasons, then so cultivate that
each crop shall receive the amount OF
sunshine, heat and moisture that its
nature calls for Where the surface
of farm is hilly or even undulating
rocky and sandy soils for those crops
needing the most sunshine, and the
northern slopes, the clay and colder
: lands for those needing less.
, Of course l have studied the wants
, of crops in my own latitude southern
kentucky more than any other. Ihls
: is not far from the center OF the corn
' belt of North America. But this lat
! itude is nearer the southern edge OF
: the best climate for wheat, oats, to-
!. bacco and Irish potatoes. Hence these
. crops usually grow best on the north
t ern slopes, while sorghum, sweet pola
e toes. field peas, all the melon and vine
J. crops grow better here ON the southern
L slopes.
e would prefer to plant the apple
n orchard and most of the other rrnl
e crops on the northern slopes 1t be
II comes a farmer to exercise his bes
4 Judgment when he comes to decio'
e how much ground surface shall o.
n given to each tree, plant or vine
d Where apple trees are expected Z
1t grow large they need forty feet o
re space. Where the large varieties o
m corn are grown for grain they nee
ID about eight square feet of ground; tina
~ is. stalks from two and half to thre
re feet apart. 1t requires more nerV
OF than most men have to pull up enoug
he young corn to give what Is lett tn
r. space it needs. Farmers are learnln
m to give corn more space when the
st grow it for ensilage or dry provence
ad than when they were sowing 1t re
wears ago. Experience has taugl
at them that sunshine should come
al the soil all around each plant. 81
=, what is sunshine? Is there an
al thing in it more than light and hea
- And how does it do its work to NAL
FL. crops grow? The modern scient'
,al tells us that sunshine is wave-moti'
90. Of the all-pervading ether. That eth
m is that substantial something that
-, crnies in constant quantity eve
~ SQUARE inch of space in the inverse.
- occunies all the interstellar distanc
GER and is equally in all solid substance
- These ETHEREAL waves are set In moIi
-, NV the great heat of the sun. "h
49, ,basa waves come to the earth we G.
erv them sunshine. When they STRIKE
,ld earth some of them penetrate soma 81
.,o stances, and some of them are renec1'
- II is from these phenomena that
-. hove the seven colors. The heat wa'
+hat come with sunshine are absort
Won and then radiated. But the now
yu' these ETHEREAL waves of light and NJ
' penetrating plants, their roots and
!, soil around their roots makes the CIR
ore, to grow lies beyond the ken OF nun
. aisc understanding. And so we had as W
al confess that there are many Things
10, S the secrets of nature that Nave
Wv been dreamed of in our philosophy
ID nrd,av in Farmers Home Jc