St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-01-13

Special Wlcut ldIlIlIlS Will llOL pay
except where the conditions are tempo
rarily very favorable, as, for example,
on new, ricn Red river valley farms, Or
on new, rich bottom lands in other Sec
tons. Wheat as part in diversified
farming pays modest profits. The
wheat crop fits in SO nicely in the crop
rotations that OH large farms it can be
raised very cheaply. We have no other
spring grain with which we find it Sc
handy to seed to grass. where we want
to seed large areas to clover and tim0-
thy, or TO mixture of grasses for per-
manent pasture. Wheat alone does not
pay most of the farmers who depend
upon nothing but the summer fall0w to
keep the land in condition. This kind
OF farming does not pay nearly so well
as would diversified agriculture. 1t re-
quires more management, more plan
ming of field rotations. more in
telligent study of live stock ques-
tions. and is all all around more
complex business to run farm where
several lines are dovetailed together. 1t
is not so easy to farm in an arms
length" manner as would suit the New
York or Boston owner OF his Red river
valley farm. Diversified lines require
an owner, Il tenant or all employe who
has his head in close touch with the
work. One OF our graduates recently
illustrated this aptly by saying: "a
farmer must work with his head III his
hands, hand i'll hand, or head in hand"
Smaller farms, ownership by the man
who uses the machine and drives the
team, the making of permanent homes
by the man who studies at firstshaud
the business and science of farming, are
some OF the elements which must work
together III developing our agriculture.
Wheat will stay dis one of the crops in
sensible farm management, but low ay-
erage yields and very low prices will
result III the financial dWarling of the
people WHO try to do exclusive wheat
raising.
There is no good reason in soil, labor.
markets or other conditions, why 4
man should abandon wheat entirely.
Some combination OF few other Spe-
calties, us dairying and pork, raising Of
and barley to sell, will, in the end, win
better than will wheat raising alone.
The wheat feature Of the farm should
gradually be reduced until it is only one
Of a few lines from which the farmer
secures money i'll exchange for pred
uctS.
All those beaver virgin soils Of Ii e
jf,,, fl, Il
tjIls, are very rich. Wheat farming Ge-
pletes them, and in few decades the
best Of them are badly il AIRED. our
poorer soils, such as thin sandy loans,
grayelIy soils, and even clays Oh hll!-
sides, where not very much plant food
has been stored up on account Of the
washing Of rains, are seriously injured
by cropping TO wheat continuously for
only a few or several years. The great
fact that we need emphasized is that we
should keep up and increase the fairness
of cur rich lands. They are heritage
that we should hold. cherish and im-
prove tor the future generations as sa-
Credly as we should care for any inter-
ests of cur children. 1t requires rich
country for the great, vigorous, cour-
ageouS, moral and highly civilized peo-
pie we wish our succeeding generations
to be. We are handjcapping them by
depicting the soil.
The average yields Of wheat will be
greatly increased by growing it only on
such lands as have been kept in good
heart, and are especially prepared for
t,rlno lN,rfh n - tif,,, =
the previous crop. At the North Da-
kota experiment station several plats Of
wheat. following corn, potatoes and root
crops, which had been cultivated and
kept clean OF weeds. yielded nearly
double the crop that adjacent platS did
which had borne wheat the previous
year. All this land had previously been
in wheat continuously for eight years.
Wheat after clover, or after any grass
crop, will find the soil i'll that compact
mechanical condition which will enable
it to thrive if the soil is not too lean.
The outstanding and application of barn
manureS il. TO the owner of rather light
sandy soil, particularly necessary
The manure not only adds fertility
to the land, but it is of great
use in dry times in making the
soil more retentiVe Of moisture.
Better varieties of wheat will help the
yields. The Minnesota and Dakota
experiment stations are testing few
hundred varieties of wheats, aud,
doubtless, some will be found OF made
by CROSSING and by selection which,
when distributed, will help the yields.
Our present Yields Of wheat are below
what our soils, the climate, and the
intelligence of our farmers would seem
to Justify, and great efforts should be
made to increase them. More hogs,
cattle. sheep, horses and poultry will be
q good means of utilizing on the farm
far greater quantities of corn, oats, rye,
barley, grasses and clovers. The stock
will not only bring in more clear profits,
but will turn the crops back into the
land in the shape Of manure, providing
care is used to husband the manure.
Farmers, as q rule, do not nearly appre-
ciate the manure from the crops they
feed to stock. Barn manure applied
rather thinly to rich lands does far more
good to the entire farm than when
applied thickly on few acres. Most
farmers have applied manure too
thickly and to the wrong crops. A
heavy coating of manure to rich lands
for crop of wheat causes the straw to
grow too large and the heads to fill
poorly, perhaps with shrunken grains.
The manure should be applied to pre-
vous corn, potatoes, millet or other
crop which will he benefited by the
manure and get no injury. This gives
time for the manure to rot and be
of no injury to the wheat, while yet
some of its fertilizing elements
remain to be Of use TO the wheat.
Corn is valuable crop for modest
or large place on the farm in every
county in the state. In the southern
half it is especially valuable as grain
and fodder crop combined. Far to the
north it is Ole of the most valuable fod-
der crops, and even there some grain
NAV be raised with the fodder, IL