The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1896-02-28
rROGREsSIvH FARMING.

Eho Successful Farmer Must Keep
Abreast o1 tho Times.
4 How to manage a farm in such a
way 40 to mike 1t profitable, or even
to make . living. has. for the past few
years, been q problem many q farmer
has failed to solve. Whyl Simply be-
cause he failed to realize that this ID
an age Of progress, and; that he, as
Well as the lawyer, the doctor, or any
other business or professional man,
must enter into the spirit Of the times,
else, ere he is aware. he will be left
Ear In the rear in the march Of prog
ress.
The farmer Of today cannot make
the farm profitable In the same way as
did his grandfathers. He must take
advantage of the knowledge acquired
by means of the latest experiments.
He must make use of the late inven-
tions, whereby he can lessen the ex-
pense Of cultivating and harvesting
the crops. Corn, that product which.
only short time ago. was considered
one Of the most expensive crops to
raise. by means Of Inventions. has
been made one Of the least expensive
and most profitable crops farmer
can plant. One acre of good, corn will
winter two head Of cattle. while it
takes two acres to grow hay. for one
COW.
Make use Of every acre Of available
land. which may be accomplished by
clearing and draining the swamps,
which make the best kind Of pastures.
Replace the old board. stone and rail
fences with good, straight, wire ones.
How many farmers. who think they
are practicing economy by fencing
their farms of into small lots with
stone or old rails stop to realize that
every $50 rods of this fencing useless
" wastes one acre Of land. which, I'M
der proper cultivation, might be giving
good profit instead. A farmer should
keep dairy-at least, one cow for
every five acres Of land. The iden en-
tertafned by 30 many "out-of date"
farmers. that dairying is Improbable.
and that selling all the crops from a
farm is the only way to make any
thing. Is a mistake. Who Is 1t TINT
makes a good living and saves rather
than loses every year, IL not the intel
ligent. progressive dairy farmer? On
1OO-acre farm. with twenty head Of
cattle. not every farmer. but every
thorough, scientific farmer. can sell
more farm produce during ten years,
besides keeping. his dairy. than can
his neighbor ON q farm of the same
size without COW. Land cnn no more
be made to produce without fertiliza-
ton than can cows be made to give
milk without feeding. Could the thou
sands Of farmers whom. few years
age. sold their dairies and have there
by been starving their farms and are
now all hut starving themselves, but
have realized the foregoing facts. the
number Of farms sold at sheriff's sales
would have been far less.
All that is needed to-day to make az
riculture one Of the most profitable.
popular and independent occupations
Is more wide-awake. intelligent. pro-
gressIve farmers.-J. NJ. Tufts, in
H0ard's Dairyman.
Excessive Evaporation Prevented.
"A plank drug behind the cultivat0r.
to smooth down ridges and thus keep
the soil from rapidly drying, ia ad-
yised by many investigators. This is
particularly important during drouth.
when allsthe moisture in the soil must
be retained IL possible. Ordinarily,
cnltivating between the rows leaves
deep depressions and high ridges, thus
exposing double surface to the action
of the sun AMI air. The plank drag
sm0Oths down these ridges. while leav.
Ing the lind light and Y,rrOlla An