The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1897-12-11
FARMER AND PLANTER.
STARTING OFF RIGHT.
One of the Essentials of Successful Farm.
ing 10 to Begin Right.

l gave
enough milk for them, the merchant
who complained to his seed dealer that
his potato vines had no potatos on
them, and the German housewife who
boiled her coffee with pork, just as she
would other beans, are each and all
creatures OF the imagination. But be
that as it may, the writer knows q gen.
tleman who had just retired from bust
ness, having bought nice little farm,
and one of his first preparations was
to buy bushel of roasted peanuts for
planting. If any reader doubts this
statement, or is inclined to class it un-
der the reportorial jokes first mention
ed, let it go that way. We shall not
bother about the proof. The doubter
has no advantage over us in the mat
ter, anyway, for if he were the narra-
tor. we would promptly take his place
as doubter. But whether fact or fic-
ton, we may all agree that these are
fair illustrations of the need of educa-
uon in practical affairs. Examples of
extreme ignorance may be used legiti-
mately for such purpose. There are
men who would ridicule the parson.
the merchant and the German woman
whose errors are just as mischievous
as theirs. They may not be SO palpa-
bly, absurd, but they are equally the re-
suit OF ignorance. Farming is a sci
ence that admits OF every degree of
proficiency, from utter failure to the
most conspicuous success. No man
can in a lifetime learn all there is
of it by experience. Practice don't
make perfect" This old saying is
not even founded ON facts, and
has nothing TO commend it but
age. just as in any and every
science, one needs to be we'll grounded
in the elementary principles. Mathe-
NAUTICAL reasoning is nonsense to one
who has no knowledge of the defini-
lions and axioms. 70 attempt to ac-
quire scientific knowledge without
first learning the simple elements is
like trying to build a house by COM
mencing at the top. This is why many
industrial schools fail to meet the ex-
pectations of their friends They turn
out industrious laborers. but not mas
ter mechanics; most admirable plow-
men and hoe hands, but not successful
farmers. Special knowledge is neces-
sary to special skill. Bestow the
theoretical knowledge first--prac-
tice can be had whenever occa-
sion requires. But we started
out to write agricultural educa-
ton. Learning to pillow and plant
and gather in the harvest is not agri-
culture; it is probable that many igno-
rant Africans can do these things bet
ter. 10 be farmer worthy of the
name-the kind of farmers the country
needs-one must know the soil, its
chemical constituents; its deficiencies,
and how to remedy them; its redun-
dancies, and how to mitigate their eff
fects. lie must have some acquaintance
with the laws of plant and animal
growth. For lack of these we see INTEL
hgent stockmen purchasing grade and
cross-bed males for breeding purposes,
farmers selecting their seed from bulk
ed grain, and planting varieties in jux-
taposition; feeding miIch cows heavily
with corn and cotton seed. Because
these are good feed stuffs they conclude
they are good for any purpose. TO be
good farmer one must have practi-
cal knowledge of agricultural chem
lstry, botany, veterinary medicine,
comparative anatomy, entomology, the
chemistry of food stuffs, physics, the
principles of breeding and the laws of
animal and vegetable growth. 1t is
not necessary to begin with that he be
expert in any or all these sciences, but
if he has imbibed the elementary prin-
ciples he knows where to go for any
further knowledge he may require.
There are two distinct classes of
knowledge, that which we know and
that which we know how, when and
where to obtain. One Is as useful as
the other. 1t is like merchant who
has more goods than his shelves will
contain. lie fills his shelveswith that
which he thinks will be first needed,
all properly classified and labeled with
cost and selling prices. The rest he
stores in warehouse. Then when his
business requires something not in the
salesroom he knows where to 90 for
1T. The man is fortunate who knows
where to go for any information he
may require in his business. The time
is rapidly approaching when in all agri-
cultural and horticultural operations
only those best equipped will be able
to remain near the top. All others will
be mere unsuccessful drpdges, laboring
diligently for bare Subsistence under
load of debt they eau never dis
charge. The branches most useful to
the farmer are equally necessary to q
liberal education; SO that if one never
farms he is gamer by having learned
and cornprehended the elements of the
sciences involved in agriculture. All
should be taught these sciences-they
are necessary to general int lligence.
The agricultural and mechs aical coll
leges of the American states ad terri
tories are especially charged with
teaching the branches of natural |