The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1898-09-30
Agriculture.

When the weedy fence rows pro-
dtcesa stall acrop as do the corn
rows he,ewDer thereof is fighting
against fate. Most weeds are an
nuals, and come from seed only; to
say that they are in no degree con-
querable is nonsense, for the evil
dence to the contrary lies in the diff
ference between the fields of the
diligent farmer and those of his
slcthful neighbor.
Upon the early potatoes only can
we count with any assurance of a
paying crop. Alternately the
drOuth, blight and bugs seem to play
havoc with those later planted, max
ing them very uncertain crop in
most regions. Fertilizers are un-
trustworthy, and stable manure
causes sCab.
What an ornamental garden"
our whole agricultural district will
be in the day of good roads, when
trees flourish by the way in unend
ing ranks, and when there are no
weeds upon the grassy sides to mar
it all or spread their thieving off
spring over the farmers well kept
fields.
The farmer is selling his farm and
selling himself who sells all the
grain he raises from its fields; his
land is going acre by acre. There
can be no such thing as taking a
part from a. field and yet leaving the
whole. If we take the mineral con-
stituents out of the soil nature will
not restore them, unaided.
The dews in. the late season are
the making of tobacco, both as to
weight and to worth. 1t is then
that tobacco gets its gum, its good
color and its real character. The
only. possible excuse farmers can
have for early cutting is to avoid the
worms,and the suckers, which are
very troublesome when the plants
are nearly ripe.
If you have but lived, yet have
made the farm better, you are worth
Just that much more. In figuring
the profits consider the condition in
which the farm has been left; you
have not been making money if it
has been wholly at the expense of
the soil.
A large steer and large ear de-
mand the same relative care and
skill. When the general cultivator
learns to profit by the experiments
of careful specialists we shall hear
less about agricultural depression.
Large crops pay, and large crops are
only a question of sufficient avail
able plant food and proper tillage.
Clods are unpleasant to work over,
prevent an even distribution of the
seed, occupy space which should be
occupied by plants, hold fertility
which can not be assimtlated, him
der a free circulation of air through
the soil, and such ground shows the
effect of drouth sooner than does
fine mould. Farming is not COM
plete so long as clod, stone or
any rubbish, remains in the field.
The farm is the owners working
capital, and should be kept unim-
paired, if not added to. 1t is to him
exactly what the money in any
business is to the owner of that
business. The merchant tries to
add to his working capital in order
to extend his operations, or tries to
at least keep the amount of his in
vestment intact. A farm is really
worth just what can be derived from
it in the way of revenue, and this
only is it's foundation value. The
bolt of cloth which sells for less
than it cost tends to bankruptcy; so
does every crop which takes from
the soil more than it returns. If
this loss is not Immediately made
good the system of farming is de-
structive, and will lead to sterile
worthless lands. We dare not be
content to look at the size of the
present crops without thought to
the future. The plant food in our
soil is our banking capital, and we
must guard it iealously.