The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1899-03-10
Citizens Telephone Is.
Agriculture.

Almost all village gardeners, and
many farmers, buy their cabbage,
tomato, sweet potato and other
plants, rather than take the trouble
to grow them. A few rods devoted
to the supplying of this demand will
net many dollars.
Grasses are the foundation of
farming. If no grasses there can
be no live stock; if no live stock, no
manure; if no manure, no produc-
tive soil; if no productive soil, OF
course there can be no outlook but
failure and abandoned farms.
Does undertaking pay? Drained
land can be worked earlier in the
spring and later in the autumn, and
sooner after rain; 1T gets warm
sooner, and, therefore, the seeds
sprout earlier, more evenly and with
more certainty. The soil is dryer in
wet weather and wetter in dry
weather. In short, it makes farm
ing pay where other means fail, and
many field is doubled in value.
A farmer killed mess of qualls
from off his farm, and when being
dressed their craws were found to
be full of chinch bugs; in one craw
they found over 400 bugs. That
farmer cleaned up his gun and has
never shot bird since, of that kind,
and it is not to be wondered at that
he put up the sign: mo hunting
here"
Because seeds will ripen after
weeds are cut, burn the weeds, or
bury them deeply with the pillow
while green. 1t is all folly to leave
- ho h IL ho1 hxy ha n n
but there must be burning of those
in the fence rows, at least.
A crop may be damaged if long,
coarse manure is plowed under and
followed by a dry season; it would
be better to spread it out after the
crop has been planted; better still to
have scattered it over the meadow
lands, to enrich them for the next
crop.
The farm of the future will be
smaller. 1t is folly to wear ones
life out under a mortgage on quar-
ter section of land when he might
be prosperous and happy with a
clear title to 40 or 80 acres. We may
glory In the sentiment of working
under difficulties and overcoming
them, as developing courage and
hardihood of character, but senti-
ment too often lands one in the
ditch. There is such thing as do
ing less and yet more; there is an
activity of brain which lessons
drudgery. Rather than pay inter-
est and taxes on a surplus of land, a
man can unload half the burden and
still accomplish as much with the
remaining half.
Two farmer girls are certainly to
be commended who, instead of go
ing to the city to be typewritists,
went to raising pigs. Why not?
Pigs raised by such hands would
certainly possess all the best quail
ties, for their housekeeping, even in
the pig sty, would doubtless be OF
the first order. There would be
cleanliness, dainty bits of feed and
frequent disinfectiOn. At a venture,
those girls made money. Why
should not more of our daughters
handle stock?
Girls, any of you having the grit
can rrofitably engage in dairying
keeping poultry, raising bees oil
breeding swine or sheep. If you
have the strength, several of these
occupations can be combined
There is no reason why you can moi
be independent.
The weight of testimony is against
spring blowing, and one deep turn
ing of the soil in autumn is counted
sufficient. The accumulated moist
ure of winter is in danger of beinI
lost when the ground is plowed il
the spring. However, all are not o
one opinion on this subject, as yet.