The Forrest City times., 1900-12-07
FARMER AND PLANTER.
A WORD TO FARMERS.
Now That the Seasons Crops Have Been Secured Period of
 Thinking is in Order.

The long days and hard work of summer is over and now we farmers will have little chance to read and study on subjects pertaining to our business* All farmers should now look back over the crop season and note all their successes and fail ures. This has been Q peculiar season. few old farmers ever saw one like it give so much to think of and room to plan for surroundings that we know now may come again. So much rain through the year has made it the hardest year to farm l ever saw. No man could plan one day what he would do the next, but had to be ready for any emergency, always hay ing two strings to his bow. Many of us almost lost our wheat crops on account of so much wet weather. If we had stacked our wheat soon after harvest much of that loss would have been saved. How many of us will for get this before another harvest, and against those who moved their wheat out from the fields, broke the stubble at once and planted in corn. Sorghum or peas made crops on that land and in many instances twice the value of same acreage of wheat left standing to rot in the shock, as much of it did. Filled my silos with excellent corn this year grown on wheat stub. ble at cost for planting, cutting and putting in silo about seventv-five cents per ton, but we can only do this by moving out the wheat at harvest or threshing very early, corn put in well the first week in July and cultivated land. Shallow and frequent cultivation will scarcely ever fail to pay we'll for silage or fodder corn, and this year northern 90-day yellow corn matured we'll enough for seed that was planted July 10, and peas that were mown for hay in August have now good crop of ripe peas on the second growth from the old roots This has really been a wonderful fall: on October 26 we gathered in the gar den nice ripe tomatoes, crisp. tender okra and snap beans--the Irish pota- to tops are as green and vigorous as in June. Clover and orchard grass of H.. Sweet potatoes have never stopped growing or even turned the least yell low; pastures still very fine. In fact, kind Providence has highly favored us this fall, which does much to make up for the very unfavorable spring and summer.
 l am still well pleased with the silage for food for dairy cows. My silos are round stave structures. but very satisfactory. I have three just alike. The first one built has now been filled the sixth time. It has safely paid for itself five times in five years, and does not seem any the worse of the wear. It looks like it might easily last 20 years-this is quite an item of saving over the old style double-wall square silo, the walls of which kept so damp that their longest life was about five years-many would give out in three-while they cost two or three times as much as the stave or tub silo. No man can afford to feed cattle without the use of silage if he is caring anything for expenses, and especially in Tennessee, where he can always grow our own silage as a sec ond crop after wheat, potatoes or hay, and with this advantage in our favor. It is strange that our people do not make this country a real pro- gressive, paying dairy country; we have fine grass lands, short winters, the finest of water in greatest abund- ance on nearly all the farms, in easy and direct communication by quick express, with all the large southern cities, where the demand for dairy products is always good; five hun dred and more miles nearer these markets than the great dairy regions of the northwest, which now supplies them. Our country by its many nat ural advantages should far surpass the great northeast in this business If our people would do as is done there, make it leading business, not little side show, prepare for dairy ing by getting good diary animals, give them good shelter, food and at tention and no other branch of farm ing can equal it in our rich bluegrass valleys close to the railroads, quick transportation; there is no prospect of the business being overdone, or the southern markets crowded. There is large and steady demand for good butter, cheese and cream.
 Our improved Jersey cows are the best milk stock in the world Our climate is healthy for them. I have not had sick COW or one even off her feed for five years. Our valleys and hills will feed and pasture them cheaply, and at the same time those valleys and hillsides will grow more fertile and productive every year, while in our system of grain farming they are certainly being exhausted of fertility, growing poorer every year, why can not our people see such plain iactsP Dairying is not business that can be brought to its highest excel