Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1901-01-11
Aaritultnral.
Mistakes in Farming.


In consideration in American Agri-
Of mistakes in farming and
how to avoid them Professor Butz, OF
Pennsylvania, mentions it as common |
among farmers to permit weeds to con-
troll q portion Of the farm. He says:
Here is an acre under the perfect sway
of the Canada thistle, there is one yield
ed up to the docks and still another to
wild carrot or oxeye daisy. The acres
thus controlled, yielding nothing. cut
directly into the profit Of the farm
Now, if it pays to clear abandoned
woodland Of its brush and stumps and
stones for farming purposes, then surely
if necessary it would pay to put force
of men upon an acre Of docks to clear
it of these pernicious weeds. Every
weed patch, like every brush patch and
stone pile, is an expense to farm so
long as it is given place. We pay taxes
upon it, fence it, often NOW it and pillow
it, but it returns nothing to us.
The wasteful custom, handed down
from our fathers, of accumulating heaps
of manure in the barnyard, then to be
hauled out once a year, is such an enor-
nous mistake that the folly Of it should
be reiterated until every farmer is con-
WINGED that he must adopt the modern
practice in his farm economy. Let him
follow this line of thought in reference
to it. Manure possesses plant food that
is directly available to plants. To be
available the plant food must be soluble
in water. If soluble in water, then ev-
cry rain that falls upon the manure heap
must take out portion Of the valuable
plant food, and the drainage Of the
barnyard must receive it, never to be
restored. There is never more plant
food in manure than at the time it is
made, and therefore the sooner it reach.
es the fields the better, SO that the soil
may directl, absorb what the rains dis
solve from it. This line of thought will
also indicate the folly of putting the ma
nure on the land in small heaps, to be
scattered just before blowing. The spots
on which the manure rested will be en-
ricbed at the expense Of the remainder
Of the land.
In the last quarter of century the
practice of using comm ercial fertilizers
has become new custom 10 practical
agriculture, yet it is surprising how
many farmers disregard the analysis Of
the fertilizer when making q purchase.
A farmer will exercise great care in Sc
lecting the variety of wheat he will
plant, knowing there are hundreds of
varieties, all good perhaps. but only one
kind being best for his soil and climate
There are 400 varieties of fertilizers
placed before the farmers of Pennsylva-
MIA each year, and the analyses show the
characters of each variety. To choose
a fertilizer intelligently we must cou-
slider its analysis before we ask its name
or price Then if our land needs more
phosbhoric acid and potash and less
nitrogen::we can avoid the mistake Of
buying an expensive plant food that is
worse than useless upon our farm
A very prevalent mistake in this State
is the custom of planting orchards in
sod aud thus forcing the trees to grow
or exist by whatever chance will favor
them. The trees we plant have been
reared in q nursery on land that has
been highly fertilized and persistently
titled with the pillow and cultivator.-
Steady cultivation releases the plant food
in the soil aud conserves moisture, hence
favors the growth OF trees when prac-
ticed among them The present genera
ton of farmers aud orchardists probably
never experienced a more pr rsistent
drought than that of the past season,
and while apples were dropping and foil
age on their trees following in August,
where orchards stood in grass, l saw
orchards under cultivation in which the
trees were laden with fruit and clothed
with the richest green foliage. To my
mind there is no greater mistake made
about commercial orchard thau that of
neglecting its annual tillage
Travelling as | do over Pennsylvania,
am surprised to see how commonly
orchards are neglected 10 regard to prun-
ing. The tops Of trees are veritable
thickets Of brush, half dead, half alive,
but weak. 1t is apparent that the health
of the tree depends upon proper prun.
ing, that the quality of the fruit is in-
Auenced BY the thinning of branches,
that the color of the fruit is developed
only in light. and the convenience of
picking alone should invite us into the
trees with knife and saw.