The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1902-01-11
FARMER AND PLANTER.
UP-T0-DATE FARMING.
benefits TO Be Derived from Gett,.~
Out OF the Old Ruts I'm Rum
Afng the Farm.


The agricultural college of Illinois
has' during the past few years, made
practice of sending one or more
members OF its faculty to almost every
farmers institute in the state to tell
wnat scientific agriculture is, and, in
cidentally, to advertise the college and
i.s work. This brings the college to
the people it was intended to educate
and benefit. 1t interests the Young
men and opens the eyes of those who
nave grown gray tilling the soil. 1t
mas proved great factor in over.
coming the peculiar disfavor with
winch book farmers" have been re-
garded by the old-style farmer,
anese Old men are beginning to see
.nat there is something more in farm
ing tnan mere blowing. sowing and
reaping. Thes ere beginning to see
that learning creates skill. and that
skill is now necessity on the farm.
The day of the ten-inch iron plow
ana the hundred-pound six-foot har-
row is past. The wearisome trudgine
arter such implements that made the
bright boy hate the farm is gone. |
never to return. We now have imple-
menfs that require skill instead of |
mere muscle to operate them to the
Dest advantage. The young farmer
Is now almost an engineer. Instead
OF merely steering a team of horses
or yoke of oxen across a field. sbuf-
ning along after them in a weary.
: uninterested manner, he rides on the
implement and manages it SO that he
accompiishes three to five times as
much as he could with the oId-style
tools.
Inc managers and workers in the {
experiment. station connected with the ,
cohegc have thoroughly tested most
OF the improved implements manu-
lacfured. and have learned which will
90 the best work and give the best
sa.isfaction in the widely-different 6
soils in the state, and they tell this ]
70 the farmers at their institutes so
'nat they may buy intclligently. This q
one feature makes it well worth anv I
farmers time to attend the insti- I
'utes. Furthermore, they explain the .
results OF their work in improving j
the cereals, especially corn; what the n
soils in the different parts of the a
state need to make them produce I;
better crops; the results obtained in u
hundreds OF experiments in the dairy CT
ana In feeding for milk, butter-fat. n
IN the management of cream, butter "a
and cheese. All these things are eve in
openers to the old farmer who is stil 81
Ioiting along in the rut his father W
followed. They interest the Young w
larmer and lead him to investigate Tn
'nese matters still farther to learn nc
low ne may till his soil better and m
It the least expense; how he NAV m
Increase the yield and value of his tn
rops to himself. of
oaio 1armer-one of those up-to- or
ate farmers who are sufficiently alive pa
0 their own interests to keep fully br
breast of the advance in agriculture: sh
have seventy acres of corn this br
ear, and it is yielding about sixty ma
ushels an acre. Last year it yielded Fa
ne hundred and four bushels an
ere, but that was an exceptional sea-
'n. The coin is good, ears large
nd grain sound. But for a severe COZ
orm in July, that broke down a large snt
lumber Of stalks, the yield would We NC
ave reached eighty bushels an acre" iisi
asked how he managed to secure op'
lch yield Il season like the past. .ro
III tell you," he replied, 'just how irf'
raise corn, then you can see for rice
'urseif how l obtained such a fair
ED this season. / cut the stalks 1arl
It'll stalk-cutter, plowed the land the
inches deep, leading behind me TO
rise dragging a section ~ h,rr,. his
( feet wide. The horse walked in l.
furrow behind me, and the har- hav
W broke up the soil turned over by on
e plow. Two days after the plow- the
: disked the land, Setting the disks mai
arIy straight; then it was planted. rice
rec and four grains TO the hill three the
t apart. After the planting the
rrcw with teeth slanted backward
notch was kept going on it un-
the plants appeared. When about
IF inches high we started the cul- oes'
Rtors and kept them going. run ing
% two IN three ;r,ha be s,
plants were too h;rh 81 "" hun.
the bow. | disk after blowing Jake
ffrc the soil and crush it down =
. the air-spaces formed under mas
tn the surface when the soil is IRON
ned by the plow."-Fred Grundy. SOM
Farm and Fireside. the |
stOrr