The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1905-03-31

s.Ac luIIOW 10 uOt
-~.soiler is run and the soil
,-<cc up to the depth named. The
German farmer plans regular four
years rotation and his land gets this
deep blowing once in four years, not
every year, and they do not plow deeper
than our American farmers for the other
general farm crops His beet crop is
his standard crop-that is his money
crop, and although there has been an
effort in the past few years to curtail
the acreage, it has not been successful,
the farmers still clinging to the beets
regardless of reduction in prices.
Farmers informed Mr.. Wallace that if
there should come time when there
would be no factories to use up the crop,
they would still continue to grow beets
to feed to stock, and feel that the bene-
fit to the land would give them ample
return for their labors They build a
foundation for their crops from barn
yard manure and every German farm
er feels that it is crime to waste any
manure made on his farm. Their barns
are so constructed that all the manure
and drainage may be saved. Each
farmer has system of saving his ma
nure so that he always has one year old
manure for use, and does not have to
draw out fresh manure which has had
no opportunity to rot. The rotation in
general use is oats, beets, barley aud
then seed down. The German has bred
barley for following beets that is said
to be far ahead of any of our barleys
and from which they obtain very large
yields. They use commercial fertilizers
only as stimulant to the crop and do
not place much of any value upon it as
a means of building or keeping up of
the soil fertility. They plow under
green crops, and use plenty of barn
yard manure, and they place so much
value on the refuse lime from the fac
tories that not a pound is ever left at
the close of campaign. Each factory
has huge vat into which this lime is
run and from here the farmers get it
paying the sugar company nominal
sum for it.
When informed by Mr.. Wallace that
our farmers plowed only six to eight
inches for beets, did not break up the
subsoil, and planted from seven to fif-
teen pounds of seed per acre, the Ger
man farmers took it as joke. Twenty
pounds is the standard in Germany,
many, however, using from 20 to 30
pounds, and they give as their reason
for this that it gives a quicker germina-
ton and gets through the ground ready
for the early work before their other
crops come on. With this amount of
seed the first cultivation is frequently
out of the way before the beets are
through the ground, the cultivator be.
ing enabled to follow the rows by the
upheaval of the soil where the beets are
pushing through. They also claim a
much better stand, many stands being
absolutely perfect in field, while with
us perfect stand is rarely ever known
They plant, in 16 and IS inch rows
never more than Is in their dark rich
soils, and 10 in the lighter soils.
Absolutely no spring blowing is al
lowed for beets, contracts reading thai
the land shall be fall plowed and the
German farmer has learned that con
tract is binding obligation and he
does not try to evade it. If for any
i. reason his land cannot be fall plowet
he is excused from growing beets foI
that year by the company but his con
) tract stands good against his property
for the,next season in case of his death
:. L.the matter Of cultivation the CROP
receives about the same care as with u
and fools are very. similar. Their deel
blowing allows beets. to go down int
the ground and there are few beets will
sun burned tops that have to lose hal
their weight in the. tare room. TIL
last cultivation, is somewhat deepe