The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-01-14
WASTE ON THE Farm.

circumstances, is the waste. He looks with
longing eyes at the rotting wood, the wind-fall
apples decaying on the ground, and the many
other things that the farmer never thinks Of
using. Indeed, America is a country of tremen-
dous waste. Our resources have been so large
that we have never been compelled to stint
ourselves, and as a consequence we have become
the most extravagant nation upon the face Of
the earth. But the saving Of things that are
usually wasted and turning them to profit Is
often the difference between success and fail
ure, and the farmer. especially in the present
trying times, needs to learn this. As far as my
observation goes, the farmer is wasteful in four
ways:
First, by leaving unemployed things that
might be made to produce profit. He carrieA
water for his livestock when ram in the brook
would do that work for him and save him that
much time. Apples are allowed to rot on the
ground when they might be dried upon a cook
stove evaporation, or be made into vinegar and
sold at q profit; other fruits are allowed to
waste when they could be shipped to some mar
ket or put up for future use. Nuts are not
gathered even though there is a market for
them. Wood is allowed to rot when it could be
made into charcoal. Here is a farmer who has a
swamp full Of black muck and his uplands pro-
duce only half crop for lack Of fertilizer; yet
he does not take the trouble to cart the muck
upon them, although it would be the best fertil-
izer that they could possibly have.
speaking of fertilizers, no farmer has enough
OF them to properly treat his farm, yet there is
on every farm much material that could be con-
verted into manure. For instance, there is the
brush which is allowed to grow along the fences,
the ashes of which, if cleared and burned, would
make a most excellent fertilizer; besides, he
that additional ground for crops. There are
spots on almost every farm which grow such a
poor quality Of grass that it usually is not gath
cred. know of farmer who, one season. had
a field on which the seed did not take. and all
that grew was luxuriant crop of weeds. The
farmer said it would not pay to cut it-and it
would not for the value of the hay, and so he
left it alone. But If those weeds had been cut
before their seeds were ripe and cured they
would have made good bedding and good ma
nure, and besides they would not have scattered
their seeds far and wide. Another farmer has
natural meadow; part Of it has rank growth
of coarse grass that is worthless for feeding;
and so the farmer cuts it down and lets it rot
where cut. where there is need of its fertiliz-
ing effect; but If he had let It rot in the barn
yard, he would have had several loads of good
manure. So refuse from the house, parings and
the like, are thrown around and deface the
premises, but If a shallow basin were made in
the earth at distance from the dwelling, and
this refuse thrown in it and allowed to rot, it
would yield two or three loads of manure. I
believe that it would pay to gather forest leaves
in the early spring, while they are wet, and al
low them to rot IN the barnyard. So the keen
observer will be constantly seeing new things
which he can turn to profit.
"The third way in which many farmers afe.
wasteful is by neglect. Farm machinery is ex-
posed to the weather and rusts out rather than
wears out. have often seen plows and other
machinery stand out all winter. Buildings are
allowed to go until the necessary repairs cost
ten times what they would If done when first
needed. Fruit trees do not produce nrst-cass
fruit because they are full of sprouts Crops
are gathered little late, and hence the hay is
and many of the potatoes rot In the
ground. Fruit is picked after large portion Of
It has dropped; bitches are allowed to fill up
and the valuable meadow becomes swamp;
wood is cut just when it is needed and thus
twice as much is used the livestock is given
secondary care and therefore produces secon-
dairy results. More is wasted on the farm by
neglect than In any other way.
"And finally farmers waste by not having the
best They, have animals that do not pay for
their keeping. and hence consume rather than
produce. Machinery is bought because it is
cheap. but it costs hours and dollars for repairs
They use cheap seeds that do not half come up.
cheap roads over which one cannot draw half
load, cheap paints that scale of In a single
season, cheap help that spoil more than they do,
cheap buildings which are constantly falling
down. and so on.
'In the present time to make farming sue
cess means to waste nothing, but to use every
to turn everything into profit.
believe that If this is done, farm may still yield
q profit, but remember that waste makes want. .,
Improved Implements and Land.
Mr.. D. &. Howatt. of Cuyahoga county, o..
writes to the same paper on the subject of I'm
proved Implements and Land" He says: "That
modern harvesting machinery has become ne
cessity lie understood by every farmer, and 1T is
appreciated at it's full value. but what about the
great improvements in other implements for
other work at other seasons = the manure
spreader that makes it easy to get out all our
manure as made and distributed over the land
in the best manner for the greatest benefit to
the coming crop. permitting the operator to
treat five times the number of acres with the
same materials, and without lessened results;
wheel plows and harrows; disks that ease the
team work at least one-half, and make 1t posi-
BILE to cultivate double the acreage and obtain
heavier crops per acre; improved harrows, that
easily enable the worker to put the land in fine
condition, a condition that hastens
strong, quick termination. conserves the mois-
ture, and lie really one-h half the cultivation;
day, and at the same time work close and fine
the surface soil grain drills planting ma
chimes; slices and silo-flling machinery; in
fact, every machine to do the work and do it
well?
"How many farmers go beyond the harvest
ing machine in their purchase of improved or
labor-saving machinery Possibly not over 5
per cent, and the other o5 per cent. are doing
the best they can with what they have, and COM
planning of the great scarcity Of farm help. 1t
is easily possible for the average small farmer
to 60 beyond his needs in the purchase Of imple-
ments; but the mistake is generally the other
way. Long experience and close observation
teach me that good farmers need good tools for
the best results. and that their use brings sue
cess and contentment. The combination Of 200
acres, four undersized, cheap horses, patched
up harness, worn old wagon, some old-time
cast-iron plows. one or two spike-toothed drags.
dozen twenty-dollar COWS, good moving ma
chine and two overworked, down hearted men,
Is losing one. Half Of the 200 acres sold and
the money invested in good stock and machinery
would make all the difference between happy.
man, and the overworked. down.
hearted farmer.
"In other words. it is not good policy to have
all your capital in land and nothing left to bring
out the value Of the soil. The man who has five
thousand dollars and buys the greatest number
Of acres to be had for all that money, cannot
succeed as can the man who bought land with
half the money and got in shape for business
with the other half. Poor land can be made
profitable all land can be utilized for some good
end rich land IL q good thing to out IN
much land for the capacity 0, rs of the
owner will not pay. let its chara Q what II
may, unless the farmer Is In goodN pc. This
class Of letters, Mr.. Editor, is hard reading for
all except those who are looking about to buv
land for farming purposes; and it gives me
great pleasure to know that there are so MANY
Of this latter class at this time"
- rn~~.n1> NE or~o,..t.N