Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1906-03-09

How to Farm Well.

| wallace : Farmer, some Hlell Cdli
never learn this, no matter how much
they try. The French proverb on
this subject is correct: "In accord
ance with the capacity of the man,
so is he likely to succeed" 1t is easy
for some men to farm we'll: it is not
possible for others. They have not the
"know how"
What is it to farm we'll? To pro-
duce the greatest amount OF product
per acre on the whole farm and sell
it at the best price possible. TO do
| this man must be a natural born
farmer. A. good many of the men
born on the farm are not born farm
ers. They should go to town as
quickly as possible. A good many
men born in the city are natural
farmers. In this case get on the farm
as quickly as possible. But whether
born on the farm or in the city, the
first thing to do is to get acquainted
with your farm and understand its
soils.
Most soils in the west are rich
enough in the essential elements OF
fertility, if the farmer will simply
get acquainted with them and learn
how to handle them. He particularly
wants to know their water-holding
capacity, the amount Of water they
can convey to the plants. This de-
pends largely on the size OF the soil
grains. Further than this he wants
to know whether they are or are not
well supplied with humus, for upon
this as well as upon the size of the
soil grains depends the amount OF
water they can deliver to the plant at
time when the plant needs It..
Therefore the first thing to do is to
get acquainted with your farm.
The second thing is to know the
kind of plants for which your farm is
adapted. We see men throwing away
labor year after year in trying to
grow spring wheat where they ought
to grow winter wheat, and could
grow so per cent more with no more
labor. Some men are growing corn
when they ought to be growing grass.
1t is important to know the kind of
crops that grow best in your locality,
the kind of crops that are best adapt
ed to your market or that fit in best
with the rotation that you have
adopted.
A good farmer must have a rota-
tion of crops. He cannot farm in a
haphazzard way: he must have a Sys-
tenn. He must also know something
about plants, especially about the
root system, about their insect enc
mics and their parasites Of various
kinds. He must understand weeds
and how to deal with them. He
must understand something about
animal nutrition, balanced rations,
that is, the kind of ration adapted to
each particular kind Of stock at each
particular period or stage of itgroWth.
He must know something about her
edity and environment. He must
know how to improve the environ
ment by good stabling and shelter
and ventilation.
How is he to know all this? Mainly
by his own observation. Agricultural
papers will help: but no man can
farm well depending on agricultural
papers alone. He must use his own
brains. Institutes will help, but will
only help. Books will help, but no
lnl nf
an agricultural college course in addi-
tion, will help the man who will not
mix his knowledge with brains.
1t sometimes provokes us to have a
farmer write to us stating the condi-
tions in an imperfect way and then
telling us that he will do just as we
say. Sometimes we venture to give
him definite answer: but we would
much rather wake him up, get him
to studying and rejecting on things,
get his eyes open, than to hitch him
up and unhitch him. If a man writes
us to find out whether he shall plow
deep or shallow we like to ask him
why he thinks he ought to plow at
all: and SO with almost every class Of
questions.
The good farmer can be helped, but
the man who don't have it in him is,
as the little boy said when the
preacher asked him how far he had
got in his Catechism, .'beyond re-
demption." In other works, he don't
have it in him, and can't have it put
in him. The man who can't help
himself can't be helped. The man
who can't get hold of the underlying
principles of thing can never work
out the details.
1t will thus be seen that farming
well, or, in other words, good farm
ing. means great deal, and can't be
stated in an article except in it's most
elementary principles. Some men
that can neither read nor write farm
well. Other men who have spent
years in college make a dead failure
of it. 1t is natural for some men tt
be good farmers. 1t SCENE impossible
to make good farmers out of some
other men. 1t is our mission to helI
as far as possible, by explaining anc
illustrating the laws of nature, those