The Twin Falls times. [volume] (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1905-1916, 1909-01-28
DAIRYING IMPROVES SOIL.
Entirely Practicable On Small Scale
On Any Farm.


agricultural papers has the following
to say in regard to small diaries:
The fact that am every week buy
ing butter from q thrifty neighbOr
whose wife knows how to make 1t as
good as the best creamery, reminds
me to say that great many farmers
families who are not doing anything
in this line might make money by
going into 1t. @
The first requisite Is that the butter
shall be as good as the best. II one
Is not going to make "gilt-edged" but
ter they would better not try to sell
any.
On the farm from which l am buy
Ing butter the general conditions are
about the same as on the average
farm. They keep cows for their own
use and do not, therefore, have any
high-class stock. They get plenty OF
milk to have some surplus butter and
they make that SO good they can sell 1t
in competition with the best cream
cry product and always get the same
price. They keep posted as to the mar
ket quotations and sell at the mar
ket price.
For those who want it in that shape
my neighbor puts 1t up in pound prints
otherwise in bulk. The butter is al
ways as good looking as the best
creamery because when not grass but
ter it is colored to the proper shade
and although there seems to be an
effort to work up demand for un-
colored butter, l donbt If it will ever
succeed.
The best butter is good grass but
ter; 1t is also the best looking butter
and for this reason the yellow prod
uct will be always in demand. This
neighbor is not making any large
quantity, but she has ready sale fol
what she does make.
This is good farming, especially or
that farm, which is an old one, and {
good deal run down. BY keeping as
many COWS as she can and selling but
ter am sure that she will soon built
the farm up.
Selling cream and butter is the onl,
way to make money on the farm with
out selling off the fertility of the soil
In fact, If one buys grain or Other
| feed for the cows and sells only butter
it ought to improve the land constant
ly and rapidly. Next to this in no
impoveringing the soil is the sale o
various kinds of stock, notably hog
and then fruits and vegetables.
This has become point of almos
universal interest in this country. Gu
careless methods are running down tn
fertility of our soils everywhere, ant
the average production of all sorts o
crops per acre is continually decreas
ing. We can prevent that and ever
add to the fertility If we only farm
as we'll as we know how. The coun
tries of Central Europe could not pos
sibly have maintained their popula
tons for several hundred years with
out wasteful and destructive methods
not to speak of China with it's un
numbered millions of thousands o
years.
1t is surely a curious fact that tn
nation having the highest average o
intelligence and the highest standard
of living among the people, SHOULD
nevertheless be the most reckless II
| the absolute waste of our resources.
But appeal to the farmers at larg
will do nothing to stop this; individ
uals will have to learn that it i
against both their present and futur
interests to be so wasteful of their re
sources and that it will pay better bot
now and hereafter to adopt more ra
tional and careful methods. Our mot
to should be to sell the least fertilit
reducing crops and to cultivate legu
mes to the greatest possible extent.