Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1911-01-11

various kinds of stock. As q rule, the
beginner will succeed poorly with any
kind OF livestock. About the only thing
that is left, therefore, is the production of
staple farm crops, such as corn, wheat,
oats and hay. Hay production is espec-
tally profitable type of farming when
intelligentlv followed, but Unless the soil
Is wisely managed this type of farming
rapidly depletes fertility. But it is a
comparatively easy type of farming to
learn, and requires much less labor than
many other kinds of farming.
For the reasons have given, have re-
Gently been recommending to the large
number Of city people who inquire about
farming that il they engage in the BUSH
ness at all they undertake the simplest
kinds Of farming, based on standard farm
crops, and, especially in those regions
where lay is gh-priced, to make hay
one of their principal market products.
To show the difficulties that beginner
without experience must meet, let us con-
slider for moment hay production, which
Is perhaps the simplest Of all types of
farming. Speaking in general way,
land cannot be devoted indefinitely to hay
crops, because this type Of farming per-
mits certain weeds to get foothold,
which soon ruin the quality OF the hay.
Not only that, but, unless great deal Of
fertilizer is used, the yield OF hay very
soon decreases to point where its pro-
duction is hardly profitable.
The hay grower must, therefore, know
what kind OF fertilizers his soil requires,
and how much. He must occasionally
grow some cultivated crop, for the pur-
pose Of Kidding his land of weeds. The
crop best suited to this, under the condi-
lions we are assuming, is corn. He must,
therefore, know the details of corn Gull
tare; how to prepare the soil, how to
fertilize it, how and when to plant corn,
kind OF tillage it requires, when and how
to harvest the crop, and how to utilize it to
best advantage.
Since the standard hay crops cannot be
conveniently sown after corn, because OF
the time Of year when the corn crop is
harvested, 1t is usually necessary to fol-
low corn by some small grain crop. Here,
again, is required lot of special know
ledge about the fertilizers the grain crop
requires, the best kind of seed to use,
when and how to SOW and harvest, and
how to utilize the crop. He can SOW his
grass seeds for the hay crop with the
small grain, but he must know what seeds
to use and how much. He must know at
Nv hat afo RI ha Rpr hov md
how to manage the cut grass in order to
make good hay ont Of it. He must also
know how to dodge rain storms, which
would spoil his hay, and this puzzles even
the most experienced farmer. Such farm
ing is the simplest OF all. But even that
is an exceedingly complex affair.
Since practically all Of the good farm
land in this COUNTRY is now occupied, and
since our population continues to increase,
especially in the cities, it follows that fu-
ture demands for farm crops must be met
largely by increased yields. 1t is hardly
possible that these increased yields are to
be secured by the transfer of any consid-
cradle number OF city people to the farm.
There must be larger use Of farm ma
chinery, the rural schools must be supple
mented by good rural high schools, in
which the young people shall be taught
the rudiments Of the, science Of agricul-
ture, and the profits of farming must be
made large enough to permit the farmer
to pay wages that will compete with the
wages paid in other industries. 1t will
take many years to bring about these
changes.
Partial relief to city people might be
found in better organization for the mar
keting of farm products. There are too
many cases in which the retail price paid
by the city consumer is two or three
times, and in some cases Ave times, what
the farmer receives. By q proper system
of marketing, not only could the cost TO
the city consumer be greatly reduced, but
the price received by the farmer could be
considerably worcestershire one to relieve
the pressure ON the man in the city, the
other to enable the farmer to compete
with otheS industries for labor.