The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1912-05-16
FARMERS BOY
ON HOW TO FARM
Good Essay From an Eighth
Grade Pupil


to farm. as well as experience has
taught physicians how to save lives.
When the Pilgrims first came to
America it was the Indians that
showed them how to raise corn. 1t
probably took these Indians a long
time to raise corn as good as the
way they showed the Pilgrims how
to raise it.
Thev had discovered that the land
needed to be fortified in order to
make a larger Weld they put a fish
at the bottum of every hill to mulch
the land.
These people in the east always
had plenty of rain, sometimes more
than necessary, so they worked their
land in high ridges, IN order to let
the water drain off. And when they
came west they adapted the same
kind of cultivation to this soil. Fin
ally experience taught them that
this method would not do for this
dry climate.
They learned to work the land as
fiat as possible so that the moisture
might be kept for the benefit of the
growing crop.
At the present time most Of the
farmers are more careful about the
variety of seed they plant, than the
farmers of that time were. In fact
those early settlers did MT have to
be SO careful about their seed, for
the land was new, it had never rails
ed anything but the wild grass, and
there were no weeds in 1T.
The grain they reaped was all
good. they did not have to be dock
ed sc many cents per bushel for foul
stuff. as the farmers are now who
don't select their seed. 1t is a very
wise plan to test the seed before
sowing it. Some farmers say they
are not going to test their seed, that
it is too much trouble, and they
know it will grow any way. but af-
forwards these farmers reaped just
about half a harvest, because their
seed was not good. 1t is a very easy
thing to convince Yourself whether
your seed is good or bad. Just fill
a box with little good earth, and
count the number of grains you sow
in the box, then you are able to tell
what per cent is good.
Some farme:'s think they have no
time to look after little things like
flowers, but flowers are the incest
things one can have around the
house. They give the air a more
refined scent as it comes in the open
windows in summer.
If one lives in a part of the coun-
try where artesian wells can be got
and has one, there is no excuse why
they cannot have a good flower or
vegetable garden. When the plants
begin to siio they need water, dig
a trench and let the water run down
the rows. Of course, it is nearly
impossible to water the grain in the
field without considerable expense,
probably more than many farmers
can afford, but one can avoid the
crop from drying no to a certain
degree by keeping the weeds out of
the land. They drink up the mois-
ture twice as fast as the grain does.
In order to keep the weeds out of
the land, must do what | stated
before, be careful in the selection of
the seed you plant. see that all the
weed seed is famed out before SOW
ing it. for the weeds are the grains
enemies, that destroy thousands of
acres of gram every year.
And to produce a large yield of
grain 1t is necessary to fertlllze the
soil. One of the late inventions
answers this purpose very well, the
manure spreader. They will pay
for themselves in a very few years,
principally by the increase of grain
they make per acre.
The U. S. produces more corn and
wheat than all the rest of the world
put together. We would not be
! able to do this if we did not fertil-
ize our soil.
Bread is used more than any other
food by man. The bible speaks of
it as the staff IF life. and raising
this grain is one of the worlds chief
industries. There is a larger acre
age of wheat planted ever year than
any other grain. Wheat is a very
hardy grain. 1t will grow after it
has been rained on and stack burnt,
whereas if. other grain had been
| stack burnt it would not grow. OF