Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 64, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 March 1914 — PLANNING FARM WORK FOR NEXT SEASON [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PLANNING FARM WORK FOR NEXT SEASON

(By EDGAR L. VINCENT.)

The general farmer, and ne is the one for whose eye this is written, will make arrangements early for the several crops he hopes to grow in the coming season. While he may not be able to settle all the details of the work that is before him he can in a general way have his schedule all laid out, so that as the time comes for actual operations in any particular line he may be able to take advantage of every favorable wind and tide that will sweep him along toward success. No man that I know of is more at sea than the farmer who has no plans laid out before hand, but goes on in a haphazard fashion from day to day. The general farmer will need some crops in almost all the different fields of agriculture. That is, he should have some wheat, some corn, some oats, some potatoes. In selecting the fields that shall be devoted to these several crops, he must be guided by the conditions as he finds them when looking out over his farm Take the corn land, for example. This is a crop that needs good strong land. Many of us are in the habit of either keeping our lands in grass until there is not enough of growing in them to make a bird’s nest of, or else we go on growing corn on the same piece of land year after year, until we have practically exhausted the fertility of the sell. Both these ways are demoralizing. Rotation crops is a thing we need to study more than we do. Therefore, it it is best to plow the meadow land for com before the grass is hll run out on it. Leave something for the crop to feed upon. If the soil has been depleted by previous crops, supply as much homegrown fertility as possible. Wherever we can it is best not to grow corn on the same field more than one year in succession. The same may be said of almost every crop. Last year’s corn or wheat, ground may be deyoted to oats this year. By looking ahead we may have in our mind's eye Just the -fields -to-be-given to, this excellent crpp. The time is coming when we will have to pay more attention to the oat crop than we have in the past. No cereal adopted to the soiLof this country has a higher feeding value for man and beast than oats. In planning for this splendid crop, then, we will give plenty of space to Its cultivation. We may be liberal with the use of fertilizer, either native or commercial, and if we have not already prepared the earth for its growing. We may take advantage of the first warm days to do the plowing. Here let us not make the mistake of being in too great haste. Land should be well dried out before plowing. Nothing will more permanently injure some kinds.-of soil than plowing when

The potato crop may also be set apart, just as the corn and oats ground should. For thiß crop a good rich 'dry soil is needed. The best potatoes I have ever saw grown on a piece of old pasture that had not been plowed for many years. As the general farmer will keep more or less stock, it is right to have plans for the coming year all laid out in advance. Cows may be added to the herd for dairy purpose in the spring of the year to better advantage than any other time, as most farmers make a practice of reducing their stock then, if at all. And then, this is Jußt the time to get the herd in good shape for the work of the coming season. Work done now will last all the year around. By getting out the barnyard manure early we may anticipate other work. Soon the real work of the season Will be upon us, but by planning a good way ahead we may be ready for the planting and sewing whea the time comes. The best practice is not to scatter barnyard manure in winter on fields that are sidling. Better wait than to

lose a good share of the goodness of the manure. By feeding cows well in winter, by currying them and otherwise caring for them properly, they may be brought through in prime condition, and no man need expect anything like success if he, does not get his cows up to that condition. If turned out skin poor, they will require several weeks, and perhaps months, to put on the necessary fat and strength to enable them to give much in the way of profit to the man who owns them. For the coming hay crop every plan may now be made. The machines may be overhauled and broken or defective parts may be replaced; the carriers and other tools for loading and unloading may be put in shape for work; hay racks may be made or repaired; barns may be built early or improved where that is necessary. The fields to be devoted to wheat next fall may be located way ahead. Seed grains of all kinds and grass seeds shquld always be procured months ahead and stored in a tight place where rats and mice will not disturb them. Timothy and clover seed may almost always be had at better advantage than by waiting until the last moment and then rushing off to town to purchase at any rate which may be demanded. Hired help may be engaged now if any change is to be made in the working force of the - farm. Many men make their selection months ahead nowadays. This is often wise. Get a good man whenever you can. Keep him as long as possible. And I am coming to believe that one of the best ways of solving the labor question on the farm ia to build houses for the hired man and their wives to live in. This is more like home, both to the man who hires and the hired man. And, finally, it 1b wise to make a working sketch of the farm as plotted out beforehand. We can all make a little map of the farm of sufficient clearness so that we can tell what is meant when the lines afid figures get cold. A brief draft of what we hope to do in the coming months may be pinned to the map and laid away with it ia the desk, to be referred to as occasion demands. Does all this look like business? True, fellow farmers, it does. But business is what we all need to get down to. We will never be really successful unless we do.

The Silo and the Automobile, Two Modern Conveniences That Make for Efficiency on the Farm.