Rensselaer Republican, Volume 25, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 October 1892 — FARMS AND FARMERS. [ARTICLE]

FARMS AND FARMERS.

Th« Complaints of tk* H»m, The Country Ger.tiema i Beauty in nature is apparent only in the finer sense. The man who understands it is a born artist. And art is the true representation of the beauty of nature. It is only the essentially proper disposition of things that constitutes beauty. Nothing is beauty that offends the sense of the fitness of things. And as regards that noble animal, the friend and servant of man, the horse, its beauty depends upon its freedom from restraint and everything that can distort its graceful and noble carriage. The poets, from ancient times, have delighted to describe the arched neck, the proud carriage, the nerves strung to the highest tension, and the freedom to exercise-its strength untrammeled. The artists have merely OUT these descriptions into form and figure, and have depicted the animal as nature made it, with ail its muscles and limbs in free play and easy action. But modern fashion has changed all this, and has distorted the arched neck into that of a halffed ewe barely able to hold up its head. It puts on the check rain, it takes away all the lire and grace of the animal, ana makes it an object of pity under the strained and unnatural position of the head. There was a time when the soldier was treated in much the same way. He was made to hold up his head by means of a thing called a stock, a broad band of stiff leather buckled around his neck so tightly that he could only look one way, which was forward and upward. He could see neither right nor left on the ground in front of him. And the more like a stick he appeared the more he was thought to represent a soldier. This was fashion, and of the same kind as that by which we make our horses “upheadod.” But when it came to work it was found the man must throw away his galling stock and carry his head freely on a loose neck; and now the soldier's study is how ho may be dressed and accoutered with the greatest comfort and freedom. We are going through the same foolishness just now with our horse. We fix the head by a check strap that it is immovable, and necessarily this causes intolerable discomfort to the animal. The soldier’s Stock was in time denounced as un extreme of cruelty, and so it was, and humanity led mostly to its banishment, And now it appears in all its deserved ridiculousness. By and by it is to be hoped that common sense, if not simple humanity, will perceive this ungainly, hideous and tormenting check rein in the same light, and that it will bo discarded, nevermore to be resumed. But the appearance or the cruelty of it is not the main point. We keep horses for service and work, and work is interfered with when the motion of tho animal is interfered with in the least. Suppose a man were to tie up his head with a 3trap going from his chin over his head, and fastened tightly to a second strap around his shoulders, and tfcn be compelled to push a wheelbarroV or do any other kind of labor, hoe corn, weed potatoes, or milk a cow, for instance—he would then be able to estimate exactly the proportionate loss of energy and ability to perform work. And the same rule will apply to the horse as to tho man. It may be said that this applies to the road horso only, and that the farm horse is tree from any such cruelty. Is it ? Hast _ahoni the. collar in which the horse works these hot days ? when even tbe loose clothes of the driver gall the skin. How many thousands of horses are working with raw shouldetn ? How many of them carry shoe boils or sore withers, or bleeding raw spots on their backs, the results of badly fitting harness, or traces hard like iron for want of washing and a little softening oil ? How many are lamed by shoes that should be removed, and the hoofs softeued by contact with the soft, yielding and cooling soil ? Who thinks of the contracted and

pinched feet, bound in iron nailed on the sole, and wholly unyielding to the elastic cushion of the frog provided by nature for ease and freedom of motion ? The plowman removes his hard shoes and delights in the coolness of the soil. But the horse is neglected and works in pain in discomfort. How about the stable in which tho tired horse spends its resting (?) hours ? There the foul atmosphere, intensified in its unwholesomcncss by the stifling heat, murders sleep. The night long the horse tramps tho floor and vainly fights the sharp bites of the stable fly, called specifically “ calcilrans, ” because of the kicking it compels. The farmer takes care to keep the carriage away from the pestilent stable) because tho odor spoils tho varnish. But what of the tender membranes of the eyes and throat of the horse ? And this fly is attracted by the filthy odor of the neglected horse, brushed a little to remove apparent filth from the coat, but never washed or curried to cleauso the skin, which, as an excretory organ, doc* more work than tho kidneys and bowels combined. Is thorn arc any wonder that the natural life of tho horse is reduced one-half, and at fifteen years old ho is past work, when ho might live happily and profitably to his owner fully thirty years? Truly "the righteous roan is merciful to his beast,,' and “tbore is none righteous, uo sot one,'' so far as the common treatment of the noble, sagacious and serviceable horso is concerned. H. Stewart. Bow to IUMao WhMi In a lecture bofore the students of the Ohio State University T. B. Terrv said: Tbs average wheat crop of Ohio is not a paying one. From 13 to 15 bushels per sere does not give any profit above the cost of production. It did once but does not now. The conditions of growing are different and the cost is increased. From the best data it Is shown that the cost of tbs production of wheat Is the equivalent of 18 bushels per acre, AAlHktiDfr AVAPvihinir -m i “o vvwjiuing anu allowing

but the above figures are ■counting cent. Interest cm the * day for man. team and tools. It is necessary to reduce the cost or increase the product, and every step in either direction, will be clear gain. The better plan is to grow larger and better crops. If we can grow 25 to 30 bushels per acre we can make 50 per cant, profit In farming Dlffloalt t« ritirSth* C«»t of Crop*. exactly, because they overlap, and one crop aids or injures another. When I began farming about 20 years ago, my land produced but eight bushels of wheat per acre, while now It averages 33, which nets 70 per cent on the cost of production. The land was run down by a tenant, but it has now been brought up by a prolonged effort and continual oare, with drainage aad olover. The foundation of success with wheat culture in Ohio i 3 drainage. A farmer now plants a crop and cannot tell whether he will receive sor 30 bushels. If it is an open winter the crop drowns out and sometimes' he is unable to reap anything, but if there is sufficient snow he may have 30 bushels per acre There is no need of this uncertainty. It is overcome by thorough drainage, and careful and thorough tillage. Besides, removing surplus money. Th« Vmrlotla* of Wheat to sow depend on kind of soil. In many places the Clawson and Fultz are considered best. New varieties should be tested. When the experiment stations announce them as promising, you may or may not want to grow them, according to your soil. Ido not take my seed from the bin, but from tbe best spots of the field, and keep it myself, threshing it apart from the "rest. Great care should be exercised in saving seed wheat, os it should be perfectly clean. The lay of the land is important.; Land sloping to the southeast is in"the best position, while that to the northwest is at some disadvantage. Tbe amount of seed to sow depends on: Ist, the time of sowing, 2nd, the kind of seed used, and 3rd, the fertility of the soil. If sown early less seed is needed than if sown late, and it can be kept from straw falling by sowing a less amount. I try to sow about the Bth or 10th of September. The appearance of the Hessian fly has something to do with the time of sowing. If sown later the fly is less apt to trouble it. Draining Deepen* tho Soil. The roots will not go down if the soil is not well drained. The next feature in raising the ideal wheat crop is to get enough available plant food to grow just as large a crop as the straw can stand up under. No farmer would work his horses without feed, but there are many men who put in crops without giving plant nourishment to the soil. How can we practioally get the plant food? It is not advisable to put fertilizers, though they have worked wonders on thin clay soils. Save ail the manure; put thin clay in the stable and a roof over the barnyard. On my farm I sometimes have too much fertility. It would not do to grow wheat on my clover sod. the crops must be potatoes. The next point to observe is the - Tools to bo t?*«4 are some smoothing harrow, and the roller, besides the plow. The disc harrow is also good. Harrow the ground, then sow if the ground is sufficiently prepared. The old eight bushel crop was put in with the <! A” harrow. I wanted to dig the ground up so I stirred the surface both ways with a sulky cultivator. It yielded ten bushels more per acre, and the next year, with drainage, the increase was 13 bushels more. This was ail with drainage, clover and tilage, but no manure. Much was due to thorough preparation. Thorough Preparation mt th» Soli. In tne East, careful preparation is noticeable, but west of Ohio it is neglected. The small kernels and little rootlets have no chance. The roots must be sent down until they find soil, but if they become frozen or broken they are gone. The careful, deep, even preparation of the soil is an important item. Then plant evenly and when the thawing and freezing of the winter oomes, tbe surface frill rise and fall together. Make the soil as fine and firm as it oan be made, but not hArd. But there is one trouble: If a heavy rain comes just after drilling the finely Sared soil will run together. The ulty can bo overcome by drilling after rather than just before a rain] (Use a barometer.) Then the wheat will go into the moist ground and start thriftily. jy