Rensselaer Union, Volume 6, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 August 1874 — Prepare for Good Farming. [ARTICLE]

Prepare for Good Farming.

In the older settled portions of the West we are in the transition state in regard to farming. We are no longer pioneers, dwelling on the borders of civilization, ljving on isolated farms surrounded hfr tmfenced prairies. The land about our farms no more belongs-to speculators who hold it for a rise, nor does it form a part of the great national domain, open to entry. We *no longer pasture our stock or cut haj’ on land of which no one knows the rightful owner. We are no longer a perni-pastoral people, herding stock on uninclosed land, but raising crops on soil of which we are the owners in fee simple. We have outlived the order of things common to a new country, ’ inhabited by “squatter-sovereign 6 and are entering the era of settled life known in the older portions of the country. This new order of things calls for a change in calculations, in management, and in farm economy. I

* Many who read this article obtained their farms at the Government jirice of land, *1 .23 per acre? For years tEjc7j used for grazing and liay-cutting an unmount of land equal to that which they bought, rent free. In some instances they obtained their fuel on the land of speculators. In old times to cut wood or fencing on the land of a speculator was not regarded us a crime, but us a just and merited punishment for t)ie crime of holding land to increase in value by the industry of actual settlers. This land, so cheaply bought, has increased in value, some some fifty, some an hundred fold.' The owners of these lands have received, at least, a fair remuneration for their industry. They have also become well-to-do in the world, if not wealthy. Hardly any class of men have received so large an increase, from so small an investment of capital. No stocks during a run of years have paid as well as the money invested in prairie lands. . But that which litis happened in the past is not likely to take place in the future. Except in rare localities, land has not risen in value since the war—in some, sections it has decreased. For legitimate farming purposes it may be said to have reached its maximum value. At least, it will not rise in Value because the property round it, unfeuced and unimproved, is rising. Farmers will not continue to grow rich from what is so often called the natural rise in property. To make money in this easy way they must sell out the farms they now own, go west, and commence life anew! In many entire sections land is showing unmistakable marks of decreased fertility. Instead of producing several crops of wheat in succession without manure, it has not produced one paying crop even with the aid of manure. With lands no longer rising in value; with no outside land to use for pasturage or hay-cutting; with an additional crop of weeds each year to keep in subjection; with decreasing fertility and rapidly-in-creasing taxation, how is the farmer to better his condition in the future? In no other way than by doing better farming in the future than in the past. He must make every acre of taxable land pay. It must pay the taxes imposed upon it, and pay interest on the investment. Otherwise the ownership of the land involves a loss. To do tills, bogs and marshes must be drained, and all hitherto unproductive lands must be made to produce at least a crop of grass. Even the old natural grasses must give place to better varieties, both in the pasture and.iu the meadows, while attention must he given each year to sowing seeds on the land, and to giving-w top-dressing-of-barnyard manure, plaster and ashes. Again, barren frutG-trees-must not cumber the ground, but be digged about and made to produce crops, or rooted out that new ones may take their places. An account must be taken with the horses, cattle, sheep, hogs and poultry, and if any of them do not pay their keep, taxes and a revenue besides, let them be sacrificed to those that will. The keeping up of the present fertility of the soil must bo a matter for attention, and an attempt should be made to render the soil more fertile, year by year. To do this the' subject of making, storing, handling and applying manure must be studied in the scientific and practical relations. In short, farmers must become better informed, not only concerning the general management of their farms, but in regard to domestic economy and the laws of trade. —Prairie Farmer. .