Tni; ciiiNESEE FARMER. 



FACTS m AGR ICULTURE. 



" Therp is a dearth in the tigrioultural pross, at this 

 iin-. ?, so far as facts are concerned." — Prairie Farmer. 



We Iiave come to the same couclusion. Day after 

 day havt! a-c s<'anned over the broad papjes of our 

 nuinerouy exchanges, Eiiropi'an and American, and 

 been compelled to throw down the paper without 

 obtaininu^ oue new idea, one solitary fact. It is 

 mainly on this account that we offer the " Premiums 

 lor Short Essays," to he found on another paj^e. We 

 are satisfied that the million of intelligent, observing 

 farmers engaged in cultivating the soil on this almost 

 boundles.s continent, are in podsessiou oi'fdcts which, 

 could they be induced to connnunicate them to the 

 agricuftural journals, would prove interesting and 

 valuable, anti add materially to our stock of agricultu- 

 ral knowledge. Let us hiive facts, brother farmers 1 



American farmers have a glorious future before 

 *hem. LJiiiike the farmers of Europe, they are their 

 own land-owuei's, and not tenants, compelled by some 

 lawj'er-agent to adopt a particular system of culture. 

 They are at perl'ect liberty to make such improve- 

 ments as their own experience dictates, and are cer- 

 tain to receive the full reward of their intelligent 

 labor, with no fear of having the " rent raised." \Ye 

 enjoy the blesi^ings of peace, of free institutions, of 

 rapid, safe, and economical intercommunications, of 

 good soil, good climate, and good prices. Ours is 

 a new country, of great extent^ of boundleEs resour- 

 ces, possessing varieties of soil and climate suited for 

 the production of every plant ujed as food for raan 

 arid beast. It is peopled with an active, industrious, 

 enterprising, and intelligent race of men and women, 

 representing every civilized nation on the globe; and 

 into this favored arena is brought the experience of 

 agriculture from every clime. Surely, we have every 

 thing to stimulate us to study, observation and reflec- 

 tion. W^ith such stimuli to exertion, need we won- 

 der at the restless enterprise which characterizes the 

 •* universal Yankee nation," and which exci^'es the 

 surprise, if not the admiration, of older nations. 



But is it not a shame to the intelligent farmers of 

 this highly-favored land that there is a dearth of 

 facts in the agricultural press ? If we cannot ob- 

 tain facts here, where shall we look for them? 



It cannot be said that there is nothing to call out 

 the observed facts and experience of the past year. 

 Almost every state and county has its organized 

 agricultural and horticultural societies. Farmers' 

 clubs, though not as numerous as they should be, 

 are yet not uncommon, while we have more ag- 

 rcultural papers published in this country, than in 

 all the rest of the world besides; and yet, the truth 

 must be told, there is a dearth of facts. We have 

 abundance of organized means of diffusing facts, 

 but are almost entirely destitute of the proper 

 methods of discovering them. Farmers must expe- 

 riment more, and chronicle the result tor the benefit 

 of others. We do not need "Model Farms;" we have 

 them already, in every county in t\\?. Union; but v^-e 

 need " 'rxperimental Farms," where men of science 

 and practice can unite in investigating the laws of 

 vegetable and animal nutrition. The agriculturists 

 of our cov'.ntry would willingly support such an insti- 

 tution in every Sta'e if they could be satisfied that 

 it would '"<^ kept out of the hands of wire-pulling, 

 log-rolling pouticians, who care more for the almighty 

 dollar than for those laws or facts which underlie all 



rational systems of agriculture. We hope to live to 

 see the day when the farmers of Ameiica will take 

 this mutter into their own hand.s, and when ther(? 

 will never again be occasion to say, "there is a. dearth. 

 in the agricultural press at this time, so far as /acL- 

 are cancerned." 



HOTES FOR THE MONTH BY S. "W. 



Still Slop and Still Manure. — Many farmers 

 came ten miles before dayliglit to carry home a 

 wagon load of still slop, which they now get gratis 

 from one of our now hogless distilleries. 'J'o how 

 many of these farmers lioes it occur that a part of 

 the value of this slop is in the superior value it gives 

 to their manure heap, containing, as it does, all the 

 phosphoric acid and protein compounds of the corn 

 itself, having lost nothing but tlie starch, which went 

 to alcohol. It is encouraging to see one of our 

 largest distilleries now for the first time saving the 

 manure from their pens, instead of washing it into 

 the river; the result will be that Joseph Wkight, 

 who hauls it daily to his corn and tobacco grounds, 

 will show such crops the coming season as no fai-mer 

 can hope to more than half equal. 



High Prices resulting prom Short Farming.— 

 1 asked a farmer the other day why he did not grow 

 clover seed and sow it more abundantly, to bring 

 back fertility to his now crop-failing soil. He re- 

 plied that when his land was new, and he got large 

 crops with little labor, the price was nothing com- 

 pared with the present cash prices; that he got 

 more money now than he did then, and that if farm- 

 ing was improved and brought back to its former 

 fertility, and large crops were grown with little labor, 

 prices would again fall below all remuneration 



WuRZEL Beets for Milch Cows. — There is no 

 sweeter beet grown in this climate than small-sized 

 Wurzel beets. They are much sweeter at this time 

 than the large blood turnip-beet. The largest Wur- 

 zels, when fed to milch cows, cause a greater secre- 

 tion of milk than their weight in raw potatoes, as 

 Judge CoE, of Romulus has fully proved by expe- 

 riment. Chemistry shows truly that potatoes con- 

 tain more nutritive matter than beets, or even car- 

 rots; but experiment proves that in the raw state 

 beets develop, in the process of digestion, their full 

 nutritive value; while raw potatoes do not; hence 

 the importance of cooking potatoes. A little Indian 

 meal, oil meal, or good mill stuff strewed over cut 

 beets, adds much to their nutriment, making less dry 

 feed necessary; and it has been truly said that roots 

 fed to stock in winter, perform the office of aiding 

 the digestion of the ultimates of their dry food. 

 But as a necessary condition to economical feeding 

 milch cows to prevent the decrease in their milk, 

 they must be stabled in wet and cold fall and winter 

 nights. This alone will save both milk and food. 



Chinese Sugar Millet. [Sorghum Sacchara- 

 tum.) — This noble plant bids fair to be a great and 

 valuable addition to our cereal grasses; the more 

 especially as it requires precisely the same soil, cli- 

 mate and culture as our great indigene, Indian corn. 

 If seed can be had, many here will give it a fair trial 

 next season; at the present high prices of sugar, it 

 may be profitably grown for its saccharine alone; 

 and as fattening food for cattle, it may be found an 

 economical substitute for the Indian corn plants cal- 

 tivated for soiling and winter fodder. S. W. — Jfti- 

 lerloo, JV. Y 



