XX TALKS ON MANURES. 



v^hen turued under make inauuiv f<;r tlie succetHliiiR crops. 

 But weeds among the growing crop are evil, and only an evil. 

 Thorough plowing is the remedy, accompanietl by drainage 

 where needed. 



We have an inniunHf numlier of farms on which there are 

 both good and poor land. In such casi-s we must a<lopt a com- 

 bined system. We :aust grow large c-rops on the rich land r.nd 

 use them, at least in part, to make manure for tin- poorer por- 

 tions of the farm. Drainage an<l good tillage will convert 

 much of our low, ."lluvial lands into a perfect mine of wealth. 

 And much of our high, rolling land consists of strong loam, 

 abounding in plant food. Such hmti re<juires little more than 

 thorough tillage, with iK-rhaps two hundretl ]»oun(Ls of suix^r- 

 phosphate per acre, to enable it to pnxiuce gooil grain crops. 



After all is said and done, farming is a business that re(piire8 

 not merely science, but industry, economy. an<l common s»'nse. 

 The real basis of success is faith, accompanied witii good works. 

 I cannot illustrate this better than by alluding to one of my 

 neighbors, a stnmg. healthy, intelligent, observing ami enter- 

 prising German, who commeiieed life as a fann lalM)rer. jind is 

 to-day wortn at lea.st one hundred thousand <lollars, that he 

 has made, not by the advance of suburban projH^rty, b'lt by 

 farming, pure and simple. He first rented a farm, and then 

 bought it, and in a few yeare he Ijought another farm adjoin- 

 ing the first one. and would tonlay V>uy another if he found one 

 that suited him. He has faith in farming. Some people think 

 he '■ runs his land." and, in fact, such is the ca.se. He keejis 

 good teams, and good jilows, and good harrows, and good 

 rollers, and good cultivators, and good grade Shorthoni cows. 

 He acts as though he believed, as Sir John B. I..;iwes says, that 

 " the soil is a mine," out of which he digs money He runs 

 his land for all it is worth. He raises wheat, barley, oats, com, 

 potatoes, and hay. and when he can get a good price for his 

 timothy hay, he draws it to market and sells it. Thorough til- 

 lage is the ba.sis of his success. He is now using phosphates 

 for wheat, and will probably increa.se his herd of cows and 

 make more manure. He has great faith in manure, but acts 

 as though hi' had still greater faith in good plowing, early 

 sowing, and thorough cultivation. 



