1871. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



229 



consider it all profit. For while ten acres are 

 being made I'ich for the cultivation of tobacco, 

 the remaining niofty of an hundred acre farm 

 are gradually growing poorer. I now have in 

 my mind a fanner that has fifty acres of land. 

 He is obliged yearly to apply all the manure 

 he can make from the produce of his farm to 

 two acres of tobacco, consequently forty-eight 

 acres of liis farm is yearly cropped without re- 

 turning anything to enrich the soil ; or, in 

 other words, cropped to enrich two acres of 

 tobacco, thereby drawing from the value of 

 forty-eight acres of his farm and putting it in 

 his pocket. But suppose this farmer should 

 change his plot of two acres every year for 

 five years, that is as long as the first two acres 

 will yield a good crop of anything without 

 again applying manure. In this case he can 

 only enrich ten acres of his fifty, the remain- 

 ing forty must necessarily be growing poorer. 



The tobacco crop returns the least to enrich 

 the soil of any product raised upon the land in 

 the Connecticut Valley. This one fact is 

 enough to convince me that all our farmers are 

 raising more tobacco than is profitable, or 

 beneficial to the farms in this valley. 



In determining which crop to raise for feed- 

 ing on the farm, we must not merely ask the 

 simple question, which crop will afford the 

 most nutritious matter, or bring the most 

 ready money, but which will ultimately be 

 most profitable, taking into consideration the 

 effect of its growth upon the soil, its value as 

 food, and the value of the manure made by its 

 consumption on the farm. 



]\lany farmers think manure is manure, no 

 matter how.it is produced. If the elements 

 which make rich manure are not in the food, 

 they will not be found in the manure, however 

 carefully it is preserved or composted. Now, 

 if the relative value of manure obtained from 

 the consumption of a ton of clover hay is 

 worth half as much again as a ton of meadow 

 hay, (I think this true everywhere) this fact 

 should be taken into consideration with refer- 

 ence to this question. It has been proved 

 that a ton of Indian corn fed to farm stock is 

 not worth as much for manure as a ton of 

 clover hay fed to stock. A ton of oats is 

 worth more for manure than a ton of Indian 

 corn feed. 



Oats can be raised with less labor than any 

 other grain crop, and will thrive on a great 

 variety of soils. They require less labor in 

 planting aud cultivating than corn, and are 

 sown to a considerable extent on this account ; 

 but, as a general rule, the oats are obtained 

 at the expense of the succeeding crop, while 

 Indian corn leaves the land cleaner and in 

 much better condition for future crops. With 

 our improved horse hoes, there is no excuse 

 for those farmers who neglect to keep their 

 corn land mellow and entirely free from 

 weeds. When this is done we can in ordinary 

 seasons, and on the majority of soils, be sure 

 of a good crop of corn. Repeated stirring of 



the soil would not only destroy the weeds, but 

 would make the soil moister in dry weather, 

 and increase its fertility, besides leaving the 

 land cleaner and in much better condition for 

 future crops. Wcmust consider also that one 

 acre of good corn fodder is worth as much to 

 feed our stock and make manure as an aver- 

 age acre of meadow hay. 



There are many other grain crops well 

 aday)ted to the soil of the Connecticut Valley, 

 such as wheat, rye and barley. Of these, rye 

 will succeed best on the driest and poorest 

 soils. It will grow where wheat, barley, oats 

 and Indian corn would fail. AVith the aid of 

 a little manure it can be grown year after 

 year on the same soil. It is exceedingly 

 grateful for manure, and its application to 

 this crop is quite profitable, especially in local- 

 ities where the straw is in demand. Barley 

 can, I think, be raised in this valley profitably. 

 For the past ten years barley has brought a 

 higher price than wheat, pound for pound. 

 Where the soil is well suited to its production 

 there are few crops more profitable. I be- 

 lieve that three bushels of barley can be raised 

 with as little expense as two bushels of wheat. 

 Finally, the soil of the Connecticut Valley is 

 good for nearly every kind of grain. 



Now, then, when we take into considera- 

 tion the effect the various crops have upon the 

 land, we cannot afford to raise tobacco alone. 

 Every real, practical farmer, should raise 

 everything for the support of his family that 

 he can without actual loss, for it often happens 

 that the season may be a very bad one, for 

 one crop, -and an excellent one for another. 

 And again, a yariety of crops can be raised 

 much cheaper. First, because a variety will 

 not impoverish the soil as much as one crop. 



Here it is proper for tis to take into consid- 

 eration the relative value of manures from 

 different foods ; also to determine what par- 

 ticular feed is best to give our farm stock. 

 These two questions deserve to be profoundly 

 studied by every farmer. 



ROOM FOR SURPLUS HOT^JY. 



In the "Annals of Bee Culture," Mr. Wil- 

 liam Carey says : I have had a single colony of 

 bees store away sixty pounds of nice surplus 

 honey in twelve days. Now, if I had neglec- 

 to furnish that colony the necessary ar- 

 rangements for storing surplus for six of those 

 days, the product would have been only thirty 

 pounds ; if the neglect had been continued 

 twelve days the result would have been, no 

 surplus, which would make a difference of 

 $18. Tliere cannot be too much importance 

 attached to giving bees plenty of room to store 

 surplus, and that at the right time. 



Some may ask, when is the right and proper 

 time to give their bees a chance for storing in 

 boxes ? In answer to such a question — it is 

 the right time when your bees become numer- 

 ous enough so as to occupy all their combs in 



