1870.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
135 
the effect of stirring the land is not necessarily in 
proportion to the total amount of stirring, but is 
according to the number of times that fresh 
particles of soil are exposed to the atmosphere. 
Two plowings and two liarrowings in one week, 
will not do as much good as two plowings and 
two liarrowings, at different times in the course 
of three or four months. It is for this reason 
that I object, theoretically, to sowing wheat af¬ 
ter barley. We often plow the barley stubble 
twice, and spend considerable labor in getting 
the land into good condition; but it is generally 
all done in the course of ten days or two 
weeks. We do not get any adequate benefitfor 
this labor. We can kill weeds readily at this 
season (August), but the stirring of the soil does 
not develope the latent plant-food to the extent 
it would if the work was not necessarily done 
in such a limited period. I say theoretically, for 
in point of fact I do sow wheat after barley. I 
do so because it is very convenient, and because 
it is more immediately profitable. I am satis¬ 
fied, however, that in the end it would be more 
profitable to seed down the barley with clover. 
We must raise larger crops; and to do this we 
must raise them less frequently. This is the key¬ 
note of the coming improved system of Ameri¬ 
can agriculture in all sections where good land 
is worth less than one hundred dollars per acre. 
In the neighborhood of large cities, and wherev¬ 
er land commands a high price, we must keep 
our farms in a high state of fertility by the pur¬ 
chase of manures or cattle foods. Those of us 
in the interior, where we cannot buy manure, 
must raise fewer grain crops and more clover. 
We must aim to raise 40 bushels of wheat, 50 
bushels of barley, 80 bushels of oats and 100 
bushels of shelled corn, and 5 bushels of clover- 
1 seed per acre. That this can be done on good, 
well-drained land, from the unaided resources of 
the farm, I have no doubt. It may give us no 
more grain to sell than at present, but it will 
enable us to produce much more mutton, wool, 
beef, cheese, butter and pork than at present. 
“But, then, will there be a demand for the 
meat, wool, etc. ?” The present indications are 
highly favorable. But we must aim to raise 
good meat. The low-priced beef and mutton 
sold in our markets is as unprofitable to the con¬ 
sumer as it is to the producer. We must feed 
higher, and to do this to advantage we must 
have improved stock. There is no profit in farm¬ 
ing without good tillage, larger crops, improved 
stock and higher feeding. The details will be 
modified by circumstances, but the principles 
are the same wherever agri -culture is practiced. 
A farmer in Virginia, who says he finds rais¬ 
ing pork at present prices highly profitable, 
asks what effect the manure from 100 bushels of 
corn fed to pigs would produce applied to corn— 
continuing the crop until all the manure is used 
up. I cannot answer the question. The pigs will 
take from the food probably not more than five 
per cent of the most valuable elements of plant- 
food, and consequently, if the stalks were also re¬ 
turned, the manure from the hundred bushels of 
corn ought to give 95 bushels more than the 
same land would produce without manure. It 
will not give such an increase the first year, and 
probably not for several years, because the roots 
of the corn do not come in contact with every 
part of the soil. In the case of Mr. Lawes’ ex¬ 
periment sit required, on an average of 12 years, 
with a moderate supply of ammonia and a lib¬ 
eral supply of minerals, 4.86 lbs. of ammonia to 
produce one extra bushel of wheat and its pro¬ 
portion of straw. One hundred bushels of corn 
of 60 lbs. per bushel contain 108 lbs. of nitro¬ 
gen, equal to a little over 131 lbs. of ammonia. 
If we calculate that five per cent is retained in 
the animal, there should be 104 3 |< lbs. of ammo¬ 
nia in the manure per 100 bushels of corn. This 
manure applied to an acre of wheat would give 
us on the average an increase of not quite 22 
bushels. In the case of wheat we seldom get 
back in the increase more than one-half the ni¬ 
trogen applied in the manure—often not over 
one-third. What becomes of the other half is a 
question not yet fully determined. Part of it 
may be thrown off from the leaves of the plant 
during its growth, and part remain in the soil in 
such a condition as to be but slightly, if at all, 
available for the growth of another crop of 
wheat. But it may he available for the growth of 
clover. In fact, I am inclined to think that the 
large amount of nitrogen found in a good crop 
of clover is not obtained so much from the at¬ 
mosphere as from the accumulated stores of ni¬ 
trogen in the soil that are unavailable to the 
wheat plant. The clover takes them up, and 
and when it is returned to the soil, either direct¬ 
ly, as a green manure, or as manure from ani¬ 
mals living on clover, this nitrogen, in part, at 
least, becomes available to the wheat plant. But 
'whether this is so or not, the fact, as Geddes 
says, is well established that the growth of clo¬ 
ver does enrich the land. 
Some one writes to the Agriculturist: “ Why 
does not ‘Walks and Talks’ stop whining about 
the high price of labor?” Why, indeed? It 
does no good. We had better accept high wages 
as a fact, and look the matter fairly in the face. 
Farmers cannot control the labor market. And 
as long as so many railroads and other public 
works are going on, labor will be high, no 
matter how low the price of grain may 
be. But there is one consoling thought—the 
money is not sent out of the country. The men 
who get these high wages are enabled to live 
better. They buy better clothes, and this has a 
tendency to advance the price of wool, and they 
will consume more butter, cheese and meat. 
What farmers want, and what our soils need, is 
a good price for all animal products. With the 
exception of wool, we have no reason to com¬ 
plain of the present price of these products, 
and it would seem as though wool had “ touched 
bottom” and the tendency is upward. Give us 
good prices for beef, mutton, woo], pork, butter 
and cheese, and we can rapidly improve our 
farms. To me the prospect looks less discour¬ 
aging than it did some months ago. Our popu¬ 
lation is rapidly increasing. The Southern 
States have received a large sum of money for 
their cotton crop, and are spending it wisely in 
developing their resources. They are sending 
North for improved implements and improved 
stock, as well as for pork, cheese, butter and 
other agricultural products. Then we have a 
railroad across the continent opening up vast 
regions marvelously rich in mineral and agri¬ 
cultural wealth. Already the West is beginning 
to feel the influence of this new outlet for its 
products. The other day, I received a letter 
from a farmer in Colorado wishing me to pro¬ 
cure him two or three kinds of the best breeds 
of pigs. I went to the Express office in Roches¬ 
ter to ascertain the cost of sending them. The 
agent looked on his books, but could find no 
such place. He then went to a large map hang¬ 
ing in the office, but it did not, reach the spot 
where this enterprising farmer lives, within five 
hundred miles. The incident only shows what 
a wonderful age and country we live in. Let a 
young farmer raise anything that is really valua¬ 
ble; let him be true to himself and honorable in 
his dealings, and fame and fortune await him. 
I do not think wages will be much lower. But 
we shall discriminate more closely as to the kind 
of men we employ by the year. Some men are 
better worth $30 a month than others are worth 
$20. Good farm men, who are faithful and in¬ 
dustrious, and especially those who can take 
care of stock, will continue to receive good 
wages. Let the others dig railroads under the 
sharp eye of a sub-contractor; it will do them 
good. Our farm men must learn that if they 
are to receive high wages they must earn them. 
They must learn to keep things in order and 
economize time; to do work by machinery; to 
drive three and four horses instead of two ; must 
ride instead of walk, and then use the strength 
thus saved in taking extra care in feeding and 
cleaning their teams. They must learn that the 
proper management of improved stock is the 
highest branch of agriculture. For my part I 
do not want cheap labor. It is the dearest and 
most provoking of all labor. 1 want a man who 
has brains as well as muscle—a man who is 
quick to think and prompt to act. There is a 
demand for such men on the farm as well as 
in other industries, and they will obtain high 
wages for the reason that they can earn them. 
It may be thought that this question of wages 
does not affect that large class of farmers 
who, with the aid of their family, do 
their own work; but this is not the case. 
High wages affect the price of everything 
that we have to buy and sell. The sons of 
farmers will not be content to work at home 
for poorer fare and poorer wages than 
they could obtain elsewhere; so that, in point of 
fact, such farmers need to turn their attention to 
improved stock and improved farming as much 
as those who depend principally on hired help. 
It has been said that high rents and high taxes 
in England compelled the farmers to adopt an 
improved system of farming. High wages and 
high taxes will do the same thing here. A 
farmer cannot pay his taxes and support him¬ 
self and his family with crops of wheat of 10 
bushels per acre, or with cows that do not make 
over 100 lbs. of butter a year, or with pigs that 
must be kept 18 months and then be fed an acre 
of corn each to make them dress 300 lbs. The 
farmers who do their own work are the very 
men who should adopt high farming and keep 
improved stock. They can bestow the necessary 
care and attention, and it is this which is so diffi¬ 
cult to hire. I know a farmer witli 75 acres of 
good land that makes probably $1,000 a year. 
He is a capital farmer, works early and late, 
keeps everything in order, gets his crops in at 
the right time, and suffers scarcely a weed to 
grow on the farm. He pets his cows, and loves to 
feed and take care of all his animals. I visit 
him frequently, and always come away with the 
feeling that he is cheated out of half his reward 
from not keeping improved stock. He bestows 
as much care on a flock of common Merinos as 
is necessary for a flock of thorough-bred Cots- 
wolds; and Mr. Campbell’s Shorthorns and Ayr- 
sliires receive no better treatment (though richer 
food) than his native cows. This good care and 
treatment pays him vastly better than if he neg¬ 
lected his stock, but if he kept improved ani¬ 
mals his profits would be more than doubled. 
•--~ocZ3 O CBnn—--■ 
The Jerusalem Artichoke. —Those who 
wish to try the Jerusalem Artichoke, should 
plant it as early as the condition of the soil 
will allow. The land after plowing is marked 
