HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe New Era, 1882-03-02, Page 5•
Practical .Agriculture.
The following excellent address on agricul-
tural matters was delivered before the Osh-
awa Farmer's Pub,. by 1VIre Reiden. M.P.P.,
for South Onta>'io; and ie' published at the re-
quest of some of our readers :—
) Success in farming, he said, could not be at-
tained in the higheatdegree except under the
most favorable cironmstiauces. In order to
have meccas in farming there were three in-
diapeneably necessary conditions.- First, a
good farm ; second, the farm must be in a good
locality ; third, there must be sufficient capi-
tal to run it to advantage ; and, having those
conditions, there must be skilful and proper
management. When they had the first three
it would seem to be easy to add the latter; bat
they often saw a young man who, left in such
circumatanceaby-and-bye became embarrassed,
and was perhaps forced to leave the country
as well. On the other hand, a man some-
times commenced farming. in a poor location,
and attained perhaps not the highest success,
but the highest compatible with. the circum-
stances, and purchased another farm, perhaps
the one owned by the man first spbkea of. Air
to the management,it was perhaps unfortunate
that a rule could not be laid down which
would suit every farmer, the reason being
the differences in soil, climate and other sur-
roundings. It would befound that if a rule
were laid down for one farmer it- would be.
unsuitable for another ; so a farmer must bo
a man of thought and judgment to make the
best of his • circumstances. Their fathers
could scatter the seed in a rude manner upon
the virgin soil and look forward , to a good
crop, but they could not do that now, the.cir-•
cumstances being changed, and they must
adapt themselves to these circumstances if
they would attain the highest success. The
farmer must be a man of thought, so as to lay
his plans, and having laid his plans, he meet,
work to them day by day, if he would accom-
plish the best results. He had no sympathy
with thernian who would plodon and toil in
the same paths in which his father had toiled,
without stopping to consider whether he was
taking the best course. It would be impor-
tant to stop and consider whither some other
plan wonld not do better. It had been said
that there were ten ways of doing a thing—
a right way and a wrong way, an easy way
and ahard way, a skilful way and an awkward
way, a neat way and a slovenly way, a cheap
way and an expensive way. He advised the
farmer to stop and consider, and choose the
first of each of the ways mentioned. Again
the farmer mast be a man of labor. His busi-
ness did not differ from any other business.
The laboring man in every department of life
was the man who succeeded. Tlie man who
would do great things must labor. He did not
mean to say that in every case it would be to
the advantage of the farmer to -labor with his
hands upon the farm. Perhaps it might be•
expedient. But the farmer must have con-
trol of the labor. He ought to have practi-
cal knowledge of all its details. It would be
better if he could handle the plow, fork, and
spade, so that he could better direct his men.
Again, the successful farmer should be a man
that is not above his business, nor'ashamedto
be found giving his `attention to it. He made
a strong point of this. The man who was
ashamed of being found in the shop or of soil-
ing his hands had better turn his attention to
something else, as he would never succeed.
He would find that obstacles would present
themselves, and that man would not succeed
as a farmer. They could not expect to carry
on farming in Canada as they did in Eugland
—first, the landlord ; second, the,.farmer ; and
third, the laborer—all distinct. In Canada
They fo rid all these combined in one; the far-
mer theproprietor of the land which he tilled,
giving directions, and having to put himself
alongside of the laborer in accomplishing the
work to which he gave his attention. The
farmer should be a man who could make the
best nse of labor at his hand, and especially so
if be were undertaking to manage a large
'farm. 3t is a very, easy -thing to ecoomirlish
as much work by proper manipulation with 5
men as .another man would by improper mann
pulatioa with 9 men.. Thist weee point•oghieh
needed: Some atttentlon:\ Ir Jt •lien here.
detailerrannnalier Ofaittle:inetanceriiMviltich.
the labor could be utilized to better advan
tage. Ano her eiemene,of sueoesain farming,
was to keep the work'well ahead.-• There was
an old adage which they had oftenbeard, and
which was perfectly true::. "Drive the work,
or the work will drive you." . If they got be,
hind they were working at a disadvantage,
and the work wee driving them. To be sure
they labored under disadvap tages,tor instance,
they could not control the vvesthete That
was thetime when the farmer must use his
best judgment, and bring the work into :the
position in which -he, dssrredOt should be.
The Canadian farmer could not go along in
the way that.farmers did in other countries.
In other,countries they had ,longer seasons,.
but ilio work in Canada had to be done en e
limited period, or not'aiine at all. They
must be on the alert. He would not advise a
man to crowd his workmen: The chances
were, that on a well -regulated, farm the -men
would be inspired with' sufficient enthusiasm
to make a "spurt" when, it was required, but
because they'. could do .eo` occasionally, "he
would not ask then to dorso every day ; be-
cause the men woula get disheartened and
-.would not work as well.. He condemned the
practice of racing at work as it formed' a
habit of working irregularly. "He made a
strong, point of working. regular hours on the
farrm as he did not see why, a man working -on
a farm should pot have regular hours of labor
as well as the roan who.works in a manufac-
turing eetablishment.:..He was' among the
first in his own neighborhood to, commence
the practice. "'They ought to follow the gold-
en rule in this matter, and put themselves in
the_places_9f_thweervants, and cansider how`
they would wish to be 'treated, He not only
put the matter on that ground; but he gnaran-
teed that more work would be. done in regu-
lar hours than when work is dope irregular.
Mr. Dryden then proceeded to speak of 'the
matter of drainage.
He knew nothing that would pay better
than tile drainage,. He wished that he could
impress upon farmers the -iinpertance"of pay-
ing more attention to this' matter.. He: saw
farm after farm whose value could be doubled;
and in some cases trebled, by a proper system
of drainage., He said lie wished to ,lin.
press upon then'the necessity of doing it pro-
perly, as a good dear of mopey has been wast-
ed in draining, because. the work has beenins-,
properly done. In draining he would •advise
the n to bave:as few outlets as. possible, but
to pay particular attention,,to these 'outlets.
The farmers had no settled purpose inthis mat-
ter. -The work also could not be done in a
year. For, twenty years he had been eon-
strncting drains'on.his own farms • and had
not got through yet. There was scarcely a`
field without a drain in it. No matter how"
skilful a Yarm was :managed, if the•: soil wore"
wet, the results would not .be, such as their
skill and industry; would achieve if the land
were properly; drained., The,, next ,point sto
which he referred"was the necessity`of a.thor-
ough tillage of the soil. Sometime& farmers•
studied to see how•little labor'they could, ea
pend upon the land and get a crop, instead of
studying how much labor they could bestow,
upon • it withthe certaintyof. getting en ample
return. They required to plow,,. harrow and
pulverize theland's' great deal more; ae they
had not they same virgin soil todeal with as
their fathers had`. fifty years ago; They
shonldtake an example from the gardener,who
rakes and pulverises the ground ;so -that every
peed that he puts-down•grows. By following•
the last two points they would be able to 'carry
out what he considered another element :of
sucoees in farming, viz .;--Early 'sowing. He
knew that some would not agree- with hick,
but he was very -decided upon it. -41e e did not
care whit kind, of ground it was, he wantedit
7
sown early—as early as theycould get the
meed ut"to the'ground 91 Qpuree if th'e•lsnd
were not draineitit oonld not`be done, . It also
sho ja thp.necessrty of more.thorough tillsge.-
Wit :it might he•said that they were .afrardtof
thenigtit fropts that -in a certain year'barley
**snipped. "He did not believe a word'otit.'
Verniers would eBay that it wag 01 no pile sow
ing ,early, as there'was.. no growth, do the
ground, but he knerethat that wear not trice:
To bear out his contention Mr prydeu• orted
a• couple of instances, ,in his own experience,
in'which, after'sowing, the ground had been
frozen, but in both instances. the stied was
uninjured,and yielded good crops. There-
was more rick run by;sowing;latethan early.
Early sowing was a decided element of sac
cess'in farming. The next matter was, rota.
tion'of crops. The successful farmer,.wonld
be' able to tell not only what he Would ' sow
this year, but for several year to come, • lie-
cense
iece se he would have in his mitid a regular ro
tatien of crops. A great deal was said on thio
matter, but a oaet irpn rule could not be laid
down, because of 'the 'differences of soil and.
circumstances. - He did not. follow the_same
rotation in every field:himself, but changed
them to suit "'circumstances. He proceeded
to speak of what he conceived to be the foun-
.dation of anyrotation, viz :—Successful'grase-
growing and;espeeially.thattof clover. ` If the'.
rotation would not permit of the growing-ofa
goodcrop ofrass, no mattar' what the' rota-
tion. wee, it' would -not be successful. He con-:
eirered this to be one of the pillars of:suecess
1u] grass -growing. This was a.matter which -
baffled him more than anything else. The
usual plan he found to be, a complete failure,,
but it was when., be attempted to seed down a
field' freshly manured that he had better ani:
cess. He;grew hist roots on a''tield like that
after' grass, plow the seed under`' late.' in the
fall, or early in the spring, followed that with
barley, then manure `end wheat, then .seeded'
down if pt needed rest.' They 'should-liear in
mind that when the.gress was: seeded`. down
the,, ground got the ;-benefit. 'Of. course the:
number of years depended upon circumstan-:
ces, but three years was his aim. T.he' idea
that-farmners'had' of barley, this year, ---wheat
next' year, and something else the, following.
year, was alt wr�ng, and did more to rtrin:
farmers than any thing else.; "If they nursed:
their farms more, and were not so hasty in
attempting to get rich, they would find that
in ten years that they had more money. The
plan. of growing all of one article in a. year to -
theexclusion of other things,- left • them: al -i
ways a year behind the high` priced product.
When barley -Would be a, good price this year
tliey would have all wheat, and to with other
things. If they would work without -paying;
so"much attention :to making' money ,they
would find that they would, have something`
that. would:pay well," and they would
more money in the -long run. For -reinsure in
the growing'of clover he depended alinoet -en-
tirely upon two things, Plaster 'and riarnyard,
manure, aerie need 'not °look' for any:; thing
better- Agreat mini -had the idea that:the•
plaster ought to'be. spattered: on • the' :leaves
when damp,but this was a mistake, . It ought
•to be got into the ground before it would have
ite'effect. It should'' be sowed: early' '.in the 1
curing, -so as to get the benefit -of the spring
rains: As to barnyard manure, the beat was
;required; and atook'would -have fto be fed
ptetty wellin'order t� produce the best: He
would not call him' a' successful farmer .who
devoed
thia.attention eutirelptb grain; grow-
ing' and keeping -a few cattle just to ",consume.
his straw,-ortlieman who could show some"
grand specimens of live stock and at the same
time had a field full of rubbish.- Every de-.,
,partment• should reoeivo due -attention, and.
in this way they would be most likely to reach
the success which they desired...If they kept
stock they •should endeavor to keep the best.
Theycould `iot'all Co into fancy stock raising,;
bat it was profitable to secure•good stock "by.
using the males of those different -varieties
which made the. best kind of animals. In:.
this •way they should endeavor to produce the
beat meat with which to get their share in the
tride in' the inarket which Ware epening up
to'thpm°' in: the 'Old WorldA requisite to
ueoestful''etpok raising phis the ''are 'bf• the
mho, ja during the �rir t., y.ear. • '-The Impart t,
terice.of;this he pauld+,I}ot, urge ;too strongly.
And while taking good;Fare of Wept. • if • `they
got a pound of flea on the animal they should
not .,let it'off, for`tlieywogld Only l ave toput
'it on again which would` add to the coatof
the aniniall• Mr. Dryden then gave some par-
,tienlar advice as to the manner in whtidh all
farm work Aughtto be done. Whatever was
vortli doing at all was worth doing well, and
should be done in the beet manner posaibie.
If any body Supposed that a lazy, brainless -
fellow would make a @uecessful farmer he was
mistaken. 'He did not know of•,an"y industry
which required more judgment, thonght, win- •
dons; and discretion, The. Tait element of
snaccess;in farming to which he coiled atten- -
tion to, he did not think would be readily as-
sented -to. . It was past failures. They were
very inconvenient and embarrassing;when` one
had a certain snm:of ;money to raise, bntthey
forced the people to stop, and think whether
they were upon the right paths, and discuss
things with• their neighbors, and to make com-
panione:; People say there was not so mach
advanoement made is agriculture: as in other
Pursuits,but. they must reinembertbatit took`
,a year to make an experiment, and .almoat-a
lifetime to come to a right eonclusion in . con.
neotion with every matter. And this could -
be remedied toga great extent bymeeting and
comparing notes, and;thns•iaving 'themselves
the trouble and expense of going through ex- -
perimente themselvese fie congratulated the
Club upon the success which it had' attained.
He'oonclnded'by urging;the members to real
lze the nobility oftiieir calling,.,and etriveto
elevate it to the •position which it ought ` to
occupy among the industries of the country ; ;
and thus they would be able to do theirpart
in raising_ Canada -to• her proper position
as first among the nations.
•Astenishing Success. ,
It istbe'dnty of every person who lids used .
BO&1 EE'S-GERMAN STYLI* to let its wonderful
qualities be kno wn to their friends' in During con-
sumption • sevore : ooughs, croup,, astlrma,
is;pneu
mon, and in faet',all throat and lung, diseases.
No person can use it without immediate relief.
Three doses will relieve any oaeo, and we con-
sider it the duty of all druggists to recommend
it to thpe'oor dying consumptive, at least to try.
one bottle, as 100,000 dozenbottlea were sold last
year, and no one. case where -it failed: was report' .
ed. 8uchsa medicine as the a'Ierman,Syrup can-- -
not be too a►idely,'known. 'Ask" your druggist
about it. 8anrple bottles to try:void at 10 cents.. •
Regular size 7e cents.' For saleby'J. Ii. Combe,
Clinton.••
CAITAF GROCERIES
Crockery, Gla ware tic.
Oatmeal and Cornmeal always .ani land,
vett 't 'celebrated En fish Breakfast Bacon,
Long Clear Bacon, Sugar Czered Hams,
And -No. 1 LARD,
• At prices which cannot be beo*en; in town:
HIS 60 C. ''TEA A SPECIALTY
SOLE AGENT FOR
Dobbins' .ELECTRIC: SOAP -
JUST,,f1tECEIVEDpA LOT 01?
Flat. and;Slit HeririnY
__._.. THOAS COOPER,
ALBERT STREET, EURYON .:
•
1
X1)0.00 Worth
Caps, Clotl�i
Shoes-, �z
oi
D!
Ooas, eats
Commene g on Me First o• f February, and cont suing until the stock is cleared out, as the
�roj5rietor has made arrangements to start' business in , Grander,,; Dakota: THE . STOC.R.
MUST BE SOLD. The Store will be µoffered for sale or to rent as soon as the goods are sold
NOW IS THE TIME TO SECURE BARGAINS:
RGAINS:'"�- NO RESERVE. THE
WHOLE MUST BE 'SOLD. STOCK COMPLETE IN ALL1DEPARTMENTS.
777 Cheap CashSt�re,;
• I