{ title: 'The Otsego farmer. (Cooperstown, N.Y.) 1885-1910, December 19, 1885, Page 1, Image 1', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about NYS Historic Newspapers - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/sn87070110/1885-12-19/ed-1/seq-1/png/', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn87070110/1885-12-19/ed-1/seq-1.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn87070110/1885-12-19/ed-1/seq-1/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn87070110/1885-12-19/ed-1/seq-1/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
Image provided by: Fenimore Art Museum
A FARM AND FIRESIDE JOURNAL. , . 25mm The Past and Prosen(-Who Makes| ~ the Money, and Who Win Success. Education. \ Not & farmer in the County of Omego Is so stupid;as not 4o realize the fact that the age is marked by its Educational progres- _--.-slon: All over the land the humble school wished house,! the more pretending semmary and the 'chlloge are fitting the youth of our country for intellectual pre- -emingnce. —_iBooksrand{>apers_m_mulfipl5zing_iw ery land. Each profession has its text 9, 4 The-arts Written expresslyfor Tar Orezco Fanmen, . _ |___ Bx in sak®n . Have opportunities diminished Wlth puss» ing time? \This &rticle was suggested by the rethark of a young man, ''that he good as fifty years ago The question is, are they not far superl- or? Have not the advantages forthe young incres h nggdecude? Buch we think to be the fact. We old men who can survey the past,.and who, | clianees, increase. with increase of invert ,| tion, and national development, COOPERSTOWN N. ¥. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19,. 1885 'This accounts for the great fortuncé| of to-day compared with times past, These If that is true, chances for success continual ly improve, in a fast increasing atio in our country. Fortunes here not being subjectm en- The State Experiment We are indebted to Dr. B. L. Stnrte -vant;-] DWCQBF -for a-copy of the' Third . Annual -Report of the Board of Control of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva, for 1884, comprising the separate reports of the director and of the.several officers. It is a copiqus work tail, they very seldom remain long in the same bands, 'The children of the rich, learn to spend, instead of accumulate. The old lease and tenure system _not being able to, for a long term of years as former- 1, retain real estate in one family by entail- of much interest and. value, and indicates the large amount of experimental labor performed at the station during the past The report: chiefly occupied with one dol Juf and: seventy-five gents. After| the detail of the feeding experiments on a books;-its-boolss-of-reférence: andscienm, also have folios devowd to \their especial elucidation, and 'men who have chosen either of these for their life.|rect are forbetter than those who know . time vocations, resort, almost daily, to them for the purpose of gaining new ideas or to keep active those already gained. But do farmers study enough? The De- know of the. preseft, ought to be able to judge. 'Our opportunities for being cor- nothing of the past by experience _ We can note the changes, for we have lived through them. 'We can contrast the advantiges of the present with the deprivations of former ~ troit Pree Press, considered this question as follows: The subject of agriculture is one that. demands full as much attention at the hands of the reading public as it gets. In- deed, no theme presents itself thatis fraught with more real import, .so far as regards our prosperity, than the wants of the agricultural world. What we mean by - attention, is a studious, careful search for accomplishing-certain- de- sired results, nota superficial investigation ' of some theory, merely for the purpose of creating differences or provoking discus. ston: 'The-day hns happily passed when . being a farmer: was synonymous. with be: _ Img, a blockhead. It requires something] more than.mere physical strength to keep up With the advance 'of the ago, in farm- ing as well as in science. Many of the systems of fifty years ago are no more ap- plicable to the demands of to-day than would be an oxteam to run an opposition freight line geross. the Plains. The farmer , who, reads much, and reads that much with care, is the one who stands in advance in \intelligence influence and prosperity. Bcience can aid the farmer in raising wheat or corn just as much as it can 'aid the miller in grinding it; and the science to be applied in agriculture is nothing more than a study of the composition of soils and .the properties that are drawn from them by certain grains. All this cammot be done in a day any more than a physician - makes himself thorough and successful by starting a drug store. Study, in both instances, sustained by judgment and expe- rience, produces the desired result, The man of today, who conducts his furm upon the same principles as did his grandfather, is doing himself an injury. First, because the old system does not ap- , ply; and second, -land worth from $50 to $100 per nere needs to be used with more care, needs to be tilled better, than land that is worth but $10 or $20; upon the fame principle that the more capital in- vested the greater should be the income. On some of the choicest land in our State, men are found who plough year after year, the same lots their fathers ploughed before them, and are continually grumbling be- cause their crops are small. their seed, the weather, everything-over-' looking the great fact that certain necessary chemical properties, have been literally sucked out of the soil. This desired study does not depend upon reading alone; men often study each other, Let agricultural societies call in the as«ist- ance of scientific men, throwing away the old notion that there is no community be- tween the college bred man and farmer. Science can assist in raising grain as well as the brawny ploughman who turns up the soil. It is too often the case that such appeals to the farming community are regarded in the light of \buncombe.\ 'This ought not to be. The farmer should cure himself of the idea that reading and study are incom- patible with his calling, and he should nev- er again be heard to say that \'John is go- ing to callege and Jim liss got learning enough, because he's going to be a farmer.\ Instead of all this let him labor to give dig- nity to his calling. Do not impress upon the mindof poor \Jim\ that his education should stop when he is able to write' his name, | Make bins understand that the in- vestigation of important mafters relating to bis-callingis something that hecan do for bimself, | Make him understand that if he- walks in the dark it is his own fault Farmera hive discovered that one Jersey cow inthe herd. will cofor the butter as yellow as 'They | used: to grate. theo: fing and churn these gratings with whey the cown were fed on bay, --- andsogeiza yellow Hinge to the butter. Thwart-M; butter will uot keep so well with the vegeuble substances mixed in it, and moreover, Is apt to be streaked: |g 'The milk from the Jersey cow makesa uni- form colo, and does mot affect the keep- tng qualities of the butter. It is not nec. ~ essary to bave a pare bread.Jersey cow to get this benet. A High grade will do as ~ flux! éren cutilfiwd‘, 16 stroogly They nccuse; times. We will make a-few comparisons of. them with those of the present. Labo# is much Belter paid than 1t was fifty or even thirty years ago, The labor of both sexesthas steadily increaged in price. On the average it has more than doubled during; the last balf century; and at the same time its conveniences and tools have 'so been improved that the amount of most kinds which can be performed in a given Aime,--has-also_more than. doubled... The hours, too, have very much decreased. We used, at all kinds of work, to labor du- ring the summer months, all the hours of daylight, and most mechanics, until nine at night in winter, if their work was in- Idoors so as to admit of night work. Necessary expenses have lessened., Our fathers, no matter how, poor, had no exemption from the most onerous kinds of taxation, Theschooling of the children of the poor was often more costly to them than all the property tax of the rich. Woman had no rights of property. She could not hold even her own inheritance at all times, The time of making a long journey has diminished on an average at least three times, and its attendant expen- ses in the same ratio. Do not understand us to say we spend less, far from it. We use the word necessary to start with. Cus- tom and common practice, and not ''neces- sity\ now rule. Opportunities for education have in-} creased in a ratio even greater than its cost. As good an education is now open and free ' to all the young of to-day, as we old peo- | ple, at their age, could enjoy at an acade- f my-at a large expense and outlay, It is in that, one particular hardly possible to . 'uver-estimate the advantages to those who: appreciate and improve them, of our free | school system, Where ignorance now pre- vails, somebody is at fault. ( As labor and means of education, and | p travel have all been so much improved in ' and for the presont generation; at the same 1 time the cost of all kiuds of wearing ap- | parel have proportionately diminished. I On an average, clothing and manufactured articles have decreased fully one-half in things of like quality, within fifty years. Look over old bills of purchase, or price {lists, und compare them with those of to- day. Some are diminished in cost several times, some less, but very few things can be named that even now in our times of ob- taining money easy, compare with the high- er prices of former generations. Much of the load of the laborer is now shifted upon the property, and paid by it. The rich bear the burthen, the poor escape. The property now pays the schooling, pays the town, county and State expenses, We know of many men who now receive wa- ges for labor no man could obtain fifty years ago, whose only tax is one day on the highway, and perbaps half a dollar on a dog in addition. P These things have vastly changed the value of money. Its purchasing power is virtually increased for the berefit of the poor; while its income in interest, as avail- able, is greatly diminished to the rich. Their taxes are largely increased, while their rates of interest are equally lessened. Money in trade, in manufecture, in farms, or any other form of investment, was form- erly expected to pay from ten to fifteen per cent, snd on good security, seven at all times. Itis now difficult in our State, to realize after taxes are paid, three and one- | half per centon money. We know many persons whose property has increased stead. fly for years; and at the same time their available income has steadily diminished, by lessened rates of interest. Surely when so, small interest is received for money in- waved, capitalists can hardly be styled the pmnlmd classes. ~ Opportunities for gain by the develop ment Isbor have increased, and not dé minished during our lifetime. Thatfact is pm 1:th M now which were impossible {namely While Isbor is the source of all wealth, and its-6ily means of development, yet aften its proper employment for ® short tune dpens up await-med and dssing {aim My“ Muzafiufil‘“ Here is pm Wes \inventors and ment, no danger to- our 'country need. be feared by the aggregation of individual wealth, Among all the millioAaires of our land we know of but a single family Which has retained its wealth to the third genera- tion, Beldom:do large estates pass to great grand children. __ -This principle is one of the safeguards of our republic. If families of -great -weslth could so fix their estates; that they could not be divided or spent, we would be endangered by -a perpetual \aristocracy of wealth,\ But whem the rich of one gen- eration have but little influence over the acts and ends of their posterity, all is safe. \Who make the money.\ The econom- ical, industrious poor, with us every time. The- Astors, the. Vanderbilts,.the Goulds, the Stewarts, the Huntingtons, the Werna- makers, the Wentworths and the thousands of others whose wealth has made them notic- ed, every one of them sprang from the class- es of the poor, Bo too with our most noted, scholars, statesmen, philanthropists, and distinguished public officers, alike in mili- tary and civil life. Bo it ever will be while we repgain a republic. What encouragement to the rising genera tlon? It is and ever must be a source of. satisfaction to any man to know thatthe is competent to fill any inifortant position of trust, although he never may have even u desire to occupy such station, It is en- |couraging beyond measure for all young mento know, that the fields for sigcess to them are as great or greater and asnuim- erous, as were they ever to those who have precéeded them. , True, cirgumstances may never arise to i bring out your true worth and talent, but if you do'not possess the requisite quali- 'ties, you will fail, no matter how grand the opportunity. How often that fuet was demonstrated in the war.of the revolution, and in our late war, in developing their military talents and ability. How often, too, fu the management of affairs fnccivil life? Look over the list of successful manu- facturers, railroad operators, mechanics, farmers, and see how- many you find who were born to wealth. You look in vain. They are not to be found. Who then are the successful ones. \'Who 'are those who make the money? It is not often those who indulge in habits of vice. We never look for the boys who are to muke our successful, our useful, our learned, | or our wealthy citizens, among those who spend their time and earnings im saloons, bar rooms, or other places where bad hab- its are learned, and wrong appetites ac- quired. Dissipation and useful success, | seldom accompany for any long time, any Individual. They are antagonistic. They are opposite. This we have always noticed. No man ever falls so low himself, as to admire or approve the like in his fellows. We never yet saw a person who wished to see his son an inebriate, or his daughter unchaste. 'Bad as the world is, respect is always paid to virtue.\ & right course in life carries its own reward. An upright, hon- est lite Is approved by the most debased and victous. The salvation of a republic, and its perpetuity, depends upon the upright ness of.the people. When \ten righteous could not be found,\ even ancient Sodom and Gomorah were too Inw gone for salva- tion. When vice became trimphant, an- cient Rome went to ruins. Nations are but the aggregation of in- dividuals, thus individual vice is national vico; individual wealth, national wealth; individual talent, national ability; individ- ual honor, is national distinction. The intelligent'and the virtuous, are to be those who are to perpetuate our institu- tions. Those who are to fill its important places of trust and honor, in the future, as in the past, are to come from the yanks of the humble and poor. Here will be found the material for its civil and military, men who shall win honor and fame. Here are életnents6f Our future statesmen, philai-| thropistsand + boys who sreto make the money, the millionaires, of this and Coming genera- tions. Young men and boys, the field of fenceess open to you all, \Go upand sess the land.\ No better advantages were in few?! of any ham Wm (am-ark? working oxen, > breed can mmwxm the Dev-om. areguick,- very good Bumm‘awénmm “mm wag m’f the azenof this breed mam-1mm cattle, -with \flaunt tabulated \5111ng hundred-pages.on the culture of corn,: with & description and classification of some hundred varistiest the report of the horticulturist, occupying one hundred and. forty pages,; containing description of many varieties of garden vegetables,\ with some classification, and statements of tests with insecticides; the report of the chem- ist, . including analyses of cattle rations, butter tests, and. the examination of the water of lysimeter; the report of the bot- anist, largely occupied with an account of parasitic fungi and the diseases of plants; and an “tended description of varieties of barley and oats, and a proposed \classifica- tion. In connection with the descriptions of the varieties of corn, there are accurate en- graved figures .of 120. sorts, with_dimin« ished representations of the ears and cross sections of the natural size. i Among various items of information in different parts of the report we observe the following: In summing up the re- sults ofthe extended trials in feeding cows, tenance of live weight is concerned, en- silage was found superior to the same raw material air-dried; under the fodder-corn feeding, there was a gradual falling off in milk, as well as under the hay feeding, and the hay and potatoes, On the contrary, under the ensilage feeding the milk in- creased,\ 'These results were obtained in feeding Jerseys only. In the repetition of the experiments in the cultivation of the potato, the object being to ascertain what influence the position of the eye hasin the seed tubers, some former results were re- versed as to stem, central and terminal eyes. Doubtless in the experiments of both seasons, the difference was caused by accidental influences, The lysimeter ex- periments.have shown that a pulverized surface or top soil retards evaporation, and maintain a greater moisture in the soll un- derneath, than a hard and firm surface; and in accordance with this result it was found that the potato crop, when frequent- ly cultivated at the surface during the sea- gon, gave a much larger return than when this surface culture was omitted. Where corn and potatoes were planted in alternat- ing rows, the yield of the potatoes was much lessened by the corn; but the pota- toes had no influence in reducing the corn crop. The loss in the weight of grain by dry- ing is & matter not well understood by \formers generally. Some-experiments made many years ago, made the average loss in the weight of corn by evaporation from busking time till the following spring, with the usual exposure in cribs, about 25 per cent., varying much, however, with the degrees of ripeness und dryness of the season. Wheat was less affected. By the accurate trials made at the station, that in one instance Clawson wheat lost 24 per cent. from July to November, but in other cases much less, while under peculiar con- ditions it increased in weight. This is a matter of some importance to farmers as well as to grain buyers. The strength of the soil Of the station form may be partly inferred from the re port of the farmer, who gives the average yield of 24 seres of wheat at 30 bushels per acre, cats at 57 bushels, and corn at 40 bushels, the latter being considerably re- duced by the cut-worm. The labors of the station are now constant and heavy, as is shown by the thousands of careful obser- vations reported in tabular form and oth- erwise, some of which not presenting very distinct results might possibly be abridged. The station is accomplishing most valu- able results for the ultimate benefit of the farming community, and the value of these results will be greatly increased as they are brought into a more practical shape in suc- cessive years. Preszzvise Koos --Eggs packed and treated $9119me | and seem and look like fresh eggs, Takaaeommonbagmch an is ored for [packing canned tomaiges; | layer of fresh, clean cats, pigow tbe egzs, large cody down, and leave space of at least an fuch between the eg¢5, Cover with a lay. erof cats and then place another fayer of egge as befofe, until-th0 boz is nearly fall; . Witflrhmmddngfiagnhanudy fruit.-[ American Agriculturist. nge we are informed that \so far as the main- _ _ Cost of anrenlng Apples, The cost of a el of apples on the 'nverage; is about is. {W cents; picking, seven. cents; sorting and barreling, seven cents; haoling to market total, fifty cents. 'The price we get, ranges from one: dollar, to one-dol- Jar and seventy-five cents per bnrrel, the | average being about one dollar and twenty- five centg. It makes great. differencein the profits, whether we get one dullar or deducting ffty.eents for barrel and labor, make just as much on_two barrels at the\ farm, AMiay it~ Swin Farming 7 We are more and more lmpresaed with [farmers make their cows the main featore;. . the buildings are constructed with reference to their management, and the- rotation of - crope is fixed to promote the same' end. . where sheep breeding is the leading int of husbandry, a specialty, isthwgbt course for success.- In the great coro district of: the West, bogs.are raised in large. numbers, We also have Tarms 'dbvoted tg borea ___ dustry, To make these different branches\ on five at one dollar each. The fact fs, that the best apples are the cheapest, and are in. grentest. deinand..~Lagt year my. apples were sent to Scotland, and E pre sume will go there again this year. It would be a good thing for us, if we could stop seading poor: fruit to\ market, both at homeand abroad. Better send all the inferior fruit to the dry-hou88 or the vine- gar factory, aud I believe farmers are will- ing to do this if apple buyers would pay a fair price for good apples' fud refuse to buy inferior fruit at any price. The buyers can bring about the desired change if they will rite: Eret-year the buyers wanted apples picked to large bar- rels, and the farmers almost to a man. this. year complled with their request. There are uo '\pouey\ barrels used this year. .. The farmers complied because they felt th«t the buyers were right. Now let the buyers be equally firm and united in regard to buying © Agricultural Papers. The best agricultural papers are not those that prescribe minute roles; that give exect methods for doipg this thing and that; which tell the furmer. precisely how many bushels of wheat ho must sow to the acre; how many luchés deep he must plow, what kind of corn hé musi plant, and how many Kernels in a hill, eto. Such specific rules may sometimes be a help to begin- mers, or to those who bave eyes see not, neither understand. Those ngri¢ultural papers are most useful to the furmer which stimulate tlmugma' lead to close observation; oreaté thirst for | knowledge; induce a habit of watching curefully the processes of nature; of trag- ing out enuses and effect and of exercising freely an Independent judgment. of seed plants, the difference of the season; in regard to dry and wet, early and late, are so changing nnd divergent that any, precise rules luid down and Liindly follow- ed will be pretty sure to result In disaster. No methods of culture, however well they may have succseded in given cases, can be universally relied ion. In order to attain success the farmer must gather up a mul- titude of facts in relation to his business; he must arminge these, facts nnd deduce from thein those general principles that will be safe to act upon, « -o- Botte in Brmg.-A writer in the N. Y., Observer says I have kept house for forty years, and have always kept my but- ter in brine, with the best success, But in- stead of wrapping my butter in muslin, I keep my saltio a muslin bag. The advant. ages aro that you are alwnys aware that there is pleaty of salt to keep the brine nt fullstrength, and no particles of silt or dirt that moy be nixed with it, will adhere to the batter. I think that no person who should adopt this mode will try any other, and it will be a matter of surprise where the salt goes to The bag will need replen- ishing quite often. one dollar and seventy-fye cents, as wedo L bnt rced to say, From observation, ger cons, gare; ~ ~ which gives the business its degree of cess. Often enough corn is wasted, if feed with care; to fatten the entire stock. The western bog does not fill the entire: place for which he was designed. | He _ This business basis many possibly answer fertilizer, but lo the largest portion of this country corn is not so abnadant thatthe farmer can afford to waste it, nor is land gorich but it can become imore produgiyg, ., where corn is cheap and land requlras ng __ Hogs stould be made a factor of fmprove ~* '~ a'corn-crilf, with-a great many. rat holes.-- --- wi mont on-every- farm. --We-should-haye- swine farms, the same as dairy, horse, and sheep farms, with the fieldg aud build- ings adapted to them, Hogs should be fed in the fields with a rotafonin their feeding grounds, the same as in crops, | In enriched. Thees is room here. for solid tinissionary work, both iw -iniproving -the- condition of the fillgs «and of the—people.— [American Agrigulturist. Seeding Corn Land to Graw. ave _i- A very comon method of sceding land to grass in the Connecticut River Vniley i8, to sow the grass sced among the growing corn at the just hosing, 'The method seems to be a very goud one when properly fol- lowed. The lind should be made rich en- ough by heavy manuring, tq - catty> the two crops, or partial failure must follow. 'The earlier the grass seed is sown, the beiter the catch will be, butaheavy growth of grass may somewhat injure the corn, particularly if the season proves too diy. Th ck seeding of grass, and wide planting of the corn, will help the former and give beiter ears in proportion to the stover. 'The corn' may be \topped or The conflitions of our climate, the quality \cut up at the roots, and atooked on the field, but the stooks ought not to remain longer than is absolutely nevessary, as fhe grassrmay be killed noder the stooks, or, at least, badly Injured by the emothezing, We saw Belds that were as well seeded ss any we ever saw done by any other method. Othersshowed a lack of manure, and looking weakly, the grass being. scat. tering and small. Of course the summer cultivation must be as level as possible. Even with the utmost skill io this direction higher around the corn hills, The difficulty may be remedied somewhat by rolling the laad the following spring, with a heavy roller, while the\ surface is oompmuvdy soft. The rolling will bresk down the - corn stalks, and prevent them from inter» faring with the work of the- mowing mach ine. This method saves a large amount of work, and keeps the surfade from befug washed away to wiuter.-[N. E- Farmer. ®-g-a - -__ = French System of mark-mug Fowls. The French pack their fowls with groat care. They ore well fattened and dry- ipicked the wings nre turoed under the _._ backs, the thighs shoved up under the skin\ --a - Boratx as Grazing Cror -The Nation- al Tribune says: Itis oot generally known | poses, It grow < quickly after being eaten down, and branches out Into a number of by livestock of all kinds. With a patch of Rye sown in the fail, which will aford good grazing until inidsammer, suppliment~ ed by a anwing of sorghum in May; a sup- ply of succnient pasture may be secured equal in value to acy mixture of other kinds of grasses aod clovers te- Frat Curturz ror Corx.-Coro which is billed will plow down more resdily than that which has level culture, This can be accounted for by the fet that corn roots rao over near the surface, and when hills fare made they are confined in the small space covered by the bill;. whilefa Tere} culture the roots Ton from one row lo the that sorghum is valuable for grazing pur- sueculent shoots, which are highly rellahed | {of the body, and the ends of the \dram. aticke\ tied to the Tail-prece. Then' the hand is placed upon the bresst-bone, and steadily pressed downward until the ribs {crack, and the breast settles down perhaps 'an loch, and a bandage is wound tightly around the fowl, to keep ft so natil cold and, , stiff, Besides, the neck is often crowded back under the skin of the breast, and lied there. This gives the fowl an wnnat. urally plump appearance, which is perhaps if the practice wera usual, uo one would be deceived by it, 'Then thus \formed\ and cold, the- birds and lald in trays artapted'to the height of the Towle when this placed. Al of one size are packed logether, side by side, on Their baoks and upd & layer. of cleas,, bright sttaw. The trays, which are very light, ars packed inmforzfipment, with straw between as hiture tended, and do an way Hable to | be blown down except by wind- of ouu- sual vislence. £00 8 A the ground will usually become a'little-- this way, Tew yeurs, The \whole field\ ~ n mildly deceptive, bot very: attractive, wod >
