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Success and Failure on the Farm, < i Success or failure upon the farm largely ' depends upon the operation of natural ’ law, or the farmer himself, who < fails to conform to the require ments of that law. 01 course there are laws of climate and other ad verse influences which are beyond pri vate power to resist but in the long run Providence is propitious in meting out the just rewards to them who gird their loins with the faith inspired by the experienes and knowledge bom of energy and faith fulness to duty. Waldo F. Brown sat sin the Stockman and Farmer: I have'been studying the question of success and fail ure on the larm, not exactly from the fiancial standpoint but from one closely allied to it. What I mean is this, that I have not been asking what the chances are for the farmer to get rich and live in a style that would be thought good among merchants and professional men in our towns, but rather what proportion of our farmers can and do attain to comfortable living, and are able to go through seasons of financial depression, like that from which we have been so recently suffering, without fear of bankruptcy and without losing credit. 1 also wish to look back of the condition o' the farmer for the causes which make him what he i* today: To get a good understanding of this matter, it will be necessary to classify farmers to some extent and I shall speak only cf what I have seen and known, and perhaps my opportunities have been better than that of many others, for even before the institutes were started I have been traveling and lecturing to farmers for ten years and was almost invariably enter tained at their houses, and in institute work I have lectured in all the counties of Ohio but nine, and largely in several other States. First we have a class of wealthy farmers, with elegant homes, with musical instruments, libraries and commodious and beautifully furnished houses. Such homes are not rare, and in all of out best farming States every county can furnish samples of them- Many of these farmers have made every dollar of their money by farming, starting often with no capital, but in these cases they have usually locat ea wisely both as to soil and market, and usually have chosen some specialty and stuck to it. In all the cases which come under thia head the success has been due to the man's head rather than to his hands. One principal element of success has been that after wisely choosing his line of work he has stuck to it, and another that he has been exceedingly careful of his credit, paying promptly every dollar the day it was due. It often requires more wisdom and business capacity to dispose of what one grows than to produce it, and this is what these successful farmers have thoroughly mastered, economy of produc tion, and the best methods of selling their products. I have met many of these men and visited them in their homes, some of them on small farms, some on large ones of 500 to 1,000 acres, some growing small fruits, some fine stock, some dairying, but all giving personal attention to their business and winning success by superior management. This ability is to a great ex tent born in the man, and these men would be at the “top” in almost any call ing. The second class is made up of what we call “well-to-do” farmers, men out of debt and who have learned to so manage their farms as to have an assured income suffi cient for their wants; who can lay up a little money in most years, but may find it necessary to economize in especially bad years, but who know how to do this and do it cheerfully. These men as a rule own but one farm and live on it and manage it personally. It seems to me that no class of men in the world are more to be envied. They have what Agar prayed for when he said, “Give me neither poverty nor riches, feed me with food convenient for me.” They have not the care and worry that the first mentioned class has but have all that is needful and no fear of want. The secret of their succ-ss maybe expressed in the one word—Management. They do with out what they cannot pay for rath* than to run in debt for it, they pay as much at tention to keeping down expenses as to in creasing their income, and do not attempt more work than they can do well. They take few risks and as a consequence meet withjew losses. A large per cent- of our farmt rs come under this head, and there are few callings in which so large a share of those engaged attain to such success and have such opportunities of a life of comfort and independence, and it is the chance to become one of this class which makes farm life so attractive. Except to those ambitious to be rich, what life can offer greater attractions than that of the farmer, who in middle lite finds himself out of debt, with a comfortable home, and whose farm abundantly supplies all his wants ? We will now descend in the scale to the third class and under this head I in clude the farmers who are hampered with debt, who have burdened themseives with too much land, and who are continually undertaking more than they can do well. The interest on their indebtedness eats up their profits, and their attempts to increase their income too often only result in get ting them deeper in debt. The man who undertakes too much on the farm is at the mercy of circumstances. Ten days of rainy weather which keeps him out of the crop will get him so hopelessly behind his work that he can never catch up with it If, as is too often the case, his farm is overstocked, the first year of short crops will bring disaster, for either the stock must be sold at a sacrifice or kept at a loss. He is attempting to “make auger holes with a gimlet,” and the result is hard work, worry, andjpoor pay. Let me lay it down as an axiom that farming is not a business to be run with borrowed money. Give me ten acres of good land paid for, and I will make a re spectable living en it for my family. My tex6B and my expoMcs will bo small and the farm will supply nearly every thing we need, poultry and dairy pro ducts, vegetables and fruits, and all of our work can be done on time. But put me on a quarter section farm in debt three or four thousand dollars, and I shall be gin a struggle which may end in bank ruptcy and which * n y ? struggle for many years with debt and discouragement. I know farmers who if their debts were paid would, not have one thousand dollars left, but who pay in terest on three or four thousand uollars and taxes on five thousand. One of the dismal features of thia load of debt is that the farmer finally gets discouraged and careless, and begins to make promises that he cannot keep, and bis credit and business standing are de stroyed, and with them gees his self-re spect and the man In this condition loses his moral fiber, and it would seem has lit tle to live for. I write earnestly on this subject, because I have seen so msny examples of it, aad I wish to warn our young men against going heavily in debt To those who are in debt I would say have the moral courage to practice self-denial in order to keep your credit good. Never promise money unless you can meet it. I would rather live on corn bread and bacon and keep my credit good than to feast on the delicacies of the market and not be able to look my creditors in the face. An Urnament Anywhere. Mr. Myers Medlin of Monroe, N. C. bought one of our sewing machines and volunteers a recommendation which we give below. If any of our subscribers should want direct testi mony regarding the machines we sell, they can get it by writing to anyone who has purchased a machine of us, letters from a number of whom are printed in this issue. If you write to them, they will tell you how well we do all that we promise. In such cases it will be well to inclose a stamp for reply however as such persons can have no interest other than a desire io do you a good turn by telling you how we have saved them money. Here is what Mr. Medlin says: Monroe, N. C. The Southern Fabm, Gentlemen:-The machine I bought of you gives perfect satisfaction to my wife and daughter. It is an ornament to any Lady's room. It runs light, sews just as well on heavy goods as on light one's, ana is just as good as recommended by The Southern Farm. I also believe The Southern Farm is as good and reliaole an Agricultural Journal as is pub lished in the Southern States. lam a firmer by trade, have been trying to farm for myself for twenty three years and what I really know is by experience. The experience I have had in agriculture enables me to say you have as able writers on agriculture as can be found. There Is something more than theory about The Southern Farm, and I delight to read from the pen of men of experience, knowledge, and truth. Yours Respect, Myers Medlin. Florida Ants and Earthworms. The Florida ants will take out the let tuce and other minute seeds from the soil in which they are planted and actually de stroy the beds, says the Farmer and Fruit Grower. They will suck the life out of acres of young cucumbers and melon plants, uproot strawberry plants or cover the buds with earth to such an extent as to kill them. They will get into pie, pickle, sauce, syrup, sugar, on meat, in hash; will riddle a cake or fill a loaf of baker’s bread till it is worthless. All remedies failing, I took to baiting them near their neats with slices of meat, bones, apple and pear parings, and when I had from 50 000 to 100 000 out, turn a kettle of boiling water on them. I have killed during the last week over a million in the space of a quarter acre lot, and I have al most whipped them out. I had to do this to secure any lettuce plants, and many un observant farmers complain of seedmen when they should attribute their troubles to insects. It is very curious and instructive to see how promptly the ants which escape the scalding will go to work taking out the dead, and, after piling them outside first, then go to excavating again and rebuild ing their cells and run ways. This being done very quickly, the next work on hand is the laying in of a supply of food, by hauling the dead bodies of the hot water victims into their storehouses. You may see a small black ant hauling and tugging at the carcass of a red ant twenty times its weight; and he always succeeds, in the end, in landing it in the warehouse of the colony. Next you may see a sort of ambulance i corps searching for the disabled. These • are taken carefully to the underground house, where the surgeons and nurses are in waiting. Then, too, yen may see the i timekeepers and bosses directing this one, . or turning another back on some errand > or to some other duty. Thera is not a i moment’s delay, no haulting feet, no idle i hands, but all move as if it was their last t day on earth, and this is the only hour i left in which to redeem a misspent i life For lessons in industry i and perfect government go to the ants The above is from a letter in the Savan i nah News, but the writer omits to men i tion another minute creature which fel ' lows in the footsteps of man equally with . the ant and Is friendly to him; and that is » thee arthworm. The Florida earthworm is > two or three times as largo as the earth - worm of the Northern States and twice as > active. Its presence is an indication of » rich soil, of which it is partly the cause t and partly the effect. Their hearing is in » tensely acute and when they hear the ap i proach of the mole burrowing through the earth with its powerful paws, they wrig i gie out on to the surface with the great i esc haste, preferring to take their chances : with birds and fowls rather than with , their hereditary onemy underground, i They are constantly engaged in going up I and down in tne earth, from the surface to the lower strata of the soil, carrying ; down leaves and vegetable matter to rot i and enrich the ground. Their minute t galleries penetrate the soli in every direc- ■ tion, admitting air and moisture; in fact, ' cultivating the soil to better purpose than I man often does. The earthworms working • under the friendly cover of mulching are ■ as good as a prong-hoe. • BROWN’S IRON BITTERS Cures Dyspepsia, In ! digestion & Debility. THE SOUTHERN FARM, Mixed Farming on a Small Area' Breeds for an Amateur. A correspondent of the Ohio Journal says the idea is a good one to combine fruit, garden produce, milk and butter with poultry. In fact, when feasible they should always be associated, as one helps the other. With six acres, one can be devoted to poultry, one garden ana orchard, and the other four will be little enough for two cows. By dividing off the acre with a movable fence, three-fourths of it could be planted with carrots, parsnips, squash, pumpkins, also permanent shrubbery, such as cur rents, gooseberries, grapes, eto., plum and cherry trees, too, which would yield large ly and make the best of shade until the time of ripening, when the fowls could be moved to other runs, or chickens that could os cooped put in their place so as net to destroy the ripening berries, etc In this way you could utilize the whole place and make it profitable. By the ex ercise of your own judgment you would hit on a plan to prevent the grown up chickens and adult birds injuring the ripening products and until then they could occupy the places where such pro ducts grow. One hundred full-grown fowls could be nicely kept on an acre of land, but one hundred fowls should not run together on that acre. It is best to divide a flock of one hundred into four small flocks, giving each flock its own roosting place and run. Os coarse two hundred chickens could be raised every year besides for market or one’s own use, and to take the place of old hens or poor layers. White Leghorn and White Plymouth Rooks are two es the best breeds you could choose for your purpose. Buy a pair or trio of each this fall and from them you can raise two nice flocks the coming fall. It is not necessary to buy high scoring birds unless you intend to sell thoroughbred stock to customers at a fair profit; but for market use alone a fair quality of each breed that is robust and healthy will suit you well enough so such purpose. By raising a good deal of your own roots and vegetables the cost of keeping your poultry will be greatly reduced. There is no question that under intelli gent management five to ten acres of land can be made to support a small family by planting it in most any of the fruits and raising eggs and poultry and milk and butter in connection with the fruit Indus- This is the secret of the great wealth of France. That small country is divided up into many thousands of small farms that are conducted in the most intelligent manner, every square yard being made to make its full returns. It is quite possible to make five er six acres in plums even yield enough for the needs of a small family. Profitable Cotton Growing. The trouble with Southern farmers lies in the fact that they attempt more than they can accomplish, plant more laud than they can give the proper cultivation, says W. E. Collins In Prairie Farmer. The principal underlying good farming is in the thorough preparation of the soil before the seed is sown. This is more than half the battle. A well pulveriz'd field, after deep breaking, is an absolute necessity to a perfect stand. Here the preparation counts, and epunts big at that, for no field can grow a perfect crop unless the stand is perfect to begin with. The time spent in such preparation is well spent. There is nothing ever gained by undue haste. Cotton is an easy crop to grow, and if treated as it should he, will certainly pay for the extra care. The land should be broken deep and be well pulverized before the seed is sown. If this ,is done, a per fect stand is certain and will cer tainly be independent of rains. Tne advan tage of thorough preparation of the seed bed will be iu the perfect stand and early germination, thus allowing the plant to get an early start, ahead of weeds and grass, ihat give so much trouble whenever the land is half prepared. My rule is to take time and begin right, having learned that this course saves many hard licks in the after cultivation. It matters little what implement is used in cultivating, if the land was in proper condition when the seed was planted Any shallow running implement will an swer on loamy soils; but if the crop be planted the usual way, that is on cloddy, shadow, half-plowed land, and especially if this land be a “buckshot” soil, it will be best to cultivate it with a tarn plow, running deep at the first working and shallow afterwards. Our “buokshot,” a stiff, black clay, packs after every hard rain, or rather it runs together and eannol be successfully worked except with a plow. To those who own this character of laud I would say, plow it as early in the winter as possible, and plow deep enough to turn about one iuch of soil, below the last year’s depth; any deeper than this will do more harm than good. Let thia stand until time to plant, say April Ist; run a harrow ahead of the planter, to kill out the young grass and weeds just starting. If the weather is favorable, the seed will germi nate in about 10 days (later planting will be up in less time ) Let the drat plowing be deep and well done; the succeeding cultivation should be shallow, but done with a plow (on this character of soil). A cultivator or sweep does more damage than good. He it understood that tide course is advised for the “buck shot” .soil, not sandy loam. When ever this “buckshot soil is aul tivated with sweeps, it fails to make paying crops; if you do not believe this, try it. There is, of course, times when the sweep may be used to run around cot ton one farrow, provided the middles are thrown out with a plow or “middle split ter;” for any other use, the solid sweep is harmful, as it leaves the ground bare of loose dirt that is so necessary to retention of moisture.* Pos sibly a moderate use in seasons of exces- sive rains might be tolerated, but never in dry weather. The cotton crop should be worked rap idly and worked frequently in the early stage of its growth; ii this has been done and well dene, I am convinced that the sooner laid by. the better. This will be about the middle or last of July, when the plant should be large enough to shade every inch of the field on which it is grow ing. ’ In conclusion let me impress upon cot ton farmers the great importance of start ing the crop right. Get the soil ready be fore the seed is planted. If fertilizers are to be used, the time and method of appli cation will depend greatly upon the soil and climate, as well as the character of the fertilizer used. Here we nse none, since we find that to nse it on land that will produce 500 lbs. of ginned cotton (lint) without its use, is not profitable; the increased yield does not justify the cost. Issaquena Co., Miss. Uinta on Horse Weeding. The manner of feeding horses is a very important matter, but one which is often sadly neglected, says the Farmer’s Advo cate. If a horse is required to do more work than usual on a given day, it is a common custom to give him more food. This is a great mistake. Owing to the fa tigue consequent to the increased exer tion, the animal is less able to digest a large feed, and therefore should be fed less rather than more. Again, it is deci dedly improper to give a horse a large feed just before undergoing any severe strain; for, if a large feed be given immediately before active exercise, the blood which is required by the digestive organs in order to carry on their proper functions goes to the muscular system, digestion is impair ed, and eolic is the probable result. If a large feed be given immediately after ac tive or prolonged exercise, the animal is weak and the blood is drawn upon largely for the rebuilding of the muscular waste, and the digestive organs suffer according ly. A change of food should be made with caution. It a change must be made, a smaller quantity of the new food should be given for several days, and the amount gradually increased. In no case should a change of food and work be made at the same time. A good rule is: Never give a horse a full feed on a change of food. With regard to watering, the consensus of practical experience is in favor of giving the horse drink before the feed of grain. How to Treat an Orchard. After four or five years of corn growing it is best to seed the orchard to clover and check the too free growth from that date. Glover will not check it too suddenly and will impart fertility to the ground. When trees go into heavy bearing an annual coat of manure under them in early winter is good. If the soil is very high and thin this can be applied quite heavily without detri ment. If the soil is inclined to be rich second bottom, or wash of humus from elevations, the application of mineral fer tilizers is best, such as wood ashes, ground bone, etc. After an orchard is in good, vigorous growth,seeding to buckwheat is still better than seeding to clover. There is no better preventive of blight than buckwheat sown among apple trees, but this crop is not of so great value for farm use as clover used as pasture, An orchard seeded to clover is fine for pasturing very young pigs, or to be used as a quiet retreat to turn farrowing brood sows into. But caution should ba used not to overstock an orchard, even with hogs. The above suggestion from the Home stead is all very good, th ugh it is appli cable mostly to the north. To improve orchard land in the south there is nothing better than bur clover. The crimson clo ver and field peas may also be used. Most ot our orchard land needs more vegetable matter than it possesses. Some times, however, we find iruit trees failing to produce fruit because of too much hu mus and nitrogen in the soil. In that case we should exhaust these elements to some extent by growing a crop of oats in the orchard and then apply the mineral elements potash and phosphoric acid. Too luxuriant growth of foliage is fatal to good results of fruit, and there is away to cor rect such a trouble. Crimson Clover In Tennessee. This year I sowed crimson clover in a part of my torn the last week of July; this is now (August 4) uo nicely and growing as prettily as could be asked, says E. L. G. in Columbia Herald. The corn shades the clover plant just when it needs shade to protect it, and by the time it needs more room and sunshine the corn is out of the way and the elover has the whole field. It will not only furnish past ure four to six weeks earlier in spring than common clover, but will in mild winters furnish grazing more or less all winter Crimson clover is a boon to|Bouth ern farmers, and together with field peas is destined to play an important part in reelaiming the many old, worn-out plan tations of this region. Here in brief is the rotation that seems to me the beat calculated to improve our farms, fatten our purses and enlarge our manure piles: On red clover sop (plowed in winter) I plant corn, which is always kept clean, and the last time I cultivate I sow winter oats or crimson clover in the crop. It has.made a rank growth by fall, and gives an abundance of winter grazing. Aoout the middle of March the stock are kept off the oats, and if hay or seed is wanted, from the clover also, and a crop is cut from one or both, as desired. This land is then immediately broken up and sowed to sow peas, either Olay or Whippoorwill, and about Oct. 1, these, having in a favorable season, attained a growth of two or tbiee feet, are turned under (root and branch) and the ground is prepared for wheat, which is sowed from Oct. 20 to the last of the month, if Eossible; with it and in front of the drill oee I sow about six quarts ot red clover seed, aad thus far have never failed to get a stand. DO YOU WANT A SEWING MA CHINE ‘ r Do Not Think of Buying Until You Have First Written Us About Our High Arm Premium Machine. Doubtless many of our subscribers are thinking of buying sewing ma chines for their families this fall. If they only knew the kind of sewing machine which we are selling with the Southern Farm for $20.00, we would not find it necessary to write this article. As it is, we propose to tell you, and we know that in the end you will be grateful to us for the knowledge. We sell with the Southern Farm one year for S2O, a sewing machine which we buy direct from the factory and which we have to pay cash in ad vance to secure, in order to enable us to sell at so low a price. We hold the manufacturers’ guarantee on each machine, however, and stand prepared at all times to make this guarantee good. K It is such a machine as any agent in the country will charge forty to fifty dollars for, and he will not con sider it necessary to blush when he asks it, as it is very handsome in ap pearance. Do not confound this machine with all the common premium sewing ma chines which newspapers sell for sl7 and $lB, as there is nothing in com mon between them further than the fact that they will both sew cloth. To compare our machine to one of these cheap premium machines would be like comparing a scrub cow toj the finest Jersey—thej are both cows, but a child can look at them and tell you which is the finer of the two. We have sold these machines in every state in the Union, and have heard nothing but universal praise of them. We have never had to take back a single machine, although every machine which we send out goes with the full understanding that in the event the purchaser does not consider it as good as any machine which he can get from an agent for S4O or SSO, he may return it to us at our expense, and we will refund immediately every dollar paid us for it. We have a reputation for integrity and fair dealing second to none, and anyone who knows us will tell you that we will do all that we say. If you buy one of our machines and don’t think it is easily worth S4O, you need find no other fault with it at all, but may return it to us and we will paj return freight charges and will re fund you your S2O. We have only one kind of machine and that is the best. We tried selling the low arm machine for a while, bu it did not give satisfaction. Sinci that time we have sold only one kirn of machine,and we will sell it withou personal guarantee. Now remember:—lf you do no want to p buy a machine, this artiol cannot interest you. If you do war to buy a machine, and do not write us before buying elsewhere, you w regret it, as we assure you that we ca save you half the price which you wi pay elsewhere. Aaaress, The Southern Farm, Atlanta, Ga. Tree-Planting in the Fall. The question is often asked: Which is the bet ter time to set out trees, the spring or the fall? The answer to this must depend upon the nature of the tree or shrub, the part of country, condition of soil and climate where the planting is to be done. For example, 'in the extreme north or open prairie country where the thermome ter may go extremely low, and, what is worse, where harsh, drying winds may prevail most of the winter, all but the hardiest of trees and evergreens are decid edly safer planted in the spring than in the fall. It, however, plenty of roots are taken, and, what is even perhaps of more impor tance, a goodly lot of soil is taken with the roots, allowing no undue exposure of them to the air, a tree well planted in the fall is perfectly safe. Aids to success will consist in evenly distributing the roots in the new earth, in compressing soil well about the roots, and if trees are large enough to be acted upon by the wind, in placing stay wires to keep them snug and in place. Another famous aid is to mulch with old hay or long, littery manure or leaves, which prevent a lifting of the soil and the penetration of the frost too deep therein. In warm countries, where the frosts amount to nothing, the fall is the time to plant, or just as soon as the plants have come to a state of rest. Here root action at once sets in to repair the damages of removal, and by the time spring time comes the newly planted trees are fully equiped for a new start. Nurserymen of the North usually re serve the planting of their young stuff un til spring—a pretty good evidence of where success lies. As stuff has to be dug or is received from outside sources in the fall, instead of be ing replanted at once they are “laid in by the heels”; that is, they are placed In rows in the ground, nearly horizontal in stead ot upright, where they are easily Protected, if necessary, by a tew boughs ) keep off the drying winds ot winter.-- Exchange. 5