sr
or
Garden
VOL. LXV
INDIANAPOLIS, JULY 23, 1910.
NO. 30
GROWING    WHEAT.
Preparing the Seed Bed for the Coming Whaeat Crop.
Bdltora Indiana Farmer:
Already farmers are breaking their
wheat ground or some of it and others
will commence soon. They are thinking, "how can I get a better yield this
coming year?" More are thinking of
fertilizers and high yielding varieties,
than in preparation of the seed bed.
That is all right as far as it goes but
all must be combined in order to get
the  maximum yield.
In the flrst place the ground shou.-J
be well plowed, or in other words tht*
plow should not be allowed to cut more
than it will cover. If a jointer is used,
so much the better for it helps to pulverize, yet compact the seed bed, to
put manure and trash under out of the
way so it can decay for the good of the
coming crop more readily.
One point to be kept constantly in
view is compactness, and mellowness.
The drag should follow the plow closely,
for in case of dry weather no moists e
should be allowed to escape.
In the balance of the preparation
few tools surpass the spike harrow and
the roller. The harrow, which is usually followed by the roller, should be
run lengthwise, later crosswise, and afterward also crosswise each way.
The ground should be worked repeatedly during the summer especially
should it be worked after each rain, to
break the crust, in order to conserve
the moisture, for without sufficient
moistur, the yield of wheat will be decreased. A drag may often be used
In place of a roller, but the latter Is
usually more satisfactory. Two or
three inches of fine earth on the surface, what we might term the dust
mulch is preferred.
For preparation of the seed bed In
the standing corn, I would say at the
last two or three cultivations much can
be done toward getting the ground in
shape. Frequent shallow cultivations
of corn and rather late "laying by" is
much the best, for in case of heavy
rains when the ground might become
packed, it is next to impossible to make
a suitable seed bed without Injuring
the  corn. Level  cultivation of corn
makes wheat sowing much more accurate for if it is ridged the outside hoes
go too deep and the center ones too
shallow.
Usually a one-horse spike cultivator
before the drill puts the ground in
fair shape, yet a wheel or small drag
may be needed in connection with the
cultivator. Throughout the operations
there should be the one point in view,
to have a flne, dust mulch seed bed.
Morgan Co., Ind.
Omer   R.   Abraham.
HARVEST-TIME ACCIDENTS.
Editors Indiana Parmer:
From now on, till haying and threshing are over, we will read almost every
day of some more or less serious accident In the hay and grain-fields.
Many of these accidents will prove
fatal, and all of them being a result of
Pure carelessness, it is well to keep
some of the most common ones In
mind, and guard against them.
All ropes and pulleys about the haying outflt should be carefully inspected
each day, and  any needed repairs  se
cured and not wait until the break occurs and perhaps cripples or kills some
of the men.
Never lay a pitch-fork down on the
ground under any circumstances;
neither place one in an upright position against the side of a stack. Think
of a man falling or sliding down the
stack, and you will readily see the reason for this caution.
Caution every member of the whole
haying-crew to keep from under the
stacker when it is in operation, and we
will not read of so many hay-makers
being crushed to death by some piece
of timber, or by a stacker-load of hay,
dents year after year. Quite frequently, you hear of a fine colt being ruined by having a foot, or even all four
of them, cut oft by the mower. These
are cases of downright carelessness.
Never allow any of the colts to enter
the hay fleld. Caution all of the boys
and girls to stay at the house while you
are haying, and emphasize the demand
with a punishment, If they persist In
courting these unnecessary dangers.
One had better rule with an iron hand
than maim and cripple for life, those
nearest and dearest to him.
M. Coverdell.
Worth Co., Mo.
COMFORTABLE ANY ANT TIME OF YEAR.
Farm Home of L. I. Shryer.Greene County.       (A Winter Scene.)
when some part of the stacker suddenly gives way without any warding
which Is liable to occur at any time.
Look carefully over the fork, track
and pulleys in the barn every day during the haying season. If the trip arrangement, the locking device, and the
track are well oiled and kept in perfect
working order by having all bolts and
nuts tight, some of the most common
and often serious accidents will be prevented. And don't trust a "green"
hand to run the hay-fork at the barn.
Many a farmer is minus a finger or
two simply because he was foolish
enough to get his hand between the
sections in a mower-sickle while cleaning out grass or other substance from
between the guards. If the machine
were thrown out of gear just as soon
as the driver leaves the seat to work
around the different parts, such accidents as this would not occur. Again,
always throw the machine out of gear
when the team is left standing to it.
Never hand a pitch-fork to a fellow-
laborer from a stack, or from a load
of grain  or hay. You are liable to
slip and fall on the fork If you take it
by the tines. If you take it by the
handle, you might let it slip and injure
the one to whom you are handing it.
Toss the fork off on the ground, and
thus avoid all chances of accident. P or
similar reasons, never hand a fork up
to a man above you. Tosa it up on
the load or stack, standing well back
when you do it.
Only a few years ago, one young
man, a school-teacher near here, mowed his little brother's legs off while
cutting the meadow-grass. What carelessness.    And  you  read  of  like  acci-
Wrltten for the Indiana Farmer:
THE   COUNTRY   CHURCH.
By Walter S. Smith.
It will be a sad day when the church
fails in the country. "The kingdom of
heaven is like leaven, which a woman
took and hid (mixed) in three meas
ures of meal." I knew a man, in Johnson county, who was quite wealthy,
and so very economical that he staid
out of the church to avoid paying his
share of the expenses. At least, that
was his explanation. One day he sur
prised the deacon who was canvassing
for funds by offering a five-dollar contribution. The expression of surprise
on the steward's face caused the following declaration of his reason:
"I do this, because I want to see the
church in thfls neighborhood kept up.
It is worth Ave dollars to me; for it
makes my meat-house, chicken-yard
and   wheat-bin   safer."
This man's logic was correct. The
country neighborhood that has no religious instruction is in a bad plight.
The situation is bad enough, at the
best. Evil influences are everywhere,
and always at work. Without a Sunday-school and church to attend, the
leisure of the Lord's day is a temptation to its desecration. To run about
over the creek bottoms and through
the woods is to waste the hours of our
best day. Our best day, not for farm
toil but for rest and relief, always
needed by men who work hard through
the week.
The mind Is so constructed that it
cannot be idle. It goes on with its
energies while we sleep;  and surely it
works   while   our   muscles   rest. It
therefore needs to be interested in
things that are good, so as not to take
up things that are evil.
Every country community needs a
religious institution; not in the Johnson county man's way, merely to save
our meat and wheat, but to cultivate
our hearts. It is from our hearts that
we produce the issues of life. "Keep
thy heart, with all diligence," says the
wise Solomon; "for out of it are the issues of life." [Prov. IV:23]: When
the heart is not kept all is lost.
The word heart is used, in Bible
phrase, as we now use the word mind.
The philosophers of those days believed the mind to be located, or seated in
the heart, just as we now believe lt to
be rested in the brain. A glance at
the concordance is all that is necessary
to determine this. Mental philosophy
speaks, analytically, of the mind as intellect, sensibility, or will. A wise
heart is simply a wise intellect. A perverse or stubborn heart Is only a
stubborn will. A       loving or
cheerful heart is merely a loving or
cheerful emotion. So, in all the list.
The word heart is not used except as
we now use the word mind. So barring the fact that it sometimes seems to
have the special sense of affections, and
thus is used where the word mind is also used with one of its other meanings,
and so two uses fall into the same sentence, the term is a clear equivalent of
mind.
Then this text means keep thy mind
with all diligence. It means control,
curb, manage the mental actions. This
is indeed our greatest obligation.
As, then the church affords wholesome food for the mind, the church is
a benediction for men and women
whose bodies are resting.
How sweet it is to sit in the comfortable pew and listen to songs and
sermons which touch our heart-chords.
How necessary the soothing of our passions and the stimulation of our hopes.
How good it is for us to be made
ashamed of our selfishness and our unforgiving spirit. Who would not want
to be rebuked by the wholesome lessons of the gospel?
I am bold to say the church, when
true to the Master, who established it,
will find for us the very instruction we
need for cleansing our character and
correcting what is evil in disposition.
"Wherewithal shall a young man
cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto, according to Thy word." [Ps. 119:
9.]
It will help us, to participate ln the
songs and readings of the hour; and
the lessons we may get In Sunday-
school will not only prevent us from
taking the sinful lessons we might get
outside this institution, but they will
prove a positive blessing to us in the
stimulation  of right  thinking.
In the country this is as true as it
is in the city. And as there are more
allurements and attractions in the city
it ls rather more available in the country.
Let the farmer, therefore, take stock
in the church and provide the means
and make arrangements for attending.
It is well worth all it costs; and the
principles of Christianity will do more
for his family in the way of usefulness
and happiness than any other code of
principles.