Excerpt from Secrets of Farming

Should also be an educated man, and fit for any society. Our ancestors said the farmer did not require education of any sort or kind. It was suficient if he could read, write, and reckon. The very fact of its being unnecessary then is a. Convincing proof that it is necessary at the present time. The tables, so to speak, are completely turned; the farmer's property was formerly protected, now it is not. The markets are inundated with corn and cattle with almost every form of disease, and the public are determined to have a cheap loaf. With regard to the price of meat, that article cannot be cheap again, at least not for some time to come. There are therefore two grand points to which the farmer must turn his attention, firstly, autumn cultivation, that is to say, directly the crop is harvested, or as soon as you begin, the steam plough must be at work; harrows to go before if any seeds of weeds may happen to be shed, and to be completed as soon as possible. The modern farmer must have a thorough knowledge of geology to enable him to know where to pitch his tent (if the subsoil is wrong the labour will be in vain), and what, when, and where to apply the different manures. He must also be acquainted with chemistry, not only to enable him to know the properties of each kind of manure, but to know at what season of the year this or that manure should be applied to this or that soil, and for this or that crop. On some calcareous soils, if too much manure of any sort is applied immediately before the wheat crop, it is very likely to be affected with what is termed black blight, especially on shallow fiinty or sandy soils on a chalk subsoil. Manure made from cattle fed on turnips or swedes must not be applied for the swede crop, but may be used with great advantage for white and green or red turnips. Liquid manure will scarcely pay for drawing out, unless brought into a state of fermentation by some chemical process, or absorbed in ashes, or vegetable earth. Again he must know when chalk, clay, sand, bog, and peat can be applied advantageously to the soil, for some soils are divided in texture, and others are too tenacious, some too hot, others too cold. Some Subsoils are too porous and require to be consolida ed, while others are so hard and crusty that they require to be broken brough now and then. He must also be acquainted with botany, to know the most suitable grasses, corn, and roots for this or that soil. Some grasses will not grow on all soils for example chalk will bring to life a variety of plants that were never seen to grow before. On some soils red and white wheat sown mixed will produce a sack or six bushels to an acre more than one sort alone. He requires this science also to know when the different grasses are in the greatest perfection to be mown for hay. The second point to which the present farmer must turn his attention is the breeding and rearing superior.

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