The Farmer Is of More Consequence Than Tiie Farm, and Should Be First Improved
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STG -THE FARMER IS OF MORE CONSEQUENCE THAN TIIE FARM, AND SHOULD BE FIRST IMPROVED. Northern Michigan ed as the fruit belt of the country. In this goods boxes, containing ammunition and built; but the saw mill, the dam, and the Kalkaska County. I belt are a number of apple orchards plant- | bullet moulds had not been opened since Davison family were there. East of the BY. A. E. PALMER. ed which bid fair to be successful. Plums I .grossing Lake Erie. But there was the and eherfies also do well. Small fruit of Davison pond a crooked, narrow pathway l game, and in a hasty council of war it was had been under brushed, over which a few Kalkaska county in no essential differ- all kinds adapted to this latitude yield rsoon decided that Moses should go home ent jErora many of like subdivisions of abundantly in all parts of the county. pioneer wagons had found their way, | and get the gun and the small dog, Rover, leaving their hub marks on the trees as Michigan, is largely made up of two class- Oats for the last three or four years have ! and I should stay and watch the bears. 1 es of soil, very good and very poor. About not done well owing to the drouths, and they passed. Late on a November after- j h&d an ax, and when the bears grew un- noon I had left Lapeer on horseback, and one-half of the county originally covered for the last two years have suffered much , easy and began to climb down to" escape I miles before I reached Davison's mill the with pine is, under any present methods of from grasshoppers. Spring wheat is also | would pound on the tree and drive them up black clouds of night settled down upon farming practically worthless, and this uncertain. But winter wheat and rye can Sgain—then I would stand and wait—but the woods. To follow the crooked path I constitutes the plains land along the Man- always be depended on. Clover, timothy, ; dear me the time seemed long, for the air must depend on the superior sight and sa- istee and Boardman rivers. orchard grass and other grasses produce was full of hungry mosquitoes—such clouds gacity of the horse, for I absolutely could The other half,' timbered with maple, abundantly, but in common with other of them I had never before experienced, not see the horse under me. Like Tam beech, basswood and elm, is" for the most parts of the state there has been a difficul- not even in the old Tonawanda swamp. O'Shanter "we skelpit on through dub and part a heavy sand loam, with clay pre- ty during the last two or three years ex- But between brushing off mosquitoes and mire," but not having the inspiration of dominating in a few localities. A notable cept in shady places, in getting a good pounding up bears I had plenty of employ- his "auld Scotch drink," we did not de- feature of this agricultural portion of the catch owing to the dry and hot summers. ment, and time moved on as it has a way spise the surroundings. It was cold and county is the numerous streams and lakes All the farmers are now suffering from the Oi doing under most all circumstances. A damp, and miles of deep woods lay be- and an abundance of pure water on nearly effects of a diminished hay crop. This, crackling of brush caused me to turn my tween us and the log bridge at the saw every section; the surface is rolling but not together with an unprecedently light grain tread and behold the mother bear. She mill. The faint, low howl of a wolf was rough enough to preclude cultivation. harvest, make the outlook anything showed no signs of haste. On the contrary heard from the distance, which was soon As is the fact with all timber countries, but bright for the coming winter. There she exhibited great deliberation and pres- repeated in louder tones in which other agriculture was but secondary to the tim- is, however, at present an abundant supply ently came to a full halt near the foot of a voices seemed to join. Soon it was an- ber interests in the earlier development of of fall feed in the pastures, and if the pres- large tree 40 or 50 feet from where I stood. swered far away, in another direction, but the country, hence it is about ten years ent mild weather continues for a few weeks And now, to use the language of our illus- onward we plodded, for sure enough what since agriculture and horticulture began to longer, it will very materially help in carry- trious president, I "was confronted not by else could we do. But the sounds drew receive careful attention, but progress ing our stock through the winter months. a theory, but by a condition." The young nearer and the voices more numerous. along this line has been rapid, the transi- Contrary to the belief which seems to bears were restive, and gave forth piteous Wolves answered to wolves and revealed tion from the lumberman to the farmer, prevail in the southern part of the state, moans, and assayed to come down from the fact that there were wolves on both from the homesteader to the agriculturist, the writer after several years of experience their tree—but thump, thump, went the sides, and in front and rear. My horse from the log house and barn to the more can testify to the adaptedness of the coun- ax against the tree, and up again went the snuffed violenty and essayed to run, and I pretentious frame building, from the small ty for corn, In fact it is by far the most bears. Somehow my intellectual powers was compelled to hold him with a tight ill-kept garden patch to the large, well- successful grain crop we can raise. Last seemed peculiarly active, and it occurred rein, for the idea of being dumped in a fenced acreage; from the stump-covered hole year in spite of the severity of the drought to me that if I could tree the old bear I mud hole and left alone had no charms for me. Had I been in a singing mood my in the woods to the clean quarter section, he husked upwards of eighty bushels per would have a fine time when the rifles theme would have been— the introduction of machinery and im- acre. This year it is running somewhat came. Of course I had heard that old she proved breeds of stock, all indicate a de- above that figure. About three years ago, bears were apt to be a little saucy when gree of prosperity and surelv foretell the within a mile of Gaylord there were about their young were molested, but I balanced "Oh, solitude, where are thy charms?"-- possibilities of agriculture in this county. 120 bushels of ears harvested per acre, and'- j this question fairly and decided to take the but I left the wolves to do the singing, and I^ipevt^^y. the adjacent waters bf of excellent quality. The varieties, the horse to jog along as best ho could. I for the ¿Ranees. The ax I k new I could depend •vLake.m&ugan,, fcKe clinwtic conditions aio most part, however, are the flint. The sea- could distinctly and repeatedly hear the ^ori , and supposed I mi£ht 'Upon the clog, very favorable to the growth of both large sons are considered too short for the heavy brush crack beneath the feet of the wolves, but in this last I soon found my mistake. and small fruits, with the bare exception dent, although some farmers are now be- but I saw no glaring e}-e balls, as most per- Having decided to "move upon her works." of the^grape and peach, the quality and ginning to raise dent corn with tolerable sons would have done under like circum- I tirst walked with a firm step—very firm I coloring being far superior to that of very success. It is believed that it will be all st ances. At last the sound of the horse's imagined, and my grip on the ax helve many more of the more southern counties. right when it becomes acclimatized. hoofs told me we were crossing the log was such that it is strange that I had not Potatoes, corn, hay and wheat constitute bridge; and if there had been any danger The chief reliance however of our farm- pinched it in two. The bear was steadfast it was now behind us. the bulk of our farm products, the potato ers is potatoes. The abundant yield and until I had covered half the distance, and, being the general money crop with a rap- superior quality has gained a reputation raising the ax above my head I yelled at While we were building the Goodrich idly Increasing acreage, ranking third in for Otsego county far and wide. This year the dog and leaped forward with "a pretty saw mill in the winter 1836-7, venison was the state in the yield per acre, with the the crop is immense, amounting in many big bound. It must have been my threat- our principal meat, for if our own rifles market facilities of two railroads, the pos- cases from 250 to 300 bushels per acre. ening attitude which conquered the bear, failed to secure a supply, it was readily sibilities seem only limited by the market But ,with the price fifteen cents per bush- for she at once retreated.