Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1837-08-17

speed THE PLOUGH p
RAJ Animals j. Large Crops. resah alike
J'0ns u" abundance of I'roper Food

" ITOper rood.
The profits Of crops, as we'll as of cat
ue' uePend mainly upon the return thew
make ior The food and labor bestowed !, "a.
GA them. The man who grows a hun.
ored bushels of corn, or m kes hundred
pounds OF meat, with the same means and
iaoor that his neis hbor expends TO obtain
my bushels, or fifty pounds, has mani
lest advantage; and while the latter
merely lives, the former, if prudent must
grow rich. He gains the entire value of
the extra fifty bushels, or fifty pounds
This disparity in the profits of aericuI.
turai labor aud expenditure is moi a Wis.
ionary specuiation-it is matter of fact
which is seen verified in almost every
town. we see one farmer raise so BUSH
CHS OF cora on an acre of land, with the
same labor, but with more foresight in
keep'ng his land in good filth and feed
ing better his crop, that his neighbo en-,
p!oys upon an acre, and who does not
get 40 or even 30 bushels. This differ.
ence results from the manner OF feeding
and tending the crop.
LII the farmer, for the convenience of
transportation 10 market, wishes TO con
vert his grain, and his forage, and his
roots, and his apples, into beef and pork
what Is his judicious course of proceed
ing: Does he dole these on, 70 his cat.
lie and his hogs IN stinted parcels, Jus,
sufficient to sustain life, or to keep them
in ordinary plight? No. He knows
that given quantity Of food is necessa-
~ to Keep them as they are, and that thu.
more. beyond this given quantity, which
They can transform into meat, and the
sooner they do it, the greater the profit.
Io illustrate our remark: suppose a hog
requires twenty bushels of grain to keen
him in plight for two years, and that he
r can nnnnfnctpro fifteen bushels of this
sfaia into pork in six months, if duly
prepared and fed to him.-In the one
case The owner has his lean hog at tn.
eiu o! TWO years, for his twenty busb-I.
OF s:aln IN the other, he has converted
hiteen bushels OF this grain into pork
'nto money--at the end of six months
saved the keeping Ofthe hog for eighteen
months. and twice or thrice turned his
capital 20 profit. Time is money. in
these as in all ether things apper,aining
10 the farm. The proposition NAV be
thus Stated-that which will barely k.eo
hog two years, will fdtten him we'll in
SIX months. Therefore, the sooner We
can coHvsrt our grain and forage into
meat, with due regard TO the health OF
Ine animal, and the true economy Of food.
the greater will be the profits which &C
eroe. The remark applies TO milk az
well as to meat. These facts teach us,
10 keep no more stock than zoe can keep
psH; and that, one animal Kept tceU, is
% more profit than ttoo animals that are
bui half fed.
LII we apply these rules 10 our crops.
they instruct us to till no more land than
IRE can TIL WctL, and to plant and so,u no
more than zoe can feed yell for the fact
must not be lost sight of that our crsps.
like our cattle, live and fatten upon veg.
etable matters. One hundred bushels Of
corn, or four hundred bushels OF potatoes.
may be grown upon feur acres OF land
oadiy led and badly tended and this is
probably about fair average of these
crops; while the same amount of corn or
potatoes may be grown on one acre, if the
crop is well fed and tended. The pro.
dact being the same from the one acre
as from to- iour acres, and the expense
but tribe, 1t any, more than one quar-
eer as much, 1t results, that ii the crop
on the Tour acres pays for labor and
charges, three fonrths of the crop OH the
one acre is nett gain to the cultivater.
estimating the charges, at S25 the acre,
tne price OF corn at S |, and potatoes at
70 cts the well cultivated acre affords a
Preht. over and above tile charges. of S?5
while the crop on the four acres gives
not cent of profit, but merely paws the
charges upon it. Though not in this
dsgree' The same disparity exists in all
the operations Of hus6andry and the
primary cause of the difference consists
IN feeding i'll, the crops as we'll as the
cattle. which are the source of the far
msr's profit.
Let us continue the analogy little
farther. Every one knows, that to have
good cattle, it is necessary not only TO
nave an abundance of food, but that
much in the economy of the fatteniug
process, depends upon having i. Of suIta,
ole quality, and properly fed out. The
grasses should be sweet and nutritious
the hay well cured, and the grain 81
roots broken or cooked. The man who
should leave his cattle food exposed to
waste, till it had lost half Of it's value
would hardly merit the name of faraer
--Every one would say, that man is 20.
'ng doDn hill Cattle, say they, mus
eat, and Il We don't feed them, they will