Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1843-10-11
A AGRICULTURAL.
From the Columbia Planter.

|
We arr now realizing, in the soulhern
coun,rs. she difficulty Of breaking through
old halla aud usasrs. Ii is. perhaps. not
so Difficult, TO convince our understanding
as to the proprir,y Of q ditlercn, mode al
culture from what has been usual among
us, as il in TO get us Ia reduce our on n
theories 10 practice. ASK any intelligent
plan,e, his opinion Us to plauliuc less Ia
The hand. and mnnurins higher. and lac
will readily ndmi, the proprir,y Of such a
course. and set. comparatively, very few
have adopted such system.
In The ea,ly settlement Of The country,
when the lands were fresh, they were more
difficult of cultivation. and il was mol prac-
licable TO plant as largely 10 The hand US
we now do. As the land became older
" hile il became poorer. II became also
more easy of cultivation, aud il was very
NATURAL 10 increase The num6er ln br cult.
waited. so as 10 supply the deficiency in
fertility. And the older the land, and The
more easily cultivated. 50 was the increase
of acres. Blu, il mus, be horne iu ind.
that this system was introduced when
manurins was almost totally neglected.
Fer all Of us who have reached thirty
wears, can well remember when those
psulers who commenced n system of
manurimg were laughed al for scracbiug
in the woods for leaves and straws." and
when all the smaller planters gave their
cotton seed as toll for Tie ginning Of their
crops. This portion Of The old system has
niven Way 10 n wiser and more Preiuhlc
one; every planter now manures with his
cotton seed. instead uf giving it away Us
toll. aud almost every one hauls in leaves
aud straw. Blu, while The causes that ~.
troduced the old system are passing away.
The system itself does no, yield in c"r.
responding ratio. We now endrav"r,
either bv rest or marure, TO restore the
exhausted fertility Of our land. Our
fathers endeav0red 10 counterac, this ex.
hausIion bv cultivatiug ore Ia the hand !;
We are brsinninS 1" adopt wiser course,
aud coun;rrncr j, hy rest aud puuurc-
hu, yet, while we do Ih.s. We st'i cIus
with singular lenacity 10 the old plan 100.
- part: Tor we srill plant almus a> much
TO The hand, It NOT quite, "a, - our
fathers ever did. THIS looks is # wc dis
trus ed The vulne aud ,IIicacy ul mauurcs.
in restoring fertility 10 cxha"slc! land,
even while we are AT the trouble OF mah-
ing and hauling it out. Time. however
with The increasing light that is daily shed
on agricultural pursuits. will convince IL
of The uuprOfiIahlrness of blending The tw"
systems, Of planting largely to The hand.
and manuring. Thn, the latter i, The true
iuteres, Of The planter, science, reason aud
experience combine TO prove. Science
teaches w hat is The food "f plants. aud
how il may be furnished by artificial means
where the soil dues moi furni-h il N suiii
cieni quantity TO produce vigorous plant
aai large harvest Reason and exp:ri-
encc teach US that the more Of thi, l.d
Tor Our p!nnIs, will he It's production. We
know that by adding cer,ain quantity Of
manure To an acre, we can nuke il pro.
ducc douhic; and by increasing the quan.
Iiiy of manure We eau quadrnhe The pro
duc'ion to this ncre. These are farls
which are well known to every planter
To determine then. whcih"r (,ciM the
manure r, hare) We shall plant Ten or
twenty acres ln the hand, is a simple ques-
lion nf dollars and cents-lhe true test nl
all agricultural lhenries. II by spreading
the manure we have, over surfuce OF
twenty acres. ltwcniv TO the hand, We
add onelenih 10 their proiuc,ivrn-ss. aud
BY spreading il over len acres we can add
one fifth 10 theirs. il is clear that we reap
us larG- harvest hv planning ten acres to
the haud as twenty. AdmiI that all Of
this manure nn the ten acres was exha,I>.
ted by The growing crop, and lIint thi,
land remuncd iu.i as it was in p"inI VI
fertility. yet the planter would gain large
~ by applying hrs maHure to leu. Instead
of twenty acres. For the ten acres that
were rested, by having The weeds and
grass turned under in he fall are now mnre
fertile, aud by adding like quantity ri
manure 10 them, The succeeding year. a
sill lurser crop may be made Ihun was
gathered from the FIRST ten acres. Aud,
admit here. again, that all The manure
this year be again exhausted, and that the
land has been reduced by the growing
crop ,o the condition il was vi hen plauled.
We, il must be remembered that that IS -
higher stale Of fertility than it possessed
when the planter firI left il fallow II
may then he fairly set down. as one item
Of prooflrom this system. iha, the planters
land has increased in value-far fertility
aud value are convertible terms as applied
to land, and ofc"urse. he has increased has
capital u>I in proportion rs he has rem.
dered his land more fertile, whether by
rest or manure. And whatever increase
| Of harvest there was the second year over
the firsi, may be set down as another item
OF profit.
/, is true, that. ordinarily. given q.
mount of MANURE (say n hundred loads
applied to ten acres Of land. will moi pro.
duce as large a crop. as when applied 'c
twenty, if the cultivation is equal in each
But 10 apply il TO fftcen insiend ofIwcni,
4 Il. 81. ii. 4,