The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1844-02-29

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Essay rsai by 5ir. F=aagk before ne
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GssrLExEx or rHE CIus: I propose
ia the following essay 10 offer some OBJ
servahons on the proper application Of
capital 10 agriculture: hnt as the whole
subject woall occupy greater limits thsn
lean afford, and il of mo much impnr-
lance 10 be treated cursorily. shall con-
fine myself chiefly 10 maintaining single
prnpnsiio ion Of . very practical character;
II 10 lhis--thal In he present condition Of
tbs land market inprovedfarm are much
cheaper. and Offer better Inducements 10
investment Than nninprored anil low
priced lads. IN other words. that Al
present prices, Improvements will MOI
bring their cost.
I, is not mrsnl hy this that improvers
will not be remuneraied amply for their
Improvements; on the contrary, q man
owning poor land, which he cannot, or
will mo-, sell, has only 70 choose between
Improvement and starvation. Sill, whrn
capital Is seeking Investment, il il of great
importance 70 know ,hal Improvements
can be bought al much smaller cost .han
they can be affected. That this il The
case, u perfectly demonstrable; and tie
reason, IN part, Is, that, a. agricultural
science Is 10 vs. infancy. and The improy.
ment Of the sou requires more skill than
any other branch Of agriculture, most i'm
proyers have 10 feel their way in the
dark. and often, in consequence, lose
both time and money. From hence II
occurs, that Improvements are generally
not worth their cost, since you win rare
ly meet with an improver who would not
readily admit that many OF his processes
have been TOO costly, and to, laborious.
Most especially, then. when the adFea-
turer Is without agricultural skin, IL will
be advisable for him 10 invest In improy-
ed land, since whatever may be The fate
Of my other proposition, think no one
win dispute that half the skill win man.
age an improved farm that il requires 10
IMPROVE il 6rst and manage !, afterward.
There seems to me no subject on which
men more deceive themselves than on
this. They love to dwell rather on re-
suifs than means. A beautiful and pro-
duclive farm is SO fascinating an idea that
il quite carries their imagination over The
dreary tract Of toll, economy and expense,
which must be passed before the acre
worth FIVE dollars can be changed into the
acre worth fifty. Imagining the mere
possession Of land--acres Of any descrlp-
ton. the chef preliminary 10 the business
Of agriculture, and relying with Mahom-
edan secuci,y on fate 10 supply them with
the skill. appliances and rnrans 10 boo"
to make that land productive, individuals
daily put the whole Of their money into
land, or even go in debt for that, totally
ignorant or forgeiful Of The fact, that the
irs, cos, Of poor land is one Of The small
est items Of expense. The first cost OF
one hundred acres Of land al five dollars
per acre, would bear bu, proportion Of
one tenth Of the expense when il is i'm
proved 10 The cost OF fifty. To get out
of barren soil the means Of improving it,
is like uying 10 cut down tree with the
axe in your hand 10 get helye for it--a
thing that may be accomplished perhaps,
but not to be recommended by the judi
cious. will venture The assertion, that
the want If means 10 perform every ne
cessary or proper operation at the right
time, aud in the best way, is the cause
far more frequently than either Incidence
or unskilfulness Of the frequent failure oil
agricultural adventures. ~=<~
] will he here perhaps met by the re.
mark, that il requires largo capital Ia
buy improved land. and that il is better
for an industrious man. with small means
to buy poor land. jog along with Thy de-
grees ill b,th get rich together. am
not much Of a logician, but suspect thai
there is no proposition generally true
which is not equally so in its particulars
II be the best policy for he large CAPT
tabs. TO buy improved land, itmust be ST
for the small one. For myself | canno,
after much reflection, recall single in
stance in which poor man has improved
poor place without resort to some trade
or employment other than that of cultiya
ing ms barren fields. The poor ma,
must get daily bread for his daily labor
ne cannot advance his toll for remunera
ton at distance. however great that re
mnneralion may be; 80 that, in fact, il i
the capitalist alone who can afford to i'm
prove, for he alone is able 10 wait. No
can The poor man improve so cheaply a
the rich one. Putting aside the proba
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