The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1847-03-03

upon the land, than when passed through
the animals.
William Polk, of Cantwelps Bridge, a
strong minded, sensible man, who has OBJ
tanned large stock of practical informa-
tion on this subject, says he increased his
corn crop ten bushels per acre, by turning
i'll the second crop clover, over other parts
of the field which was moved for the pur-
pose of Obtaining seed.
Your committee believe that the manure
of New Castle county is greatly diminished
!, by the burdens of animals, under which
the land seems to groan 1t is the great
object Of every prudent man to investigate
and inquire into the circumstances that sur
round him, and accommodate his practice
to the most profitable employment of his la
Dor and capital and the interest Of no one
is greater than that of the farmer in carry
ing out this principle.
In the far west, and in the interior of the
large States, where land is cheap, and al
most lnexhaustibIe in fertility, the raising
Of animals may be the most profitable course,
it is an indirect way of transmitting their
heavy crops of grain to good market; but
in New Castle county, where a few cents
per bushel will carry their grain to the
highest market, calculation of profit and
loss will show different result. The veg
citation consumed in raising the thousands
Of cattle and hogs in New Castle county
would make double the profit in grain, if
permitted 10 die and decompose upon the
soil. A yearling calf, not stinted in winter
feeding, well sold, will bring as much as it
| would have done if sold Go the butcher al
six or eight weeks old. A fat hog will sell
for about the same that the corn he has eat
| en- is worth, so that vast amount of vegetable
matter consumed by these animals. IS
total loss, a drawback upon the manure heap.
Your committee, therefore, suggests the
propriety of testing some of those facts in
relation TO stock impovershing the soil in
stead of making composts
There is field of eight or nine acres of
corn within one and half miles of Will
mington Some of the acres have been
measured, and found 10 yield more than
ninety bushels of sound corn; it has not
been lined, nor received more manure than
other land upon the farm, that has never
produced over sixty bushels Of corn to the
acre. II was manured last spring with
dressing Of unmanulactured poudrette,
powerful manure it is true but it is moth
ing more than is applied every year to much
of the land around Wilmington, without
any such results. The cause of this extra
ordinary crop, therefore, must be found in
some other quarter than the application of
manure drawn upon the SOIL This field
has not had hoof pastured upon it tor six
years; 1t was moved every year, and the
second crop allowed to die upon the ground.
The clover soon worked out and was sup
piled by strong, deep sward of green and
other grasses.
In grain growing districts, and such, in
the opinion Of your committee, is New Cas-
tie county, most of the inner fences, may be
dispensed with, which is an Item of great
expense in grazing districts: few acres
of low land containing water, (if it be con-
veniently found,) may be permanently en-
closed for the animals necessary to carry on
the farming operations 1t is very difficult
to remove old customs and habits, and so
inveterate is the propensity to follow on in
the path OF our ancestors, that some poeple
even love an old error better than new
truth; and IN the case before. US, we are
aware that the prejudice is strong and deep
against any plan tending to lessen the ma
nure heap In the farm yard-The expert
ments OF Liebig, Johnson and others, have,
of late years, given new spring to investi-
CATION intothe iertilIizng properties of urine
and the excrement of ANIMALS all of which
we feel no disposition to odisprove; we would
rather make use of them as an argument
in the support of our theory. 1t must be
evident to the most superficial observer. that
whatever the animal leaves behind. in the
shape of urine and the excrement, it carries
away with it more fertilizing properties in
the shape of beef: pork, tallow and lard all
of which are extracted from the soil.
The prejudice is strong against cropping
as means Of impoverishing the soil, and
we admit this prejudice isto be founded in
fact5 but we deny it to any thing like the
extent that is attributed 10 it. We believe
the real cause is to be found in the droves
of fallkinds ofanimals which, like the locusts
iof Egyps, /" eat up every thing" The mo-
ment the last sheaf of grain is out of the
field, the destroyer comes in the shape of
hogs, sheep, horses, colts, donkeys, horned
cattle, geese, ducks, turkeys, fowls, that
come and 60 when and where they please.
If upon and old worn out field tiny stalk