Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1852-1852, 1852-04-09
From tile LaurensviNe Herald,
Too Many Horses and Mules.

Mr.. Editor You request number on some
agricultural subject, for your new years issue.-
| wish could present your readers with new
wear treat that would be worth their attention
and the time it will take in reading. Before
begin, let me wish them all happy new year,
and many more of the same sort. | hope that
they have had merry Christmas-that they
have had the creditor page Of the printers and
merchants Ledger duly marked with ''rcceivcd
in full'-and that they will begin their new
wears work with light concience and hopeful
heart. But digrcss-my subject is the num-
Der of horses and mulcs that may be kept on the
tay.m miM pratt. Mr. Saunders, as mentioned
by Capt Byrd, worked 55 hands and kept 6
mules; and we have every reason to believe Mr.
S. is a thriving farmer. Does not this present
matter for the reflection? (By the way, | hope
Capt. B. will not forget he promised lis some
remarks on this subjcct.) | do not know how
can better illustrate it than by supposing two ca
scs, and believe could find two real cases that
would illustrate it without supposition. But
suppose two cases-if the coat fits any one, let
him wear it. Farmer A. Cultivates 10 acres Of
corn and five of cotton to the hand, he works
three hands-therefore tends 80 acres i'll corn
and Is in cotton. His tract is $50 acres 90
in cultivation, one-half small grain, the other as
above, the remainder in woods and old ticlds.-
lie has four horses, three he thinks necessary
so that each hand may have plow horse, and
he keeps the fourth because he must have a full
Wagon team to haul in his crop and go to the
market His land is thn and like all poor land
stands drought badly. He has 4 dry year, and
makes bushels of corn per acre, viz: his crop OF
corn, all told, is $50 bushels. Now every one
knows that this is but little, if any, more than
will keep of his horses well. But farmer a.
has his crop of small grain-it won't all do, and
he must sell his cotton to feed his family and hor-
scs every dry year, and even that won't do, and
thus farmer A gets in debt.
Farmer B. has a farm of the same size and
quality as farmer A, butt chooses to take very
different co,tfsr.-> As his land is thin he chooses
to third it, and puts sc acres in corn and cotton
80 in small grain, and 80 he rests lie has the
same number of hands, but keeps but tyo hor-
ses. He has two horse wagon to haul in h!s
crop and carry it to market, and buggy which
he says eats nothing, to convey his family to
Church. Now this is small tend and farmer
B determines to do the thing right. He plows
his ground deep and thoroughly, and having
much of his own time, he dcvotcs it to making
and applying manure and planting and working
his crop in the most perfect manner, Being
deeply ploughed, and nicely tended, the drought
does not hurt his crop so much as AS, and be-
inc richer from manure well mixed in with the
soil, more than doubles A, but he says he makes
on Is acres $50 bushels of corn, and on the same
quantity ofland double as much cotton as A, with
his small grain also better; he is able with good
economy to support his family and stock from
his CROP and his cotton is nearly so much clear
gain But this is not all-by his plan Of man-
agement, his farm grows richer, crop larger every
year and in fact, he promises, if he lives long,
to become rich, whereas AS farm is getting
worse, and he says h" thinks he must sell off
and go to the new countries, for no body can
make living here on such poor worn out land.
And now, Mr.. Editor, is this fiction like ma