The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1853-08-02
Gor the farmers.
Thorough Failning-Or MucF, Labo"
go on Little Land.

~ The great secret Of European success in Ag.
ricuIture has been described as "much labor Oh
Comparatively little land" But the whole ten.
/. or OF American husbardry fromthe first settle
a.,ment of the country has been directly the con
strary, ,ssor ;"lit,le labor on much larid.' Aud
this is the cause of the deterioration Of our
Z farm farm and crops-of the exhaustion of the ele.
ments of fertility in the one, necessary to the
productions of the other. 1t requires no great
amount of labor or store of knowledge, to grows
: aferop OF a cost equal or exceeding its alue,
.sand leaving the land poorer than before; but
iii, does require bothwork and wisdom to pro-.
duce one which shall bring profit to the farmer
and prepare the land'for productveness in fu-
Etufe.. Any one who can, follow the plow and
scatter the seed eau do the former, but capital,
experience and energy are reqpiI Ell to accom-
-.plish the latter.
.3.s.xT Thorough. farming bestows much. labor
wisely directed and skilfully managed labor
upon every acre it cultivates. 1t drains the
land ifit.needsit, so that it may be worked in
thesproper season, and no stagnant water ever
stands to chill and blight all healthy vegcta-
fion.s 1t deepens and thoroughly pulverIzes
the SOIL so that every crop may freely send
xdown its roots for moisture and substance;
and it adds every needed marurial element,
that their growth may be vigorous and rapid.
.Hsufers no weeds to rob the soil Of its riches
and the plant Of its proper and rightful nutri.
nlent; and gives the crop the needful care and
attention through all the stages s-of its growth,
from the deposit of 'the seed to the garnering
of the product.
Z ."ro cultivate his land well, ;" says contem-
porary, .tand to increase its productive pow
ssers, is,a prime object with good farmer TO
do this, it is absolutely essential thathe employ
/. the requisite amount Of labor. This seems to
n be a self-evident proposition, and yet it is more
generally disresarded in American husbandry,
than any other prnci pie Of sound economy
Because We frequently hear it said that labor
z runs away from the profits Of farming, our
I 3'asfarmers lay it down as maxim to get along
/. with as little labor as possible. The const-
auencesis, they attempt to do With less than
they ought They are thus out of pocket by
Ioss of season, and deterioration of land and
crop, and in other ways of which they hardly
dream. There is many . farm, of broad and
fertile acres, furnished with suitable buildings
and fences, we'll stocked aud provided with all
peedful appliances to make it productive, the
owner Ot WHICH uIueilaAeS W Carr " vi Will
halfthe force adequate to its cultivation. Is
tito be wondered at that farming under such
circumstances is decried as Improbable s-that
the interest Oh! !'the investment, the taxes, the
4repair of buildings and TOOLS and other Incl
dental expenses eat up the profits, when these
nrofts are not half what they might, by the
employment Of more labor, easily be made to
be-
"Labor is the root and spring Of all profit"
But well.directcd, earnest, thorough work is
required to produce large results and full re
muneration for such outlay of toll and care
The farmer who gives the cultivation which is
needed on five acres, to fifteen Or twenty, does
no mart of his work well, and must fail Of get
ting profitable crop. Five acres Of corn,
producing four hundred bushels annually, is
far better for the farmer and the country, even
if the same expenses be incurred in its produc-
tion than sixteen acres skinned over to yield
the same amount la!fa dozen choice, thrifty
and productive fruit trees are worth more than
one hundred poor ones, and while the latter
seem onIy a curse to the owner, the former
will prove Il source Of cuulinua, and increasing
oroGt The best stock cattle, horses, sheep
and swinc-arc the cheapest in the end, aud
bring far richer returns than the low-priced and
ittle.worth varieties