The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1853-09-13
Gor the Farmers.
Farmers do not THRU yOur:Stock
,-s upon your Fields. .-.-.

1t has been avery common practice among
the farmers of this State, after gathering the
crops from their fields, to turn their stock
upon them and let them eat the stalks and
vines There has in our opinion. been nothing
that has, so much conduced to the general ex-
hapstion Of our lands as:lhs practice, although
we hayeb b en- very often told by farmers that
theyregarded it as farm economy. Allwriters
upon Agricultural Chemistry readily admit
that5the stalks and vines Of plants must belett
s4on the field, in ORDER that by their decompo
sition they mayreturn to the. soil the elements
for the reproduction of succeeding crops. The
various plants we cultivate are composed of
elements, part Of which are mineral and a
part vegetable, and The mineral must necessa-
rily be afforded to the plant by the soil. Now,
is it not very plain to be seen, that if year
after year these mineral elements are taken
away from the soil, without leaving any means
for re-supply, that in few years the soil ia
which they once existed will be deficient in
them? A very large quantity, it is true, is
carried awayin the crop; but il, in addition
to this, ,the stalk and vine are consumed b,
stock, from what source can the soil obtain
them again, uAless they, be,,supplied in the
form of MANURE Our, readers will recoliect
rhat;in the last number of our paper we an.
.swered question submitted by a farmer from
Greene county, in which we ventured to ac-
count for the failure of the pea crop upon land
that was formerly yswel adapted to the cutiva.
ton of thepea. This exhaustion had no doubt
sheen caused by this very practice ;of turning
stock upon the fields in the tall, as farmers say
ato eat the peas, and thereby save them from
wasting. In the vine or stalk of the pea is
contained 81 per cent. Of the carbonate of
lime; (; and these being consumed year after
year by cattle, horses and hogs. it is but rea-
sonable to suppose that the land would fail to
produce the pealuxuriantly The exhaustion
ofsland by this practice cannot be perceived
veIysreadily in the beginning, and hence the
continuation oft; but every farmer may rest
assured that he is sustaining very great dam
age by continuing the practice. Let US now
look into thessaving that is so generally be.
lieyed to be caused by turning stock upon the
fields. Practical demonst, alton has proved
thefact tha, by giving proper attention to any
kind of stock in the way of furnishing mate.
rails for making and saving manure, that the
food consumed will be paid for in the return
made by the manure 70 the land If this be
true, and we do not doubt itin5the least, the
practice of suffering hogs to runat large upon
feds mustabe,a bad one indeed. 1t is true that
hogs turnedppon fields in the fall upon which
peas have been sown Will become fat; but the
manure from them may be said to be almost
lost. for it is dcposited.in every direction aud
upon the surface of the land, and the volatile
properties, by far the most Important are scat.
tered "to the four Winds As we said before,
the hog improves at the expense Of the land,
which is greatly injured, and without the ap.
plcation of manure, will fail to produce. II
the hog were kept up in close pen, and the
proper attention paid TO the collecting Of ma
terials for making manure, the land might be
much improved by the application of this mil.
Dure, and not as in the other case. at The en-
pense of the h'g. The farmer would find it
much to his interest to keep every kind o.
stock from his fields, and thereby leave upon
them the materials for the reproduction of 9th
er crops.-Farmer's Journal.