The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1854-06-09
FIrglE Economy.

There is, perhaps, nothing in which the farmers
of North Carolina are so deficient as ID the econ
omy OF their general farm management. Bat, says
the ''' wise.acre" farmer, CIV hat does tins man
mean by talking TO me about economy IN iarn
management, when know that 1t is a principal
study with me TO be as saving as possible with ev-
erything about the farm use the hoe until it IS
worn to be as small my band, an axe until
the bevIl is worn entirely away, plow until the
point and mould beard are in such condition as
10 require twice the amount Of labor to cXcute the
.tme work that good plow would, II used
These, with many others of what We call eAiraV-
agances, are regarded by many farmers as strict
economy. "A penny saved is penny gained,"
says the immortal franklin, and how many nigh:
be saved, which are lost by farmers, using badly
worn Outtools, instead of good ones. Only h"k
for moment how much more work a hand can
accomplish with a good tool than an Indifferent
one. This want ofeconomy is not, we are sorry
to say, confined to tools upon the farms, but il
ma be in every feature OF our farming; look,
for instance, how much is generally paid out by
our farmers for mules and horses, all OF which
they could raise themselves with one half the
pense at which they now obtain them. AS in
stance of the great loss we yearly sustain in this
way, we will mention here that were told
short time since by highly intelligent farmer IN
Edgecombe county, that be had made an estimate
by the farmers Of that county, and to his perfect
asonis hment the amount was nearly forty thous-
and dollars. While upon this part OF our subject,
we will remark that every farmer after having
been engaged In the business for three years time,
should raise his own horses aud mules. 1t should
be done in this way: it is understood that every
farmer who manures to any extent during win.
ter, must have some extra teams TO enable him to
do his hauling and heavy plowing and instead of
using mules for this purpose, let him get large,
well-lormed mares, and so arrange it that they do
not work during the summer at all, and let them
drop their colts in July or August, and by the lat
ter part Of the fall the colt will havo good start,
and will suffer but little ifany injury from the mo-
ther being worked. There is much unnecessary
loss sustained in manures by our farmers, which,
with little more care, night easily be avoided.
It seems really inconsistent to see farmer eager
" seeking after guano, lime, bone-dust, and pIas
ter TO apply to his land, when he has neglected his
barn yard manure, containing the same ele
ments as these substances contain, and in a state
Of solution too, which renders them available at
once as food for plants We will carry this sub
ect farther. and speak Of ore act Of Extravaganza
Of which nine-tenths of our farmers arc guilty,
and that is, in cultivating 100 much land. Let
farmer reflect for moment and see what he gains
by tlllng a field which does not produce more
than three barrels of corn, seven bushels OF
wheat or oats. This amount will about pay ex-
penses of cultivation, and the farmer who ts such
land is left annually without any surplus, and his
land is wearing down, year after year. We ask,
would it not be economy in such a farmer to till
less land sell one-haf of his farm and apply the
proceeds 10 the Improvement of the balance. We
ask readers to think of what we have here sug-
gested, and for the future, endeavor to use only
good tools, raise their own stock. and cultivate
small farms, and cultivate them well.