Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1855-06-13
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How to Improve worn out Lands.
From the Arator.
TARBoRO', 20th April, I855.

0OW w AMRAVfO WIN WV AnANN'
TARBoRo', goth April, 1856.
Some years ago, as | have been informed
by old farmers, the busiest time of the
year commenced about this season, and
continued until the first of August, when
the cultivation Of crops was finished and
but little remained to be done the balance
Of the year but to gather the crop, which
was generally short-but a little more than
a support. Now, Mr.. Editor, see how
things have changed. The quantity of
work done the first four months of the
year, decidedly the busiest portion, is now
nearly equal to what was formerly done in
the whole year, and the crops of corn and
cotton doubled if not trebled, under the
present system Of manuring, ditching, &c.
/ do not believe there is any part of the
world where the same amount of labor,
don't mean money! is employed in i'm
proving the soil, as is now going on IN
Edgecomb. Most of our improving farm
ers are raising from eight hundred to one
thousand loads of manure to the hand, and
putting from one hundred to one hundred
and twenty-five loads to every acre Guilt
waited in cotton. This amount Of labor
tells heavily on our teams, and many Of US
think we are doing too much in this one
branch of business, causing many other
things equally necessary to be but imper-
fectly done yet we still persist in this
course, like thousands who have preceded
and millions will follow us:
know the right and approve it too,
Condemn the wrong and yet the wrong pursue
d. a. Ill Ill A. -..-o.A Az, nd
many other errors we are committing
The permanent improvement of the land
under this system, is great. l think the
increased value of land, at the expiration
of each year, treated in this way, is more
than equal Saying nothing of the greatly
increased crop, which is ample remunera
ton for the expense, trouble, &c., to tn,
simple interest on monied capital invested
in the land.
Allow me to give you the result of m,
limited experience as a farmer, | do S
from no egotistic views, or desire Of put
6ng myself, but from a sincere wish Q
beneftting others. l began to farm i
1S48 upon an old, worn down plantation
soil originally good; but owing to the skin
ming system in blowing and imperfeC
draining, or, rather, no draining at al
pu sued by my predecessor, the land WI
reduced to the lowest grade of sterility.
thought then, and every years experien,
since has strengthened me ID that opiniol
that draining, deep and thorough drainin
was the first step to improvement. N
bitches were cut from three to five feet Est
deeper wont do any injury deep, viii
laid my land sufficiently dry-(the quap
ty Of land in North Carolina sobbed al
injured by water, if cleared and we'll drai
ed and put in cultivation, would feed t
armies of Europe)-to receive other i
provements in the way Of manure, de
blowing, &c. But here Let me caution
young brother farmers of an error l co
mitted in blowing. l thought, if DE-
blowing was necessary to improve the 81
the sooner / did it the better. l turf
up the original subsoil, which had ne
been disturbed before, apd the consequel
was, a complete failure in that years G.
on the small portion of land SO treated.
am inclined to think the deepening of
soil should be done gradually, not exec
ing an inch of a year. The same OBJ
will be accomplished in a few years, vi
out sustaining the loss | did.
/ continued to improve every wa
could,by removing ditch banks: compost
stable manure, cotton seed keeping
fattening hogs pens and COW pens
supplied with either litter or swamp u
The result Of this course / here submit
My crop Of 1885 hands constituted
force-was, 5 bags, 400 pounds each,
Ton ; quantity of corn not remembered,
suhcient for my family. My crop g,
year S'nCe has been regularly increas