Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1856-02-23

Too MuCh Land.

The greatest difficulty under which our
farmers labor in this country is the large guam
titv of land they attempt TO cultivate, but
which, fer the most part, they only exhaust Of
the riches which nature has treasured in it
The piowing, the manurng the draining are
defective Year after year the same depth Is
stirred up and no new element brought into
operation till the surface is literally thinncd
off in the process of bearing. To us the use
of plaster as the oulv maaure appears injurious
1t is stmuant and little more, and without
deep plowing to bring up new elements pre-
yiousy unacted upon, must soon deterlorate
the soil
The manuring process is almost entirely
neglected, and yet there are many sources
whence the farmer might derive rich sup
plies which are left untouched. The head rid
gcs and foot ridges of fields long cultivated be-
come higher than the rest of the field, from
carrying with it portions of the soil and de-
posting it at the turnings. This ought to be
carried off to the barn-yard and placed IN such
a position that it would be acted upon by the
cattle, and when sufficiently saturated and mix
cd it will form rich permanent basis for crops
The process of draining is expensive, but
its effects on the land are permanent Ifdrains
were dug to the depth of three feet or more
as the soil might seem to require, and where
stones abound on the soil, let these drains be
filed up with them till within eighteen inches
of the surface, and then quantity of straw
hay or grass be spread upon them to prevent
the earth from sinking through among the
stones. Such drain will last for centuries,
and their effects be evident to every observer.
How many acres are left year after year un-
healthy, unproductive marshes, that few dol
lars iudicousIy expended would make the very
best land not for one year only, but for all
time to come.
But these matters will not occupy the thoughts
of farmers till they ars compelled to think Of
them. Lands are too cheap and too plenty,
and therefore not half farmed. The following re-
marks, made by Mr.. Sleeper before an Agri
cultural Society, sustain our assertion
"The great obstacle to the improvement of
American Agriculture is the propensity of the
farmer, the mania, | might call it, to 0lcn more
land than he cantU to Advantage And it is
thus that we see scattered over the country
large tracts of sterile, unproductive land which
under good cultivation, would yield bountiful
and abundant crops. Not only the dictates
of sound philosophy, but numerous facts, drawn
il'h bCl iCiiII, alO NOhSIdh1iy ohNb lOno'f
callug upon the farmer from every quarter
occupy small farm and cuhirate 1t 1ceH. |
wish that this admonition could be thundered
into the ears of the agricultural population of
our country, until complete revolution should
be produced in the farming system. This great
truth is already beginning to be understood in
other countries, and is attended with cores
ponding advantages The densest population
in Europe may be found in Flanders and Lom-
bardy, where the land is divided into small
farms, and being thoroughly titled, produces
abundant food for the inhabitants. And the
experience of quarter of century in France,
proves, that by the occupation of the country
under small farmers, the land is producing one
third more food, and supporting a population
one-third greater, than when it was possessed
in large masses The law is universal that the
secret of success in Agriculture, consists in the
thorough cultivation of small piece ofground,
which, we'll manured and we'll worked, yields
up its treasures in prodgal profusion In al
most every section of this country, one capital
error runs through the whole farming system.
4 great deal Of money IS inrested IN land, and a
rfry little emp!0yed IN lis cuitjratiOn. And it is
sad to see proprietor of large farm, pride
himself upon the number of acres which he
possesses, and undertakes to cultivate tho soil
without sufficient means"