Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1858-04-29
department,
LAND WITH sAsSAFRAS.

LAND WITH sAsSAFRAs. %
| Repeated cropping in corn wheat, or OATS
will but multiply these pests. The best
plan to eradicate them, I have found CATER
many trials) to be moving them off in the
month Of May, and subjecting the land to
close grazing. A field of mine, in 1891,
was, after corn, so thiokly with sassafras and
briers, that a friend remarked, that it afford
ed a good swarth nearly all over. 1t was
sown in wheat and grass in the Spring, and
was afterwards grazed for four years to the
utmost limit of capability the bushes and
briers were moved but once, and to my
great delight, the entire field had not LETT
upon it a brier or bush, except where a sas'
safras rec had been grubbed up, Grubblng
a field is a very costly operation,
and will not cure the evil. The idea pre-
walls in the Valley of Virginia, that our lands
on this side of the mountains are far more
liable to such pests than theirs. The rea.
son for this impression is obviously not 10
the greater liability of our lands to be Sc
infested, but in the different modes OF treat
ing them which prevail in these localities
respectively. Their lands are set in grass
when fresh, and moved and grazed from the
year they are cleared, by which means these
pests are kept under, ours, have generally
worked as long as they would pay, and III
many instances much longer, and not grazed'
because we had but little stock, and were
only moved to a very limited extent OH
which account the evil complained of haF
not been checked by the remedial process:
I have suggested. a..
Let me not, however, be misunderstood
on this subject. The moving recommend
ed refers only to the bushes and briers. He
who has an abundant supply of corn-stalks,
shucks, wheat-straw and chaff, has no need
of hay for stock of any kind. If near t.:
market, and hay can be sold for one dollar
cash, then NOW it but if a distance from
market, and the staple crops are corn and
wheat, now not. It is my decided opinion
that the cutting of a crop of clover.hay, ana
the taking away Of the seed, will ezhause
land as much as a crop of corn. Rich flats
will stand it, but common high land cannot
The question may be asked, why Craze il
so much opposed to hay making? Because
cash, payments are make to the land in graz
ing it, whilst but little is returned to it wher
hay is cut and fed on the farm and nothing
when it is sold off. Again, the grazing pro-
cess proceeds slowly and gradually despois
the land of its covering, while moving leaves
it is suddenly denuded and exposed to the
blazing Summers sun. / keep as fat hor
SEES and oxen as most persons, yet | have not
on Alarm peculiarly adapted to the business.
cut five tons of hay within the space of twef'
ty years. Let those who have rich mois|
flats, institute careful experiments to test the
relative value of their production in corr
and in hay. It will be found that the corn
will give at least fifty bushels of grain pei
acre, while the rough food from that n
ere will amount to at least as muchin quail
ity to hay SO far as it is eaten. The differ
ence,, then, in favor of the corn crop, will be
the nett gain of the amount of grain pro
duced, the otal of the crop lbeiug~fuly
equalin value to the production Of the same
quantity of land in bay.-Communicated 10
the Virginia State Agricultural Society. !