The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1858-02-23
AGRICULTURAL.
DR.. Parker against the World.

DR.. Parker against the World.
1t is with much pride aud qualification that
we publish Dr.. Parker srepor; ofthe extraor.
dinary production of 200 bushels anG IL quarts
OF corn from one acre. Who does not feel proud
Of his success in being the largest producer of
| corn in the whole world 9-Ard what true
I Caroin an does notSteel elated at such q glori
Gus triumph in the field Of ng, iculture 1t was
proud day for South Carolina and for the sue.
.cessfui, competition, when it was publicly All.
kuounced at the late annuai Fair Of our State
Agricultural Society, that DIR. Parker had pro
>dnced from one acre of land, 200 bushels and
tl2 quarts-the largest product or record. We
! believe that 100 bushels is the largest product
/ heretofore reported, and this, if we mistake
npt on some Of the rich lands of the valley of
Mississippi; but this greater proc uct " as made
IN the neighborhood Of the Town OF Columbia,
a region net remarkable for fertility of soil.
t Els success, therefore, must have been owing,
rs is seen from his report, to high system of
manurius and a deep and thorough preparation
os the land. But.to whatever it NAV have been.
-owing, he is entitled to the credit of being the
largest producer of:corn iii the whole world. IF
| it had been discovery in science, new plan
G: or astcroid nt the solar system ,rr a new prin-
Ec;ple in mechanics or some boastea effort IF
literary genius, or some great military exploit,
such as the sege Of Sebastopol, it would have
been heralded through the world with all the
pomp and parade usually awarded to such
achievements But the trophies Of tie pillow
| are ROT wont TO be so b!nzuDed; they are usual
| iy found in the vshe of obseuritY. with none
To herald their deeds te the world But who
aie the real beneiactors of mankind! We are
tuld 'tliev who can make two ears Of corn or
two blades Of grass grow where only one grew
it.fore." Take the simple proposition that the
| good culture, Dad what an amount ofincreased
supply Of human want and comfort would be
produced. What an increase to the profits Of
agricultural capital, of individual and national
| wealth.
But the experiment Of DR.. Parker goes great.
liy beyond doubling III: Ordinary predictions uf
our bands. lake the eaverst. production Of the,
laitds OF the State a, 20 bushels per acre-his
is .ses, ts.ues gieater-aad As we fail below, rs
many Of sasare in the hahn IL doing OH our old
lands, the ratois increased in the same proper.
tigr. hat lesson silogld this leach u ~
iIirs. A Nc heard d!fe
Tof our neigh5ors, who plants good land, and
whose crop was 1000 bushels from 100 acres,
say that according to DR.. Parker's production,
| he ought to have made the same 9un'tity from
| ten acres. But as this was an extraordinary
production,et us dnuble the quantity OF land.
aud say that 20 acres can be made TO produce
1000 bushels, or 100 bushels to the acre, and
who can doubt this, when ii has been so fre
suehtly realized Suppose the extra ahCr that
| is spent ON the 100 acres, was expended on the
E29 acres, wrull not the result give vastly in
sedcrops Aud thIs not :or single year,
butssr sseries Of yeas.
There is uoylouht Of The fact that the great
| prominent evil OF Southern agriculture, is the
cultiyation of ,oa iluct land. 1tiS too apparent
and paIpabie 10 need any demonstration. 1t
slarss us in the face in every direction we can
look. 1t is spread broadcast all around us: 1t
/. seen in our diminished crops our neglected
and abandoned old heh!s- III our starved aud
started stock. and IN our di>graceiul Dependence
on foreign supply for Subsistence in season OF
Drought The system is radically wrong, and
must lead to the utter ruin of the whole coun.
Try, unless corrected Already its fright(ul raw
ages are seen in the destruction ofthe best tlandS,
a;id an immense drain Of the wealth and poPu
! la;inn Of our State South Carolina would have
been infni,el better off i IL Chinese wall had
surrounded her border. and kept her population
within her territory. for their demand for land
would have taught her people the value Of ii.
They would not haze wasted, worn out and
throws it away us the last and present genera
ton have done. But we trust that like great
moral evils the very excess has brought ABOUT
a remedy. We are now driven To the necessity
either to e'nigrate or "foot hog or die" Let
Us initiate the example Of that animal whose
instinct teaches them to burrow deep in the
, bowels OF the earth for subsistence. Let Us go
down into the lower strata of the soil, into the
subsoiI not yet reached by our pows, or the
roots of the plants we cultivata. There is yet
n mine of riches and of fertility, which our
sklnnLg culture has not reached. There, in
those lower regions. is to be found the leacheC
manures of the top soil that has escaped the
evaporaton Of the san aud the washing rains
that have swept of Ike surface +; and lower yet
NAV be found those inorganic or mineral me.
nures, SO necessary for vegetable nutrition aud
the full and perfect development of plants. The
ancienls had Il saying 'per'tas in euteon--truth
lies in the bottom of the well. Ihs5.7Esi, has
to Dig deep before it can be reached- This
law of mind may be applied to matter. We
mustdg dep before the earth will yield her
treasures. The richest mineral. are to be found
deepest iabedcJ! And so it may be said Of
some of the ingredients of the soil. They lie
deep, aud must be di<pmboweIltd and brought
within the roots of the plants we Gu lvate.
Another argument in favor Of deep powing is,
it furnishes reservoir for moisture, 50 nrceSs;'
ry for veyetahlelt. In "urarid climate, drought
is the greatest enemy wehave t" contend against,