Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1859-03-10
THE ECONOMY OF FARMING.


SrR-When q man engages in business
with given amount of capital, and has
every year to consume part of that capital
to keep his business going, it requires no
grest amount OF foresight to see that he
must sooner or later go under. Franklin
says that always taking out OF the meal tub
and never putting in must come to the bot
tom after while. fear that our farmers are
pursuing this course to an, extent that must
soon come to the bottom, if many have not
already done it, judging from the crops tina.
are gathered. Blu, it is said that the seasons
are unpropi tious,- and We cannot help that;
granted, but are not our crops much more
injured BY uDfavorable seasons now, than
they were some years ago, when the lands
were fresh and new! More is taken from
the land yearly than is returned to it, and
while this lie the case, all the good tilling
that we may do will not serve TO keep it up
We may. by ploughins deeper and deeper
every year, still manage to raise fair crops,
but without other means being used to keep
the lard IN, the result will be that after o
while our whole capital (Which is :he land)
will be used up, and we must pull up stakes
and move 10 some new country. there to
take the same course with the same results.
What effort. as general thing, is there
made to make proper amount Of manure
for our land! In looking over the farms in
my .ow O sneiehhashood there II scarcely one
among them but what have their grain
threshed in the fields where il grew. In the
winter stock is turned in to it, no matter
whether the ground is soft or not, some Of
the straw is trampied under foot, some of it
perhaps consumed by the cattle. but the
most of it is left over to rot during the next
summer and winter, with the action of the
sun and rain constantly upon it, evaporating
and washing it away until what with proper
management of feeding out in the COW yard
and composing. would have made 100 loads
of manure, does not make ten. This is no
fancy sketch, but true Of many if not the
majority Of farms in the county. But again
where is the farmer that thinks Of ploughing
under . good crop OF clover on some one of
his fields every year! On the contrary, if
we happen TO have little extra grass more
than our stock consumes, we scour the
country ever 10 buy cattle. sheep or other
stock to eat it up, and often pay nearly if
not quite as much for them as We can get
after they have eaten what wise economy
would dictate should have been left upon
the land. believe that there is no cheaper
and surer way Of enriching our soil than By
Ploughing under green cr"ps. and Of these
perhaps clover is the best. Let US adopt
this plan for a few years, and | think we
would hear much less complaint Of unfavor-
able seasons than we now have. Not that
the seasons would really be better, but our
land would be so much improved that the
seasons would not so much affect our crops.
But perhaps have written quite enough
:or q beginning, but may have more to say
after awhile. In the meantime hope this
may call out something in this line from
others. Let US have a comparison Of views
amongst farmers, and see IL twill not re-
suit in good to us oil. L.
February 2Sth, 1859.