The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1859-03-03
premium ESSAY, ON AGRlCUL'
TURE, DELIVERED BEFOhEc ~
'ERANKLlN COUNTY AGRlCuL'
TIJRAL AND MECHANIC
AL SOCIETY.

AL SOCIETY.
N submitting o few remarks on
agriculture for the consideration OF
fine Franklin County Agricultural so
riety, | will say that early in life } was
twelve or fourteen years a practical
house carpenter, and when ! came to
Tennessee and commenced tho busl'
ness of farming, or agriculture ! m
doayorcd 10 act out the best IDEAS
which ! had received from the able
and experienced farmers Of Va' Tor
whom we were employed in house
building. lrcccived a valuable idca
trom a James River farmer, to WIZ
that rich land seldom sold tor us
rnluc, while poor land uniformly
sold for more than its real value
Ny observation has satisfied me tnat
few farmers make a correct cStlnn''Ie
~ 10 the difference in value OF good
and poor land. 1t is generally conce'
dcd that il one tract Of land with the
same amount Of labor, will produce
doublc as much AS another OF the same
size, that the better land is worth only
double us much money ns the poorer
land. This conclusion Is incorrect;
for instance: if one tract OF land Will
produce twenty-five bushels OF corn
pcr acre, and twelve and n half bush
els will only deiray the expenses OF
cultivation, Gall contingent expenses
included) the profits ofthat field lso only
twelve and n half bushels per acre.
Now from the fold that produced
iirv bushels, deduct twelve and II han
Lr.hels. which is tho cost Of cultiva-
ton, and You have ihiriyscvcn md II
lnlf bushels against twelve and Il
half. 80 the mar on the better land
with five hands to work, will with
the game effort mako M much net
profit AZ the man on the poorer land,
will with fifteen hands, and 30 in
proportion as the land is better, tho
profits are more; but On the contrary.
when the crop shall be 80 small that
il does not equal the cost OF cul-
ovation, tho land is that much worse
than nothing. 1t is presumed TINT one
illustration to each branch Of the sub.
will suffice, however ! will tell how !
fouud the land Of Tennessee, when J
came to it twcnty.siy years ago, ana
the practice oftho most OF those VINO
held the land under their CONTROL
Some ortho land was fresh, easy to
work. and where it was based on n
dark mahogany colored red clay, very
productive of such crops as the Gil
mate is adapted to; other portions OF
the land was very tired and " cx-
haustcd MS | supposed from excessive
cultivation; for the practice OF many
farmers, was then to cultivate all they
possibly could and sometimes more
and if they could not plant all then
land every year, they rented 1t out 20
come who would, as though the inter
est on the capital was lost il the land
WAS not in cultivation every year.
Being situated far from steamboat
navigation, and then lacking the Ia
c~ilities for transportation, there seem
ed 10 DO but little attachment to the
country, and tho owners of the lane
then held it very much like tenants
ut will. When the Nashville nnt
Chattanooga Rail Road was com
menccd ut and near the tunnel, TIT
price of agricultural products al
vanccd, which has been well sustain
cd, and with it, an increased attach
mcnt for the country has sprung up
and now the object of many.i il no
most of farmers, is to improve thu
abused land, but how to do it mos
successfully is n question. Some nav
thought and written that there SHOULD
he manure enough drawn to eacI
acre to make it produce twenty bar
rels Of corn. This practice will d'
very well, only where tho land, in it
virgin CT original state, was able t
produce twenty barrels per acre, o
where the farmer has manure cnougl
to continue the repetition of manurlni
TO keep it up to twenty barrels pc
acre; but il he has more land than h
a manure to that extent, and hi
land, in its original virgin state, di
not produce that much, no had bette
draw his manure to land, say t
that quantity, that the manure wi
raise to tho original strength and ther
stop. Whyl Because my practice an
observation has shown to mo tha
there is q natural tendency on tn
part. of land, raised by anu abov
its original strength, to return agai
to its virgin strength. This it will d
both by absorption and evaporation