The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1860-11-13


This Essay took the premium at the Mecklenburg
Agricultural Fair week before last and we publish 1t
at the request of the Executive Committed
The successful improving and renOvatlng OF
WORKOUT and worthless lands, is obviously matter
of paramount importance 1t deserves and as
worthy the consideration and Investigation OF deep,
penetrating and observing minds, as well as the
industry and energy of practical hands All
should feel deeply interested in the advancement
of so laudable work, for on our agricultural lm-
provement and development, depends the pros
perity of the whole country. In fact 1t Is scarcely
possible to over-estimate the vital importance OF
agricultural improvement. 1t Is the hinge on
which turns our commercial and national pros
perity. In Importance it surpasses commerce and
manufactures, as is superior to its effects
as the inner life is Of moment than its various
outward functions. Let the industrious hum of
our workshops and manufactures be ever so great,
the sails of commerce whiten every sea and
throng every harbOr; yet If agriculture is IN
Furnishing, if the products of our fields yield but
a scaDty return, national prosperity will inevitably
droop and anguish.
In the advancement of this noble work, all
alike interested-the rich, the poor, the high and
the low, the prncely merchant and the humble
laborer. In the waving and golden grain lies
the pabulum of life for all, life for heart and life
fer the head that grand and glorious thing-God's
noblest benefaction, Life! This golden grain is
the grand nourisher of the bone, the muscle, the
sinew, the nerve and brain of all mankind. Leta
benignant God shut up the windows of heaven and
blast and blight the fields of the husbandman ana
what becomes of the rich man. as well as the poor?
He cannot grind his gold and silver into -four, or
leaven his bank stock into bread; but would perish
side by side with the man of poverty, in the midst
of the famine.
Then let all lend their influence to the noble
cause of agricultural improvement and renovation of
exhausted land. What glorious era of prosperity
and abundance would dawn upon if all the
out land in Old Carolina could be rejuvenated Into
its PRISTINE fertility What jubilee of plenty and
exutation would be inaugurated The very
thought causes the heart to pulsate with emotions
of delight. But an all-important question is,
so desirable object be accomplished? Does it
lie within the range Of feasible practcablity?
We answer in the affirmative, and submit few
thoughts on the best means Of ats accomplishment
The primary steps to be taken in retaining ex-
hausted land, is to ie0el, cuitiUdte 1t an such
manner that the soil acW be retdined and no water
allowed to accumulate and break out into washes
IF there any washes gullies (those dark spots
on the magna-charta of agrculture) that interfere
in cultivation, by all means stop them Immediately,
for they sap the life blood of the soil and under
mine its fertility. This is effectively pshed
by filling with straw, brush, or anything that re-
tains the dirt and allows egress to the water.
The next requisite is deep and Morough plo,c-
ing This is essentially necessary as it increases
prOductiveness and renders land less liable to wash
by absorbing large amount of water that would
otherwise run of and carry with it portion of
top-soil. S"Jsoiiag is also beneficial, when the
clay especially pipe clay subso is not thrown up
and Incorporated with the top soil. The mildness
of winters which prevents thorough freezing
and pulverization render this Objectionable
Under-drdining is also of great value in in
creasing productiveness, especially where land is
inclined to be wet and spongy. John johnson,
the Magnus Apollo of Northern farmers, considers
understanding and manure the great agent in re-
claiming unproductive land, and we fully coincide
in this opinion
Turning under green craps, is another method
of increasing the fertility of the SOIL There is
large amount Of fertlizing matter in weeds, grass,
&c, which spontaneously grow on land, and which
should be turned under to furnish new pabuum
for future crops. By sowing Impoverished land in
rye, turning it under just before maturing and SOW
ing in peas, which also turn under when matured,
basis OF improvement is laid, which if prosecuted
will result III complete renovation Is it objected
that this system involves too much time and ex-
penseI We answer by avering that it is cheaper
than guano and much more permanent. The CON-
mon pea Is great fertilizer 1t is emphatically
the clover of the South and should be cultivated
for the purpose of being turned under for manure
well as for stock. Never consider it too oreot
a ruste' to turn under peas, grain or anything
else that will enrich and increase the productive
ness of the SOIL The more that is given to the
soil the more it will return. 1t is hioh time to
abandon that egrcgiously wong and suicidal policy
OF continually taking from the soil aud addinQ
nothing to It, Clover and the grasses should also
be sown for this purpose we'll as for pasturage,
where climate and soil adapted to their growth
But the great lever of renovation the sine Qua
non In retaining impoverished land is the judi- |
ct0uS application ot an abundance If Manure |
Every farmer is conscious of the renovating effects
OF manure, but the great consideration with him is
the means OF obtaining an abundant supply And
here We are free to say that conviction is that
artificial manures, such as guano, &c, will never
be productive of any permanent effects in enrich
ing the soil. They may be successfully employed
as auxiliary fertilizers but the extravagant price at
which they sold, together with our hot, dry
climate, superadded to The contingency of drought,
render their universal employment somewhat ques-
tlonabe. For permanent Improvement, we must
rely chiefly on hne, gypsum and 6drn-ydrd ma
nure. Materials for making manure are abundant,
and every farmer by perseveringly following
system Of judicious providence can accumulate no
inconsiderabe quantity of valuable manure annually.
In the first place, let him cultivate less ground in
the hoed crops, and more in small grain. for the
great error of most farmers is not in cultivatinp
too much land, but in working too much in corn |
and cotton and too little in wheat, rye and oats. |
Rye and oats, in our climate, can be sown any time
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