Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1868-09-17
From tbe Country Gentleman.


obtain speedy profits. It is ike feeding a
horse. TIL he is in fine condition, and then
working him down TO skeleton in order
to obtain . large amount of cheap labor
from him; or Ike giving high feeding.t
growing ANIMALS at intervals, and starving
them at other times. Every good manager
knows that all animals are more easily and
cheaply keptin good order by uniform treat
ment than by alternately building. up and
running down, and those which are growing
will grow ten times as fast under the form.
er system. Its Just so III 'mansging farms.
! IF they are in poor condition, improve them
Eby q continued and uniform system Of reno
vation; !: If already rich, keep them SO BY the
same uniform course. s1'x x t.s,fz...A. ~
The question, occurs, what is the best
way to increase fertility 7 And what is the
1cheapest mandreY. A book might be writ
ten on the subject: we shall only sketch an
outline in few brief hints.
| Z Away from town and cities, and under
ordinary circumstances, the cheapest ma
lnure is. the red clover plant, The most e
economical expenditure is not for guano, nor
lformper-phosphats, but for clover seed. In
passing through the newer, as well as the
less improved States, any observing farmer
will perceive that the great deficiency is the
want of clover. One good crop turned un-
der is equal to one heavy manuring. The
cost Of seed for an acre need not exceed
three dollars the labor and expense in SOW
ing and raising in . good rotation, and with
other crops is comparatively smah-Tfar
less than .carting, spreading and properly
applying a. heavy coating Of mannrs. with
its price added. Manure should indeed be
carefully saved and properly applied, for
the farmer needs every help of the kind.
But to enrich FIVE hundred acres, with only
enough manure for twenty, is impossible.
There isza limit to the amount of manure,
but no limit to the mode of enriching by
blowing in clover. A hundred or two hum
dred or three hundred acres may be sown
lif necessary; plaster it after harvest, or in
aatumn, and AGAIN next spring. If manure
lis the sole object, turn under heavy crop
the FIRST year: Has nearly always hap
pens, hay or pasture are desirable, plow the
second year. In one respect, no difficulty
occurs, nor special skill is required; but,
whenever heavy crop of the clover goes
under, the soil csnnot fail to be enriched.
| Next in Importance to clover, is yard
manure. Good management will produce
double, triple, or quadruple the amount OBJ
tained under neglect. See that none is
wasted Let it all be absorbed BY a sufh-
}cient,, uniform and regular application of
straw hitter IF straw is abundant, apply
lit more freely but not irregularly-so that
lit may be evenly diffused With the manure.
Throw it up in heaps, and exposure to the
weather will more speedily rot it down.
IIf this is done in spring, trim off the strawy
foutsides with 8 hsy-knife by midsummer,
and throw the trimmings up into the mid
die. These heaps will do to apply asa top
dressing in autumn to wheat6elds, after
blowing and before sowing, or to clover or
other grass land, intended for plowing the
succeeding spring for corn-the best and
cheapest way to obtain large crops. The
earlier the manure is applied to the grass
in autumn the better, and it is worth dou-
bic or triple the value obtained from it, if
left to be applied to corn ground in spring.
If litter can only be obtained in small guam
|tisiessis'should:be carefully kept in heaps
under shelter, to prevent washing away BY
rains. In addition to yard manure, the
careful farmer will save many other substan-
Eces toscast into the manure heap, which will
he useful auxiliaries, but they cannot 60
yery far towards fertilizing a farm. The
main dependence, we again repeat, must be,
first, on cloyer,.and secondly on yard ma
nure.. =, s.s 80 . -
A few words as to the best rotation for
an enriching system. The one which brings
in grain crop most frequently, admitting
the land may be seeded down TO clover,
every crop of which is to be plowed under
when in heaTy growth, will be the best
But to prevent the increase of weeds, hoed
crops must have their place, and thorough
and repeated use of the cultivator employed
to eradicate permanent weeds. At the
North; q favorite rotation is, first, cornaon
inverted clover sod, top-dressed with ma
nure the previous autumn. Secondly, bar
lev, oats, peas, or + any spring crop which
can be taken off early enough for sowing
wheat. Ifwheat follows oats, manure is
applied, unless the land is previously quite
rich. Some pursue the practice Of sowing a
In moderate amount of timothy seed or herds
grass, at the time the wheat is sown 9th
ers, deeming this injurious to the wheat by
the early start which the grass thus receives,
and its rank growth among the wheat the
Following season, when on strong soils, pre-
Ifer to sow the timothy about three weeks
later. Early the following spring clover
seed is applied at the rate of a peck per
acre, and the land is allowed to remain as
meadow the next year, and pastured the
following, previously to breaking up again
for corn. This course gives only one ma
nnring with inverted clover in five years
and it being necessary to plow it under in
spring. the chief benefit is from the roots,
which are valuable both as an enricher and
a loosener of compact soils. This course
may be modified by sowing the clover with
the barley or.tbinlys seeded oats the second
iyear-if NE sow the oats at the rate OF only
q bushel per acre, the clover seed nearly al
ways takes wen 1.-TWO or three bushels are
sown, the clover is often smothered. This
clover may be plowed ip the first Or second