The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-11-28
HINTS ON AGRICULTURE.
A Practical Farmer.

Generally speaking. this means working
| farmer-one who can take hold OF ally tool OF
| implement used in agriculture, and go ahead
with it through the day and through the job
| one who can carry on the operations on farm
with the raw hands at command, and if need
| full, conduct the whole with bevy Of green
| horns. There is so much stress laid on this,
and on the danger of any one not intimate with
| the details OF agriculture entering upon 1T, that
manv are deferred from embarking in any
farming undertaking, when perhaps the party
this discouraged is really very much better
adapted for 6rst-class agriculturlss than
nnety-1ine out of a hundred Of those who
have oeen bred to it; for those raised on q farm
are sometimes so blinded by the prejudices
and antiquated customs handed down from one
generation to another, that the; do not have
| the good sense to SEQ through inherited and
| inbred folly; snd some lack courage TO reform,
| for in any attempt to abolish old customs and
introduce new ones, there is about as = much
| opposition as there always is by the old Torres
| of England against every useful and enllghten-
| ed alteration OF the laws.
There is no class of men so slow to advance
| as the regular home-bred farmer. 1t was
always so; for if brighter son than usual Is
! in the family, he becomes dlsSustod with the
toiling, drudging habits Of the farm and takes
ture, till farmers brains can save their mus
cles some, for why should the .practica!
farmer and all laborers under him be called
upon to work more hours than any other class
OF men in the world ? Why cannot the minds
of asriculturists devise ways and means to do
all that q man ought to do in twelve hours, OF
even in ten, excepting harvest Iraaesmen' men
tinue m Mt their work SO maBy hours. Inc
horses and oxen could do all they 40 now IN
less time and be much better for it, put tnen
the custom has been and is nowto be abo1t OIL
these late hours, and though common sense
and every mans own feelings tell hlm that
men and cattle could do all they do or ever
can do in ten hours steadfast, straightforward
labor, yet longer days, and half the tlne
ldliDg, is preferred.
There is not the least doubt of there being
hundreds OF men who know nothing about agri'
culture, and have never had any opportunities
of farming or any correct idea OF farming, VINO
would vet make excellent men of business as
agr;culturists, would eventually become bet
ter managers than the practical farmer who
derives his origin from the land and rise far
superior to any OF the regular, common prac.
lical farmers, for when once they MASTER eno
common routine OF operations. and nave
knowIedce of the mode of procee ling through
a whole season. they are more open to conVlc-
ton on any point where improved systems arg
introduced, and are free from the ouucatloAai
prejudices of tho home-bred farrher.
A thorough man Of business, whose cary
associations had not warped his Judgment, on
hearing that his Deighbor's stock was ioG1ihS 2;i
much better than his, would not rest TIL ne
knew The reason; and. on finding that all kinds
of animals were turning out much better than
ordinary in locality somc hundreds OF miles
distant, would visit that part of the country
and ascertain how the farmers managed the1e'
and, if no found they had caused this improve
mont by obtaining good males from reliable
sources and by generously treating the of
spring with uniform succulent, health-produfc;;
ing food, comfortable shelter from heat, cold
and storms, he would Immediately adopt the
same means, and probably, by having seen the
details of manag gement ON several places, noted
tho different degrees OF excellence IN the am,
mails on different farms, and found out cause
and effect, his adoption OF the best of these pro
oedures would enable him to go on at once IN
more rapid advancement than any one OF theso
men had done.