The weekly standard., 1869-11-03
HOUSE AND FARM.

For the Standard -
Mr.. EDITOR: An agricultural address was
delivered at Chapel Hill on the 23d Octo-
Der, by John Norwood, Esq. which was list
ened to with deep attention by all who
heard it. Mr.. Norwood has been success
full practical farmer for more than forty
years in this county, and knows whereof he
speaks when he talks upon the subject of
farming
He spoke about three hours, and all who
heard him could but regret that his practi-
cal views could not be brought home to
every farmer in North Carolina. A few of
his positions will be interesting to your
readers.
# the land lying west of the Durham and
Pittsborof loads, and within eight miles of
Chapel Hill, should be carefully examined,
it would be found that two thirds of the
cleared lands are SO worn out and exhausted
that they will not yield crops sufficient to
pay for the labor of cultivation, and that
the remaining third will be in the same con-
dition in the course of dozen years, unless
the old system of farming is changed This
is but specimen of the deplorable agricul-
tural condition of North Carolina Our
boasted wealth of climate and scenery, OF
mineral resources and water power, aud
natural fertility of soil, is threatened with
ruin by our present system of agriculture.
The system must be changed or ruin is in
evitable. n
Your correspondent, in this connection,
takes the occasion to say that if the founders
and patrons of the University had establish
ed an Agricultural College in the University
at its organization in which the principles
and practice of agriculture had been thor
oughly taught it would have been of meal
culable benefit to the people of the State.
Instead of gulles and gals and worn out
old fields, into which the best lands i'll the
State have been converted within COM
paratively short Ieriod, we would now have
a rich mould capable of sustaining ten times
our present population. There has been no
wiser or more humane legislation by the
National Congress than the appropriation of
land-scrip to the States for the foundation OF
Agricultural Colleges, and the several States
have no trust more sacred than tine faithful
execution of the law making this appropria-
ton. The Legislature of North Carolina
has committed this trust to the Board of
Trustees ofthe University. The result will
doubtless prove that it is in safe hands. The
acceptance, however, necessarily involves
change in the course of study which has
heretofore been pursued in the University.
The dead languages must yield to the natural
sciences. Physics must take the place of
Metaphysics The laws of nature must take
precedence of the laws of language. This
reorganization of the University will doubt
less be made at the meeting of the Board in
November next, and is looked forward to
with an interest somewhat commensurate
with the reform in agriculture which it
may inaugurate. But let US return from
this digression to the remedy proposed by
the speaker.
The farmer has only to look over his fence
upon the thrifty forest to learn from nature
the remedy for the ruin which threatens
him. The leaves which fall annually return
to the soil what the growth of the tree takes
from it, and the roots and leaves together
prevent the land from being washed away.
The farmer on the contrary plaws his lands
shallow up and down hill, so that every
heavy rain may wash off part of the soil;
he plants in corn and peas the first year.
At the end of summer he gathers his corr
and fodder and pulls up his pea vines, and
then turns his cattle upon his field that they
may trample 1t into mortar through the
winter, and eat off everything that might be
returned to the land as compensation for
what had been taken off In tue crops. The
same thing is done every year until the land
Is worn out and washed away. 1t is then
turned out and another "new ground" is
cleared. This is a faithful picture of farm
ing In North Carolina. There are, howev-
er, honorable exceptions to the rule The
remedy is in horizontal plowing, hill side
bitches and deep plowing. Ii the soil is
loosened foot deep and plowed horizon
tally, it will hold all the rain which will
fall upon it, and deal it out to growing
plants through the longest of our dry sea
sons. will mention here that on the day
of the meeting beard gentleman say that
he gathered this fall six barrels ot corn to
the acre from a field of the same quality OF
land as that from which some of his neigh
bors gathered less than one barrel to the
acre; and that his larger yield was due
mainly to deep plowing. A crop of corn
should be followed by small grain, and the
land should rest every third year. If pea
crop is planted with the corn, and the
vines plowed under before the wheat is
sown, and crop of clover is sown with the
wheat and turned under the third year, the
land will improve rapidly. The farmer,
however, should make manure. Every year,
II =. PiNPSl mdldSeLucuL, uC Cdu LudhO OLA
largefour horse loads for every head of cat
tie and horses which he keeps. Hence a
man who keeps two head of horses and a
dozen head OF cattle, ought to make every
year eighty or ninety four horse wagon loads
Ofmanure If this is applied to eight or
ten acres near his lots, and this field is
properly cultivated, it will yield more than
I'VE times the same land would without the
manure. and with less labor.
The speaker exhibited few bunches OF
TQg Sheat which came up in wheat
broKssah broiKsa mp last July or August. Part
oe grain had been covered lne inch deep
bart three inches deep. TIE plant from m
5rain one inch deep was healthy and
6rous and its roots Ipt out Bonn the gram.
,t from the grain three lncrs ueep was
icate and spindling i lookea a. as II It
rely had strength TO ges uS, w ara; ,n siolnd
,G.J ~. ont few roots IRON Inc gram which
shos ~ have served the plant till 1t go
emeu ~ ~ around it then put out anothe
ut o. u. about ore inch below the surface
pet oi roo., .,a below this set vas in some case
and the slen rIr showing that one inch is tn
dead, cis4i.g 70 sow wheat and that ma
proper dePtu should be mirrowed in witt
res 1or WI nd left near the surface, as tn
eat mas or ho then exhibited the root OF
The spead showed that it had sewers
staik al roots aud requiredmucn grea
OF ia.s nn the wheat, thus showing tha
L n depth trTLb he planted as far below the SUI
nm shlnlu otnre of the soil would ADM
face as the the po soil may be thrown to it after
CONES up; one Who heard the address ss, va ".
Eyefy w;tb vb II, and thought every nody en-
pieAsst pSs - have heard it 1t AgriculIur' .a'
: ougns . eould = be formed and kept up IN eve, e!
Claus ClansSin S in the State they would be q IN IN
toMnsl as value to our people. They Nosl su
nsnss q agricultural school in which 0g' dd ia
rs se.rs could teach and be taught MDu