The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1869-03-04
AGRICULTURE.
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES.
From the Abbeville Press.

Stony POINT, February II, 1869.
Dear Lee: If success will result
from repeated appeals, propose again
urging upon the planters of the Dis.
trict the policy, indeed the necessity,
o: rcviving our Agr cultural Societies.
The provcrbial wi. dom Of a multitude
of counsellOrs is applicable to no roca-
tion in life more truly than to the
rcicnce Of agriculture. A Crusoe may
construct "dag out" and his man
Friday build snarcs for wild game, but
no isolated individual ever fully de
velopcd the agricultural resources Of
his own farm. Association of ideas and
of men, concert of action, and practical
knowledge, are all necessary to secure
the farmer success; and never before in
the history Of our State has the lack of
these incentives been SO sorcly felt by
our planters as at pretcnt. If cmauci-
patton has imposed multiplied respon-
sibilities upon the negro, so has the
transition from master to employer ex-
acted of the planter radical changes in
his theory and practice Of plantation
economy. The idle time Of slave Yas
an impcrceptiblc loss to his master; tho
increasing number and value of slaves
compensated for ragged farming; the
corn crib, smoke house and hand loom
secured to the planter of old an inde-
pendcncc no where else to be found
indeed, the owner Of slaves was his own
insurer, and cared nought for the out.
side world.
Not so now. Labor is scarce be-
cause confined principally to. males;
and is best controlled where best remu
nerated; to supply this deficiency,
demand arises for improved implements;
experience teaches US it does not pay to
raise "razor backs" and hence the de-
mand for improved breeds of porkcrs;
from the same lesson We learn, that to
grow corn to feed mules and hogs doesn't
pay, and hence the necessity of devo--
ting larger area to small grain; the
high price of cotton urges the planter
to cultivate more land, and instead Of
reclaiming worn land stimulates him to
fell our virgin forests, thus impover-
ishing instead of enriching the country.
Now, the vital question to my mind
is how are all these charges to be met,
and successfully practiced without dct-
riment to the country? Only, think,
by an interchange of ideas, and this in
terchange can only be effected by the
revival of our agricultural societies:
There are men in our District who
still adhere to the ante Jcllum system
Of farming, who are going behind every
day; whilst there others, who taking
advantage ofthe progressive tendency of
things, keep up to every advancement
in' the science Of agriculture, and are
rapidly rebuilding their, lost fortunes.
During the past six months I have seen
mon, who harvested barley at the rate
Of twenty-five bushels per aorc, sell the
grain readily at two dollars per bushel,
while others were cnquiring, "what is
barley good for" 1t wus good to sell
to say the least of it, then why not grow
itextcusively? 1 have, too, seen men
sell their wheat for two dollars per bush
el, while ethers as easily sold for three
dollars, because their grain was superior.
Again have seen men hunting purchas.
srs for their mich COWS at SIS and S2)
per head, while I've known others to sell
easily aud readily at $50 aud s75 per
head. Again, I saw farmer not long
since with thirty-one pigs fortnight old
offering TIE !ot fer ssQ, vh;!f, ! knew