American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1869-02-13
Scientific Farming.

Tilling the soil is really science
which cannot be properly understood
except by intelligent study and prac>
teal application. No more can a
farmer be fully successful. unless he
understands the science of agriculture,
than physician can be successful who
does not understand the science of
medicine and the proper application
of it to various diseases to which
flesh is heir to-" The soil, like all
things else, has its decays, its diseases
and its remedies. Hence, the proper
understanding of these diseases and
the appli, alton of right remedies, is
neces Sary to be understood to be SUI
cessfully treated and renovated, as
physicians renovate broken down
human constitutions.
There are two principles of success
in agriculture which should be kept
steadily in view by the Intelligent
farmer, viz:
l. Deep and close blowing, thorough
ly turning up the soil to the clay.
2. The proper mixing and applica-
ton of the commercial fertilizers.
In regard to the first, it is princi-
pie practiced by our most successful!
planters, who have long discarded
the ignorant idea that deep blowing,
turning the clay to the sun, inpover-
ishes the proauctiveness of the soil.
To illustrate the falsity of this idea we
will relate point given to us few
days ago. A gentleman determined
t. turn out certain portion of a field
| for some reason we do not remember,
dug ditch twelve leet wide and three
feet deep across his field. He subse>
quently determined not TO turn out
the field, and so filled up the ditch,
planting corn and ploughing through
it as other parts of the field. The re-
suit of it was that he gathered -four
times the amount of corn from the
ground in which the ditch was dug
than he did from the amount of land
adjoining the ditch.
In regard to the second principle
that of employing fertilizers, it is only
necessary to call the attention of our
readers to the experience of our mos
successful farmers, which have beer
given from time to time through the
public prints. We have heard o
some failures by those who have trieC
the fertilizers. 1t is our opinion sucl
failures are the results of want of {
proper knowledge of the application O
them, or the use Of inert preparation!
imposed on the people in the absenc,
of the ability to test their properties
and still another reason may be fount
in the imperfect theory of blowing.
There is philosophic idea in regart
to deep blowing we wish to impress
upon the mind of the young farmer
and will be readily understood by hin
when we state. A well cultivatet
field should be like a sponge. /
should absorb all the water whic
falls upon it instead of running Of
and creating guIlies, as produced b.
shallow blowing, which only loosen
} the top dirt, making it the NOR
easily to be washed off by rains. B
, deep blowing to the clay the hard in
? crustations of the soil are broken III
. and the earth is thus made absorbent
) retaining all the water falling upo
Z 1t. This keeps the soil moist, and, 9
the power of the sun evaporates tn
, water from the soil, it is easily to
: observed that the deeper the wate
+ penetrates toward the clay, the longe
n the plant will require to evaLorat,
. and hence the longer the plant wi
2 receive the benefits of the moisture.-
= La GTQn1e ReDOrier