The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-02-04


such road, passing through the centre Of the
State, by the capitol to the ea-ports-with it's
various connections at Asheville, the immense
freights in store for it in the West-may not be
anie to pay the interest on it's bonds, we think
too absurd to attempt to refute.
- HINTS ON AGRICULTURE.
Large and Small Farms.
ers and speakers to deciaim against and to de-
precate the cultivation OF large estates. Amer
lean farmers are characterized as having O
thirst for land, Of adding acre to acre. and farm
to farm, of running over their lands with O
wasteful, careless cultivation, which yields
scanty crops at large comparative expense.
gshey are accused Of "hankering for the owner
rpea oe left IN 6n he oer hand
they speak in glowing terms of the "small farm
we'll titled" descant upon its large crops
per acre, and the quiet, comfort, happiness,
a1d prosperity OF the owner. The large farm
er is assured that it he will ''sell half his
land, the crops OF the remainder will fill as
large barns as what he now gets from the
whole" Their manner Of stating the case is
nuch as to convey the idea that the land is the
cause OF the mischief deprecated, or that q
large number of acres predisposes to shlftless
management, and injudicious or imperfect
cultivation. There are many reasons why.
because find, by somewhat extended obser-
gation, in different parts of the country, away
from the influences and special advantages Of
nearness to town and city markets.. that there
are more small farms, in proportion to the
whole number, that present evidences Of neg
lect and bad cultivation, than there are large
ones; moro proofs of want of enterprise
other means Of employment among small
farmers arlFlarge. AS o general rule, small
farmers complain that they do and can do, but
Ettle, because they have little to do with.
pntNn ,e koI>I
sYasturage. They cannot cultivate their farms
Es they should for want of proper teams. They
Iannot support good fences, from the want OF
xinnber to build with. The reasons given by
ehiftless ways, are without number, but they
all end in about this Nothing can be done,
for there is nothing to do with" It must be
give indications of want of thorough proper
cultivation, and that there is an apparent ten
dency to neglect advantages at hand to i'm
prove them, to increase their crops. and bet
thing, however. their appearance indicates
more Of thrift and proper cultivation than
small ones.
not the quantity of land, but is one which lies
! deeper and more inaccessible than the subsoil
OF the farms. In most cases, If these large
landowners we're transferred to small farms,
| proved, but, on the other hand, would grow
worse, for one OF the great stimulants to enter
prise aud Improvements would be taken away.
The fact is, farming, like commerce, manufac-
turihg, or mechanics, is q business pursuit, and
| should be conducted ON the same general busi-
| ness principles. II those principles are con-
stantly and thoroughly adhered to, IN all trans
actions, large or small success Is sure to follow
scale Of business is small, will result in failure
Still, men can be found in great lumbers, in
| nearly every pursuit, who seem to act on the
principle that the amount Of business done is
| in
| the opinion of the community, and not the
manner of doing it.. Merchants, msnufactur-
| ers, and farmers alike, fall unto this error.
| With the former, financial ruin is the result;
with the latter, poor crops, Impoverished fields,
and general deterioration. The natural capa-
| city and trained intelligence of the individual
are the standard Of the amount Of business he
can perform we'll and probably. The men
are not very numerous who have the talent to
organize and systematiZe extended business
operations, 70 select, with sure discrimination,
their needed special agents, and to direct and
control all the minute details in attention to
which lie the elements Of success. There are
Stewards in commerce, and Strawns in agricul-
ture, but every man cannot be either the one
step beyond the limits of their natural or ac-
CURED business capacity, will be very likely to
neglect the essential principles of success, and
fall At the same time effort in less extend
ed field of operations would ba rewarded with
satisfactory results.
This is the cause why some do not succeed
we'll who attempt to cultivate large tract OF
land. But other things being equal. up to the
more land the farmer cultivates the greater
will be his prosperity and comfort, and his per
cent. ofproft on the capital invested. These
principles apply to the individual, but there
are cogent reasons or general nature which
incline me to favor large farms, and to consider
them natural American characteristic. The
spirit and genius OF our institutions and peo-
pie incline to stimulate them to grand and ex.
and lad M Ao rod wit
World, everything here is on large scale, and
full scope is found for the development OF the
most untiring energy and most active and ex-
ton from their surroundings, and the CON
sciouH assurance that no arbitrary power will
wrest from them the results OF their labor.
No one dreams tor a moment OF curtaiing or
checking these business aspirations in other
pursuits. aud shall agriculture, the most inn
5portant OF all, be dwarfed and confined to q
narrow sphere
We nave an unlimited extent Of land,
large portion of it OF remarkable fertility, All d,
compared with it, a. snaraa population. Aacssi-
can genus has developed and made ready to
our hand every sort OF agricultural machinery
whereby our power to cultivate our acres and
harvest their products Is increased many fold.
The whole OF our vast territory le threaded and
lnterlaced with railroad aad water commune
cation, 30 that the products OF our most remote
and secluded sections have quick, cheap, and
easy communication to the city and seaboard
marts OF trade tcr profitable market. lis
there anything In the. nature or circurn-
stances Of this pursuit which prevents II from
availing itself OF these natural and artificial
advantages to be conducted on scale as ex-
tended and profitable as other pursuitsp It
cannot he; and TO enable us to see 1t more
clearly IN this light, let as examine some OF
the disadvantages and drawbacks of farming
in small way. In the eastern and older
portions or the country, and In different local
tiles IN thatsection. the farms that are called
small usually contain from twenty-five to
fifty acres, and large farms from fifty to two
hundred This classification excludes those
plots OF land near che 6t es, that are used ex-
clusively for gardening purposes. On these
small faxms the system ot cultivation and the
nEopa grown are similar, IL not identical, with
the system and cropa af the large farms, only
1 less IL extents To this course Of cropping the