The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1869-02-10
What is an Acre Worth.

he large or small one, will right
ly compute the value of an acre,
and set the proper worth by it,
we may then expect that material
and real wealth to the State that
is only now imaginative. We
call ourselves an agricultural peo-
pie, and admit that the wealth of
our State lies in it's productions.
To a great extent, we may say
altogether, that as a people we
are dependent upon our cotton,
rice, and tobacco crops for what
money we make. As to our corn
crop, we hardly feel like counting
it in, if we judge from the thou
sands of bushels that are bought
West to supply the demands of
our people, and the thousands
upon thousands of dollars we send
out of the State for that article
alone not counting the millions
Of pounds of bacon that we buy
also from the West.
Every man that cultivates a few
acres of land, imagines that he
must put half or two thirds in
cotton that cotton is the only
thing that will bring ready mo-
ney. We could not have a word
to say about planting cotton, if
each acre planted brought a bag
but when we know that it takes
from three to four acres of our
worn lands to make a bag, we
feel that it is labor, and money
thrown away, and that the farmer
has never for a moment sat down
and calculated the worth of an
acre we'll manured and well work
ed. .,- - ,.....= ..
An acre of land we'll manured,
well taken fare Of is worth from
$50 to $50. An acre that will
bring twenty-five bushels of wheat
and thirty bushels of corn the
same year, is worth s1O0;. and
any pains taking farmer can make
an acre produce that. The ma
nure dropped in stables or yards
by horses, COWS, hogs, sheep, &C.,
will manure one acre we'll. We
speak of the small farmer, the
man with but little stock. Care
and economy is all that is needed
to save manure !; but SO long as
we drive along in our slip shod
way of making and saving ma
nure, we may expect but poor
returns from the soil. If the
small farmer could be- induced to
take half the pains the New Eng
land farmer does on his place,
there would not be farm in
Baldwin county that would not
be worth at least $40 to the acre.
But what we desire to call tho
especial attention of our farmers
is to the Importance of manuring
at least one acre we'll and plant
ing it in something that will
bring him s10O clear. 1t can be
done and done easily, but there
must be system about it. Let the
small farmer who reads this look
at the nearest city or town, to
which he trades and see what ar
ticle Of provisions sells readily.
Take, for instance, sweet potatoes ;
everybody eats them, and they
have a ready sale; they keep well
and can be sold by the wagon load
or bushel, at from fifty cents to
one dollar.
A farmer knows how many
bushels an acre will bring, and
he knows that he can get a hnn-
dred dollars an acre even at fifty
cents a bushcl. Take the ground
pea it will sell readily and bring
a good price. Take onions, take
Irish potatoes, take peas. Put
the acre in anything but cotton,
and it will bring more money than
cotton would. Much manure is
saved and wasted by
trying to manure ten or twenty
acres, when it should have been
put on one or FIVE. Farmers get
discouraged and say it wont pay
to save manure, because they have
tried it, and their crops were a
failure, and failed because they
tried to do too much with too