The Orangeburg news. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1875, 1869-05-01
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WHIT taan Aero IYerthi

When the Southern farmer, be liz
large or small one, will rightly compute
the value of an acre, aud set the proper
worth by it, may then expect that ma
terial and real wealth to the State that is
only now imaginative. We call ourselves
an agricultural people, and admit that
the wealth Of 5ar State lies in its pfo.
ductions. TO great extent, we MAY
say altogether, that as people we are
dependent upon our cotton, rice, tobacco
crops for what money we make. Aa to
our corn crop, we hardly feel like count-
ing 1t in, if Vie judgs from the thousands
of bushels that are bought supply the
demands of our people, and the thou
sands 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
cultivatcs few acres Of land, imagines
that he must put half or two thirds in
cotton as the only thing that will bring
ready money. We could not have a
word to say about planting cotton, IL
each acre planted brought bag: but
whsh #e Know that it takes from three
to foaf asrss of our worn lands to make
bag. we feel that it is labor and motley
thrown away, aud that the farmer has
never for moment sat down and calcu-
lated the worth of an acre well manured
and we'll worked.
An acre of land we'll manfred, we'll
taken care of, is worth from $50 to $50.
An acre that will bring twenty-five
bushels of wheat and thirty bushels 5f
corn the same year, is worth 500 and
any pains taking farmer can make an
acre produce that. The manure drop
ped 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 ate all that is needed to save
manure; but 50 loug as We drive along
in our slip-shod way of making and saw
ing manure, VIC may expect but poor
| rettirns from the sol. IF the smnli g,r.
mcr could be induced to takg half the
pains the New England farmer does OH
his place, there sodla i,v. he farm in
Baldwin county that would not bc worth
at least $50 to the acre.
But what we desire to call the espgs-
ial attedtibh Of our farmers to is the I'm:
portance of mandfiig at least 5iie acre
we'll and planting it in something that
will bring him 800 clear. 1t can be
done, and done easily, but there must
be system about it. Let the small far
mer who reads this look at the nearest
city or town TO ~hicH he trades, and see
what article of provisions sells readily.
Take, for instance, sweet potatoes !; every
body eats them, and they have 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 hundred dollars an acre, even
at fifty cents bushel Take the ground
pea it will Sell readily and bring good
price; take onions, take Irish potatoes;
take peas. Put She acre in anything
but cotton, aid it will bring more nlouey
than cotton would. Much manure is
sometimes saved and wasted by trying
to manure ten or twenty acres, when it
should have been put on one of five.
Farmers get discouraged and say it
won't pay to save manure, because they
have tried it, and their crops were a
f'ilure, and failed because they tiled to
do too much with too little, just as
foolish housewife would try to make enc
blanket cover three beds. Southern Re
cor}er.