The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1871-12-21

A man possesses farm, the land being of
average fertility, which medium state means
it is half worn out or only exhausted of half
its plant food. and thus has the power of
growing half crops. If this man goes on
lowering the condition of the land, he Is a
bad farmer; if he does not weaken the soil
further nor improve its capability to grow
heavy crops, he will be a non-progressive one
"a kind of milk-ant-water farmer; but if he
manages so as steadily to increase the fruit
fulness of the whole extent, till, in the end, it
becomes sufficiently rich to grow as heavy
crops of every variety as can be brought to
perfection, he is a good farmer, and one the
country should honor; he has not hidden his
talent under a bushel.
1t is easier to farm well than i'll. The man
who makes two blades OF grass to grow where
only one grew before, and makes every other
kind of produce double, too, is happier man
than the one who plods on doing neither bet
ter nor worse than the average; while the
miserable mortal who impoverishes his land
must feel how degraded a position he stands
in, and his mind must sink lower and lower
with his property. If a report of every
farm through every parish in the Union was
made once in seven years, and the improve
ment, the impoverishment or the non-im-
provement of each was published, it would
give the country at large better idea of what
is going on in agriculture.
1t is no use denying facts, and the truth Is,
starting from the east, the land is robbed of
more than half lis fertility, and still as popu-
lation moves on so does the exhausting sys-
tenn. Ifwhen parish, a county or a State
is halfimpoverished, a stop can be put to the
facilitating process, why not stop at the be-
ginning? Why not reimburse from the start?
Land is seldom too rich, and when it is what
is said to be Sin the very highest state of per-
fection," what pity to bring it down! Yet
this is the custom, the fashion, and the ex-
ample set by all. This kind of policy carried
into other lines of business, would cause men
to say the guilty parties were insane or fools.
Land cannot throw up immense crops on wa
ter and air; therefore if these crops are sold
off, the land is that much the poorer, but
science and even common experience proves
there are stages at which some OF the produc-
tions of the earth can be taken away when
nothing has been distracted to cause injury,
and if at this period of the crops growth it is
turned into manure, the land is benefited
without any foreign aid. Thus by having in
tervening crops of this kind, there may be
| things sold one year which win be replaced
| the next by this renovation. This is why the
| four-couIse system, or some other suitable ro-
tation, is insisted upon in England. Poor
land is brought to be rich, and good land is
kept up on the best of estates. Yet there are
annually great quantities of fat cattle and
sheep sold from these farms, and wool,
cheese, butter, &C., continue to be produced
because there is an art in doing this so as to
| improve and increase the stamina Of the soil.
There is no mystery whatever in the case,
| for here is a field of barley, say grown after
roots: this barley, probably 10 bushels per
acre, takes away considerably from the soil,
though being quick growing grain not so
much as other sorts; but clover follows, hay-
ing been sowed with the barley. Everybody
knows when clover is cut young the ground
is benefited by producing it; therefore if it is
moved twice and cut each time when coming
into full bloom, there will be from the two
mowings tons per acre of matter to be manu-
| factured into manure, which has not weaken
ed the land 1t grew on; consequently this is a
renovating crop, and has done more in adding
| fertility than the barley did in subtracting;
next comes wheat, and that takes away more
than the barley did, but then comes the inter-
vening root, which puts far more into the soil
by being consumed than the wheat has taken
out; and so this easy, plain system Is fair
exposition of all those which are devised to
! enable farmers to make money while sustain
ing their land.-Country Gentleman.
The n. Y Times mentions rumor that the
| grand Jury has indicted prominent Republican
newspaper for libel upon city judge, and that
| an editor of a Ring paper has been indicted for
| obtaining one hundred and twenty-five thou
sand dollars in bogus advertising claims.
| O. McCreery has been nominated to sue
| ceed Garrett Davis in the U. S. Senate.