Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-08-30
Farm And GARDEN.
TASTE rs FARMING.

" - . - - - = . - A@A4Nr~s
The New York Sun estimates that not less
than twenty per cant Of the entire capital
employed in farming in this country is
wasted. This is low estimate, for on
many farms the amount of waste is more
than double the sum named. Perhaps the
scarcity and high price Of labor in few To-
caiities may be considered q reasonable ex-
cuse for this loss, but we hold that no man
should undertake. more than be can accom-
plish without waste. The first and most
prolific source of waste can readily be
traced, says the Sun, to large farms, as
nine out of every ten Of oar farmers OVID
or undertake to work twi,e as much land as
they are able t., with any sort of credit or
profit to themselves or others.
In spring, more corn, potatoes and other
crops requiring culture during the period
of growth, are put in than can be attended
to, and the results are That hsying and
and harvesting of grain crowd upon the
hoeing, and waste occurs on all sides.
Scarcity of labor is always put forward as
an excuse for this waste, but the farmer
was well aware thai be could not obtain
the required amount long before his crops
we're put into the ground, and should have
known Just how many men were required
to take care of and harvest any certain
number of acres Of any particular crop.
We are not disposed to excuse man for
waste on the score Of ignorance, especially
In farming, because the business is one
we'll understood.
Contrary to the general idea, we believe
that Gle curse of American agriculture is
cheap lands, producing low standard of
farming, and encouraging a grasping dis
position to possess broad acres, with a
corresponding neglect of the same when
once they are Obtained. The first thought
Of the farmer or his sons is, how much
land can purchase? not, how much will
my capital permit me to buy and improve?
In ninety-nine cases out of every hundred,
a man puts bis entire capital into land,
and then runs in debt for few acres more,
reserving nothing with which to make i'm
provements or purchase stock. A merchant
who would put his entire capital into
building, and leave himself no capital
with which to commence trade, would not
deserve pity if he did fail in business; and
yet this is just what majority of our farm
ers have been and are still doing. The re-
suit of such system is a slavish lite for
term Of years in order to procure stock,
implements, barns, and finally, comfort
able house for the wife and family.
Now there is but one way to remedy
this widespread evil, and that is to own less
land; make it produce better crops, and
thereby prevent waste of time and labor.
A man should never put more than one
half his capital into land, no matter how
much or how little he may have. We can
offer no better proof of this widespread evil
of owning more land than can be judicious
ly cultivated, than the average yield of any
of our principal farm products. The aver
age yield Of corn, for instance, in some of
the Middle and Southern States, is not
above ten bushels per acre, and in Illinois
seldom above twenty; while those farmers
who plant on good, rich land, and attend
to the GESTURE, in these same localities, OBJ
tain from fifty to one hundred bushels per
acre. These results prove conclu-
siyely, that thousands of acres are
annually plantei With this grain, and
the labor expended thereon is almost, if
not entirely, wasted. The same is true In
regard TO all kinds of grain cultivated in
this country. A man starts out in spring
TO plant twenty acres of corn, when really
he has not sufficient help to put in ten,
and the result is a very small return for
the labor expended, and less corn than
would have been obtained upon ten acres,
with seventy-fve per cent Of the capital
expended thereon. Manure is wasted by
being spread so thinly over large surface
Of ground that the benefit is scarcely to be
perceived, while if less area received the
entire amount, it would not only bring i'm
mediate and large increase in the crop
grown, but be permanently enriched.
We frequently hear the old story of un-
favorable weather, and that the wheat suf
fered FOR want OF, or suPerabundance of,
moisture; which means simply that the
soil has been hurriedly prepared for the
reception of the seed, being neither work
ed deep, SUBSIDIZED, under drained, nor
otherwise put in proper condition to in
sure good crop, in favorable or unfavor-
able seasons. Meadows and pastures fail
from the same cause, and climate comes in
for all the blame. If land owners could
be persuaded to sell one half their real es-
tate, and expend the amount obtained OH
the other hall, they might obtain greater
profits and more leisure hours. Money and
labor are wasted in fearful amounts upon
poor stock and cheap implements, as well
as upon poor lands and light crops Of
grain; in fact, We are a nation of spend
thrills, although few are willing to confess
it in their own case, but can readily see
that some neighbor IS sailingi in the boat we
have described.
HARD TIMES.
We hear complaints nesrly every day Of
b,-3 ,i-,o. aoo-oit1- oF y,oDav Ioup y,-;oa If