Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1872-01-12
Bills ans Gaeaett.

TIE ART OF FARMING. A man
possesses a farm, the land being of
average fertility. which medium state
means it is half worn out or only ex-
haustel of half its plant food, and
thus has the power Of growing halt
crops. If this men goes on lowering
the condition of the land, he is q bad
farmer; if he does not weaken the
SOL further nor improve its capability
20 grow heavy crops, he will be
non progressive one-a kind of milk
and water farmer; put if he manages
so as steadily TO increase the fruitful
ness of tie whole extent, till in the
end, it becoI~es sufficiently rich to
GROW as heavy crops of every variety
as can be brought to perfection, he
is a good farmer, and one the coun-
try 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 blad IS o.
grass grow VIII r; one only grew be-
fore, and makes every other kind Of
produces double too, is a happier
man than the one who plods on doing
neither better nor worse than the ay
erage; while the miserable mortal
who impoverishcs 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 Improvement, the i'm
poyerishment or the non improve
ment of each was published. it would
give the country at large a better
idea of what is going on in agricul>
ture.
1t is no use denying facts, and the
truth is, starting from the East, the
land is robbed OF more than half its
fertility, and still as population moves
on so docs the exhausting system
If when a parish, county or State
is half impoverished, a stop can be
put to the facilitating process, why
not stop at the beginning? Land is
seldom too rich, and when it is what
is said to be in the very highest
state Of fertility" what pity to
bring it down. Yet this is the Gus
tom, the fashion, and the example
set by all. This kind of policy car
ried into other lines of business, would
cause men to say the guilty parties
were insane or fools. Land cannot
throw up immense crops on air and
water; therefore if these crops are
sold off, the land is that much the
poorer, science and even common
experience proves there are stages at
which some of the productions of the
earth can be taken away when moth
ing has been distracted to cause inju>
nv, and if at this period of the crop S
growth it is turned into manure, the
land is benefited without any foreign
aid. Thus BY having intervening
crops Of this KIND, there may be
things sold one year which will he re-
placed the next by this renovation
Tiii is why the four system,
or some other suitable rotation is in
sisted upon in England. Poor land
is brought to be rich, and good land
is kept up on the best estates; yet
there are annually great quantities of
fat cattle and sheep sold from these
farms, and wool and 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 60 bushels per acre, takes
away considerably from the soil,
though being a quick growing grain
not so muck as other sorts; but clo-
yer follows. having been sowed with
the barley. Everybody knows when
clover is cut young the ground is ben
Gifted by producing it; therefore if it
is moved twice and cut each tire
when coming into full bloom, there
will be from he two mowings tons per
acre OF matter to be manufactured
into manure. which has not weakened
the land it grew on; consequently
( this is renovating crop, and has
done more IN adding fertility than
the barley did in subtractipg; next
comes wheat, and takes more away
than the barley did, but then comes
the intervening root crop, which PUTS
| far more into the soil by being con-
sumed than the wheat has taken
out; and so this easy. plain system is
a fair exposition Of all those which
are devised to enable farmers TO
make money while sustaining their
land.-Couatry Gentleman.