The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1872-11-28
what Shall, We Dos

MOr6 LQ8n seven years HdtS ci1Pacu othSO
thetclese of the war-seven years of toii:and
poverty with many, and yet the farmers OF the
South seem not as a class, definitely to have
decided what they will do. In many places
the fields lie fallow or oyergrown with brush
and briars, either fo1 the want of capital, en-
terprise, industry or labor, and in some in
stances for the want of all of them. The fences
are down, and the hungry cattle wander about
over tie deserted fields in quest Of food to ap-
pease their knawing appetites. In other cases
the. owner of land attempted in feeble way to
carryon, business as before the war, by hiring
largely to cultivate the same area in the great
staDles:that he did in days of compulsory Ia
Dor; but in the large majority of cases such eff
forts have involved the proprietors in debt, and
ia many cases financial ruin has been the re-
suit. In few instances practical men have
comprehended the situation at glance, and
discardingiat once old notions and graphing
with the difficulties arising from the disorgan:
lied condition of labor, have, by sheer force OF
energy and personal exertion succeeded in ac-
colnplishing the most gratifying results. Yet
there is no settled, well digested plan By which
farmers are governed, nor do many of them
seem to have any fixed purpose in view towards
the accomplishment of which all their energies
are directed. It does seem that we have had
time to recover from the stunning effects of the
blow that fell so heavily upon Us at Appomat-
tox. 1t, does seem that we have had time
enough to determine what we will do. And
vet the question that heads this article is heard
every day from the lips of some dependent in
dKidaal. Now let US see what we can do. We
must c6n6ne ourselves to the cultivation OF on
" SO much land as we can thoroughly prepare
and afterwards cultivate ourselves, or with such
labor as can be relied upon with reasonable
certainty. We must manure rs far as possible
every crop We plant. The supply of barn-yard
manure should of course be exhausted before
resorting to anything else-then come in the
purchase them; but they are rather too uncer-
tain in their action to justify buying them on
credit. But there is another, source ofmanure,
which, while it is very cheap, is inexhaustible
and within the reach of every landowner. Green
crops should be grown to turn under. for ma
nure. With our long summers and great yari.
ety<of crops suitable for this purpose, two and
sometimes three crops could be ploughed under
in the course of the year. With these facilities
it would seem that the course of improvement
would be rapid and sure. The best crop per-
haps for US is the southern pea, which grows
luxuriantly on even very poor soils. Mustard
has been used elsewhere with great success and
rye so&n in the fall, and fed down to hogs when
ripe and the straw plowed in Immediately, thus
reseeding itself from the shattered grain left
upon the ground, and the process repeated
from year to year will rapidly ameliorate the
barren soil. But whatwe need most in theac-
complishnent Of these desirable results is a
fixed purpose and definite plan. A farmer
should plan his operations as general plans
campaign, giving careful study to all the de-
tails, and determine at the beginning Of the
year what crops shall occupy certain fields and
the crops also that shall succeed them, 50 that
frequently he may begin to prepare field for
certain crops years before it is sown. Every
thing must be. conducted with system and in
order, nothing left To chance, and no waiting
for something to turn up. If farmers would
thus bring themselves to work by rule and sys-
tenn, crops would be no longer uncertain; but
allowing for providential visitations they could
calculate with tolerable accuracy from year to
year what crops they would make and what the
income would be- We would then no longer
hear of utter failure and disappointment, of
selling out and going to the cities to gain a
livelihood. On the contrary, when man de-
votes all his thoughts and energies to system
atizing and properly conducting his farming
operations, the cultivation of the soil becomes
one Of the most fascinating, as it is the most
healthnp and dindependeht ayocation in which
man eah engage. "a PPsiasstef and Fafassrs = u