The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-07-05

ENGLISH FARMING AND AMERICAN.
Wall, in an address to the farmers of New
Jersey, alluded to the fact that in England,
/ in less than century, the production of
wheat had risen from 100000 to
| 100,000,000 bushels. This enormous in
| crease he attributes to systematic attention
| to all the requirements OF good farming; to
the skill and eXactness with which all the
operations are performed; TO their careful
selection of the best varieties of seed, and to
! the extensive and good Use of their barnyard
manure. Nothing is left to casualty or
ctr,nce. No expectations are INDUCED in
TINT an unusually favorable season will atone
for shortcomings or neglect. He alluded to
the business-like liberalty Of the English
farmers in restoring to the earth. by means
of purchased manures, the elements OF fcrtili.
ty exhausted by cultivation, and stated that
in 1887, the first year in which bones came
into general use as a fertilizer, the foreign
bones imported were valued at the CUSTOM
house at S1,500,000; since which time it is
estimated that the amount paid for imported
bones alone amounted to Sl50, 900. Since
1S41 upward of 100000 tons Of guano have
been used.
Mr.. Wall believes that the English farmers
rotation of root and grain crops comes nearly
to perfection, and that the care which had
been bestowed on root cultivation had been
the salvation of England. 1t is certainly true
that the culture of root crops has been the
salvation of English agriculture. The culti-
vation Of these crops may as truly be the
means of improving the soil in our eastern
States. We had once hoped that the manu-
facttire Of beet sugar would enable western
farmers to avail themselves OF this root as
ialow crop, but we fear that this will prove
ot 10 be the case just yet; perhaps time
nay give us cheaper labor, by which it may
BIZ done. Fortunately, We have Indian corn,
which enables our farmers to clean their
land in an admirable manner, If properly at
teuded to. Still, it can never take the place
OF tap-rooted plants. The tufnip crop will
probably never be available in the West,
even if we could afford to make 1t take the
place of corn as a feeding crop, for the reason
that our hot summers re.not suited 10 lne
plant.
IF beet-sugar, however, could be made TO
pay the cost of cultivation aud manufacture,
the enhanced production of the wheat ana
barley with which it would be rotated would
insure profits. We shall still look with it,
terest to the future of bect-Sugar in the West.
The great difficulty with our farmers is that
they have neglected the breeding and feeding
Of stock to eat up the coarse grains in which
Our prairie soils are so fertile. Thus we
might establish rotation in which clover
would play an important part, and with its
deep-searcbiDg tap-roots bring up the hidden
fertility of tue soil for the use of wheat aud
barley.
We reiterate that IL is in diversified agr-
culture that our farmers must find the true
solution OF ulany Of their troubles. 1t takes
time,~ however, TO work out agricultural
probssms, and as soon as we know just what
classes Of plants are suited to our climate and
condition we shall have solved Que OF the
most important questions of the day.