Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1873-03-28
Ge.farm,
HINTS FOR THE SEASON.

Wnen the earCn IS resting from ner Ia
hprs, and preparing for the demands
soon to be made upon her; surely now
whilst the evenings are long and the
days less busy than the days of spring
and summer are, the farmer has time
to mature his plans for the years
work. Soon pleasanter weather may
be>expected, and the period for action
will be at hand then well considered
plans are as necessary as ploughs and
ploughmen. And first what should
be his aim-not how much land shall
he cultivate, nor yet what particular
crops shall demand his efforts during
the season, but rather how much land
can he SO thoroughly manure as to OBJ
tain its greatest yield; in other words,
how much land can he proftably cu1-
tivate. That should be the great CUES
ton with him. Secondary to it in vital
Importance are the questions as to va
riety of productions. ytaL
Corn, wheat tobacco, hay or pota-
toes, each and all are profitable crops,
if full acreage be obtained, but that
desideratum cannot be reached, unless
the land is made rich,
Therefore, we see what should be
the farmers first thought, viz: How
much land can / thoroughly manure
this spring. Let him, then consider
his sources for obtaining his springs
supply Of fertilizer, not forgetting that
from elsewhere than the barn-yard and
stables much valuable material can be
had. That the fence-corners, woods,
swamps, ash-piles and chicken yards
are often rich in elements that once in
corporated with The manure heap at
the stable, would greatly increase the
production of his lands when the COM
post was properly prepared and ap-
piled. Beyond doubt, high manuring
Is essential to successful farming now
a-days. | It costs NO more plough,
plant md work a rich acre of land
than it does poor one. That fact
every farmer knows, but do farmers
stophto consider that if there is a liy-
ing profit in working the poor acre, "a
fact which the writer thinks very ques-
tionable,) there must beamuch greater
profit if that acre is made rich-rich
enough to obtain its greatest yield p
Look at the difference. Here in Anne
AEundle, the average acreage for corn
is 80 bushels for tobacco roo lbs; and
for wheat certainly not over Ii bush
els. Farming and planting here is
undertaken each successive year with
no greater yields expected. But can
nothing better be done? !. Elsewhere
larger results are obtained, and no
more labor expended. 90 to % bush
elsof wheat to the acre is no rare yield
in some of the western counties of the
State; and in Pennsylvania, where the
soil is naturally not SO productive as
in Anne Arundel county-there 60 or
70 bushels of corn to the acre is the
usual crop, and the agriculture, de-
partment at Washington reperts~t the
average production per acre Of )tobaeT
Go in Connecticut at 1,750 lbs, the
weld in Pennsylvania at 1890 lbs,
whilst it puts Maryland down as low
as 700 lbs.
Why is this? In measure it may
be owing to cleaner cultivation and
better preparation of the land; but it
is mainly owing to the fact that far
mers there do not plant until their
land is made rich. Fields are not
ploughed year after year,, or as they
come into rotation, until q sufficient
supply of manure has been obtained to
render certain profitable return for
labor expended. BY various methods,
all. Of which are entirely neglectedin
this country, their quantity Of barn
yard manure is increased and improy7
ed in quality. By soiling and winter
feeding cattle for market, the quantity
obtained on an 100 acre farm Is Won
derful. 80 go. ..+f-.,s.sss1.,
BY turning under green crops, peas
and clover, for instance, the capacity
of the land is greatly developed.
How different is the practice of our
best farmers here? The feldsintend-
ed for, this years crops was last year
theHpasture lot for cattle, hogs, Sc. .
From early spring it was pastured.=5
Grass could not grow upon it to pro-
tect it from the scorching rays Of a
summers sun, and to enriehen itby its
roots, stems, and leaves. ~
mo effort now is made to increase its
fertility, norrwill any be made other
than possibly to haul out q few loads
Of coarse manure from the cattlesyard,
and that often times in no ftieendition
to furnish plant food-yet, the field
must be, viii be cropped, and a-half
a,yield the result if the weather be ia
vorable. ,s.5s<:s
Farmers, this is all wrong. Better
concentrate your manure and your la
Dor; make more manure by working
lessiland. Spend the time required to
ploughathe whole field in seeking zen
ovating materials for ene-half of it,
LIST the. Other half rest. Assist the
grass to greW upon It, and Let the land
have Il all. The half of the field eul-
tivated will give Y6u agreatef profit