The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1874-03-27
"a Little Land Well Tilledi,

Has any farmer ever considered the great
significance of that humble expression
There is nothing about it to attract particu
lar attention, and still might lead to the
thought, that farmers as general rule IN
dertakc the cultivation of too much land.
in which they greatly err. 1t has come to
be very natural for the farmer, in settling
upon his plans for the year, to make his
calculations to SOW so many acres of wheat,
rye, barley, oats or other grains. to plant so
many acres of corn, potatoes, beans, or 9th
er products, without stopping for one mo-
ment to consider the question of labor, or
whether he has manure sufficient to do even
partial justice to one-half the surface indi.
Gated. The result of this is to occasionsf
great inconvenience, to say nothing of hastt
in cultivation. Again, Others have SO strong
desire to add to their acres that they are
continually purchasing, although they can
but half cultivate what they have. 1t is an
old and true maxim that "What is worth
doing at all, is worth doing WE'LL" and this
should be the watchword of farmers i'm all
their operations.
1t requires no argument to prove that
small farm well cultivated is better than a
large one half cultivated. Persons having
Il kitchen garden upon which much pains
has been bestowed, cannot have Tiled to
observe the very great returns that have
been furnished, and if the same course could
be pursued with all lands, the results would
be proportionate. The fact u.s. chat but few
farmers know experimentolly how much an
acre of ground is able to produce. 49,
gardens of mechanics are often very NJ
ductive, and are sometimes an approxinN &
70 10 oil l. ~ I'll.
rily the preparation of the soil works vers
marked changes in the results obtained; thu
more finely the soil is pulverized, the bet
ter is it adapted to furnish food for the
growing plant, and yet how often is it the
case that the seed is planted in no finer soil
than that furnished by the plow, and ifthe
yield is the trifle below the expectations
of the farmer, the result is charged ups IN
some climatic conditions, or anythinsiEa
the true cause. There are crops in wS
the necessity of greater pains is believedS4
exist for the reason that without reasonable
preparation, the nature of the plant Itself
revolts and refuses fair increase. Such is
the onion crop, and in fact the same may
be said to be partially true offs root crops.
The grower of onions has learned that un-
less his soil is mellow, thoroughly pulvcriz-
Gu, hnl 30 pIephfeu 10 receive the seed, he
may as well sow it by the wsysids as in his
soil. Why is it, too, that the rasers oftobac-
co eXpcnd twice or three times as much Id
Dor, and apply proportionate increase OF
manure in the preparation offs field for that
crop2 Simply because they have learned
that their returns are more than proportions
ately increased. Now, what is true of to-
bacco would prove equally true with other
crops, only farmers are not as ready to be-
lieve the fact. The probably average pro-
ducc ofcorn is about thirty bushels per acre,
yet there are cases ola production OF one
hundred and twenty and even more bush
els per acre; and yet no one would believe
that four times that amount of labor was
expended in the latter case that there was
in the first. The secret lay in somewhat
heavier manuring and a more careful prepa-
ration of the soil to receive the seed. The
after cultivation could not, of course, have
been very greatly increased. Then let far
mers try IA little land we'll titled" until
there is furnished some valuable Informs
ton of the maximum capacity of an acre of
ground, when cultivated with additional
care with an increase Of fertilizers, and
there will soon be a great revolution in
farming practices.- w in Practical Farmer