Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1874-06-18
agricultural department.
lOriginal.]
SCIENTIFIC FARMING.

SCIENI1FlC FARMlNG.
Farmers, as general thing, are violently
opposed to what they are pleased to call "book
farming" This is surely most marvellous
thing. The lawyer cannot do without his
books; the skillful practitioner of medicine
consults his books, or calls in consulting
physician, whenever very bad case occurs in
his practice the minister of the gospel, who
would teach the people among whom he is
called to labor, is expected to read and study
the huge volumes of antiquity as we'll as those
of modern times. Is it not strange that the
farmer can learn nothing from books? Or
rather, is it not strange that any man would
conclude that he could not learn anything
from books? The carpenter reads books on
architecture, and from these he learns the
most important facts connected with his trade.
In fact, every man, in every occupation of life,
is a reading man. Such is the condition OF
things, that one can scarcely be civilized
man, unless he be great reader. No occu-
patton or calling in life can be reduced to
science without books. The misfortune in
this country is, that farming is carried on in
a kind of haphazard way. There is little
science about the thing, from beginning to
end. In fact, there seems to be aprejudice in
the minds of many farmers against science
ITSELF They seem to think that science means
long list of impracticable theories. With
them, the words science and vagaries mean
about the same thing.
Science consists of two things-facts and
the mind that discovered them. Such is the
case with the science of medicine, of astrono-
my, of law, of theology, of geology, and of ag-
riculture. Facts and mind are the base of all
the sciences Science includes, also, an un-
derstanding of the laws by which the facts
were brought about. This is the point upon
which farmers are generally deficient. They
have discovered vast multitude of facts
but they are barren facts. The laws by which
these facts were developed, have not been
fully investigated. AS an illustration of what
we mean, this fact may be mentioned. Far
mers generally believe that stable manure is
the best of all manures. 1t is true that stable
manure is a good manure, and for some kinds
ofland, and for some kinds of crops, is better
than any other but this does not make it
the best manure under all circumstances. Be-
cause stable manure is good for corn, it does
not follow that it is good for wheat. 1t may
be excellent to make wheat straw, but not
good to make grains.
Every thing in this world, except man, is
obedient to law. The grass grows and dies
in obedience to law. Everything that the
farmer plants and cultivates grows and ma
lures in obedience to fixed laws. Scientific
farming consists in cultivating the soil in obe
dience to these laws. The man who does not
do this, may be said to be striving against his
Maker. He is trying to make water run up
hill.
Nature gives US many indications of the
existence of her laws. In some regions the
forests are covered with only pines, in others,
nothing but oaks grow. This indicates some.
thing which, if studied out and reduced to
practice, may be of great utility to the farmer.
In some sections of country, the trees grow
very high, in others, they are very low. This
is another fact. 1t, as we'll as the fact just
mentioned, indicates something peculiar about
the SOIL The simple fact will not avail the
agriculturist anything, unless the law which
produced the fact is understood.
Much scientific knowledge is necessary to
the farmer that he may mix and apply ma
nures properly. He may mix two kinds
of manure, each by itself good, that they
will neutralize each other. In the soil there
are many chemical properties, and chemical
action takesplace in the ground as we'll as in
the barn-lot or in the laboratory. Ignorance
of this fact often costs the farmer the loss Of a
crop. He buys guano and puts it on the
ground, and reports that it did more harm
than good. This was no doubt the fact. He
lost his money and his labor. Lime on red
land acts very differently from what it does
on sandy land. The reason of this is, there
are some chemical properties in the one that
are not in the other.
A fool and lazy man stands worse
chance to succeed as farmer, than in any
other department of life. To be a good
farmer, man must have good common sense,
and he must reduce the facts that nature re-
veals to him to practice. He must follow ma
ture, not force her. He must be obedient to
l., Tbio :, eoiontifio fo
WHERE FLOWERS Come FRoM.-Some of
our flowers came from lands Of perpetual sum-
mer, some from countries all ice and snow,
some from islands in the ocean. Three of our
sweetest exotics originally came from Peru
the camelia was brought to England in 1879,
and in few years afterward the mignionette
and heliotrope. Several came from Cape of
Good Hope; very large Gala was found
there in the bitches, and some Of the most
brilliant geraniums, or pelargoniums, which
are spurious geraniums. The verbena grows
wild in Brazil. The marigold is native At
rican flower. A great number came from
China and Japan. The little daphne was
taken to England by Captain Ross from al
most the farthest land he visited toward the
North Pole.
Some of these are quite changed in form by
cultivation, others have become larger and
brighter, while others fall far short of the
beauty and fragrance of the tropics, despite
all care of florists and shelter Of lighthouses.
When the dahlia was brought to England it
was very simple blossom, single circle
of dark petals surrounding a mass of yellow
ones. Others were short time after trans