Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1875-01-14
Agrifnltnral department.
(Original'l
SUGGESTIONS.

Dy cOWmOu consent, tne mOnLq OF Janua-
ry is the first month of the year, all over the
southern country. This is especially true with
the planting community. Contracts with Ia
borers are generally made during this month,
and arrangements are completed for the ope
rations of theyear. Although January sthe
hardest winter month, still with farmers, who
are alive to their interests, all plans for the
farming operations of the year are laid in this
month. This being the case, we venture,
modestly, to make few suggestions to plant
ers. First, it will be found wise policy in
planters to take good care of their horses and
mules. These domestic animals should be
we'll fed and kept out of the weather as much
as possible. The constitution of the horse or
mule is not able to stand great deal of cold
weather, unless we'll fed and sheltered at night,
in a good warm stable That farmer who
works his mules or horses during all the win
ter, exposing them to all kinds of weather,
will soon break these animals down, and, in
the end, will be the loser On the contrary,
that farmer who will be able to commence the
operations of the farm, in the spring, with
fresh and vigorous stock, will be much better
prepared to make crop than his neighbor,
who will commence with jaded animals.
In the beginning of the year farmers are
apt to overload themselves. Perhaps the ma
jority of farmers undertake more than they
are able to accomplish. Some plant more
land than they are able properly to cultivate,
whilst others plant large crops without having
first prepared the ground for planting. Ev-
cry year, all over the cotton growing States,
the grass Injuries the crop more than drought,
boil worm or any other thing. 1t is noto-
rious fact that farmers plant more crop than
they can work. No one can say precisely
how many acres hand can work. That de-
pends on many things. The character of the
land, and the season, together with multi
tude fother things, must be considered. On
an average, a hand can not properly cultivate
more than fifteen acres Of course, more
than this number of acres may be halfpre-
pared for planting and halfworked after it is
planted, but usually less than half a crop
will be gathered from it in the fall. 1t is far
more profitable to plant small crop and
work it we'll, than to run over great many
acres in kind of hoggish way.
Again, experience proves that two-horse
farm is proportionally more profitable than
any other. Two is better than one but three
is not proportionally as good as two. A single
man can, with comparative ease, under favor
able circumstances, walk thirty miles day,
and men have been known to walk nearly
double that distance in day. It would be
regarded wonderful days march for an
army Of ten thousand men to make thirty
miles in day. Just so it is on large farms,
or rather, on farms on which a great many
laborers are worked together. If one stops
FIVE minutes it will stop the whole FIVE min
utes. On farms which require great many
laborers to cultivate them, the better plan is
to divide up the laborers into parcels of not
more than two or three.
1t is good plan for the farmer to push
his work, and never, if possible, to suffer his
work to push him. AS soon as the weather
will permit, the plow should be started and
kept going All the manure about the place
should be collected into piles and covered, so
that it may be protected from the rains.
Lastly, farmers should make their calcula-
tions, and so conduct their operations that
their farms will be selfsupporting. The
southern farmer possesses some rare advan-
tages. Unfortunately, these advantages are
not properly used. Let the motto of our
farmers be, that from this time on, cotton will
be an extra, and things will change for the
better.
ONE REASON WHY FARMERS ARE so
PooR.-It is believed that seven.tenths of
the planters and farmers of this country,