The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-06-27
More About It.

IIdl Ioillp'o4 iIS ble4iltS3 Nothing
like facts. III 5u know the meaning
OF them.
one of the best farming sections
of North Carolina is Scotland Neck.
Il is Il coltinuous stretch Of cotton
fields. farm after farm, without divis-
iol. without break, for nearly 10 miles
aaI two 70 three miles wide. a large
par, OF II yielding a bale to the acre.
Ii has been well4nl ~ el igentlv farm
ed FOR 4 great while. But here, IS
elsewhere IN this most advanced farm
ing section of the State, E~dgecombe.
and parts of Halifax, Pitt, Greene etc.
the Wasteful system of composing
with fence scrapings. ditch banks etc.
has been universally pursued. Now 1t
is gratifying and encouraging to learn
that both here and throughout the re-
gion. numbers of farmers are aban-
Goning the old way and adopting the
suggestions which this department
has been urging for half a dozen years
and more upon their attention. Graf
flying and encouraging: because, if
there is any class OF people In the
world, difficult to reach. and to set
100 new ways, it is our Staid on
sentative North Carolina farmers. And
now that they have been induced to
try this experiment. which has been
pressed upon tilem, ON the grounds Of
I nh<AryrtInn niAn,i.4 ana1y~Sic a,I
the reason of things. there is no fear
OF the results. That IS one thing. and
no small thing either. 70 a matter of
some hundreds of thousands annually
saved: but it is not the chief thing by
much. Having been once moved,
having bnen induced to review and
change Il prescriptive and universal
custom, deemed essential hitherto, to
any successful farming. on considera-
lions of reason and science. they Will
be ready to apply their thoughts to
any other rational suggestions of i'm
provement in their modes of proceed
ure. And here be it noted. that there
are some other radical and important
errors in the agricultural theory and
practice of this same Roanoke region.
to which attention was called also, and
very pointedly, IN the same Weldon
address, in which the present matter
was first urged. And it is not propos-
ed to let them be forgotten. Now
that there is Il medium COR reaching
+ln fo,,,,-- a,,1 licn,c,nn ,,attars
with them, one by one, those points
must come up that il MAJ be seen
wat betterments can be proposed and
the grounds OF them. Blu as TO this
dent If the Roanoke Agricultural So
cietv, and one OF the best farmers in
the State. in a conversation the other
day in the Museum, stated that in
in the cotton burrows, 5000 loads Of
compost. Now. as shown by analy-
SIS, lately cited. at least SO per cent.
OF this was waste; that is 20, 600 loads
were scraped up, manipulated. shovel
ell into cart, hauled and distributed,
-four handiings.-to no purpose
whatever, ton the present theory.
That is how much, (the labor, trans
lated into dollars: At i've cents a
load, So. 500 On one farm. II year:
for one crop. How much for SCOT
Land Neck. Not less than 100000. En-
large it To the proportions OF the
county. and the region, and what an
enormous tax upon the farming IN
dustry is here aggregated. This year
on many farms al least, the overseer
hauIs out and distributes only the con
cent~ated manures, from stable and
cotton seed &C., without dilutlng
with useless dirt.
The question is asked. however, by
Mr.. Smith and others, whether. after
all. there might not have been some
augmentation of fertilizing materials,
or forces, by chemical changes oc-
curing in, and promoted by the com
posting: the transformation and the
i. increase. for example Of the nitrogen,
Welding nitro beds of Napoleon and
;. OF the late COnfeleracy.
+ Now. be it noted that the objections
/, 10 not lie against composing at all,
but against the worthless material;
/, used for the purpose. That is a sum
cient answer TO the inquiry above
stated.
As to the value of composing. n<