The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1878-02-08
VOL. IX.-NEw SERIES.
A MODEL FARM IN SOUTH CAROLINA

MODEL FARM IN SOUTH CAROLINA
MIR. EDITORIALS n short description OF
visit to the model farm of our county will
be interesting and profitable to many of our
farmers, have thought it not amiss to give
it with few thoughts it impresses upon
my mind. We (myself and fricnd) arrived
there about sun down and were heartily well
coined by the owners, Messrs. Satterthwaite,
father and son, or, we should rather have
put 1t, son and father, for the son seems to
have the management Of the farm. Our
curiosity was excited by glimpse we OBJ
tanned OF the arrangements that evening,
but as it was too late to be shown around
I'VE had 70. 9ontpnk ourselves till -no4niaG.
moi very hard matter, considering the at
tention we received from both tho gentle
men and their estimablc ladies'. After a
good supper, nights rest, and good break
fast, we were ready for inspection. The first
thing on the docket, as the clerk would say,
was the dairy. This was furnished with all
the modern improvements and conyeniences.
Attaining uniformity of heat, including
ventilation, thermometer, patent churn, but
ter washer, &c. This department is presi-
ded over by the younger Mrs. Satterthwaite,
and most successfully does she do it, turning
out an article that brings in the Aiken
market 30 cents per pound while other
country butter is only selling for twenty five.
The next things to look at were fowls.
Hero is Mr.. S.,a forte, if he has one. Tur-
keys that will~eigh from is to 80 pounds,
magnificent. Ducks; Pekin and other va
rieties, very interesting Toulouse geese,
aasSMr. Satteithwaite very aptly put it,
would make lot of 'darkey hash," weigh
ing 40 pounds. Our notice of the chicken
department. will be little more extended,
as it is very interesting. First, the hatch
ing house. In this is an incubator for
Matching artifcially, with capacity of 24O
eggs every three weeks. Imagine yourself
with 24O chicks without a mother. What
would you do with them? Mr.. S. is ready
for their comfort. He has chick house
made with glass sides on the east and south.
This admits the light and some warmth to
furnish all the time the requisite heat. He
has in the house large boiler stove which
is kept running all the time. He feeds all
his stock as we'll as fowls on cook ID food
The chicks will be kept in this house until
they can take care Of themselves on their
lot. His idea is to keep only such fowls as
the Plymoth Rock, Brown Lcghorn, and in
whom the instinct of setting is nearly bred
out and to hatch with the incubator. The
house which he uses for setting his hens is
a model of ncatness and convenience, as are
all his other fowl houses from which it is
entirely distinct. Our next visit was to the
lot. His barn arrangement for convenience
and utility and for comfort Of stock cannot
be cxcelled. Itincludcs among other things
a patent arrangement for stalling COWS, by
which large number can be enclosed in Il
small space without the danger of the
weaker ones being imposed on. This con-
sists of three bars so arranged that when
COW puts her head down in the trough to
cat her neck touches spring when two of
the bars come together and, 10, she is halt
cred for the night. She can eat, stand up
or lie down with comfort, but she cannot
worry her neighbors with her sharp horns
His arrangement for the care of his other
stock is par excellent. His cattle are AL.
dcrncy, yielding from seven to thirteen
quarts of good rich milk per day, none of
your blue Johnnie" gentlemen. His
hogs arc Berkshire some fine specimens
and his sheep Cotswold. These breeds he
considers the best suited to our wants and
climate. We will now notice the farm
proper. This farm was sold by the original
owner because he could not make support
on it. The fact is, it would not grow crops,
and was considered, until the present owners
came into possession, as the poorest farm in
all that country, but by high manuring,
good culture and proper rotation of crops,
these gentlemen are now making one bale
of cotton, from twelve to thirty bushels of
corn and from twenty to twenty-five bushels
Of wheat per acre, and other crops in pro-
portion. This is on land condemned for
poverty. We will briefly sum up part of
what we saw on the farm, and close. First,
strawberry bed, about two acres, the condi-
ton Of which plainly showed the attention
which they received, besides raspberrics,
blackberrics, &c Next, three or four young
orchards looking, very thrifty and healthy.
Mr.. S. doesn't propose to lose the benefit of
his time and money by neglect, for he had a
hand very busily engaged exposing the col
lars of his trees to the frost and removing
the borcr with knife. Next, was an as
paragus bed, which Knocked our prccon-
ccived notion of a little bed in the garden
in the head. This contained about one acre,
from which Mr. S. proposes to sell after
next season, when it will be ready to cut,
from $50 to 5000 worth per season And
last, his cotton land sowcd in rye at the
first picking. This rye is from three to six
inches hiph Vrry lausn md tnnlor