Orangeburg times. [volume] (Orangeburg Court House [S.C.]) 1877-1881, 1878-02-16
SATUI
Application of Commercial Ferti-
liZcrs.
BY COLONEL THOMAS TAYLOR.

The success of the farmer has been
the result Of experiment, and not Of
knowledge; and SO long us we work
i'll the dark no specified result can be
certain. It is seli-evident that all
land must be ploughed, but hov it
should be ploughed depends upon the
character of the soil. Sandy soil
should be ploughed shallow first; it
may be subsoiled to any depth, and
the p'oughing may be deepened each
year without injury to the land or
crop.
Clay and bottom land can be
ploughed deeper, following with the
subsoi]. and increasing the depth in
ploughing yearly. All land should
be ploughed i'll the fall and winter,
and get the benefit Of frost anu ice;
land gets q great deal of frnctiiying
power from ice and frost. We now
have exhausted land, improved imple.
merits which enable us to prepare the
land thoroughly for the seed We
need something more. We get that
in the commercial manures, which
supply 10 Tie plant those cI,cm;ca!
properties which have been exhausted
by long culture and iniudicious
management.
We now have land and implements,
but We neul something to make the
land productive to Il sufficient degree
to pay the producer. We find under
lying some of the land an,l waters in
the lower part cf the State phos-
phutlc deposit, which, upon being
ground aud rendered soluble, forms
the basis ofa manure, which supplies
TO land those properties which have
been exhausted. These mixtures,
known rs commercial manures;. have
become generally used, aud have even,
with our experimental applications,
paid the producer in some Instances
lhis Vast >soGTCG' vi TgEitii to the
Stnte and farmer seems to he Prov;.
dental, and rs the means by which
we will be enabled 10 recover orr
losses in n great measure. If lhe
farmers had known how to make pro.
per use Of this discovery, their lands
would have improved yearly, instead
OF failing, after repeated applications
OF fertilizers. It, is almost the uni
vcrsal system OF the farm err 10 apply
the cotton seed, with its increase by
the use of commercial manure, To
SOME other exhausted land, instead of
returning the same to the land thu t
made it. Thereby they render the
land less productive each year, after
the fist or second application This
system will not build up our exhaust.
cd lands, but have the reverse effect
The rotation of crops in some legree
rem owes the difficulty, but even that
will not effect it entirely. You must
return all the increased proluction
all acre Of land, which is usel us man
ure, to the same land, aud not attempt
to build up two pieces flani wit II
the production of one. No land can
stand such depletion aud pay tn pro.
ducer. The best evidence Of the fer
tility of our lands is that they have
been able to stand such system of
culture and produce anything. L
have Travelled over some of the best
farming lands in the Northwest the
New England and Middle States.
The same system would and did, for
II time, render these lands very poor.
The owners, however, saw the error
of their culture, aud adopted system
of rotation. planting piece ofland
ohce i'll three years, sowing grass and
lining. What was the result? Their
lands increased in yield steadily until
they surpassed their virgin state. Th g
same thing can be done here, with
equal success, by rotation of crops
sowing peas and clover and turning
in the same. Do not take these from
the land because they look so fine
and you are short of rough food for
your mules and cattle. The natural
fertility Of our lands cannot be dis
puted. No State has more natural