The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1878-05-02

not noticing the many who fall OF nltl'
mate success. Independent of the un-
rest, the disappointed ambition, the wear
and tear and mean rewards of public
life, it is said that of one thousand mer-
chants who had kept accounts at one Of
the Boston banks, only six died rich.
On the other hand, the farmer, if not
absolutely rich, is at least independent.
He has home which his labor and taste
| have adorned; he has broad acres, not
always held by lease as in many coun-
tries, but as a freehold-if not at the
beginning, this is generally the final re-
suit. In England and Scotland land in
the general is in the hands of few, and
remains in that condition. Not so in our
country. No law of entail or primogen-
iture fosters the accumulation of over
grown estates. 1t is one of the blessings
of the American farmer that he owns in
fee.simple the land which he cultivates
if he does not, by industry and economy
he hopes soon to do so.
Labor, for fair remuneration, whether
of the brain or hand, should be the glory
of America; besides, there is true dignity
in labor, especially in cultivating the soil.
The object which the farmer has in view
is to subdue the earth, to eradicate its
briars and thorns and to plant in their
stead what is useful and beautiful to
man. It is to fulfill the original appoint
ment of the Creator that man I"shall eat
bread in the sweat of his face" Labor"
says o noble worker, "has been made by
Providence the law of mans condition
| it is the price at which whatever is valu.
| able in life must be earned" Whatever,
therefore, degrades labor as the business
of life, or renders it distasteful or dishon-
orable, does violence to our social laws
no less than to wise economy. All i'm
provement, all progress Of the race o.
man in civilization, has been the result
of intelligent labor. 1t has built oul
cities, dug our canals, constructed oul
railways, developed our mines, built oul
steamers and ships; given life and energy
to the industrial arts, and, above all, il
feeding and clothing our people and pro-
viding for their happiness. "The ma
ton" says Doctor Samuel Johnson, "thai
can furnish food aud raiment (those uni
ressal commodities) may have her. ship.
welcomed at thousand ports, or sit al
home and receive the tribute of foreign
countries, enjoy their arts or treasure VI
their gold" Let labor, therefore, be
crowned with honor-that labor especial
| ly which contributes so much to the vel
fare of man, and allows him to approach
nearest, through Nature, to Natures
God. sd ''5'-af ad 3"
The fourth condition on which depends
our agricultural progress, is more thor
ough knowledge and practice of agricul
I ture as science and as an art. And b!
this is meant knowledge of the princi
pies, the why's and wherefores, which lie
at the foundation of successful farming
and of the practical application of those
principles, combining skill, economy and
an the appliances OF art. The great
difficulty with the American farmer has
been, and still is, that he has been nur'
tured and educated in the habit of cult,
waiting primitive SOIL The labor and
expense attending the accumulation and
application of manure, with the necessity
of unlearning old habits and theories
have made him tempt Nature to the
verge of exhaustion and degrade noble
profession to one of mere routine. While
our people are ever disposed to boast o.
their inventive skill and teachable dispo'
sition, the older nations which we affect
to despise offer us some valuable lessons
in agriculture. The Chinese, for exam
pie, by minute and careful culture, by
rotation of crops and by the use OF every
possible kind of manure, have made theil
lands yield undiminished products fol
thousands of years. The northern prov
inces of China produce two annual crops
land. it is said that towards the south
| I've are usually obtained every two years.
This prodigious yield has continued fol
ages, and yet the soil is rich and produc
tive, teening with nearly four hundred
millions of human beings. The spade j:
extensively used, every inch of ground j!
thoroughly titled, the hills are terracec
and the soil irrigated wherever possible
Agriculture is everywhere honored anc
encouraged; the Emperor himself goe'
annually to the field and turns the frs
yernal furrow. If China or japan were
4 to follow our methods of farming, fannie
and death would soon sweep millions inst
their graves. There is still in our coun
try (strange to say) q large amount o
what may be styled routine farming
that is to say, farming as our fathers arit
grandfathers used to do. In some cases
where the soil is ine1haustible, thi
method may be the best method of farm
ing for the present owners; besides, TIN
example of father to son is invaluable
provided that example be good. Practi
cal knowledge is certainly superior t.
mere theory; but to persist in the SAM
succession Of crops, in replanting tn,
same and often the poorest seed, in pur
suing the same methods of culture, il
rearing the same common stock, in usln!
the same poor implements of husbandIy
is to deny the value of the aggregate ex
perience of men of similar pursuits, ant
to ignore the progress of the age il
science and the useful arts. Itshould b
the aim of every young farmer to do no
only as we'll as his father, but to do nj
best ''to make two blades of grass grow
where one grew BEFORE" We are all,
fear, too apt to ignore to too great an e1
tent book farming. Books, l know, oftel
err in their theories and fanciful farming
projects; but let me assure you that ther
is to be found much of value in thei
suggestions, and it becomes the intelli
gent farmer to select the wheat from tn
chaff, and not by prejudice reject tn
whole. Agriculture is growth-lik
the plant it cultivates, and like the mind
also, the more it is developed the more j
yields. Of all human pursuits agricul
ture is first in order, in necessity and i'm
portance. The best farmer is likely T.
be the most intelligent man and com
munity OF knowledge is one of the strong
est ties that can bind and bless society
Agricultural knowledge, therefore, beget
productiveness, and in the same proper
ton develops the wealth, the prosperiit:
and che progress of our country; 81
Humphrey Davy once remarked, il
speaking of the future influence of agri
culture that "nothing is impossible +