Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1879-07-30
FARM AND FIRESIDE.
High Farming.

At the outset the speaker reviews
briefly the present depressed condition
OF British agriculture, which he attri-
butes to the combined effects of Sue
cession Of bad seasons, cheap grain,
dear labor, cheapening meat and close
foreign competition, especially with the
agricultural products ofthis country, and
the object of his address he declares TO
be, not to discuss the applicability Of
all the suggested remedies for this de-
preston, but to examine the advice
frequently offered, that lower prices
should be met by increased production /;
In other words, whether higher stan
dard Of farming can be recommended to
compensate for a reduction in price.
Supposing, for instance, there were a
permanent reduction in the price of the
salable produce Of the farm to the ex-
tent Of 20 per cent, would the proper
remedy be to increase our produce per
acre by one"fourth, and so bring up the
salable value to the same amount as
before. This could only be done BY
what is termed high farming, which he
pithily distinguished as intensive in con-
tradlstinction to the extensive farming
commonly praeticed here. Farming on
the four course system Of rotation, con-
Stunning each alternate crop on the farm.
ana IN addition TO this converting all
the straw of the grain crops into manure
out without the use Of any purchased
ioods or manures, though sometimes
isnorantly called by that name, would
not be high farming; but, on the con.
trary' he considers in one of the main
causes OF the present depression, "Higb
farming is very dlfferen. process. Il
implies 1.-The importation of material
nom without. All soils are capable Of
yielding more or less annually from
'IeH OVID substance to the produce
winch grows upon them. But. the
greater the amount of cattle.tood and
manure purchased and brought mon
tne iand-that is, the higher the farm.
!os-the less will the soil itself contri.
butte to the crops. Indeed. in MANY
cases. itcontributes nothing at all. but
becomes richer by The process. Under
such circumstances, the soil NAV ho
SAID to serve mainly as a reservoir for
tne manures applied, and for tbe pec-
essaFy moisture, and to afford support
20 the growing plants; so that. with the
alo OF the SUMS rays, they NAV he en-.
aoied to accumulate carbon (and other
constituency from the atmosphere
they thus, so to speak, manufacture
raw material supplied from external
sources. Ullder such conditions aori-
CUT manufacture depending on
~, It's Of other soils and on the
IA ~. Aere for its raw material. lust as
much as do the manufactures Of wool.
cotton, and silk depend on external
sources for their material"
This system has found many adyo-
Gates i'll England, chiefly on the ground
that most Of the expenses connected
Win farming are much the same. what.
ever the value Of the crops grown. and
consequently that, with the exception
OF the extra cost of the manure applied
TO grow the larger crop, the Charges
remain much the same whether the
amount and value of the produce be
great or small. If the application Of
two or three times as much manure
yielded twice or thrice as much increase
OF crops, then he comedies that this
style of high farming would be remedy
Tor lower prices; but the results of some
OF the field experiments at Rothamsted
conclusively shown that the higher Won
farm, beyond certain limit, the less is
the amount of increase you obtain for
given amount Of manure. and therefore
the greater the cost of that increase. II
Is frequently assumed that tho manure
made by feeding stock costs nothing
that by 'skilliul and judicious manage
ment the cost of the food and the other
expenses will be covered by the value
OF the meat produced and sold and
that, this being so, the manure IS OBJ
tanned gratis. But the fact is universal
in England, and frequent in the older.
settled parts of this county, that the
food OF an animal will, as a rule. cost
more than the meat produced will sell
for; and that, consequently, the cost of
the food and the other necessary ex.
penses can only be recovered by charg.
ing portion to the manure.
The speaker next gave highly inter.
esting account ola series ofexperiments
at Rothamsted, on the ordinary four
course rotation of turnios, barley, clover
or beans. and wheat. The experiments
lasted 81 years. One.third Of the land
was kept entirely without manure dur.
ing the whole period of the expert.
ments; one'tLird received mineral
superphospbate of lime alone, every
fourth year; that IA, for the root crops /:
the other third received, also every
fourth year, liberal dressing ola COM
pick artificial fertilizer, composed as
follows:
y.-...x Per Acre. |
sffs - 1900 lbs.