The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-11-13


When invited by the executive COM
mittce to prepare something on the
"Grasses" for this occasion, said yes
for as had been experimenting with
grass for the past ten years I felt as
though would bo at home with this SUBJ
ject; and then, again, it grows SO well
for me, and it seems like can have more
Of 1t on less space than any one know
in fact, think Dean Swift would have
called me benefactor, for you remember
he said, chat man was benefactor who
could make two blades o; grass grow
where only one grew before" and my
neig lbors tell me if can get little guano
/ will make forty blades grow where
there never was any before. And then,
again. thought il would be 'just the
thing" for young man like me to be up
here reading an essay along with oil the
agricultural and Grange magnates of the
land, and furthermore, it has become so
highly fashionable to look after aud cul-
tivat, these Grange and agricultural
meetings. All our great men ''do it,"
and who knows but what L may mako
vote by it.
Well, farmer like, 1 Kept putting
OF preparing for this occasion until
suddenly there came notice, "Sum-
mcr meeting of the Agricultural Society,
second Tuesday in August, at Chester, s.
G" aud said to myself, "you had bet
ter be seeing about that essay" but Of
course knew it was O small matter, and
that anybody could write an essay on
grass. So one of those late hot days in
July when the thermometer was some
what up in the nineties in the shade, I
put little table by northeast window
where there was little breeze slipping
in between the blinds as though it was
ashamed of being around on snch hot
day. had chairs all around me on
which vera my Encycicnedia, nv bound
copies of the Rural Caroinian, 1merican
AgricuHu.ist, &c, My "Webster's Un-
abridged" had a chair all to ITSELF
Then L said, now I'll write an essay that
will surprise the folks over yondor, and
30 I concluded would write very SCI
cntifc article, it would show more learn
ing. But found after writing q while
about clover, orchard grass, timothy, tall
meadow oats, Rescue, Italian ryo grass,
and last, but not least, our own dear old
crab, that was not tdisplaying any scien-
tific attainments whatever, and that was
only getting up very dull and prosy
concern.
then decided, as 1 was pretty well
"read up" on these subjects, would put
together what had learned in an elo-
quent and grandworded way, and that
would take; but did not get far on that
line before found that that essay was
going to be great mistake, and awoke
to the sad, sad fact that all my wits were
badly in "the grass" and that in my con-
ceit had consented to do one of the
greenest acts of my life. It was too late
now to turn back, my hand was already
"atthe plough, the meeting was on hand,
the essay had been announced, and if not
forthcoming the epitaph would be,
Whipped out by Gen. Green"
So just concluded, as had been
having some grass patches, would write
my experience in plain, farmer-like
manner, bring it up here to be thrown
into the heap produced by this meeting,
and if it was productive of even q stimu-
lating thought to any farmer would be
more than repaid for my exertions; and
if there was no good metal in it, il could
be thrown into the fire and burned with
the rest of the "stubble." ~ Sc
dare say in your reading Of Ramsay's
History of South Carolina this question
offered itself, "'"1There is the necessity of
artificial grasses?" For you read there
about magnificent and endless forests,
clear, pure streams filled with fish; ali
these thousand hills, whenever the leaves
were burned off, would be soon covered
with luxuriant growth OF native grass
and wild pea or vetch all kind of game
abounded.
We Of to-day think ir must, indeed, be
a romance as we read of this picture, cnd
then look at the one the face of our poor,
fot ia ~, IL
of less than thirty miles across the coun-
try, from Union Courthouse to this place,
whilst il may not literally be so, yet it
seems as though nothing meets the eye
but sea of gullies, with islands of ball
spots; and hope you won't smile, or
the Society think me extravagant, when
say in como places these nre so thick
that they seem to be on top of each other,
and the few spots left for the broomsedge
and pines seem 30 lonely and sad, like the
man who found himself in the wrong
pew, and wished he had not come to be
left in such 9 hopeless minority.
had gentleman on the Union side
of Broad River tell me sometimes he
would get on one of those broomsedge
strips, on q long hill, and have to ride q
quarter of mile before he could get out.
Now whilst we are all cognizant of the
many drawbacks there are to those who
are trying to build up and improve q
homo in this dear old sunny South-for
with all the faults We love thee stiu"--
yet 1t is sometimes a struggle to eep
down harsh feeling towards that genera
tion which the copntry's history tells of !:
zone generation spending its life pulling
down, the next one at the bottom round
to build up again"
Pardon me for reading from that histo.
ry: 'The art of land manuring Is i;ttl ii;;ttass 8
known and less practiced. The bulk OF
planters, relying on the fertility of the
soil, seldom planting any but what is
good, and changing lands when it begins
to fail for that which is fresh, seldom
give themselves much trouble to keep
their fields in heart. Beds of compost
are rare. Some twenty years from this
writing (some seyenty-fve years ago)
there was no fixed price in Charleston
for manures, and it was often given to
the first who Offered. - carry it off,
Gould such proceA, give us any other
sequelP And the all absorbing question
to every wide awake farmer is. what is
the quickest. surest and cheapest route
by which l can recuperate these old
worn lands, make a competency for N.Y.
self and family, and leave the latter
something otherwise than gullies7 My
answer would be, our own native green
crops and the artificial grasses.
1st. Whilst strictly speaking is Is NOT
properly grass, it ie generally accepted
and treated as such, and that is red clts
ver. It's uses are threefold--as a ferti'
N Il otro. v.H A..