The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1879-07-17
8be Tarnt.
High Culture.

ceres. in Guernsey. fftv; and in Alderney
FIVE acres is a large estate. Far the greater
number of proprietors in these Islands own
less than two acres. This division OF land
has been brought about by lar Of 'entott'
operating for a long period. The real cause
of the great prosperity of these Islands, is
that every few acres represents both a tdc-
torn for the creation of wealth and a rescr-
,oI;I for its accumulation. On a large scale
we see the same system, less perfectly car
ried out. in France, and especially IN
Switzerland. which accounts for its rapidly
growing wealth.
A recent writer, describing what he saw
in the Channel Islands, says: with these
cultivators Of the soil, nothing IS lost.
Each does all that ingenuity and labor cnn
to turn everyssquare foot of his little estate
to useful ~ccount. Every scrap and corner
of it, and what they can be made to pro-
duce next year, or a dozen years hence, are
constantly mapped in his minds eye. A
bit of ground or an angle in the backyard,
where there is room for a fig or plum tree,
is Immediately utilized, and soon they are
carefully tended to f~ruition. The little
piece of grass land will support a few apple
trees, and the apples before long will be
ripening above the grass. Before the po-
tatoes are out of the ground, beets or
broccoli are set between the rows. No
leaf Of the beet or broccoli Will rot on the
plant, but as soon as it has done its duty to
its parent, it is culled for the cows. The
cows supply milk and butter, or cheese, for
the maIket. Cows, pigs and poultry are
each kept, as snrc uHs, and all alike, for the
market. Alderney contains only 1862
acres of land. of which five acres is a con-
siderable estate. The population was a
little less than 3, 900 in 1871. 1t has made
the Attorney cow celebrated all over the
world Another writer says: That we
may be certain of two facts: 1. That the
population Of this Island would have been
much less, and the amount Of trade carried
on in it much less, had it been the property
of one man; ,. That it would never have
exported so many cattle as to have made
the Attorney cow familiar to the farmers of
the United Kingdom and the United
States" I'm a short walk, he met a wo-
man leading four COWS to water. She told
him that the year previous, she had sold
three heifers for expectation, at prices
varying from 800 to $l25." To keep up
the supply Of cattle for expectation, there
must be a great many who own as many as
this peasant woman. Even if this | ,962
acres were owned in three or four farms,
doubtless he would have heard very little
of Alderney cows. The sam may be said
in regard to the export of Jersey and
L CdCEl lSluHI lhS IL w
well-defined breed.
But why do we find in these islands a
condition of things so far superior to that
existing in the Isle of Wight, nearly on the
coast of England ? The writer first quoted,
says: ''That the answer usually given, that
the soil ann climate of these islands are bet
ter than those of the Isle of Wight, IS mad
TisstJle-the real fact being that when the
railways opened communication with Lon
don and all the large cities of the United
Kingdom, the Channel Islanders were al
ready in possession of the ditfused property
IN land, ditfused capital and diffused skill,
which enabled them to reap the rich re-
ward of their admirable system of mixed
farming
1t will be contended that this system is
only applicable to communities with dense
population and a ready market for every
thing that can be made out of the soil and
produced in the form of meat, dairy pro-
ducts, &c. | admit that it can only attain
Its highest perfection under such a condition
OF things !; and have mentioned these facts
simply to illustrate the priact pie involved.
But that an analogous system, in which all
products that cannot be sold, shall be cons
verified INTO salable meat, milk, wool and
manure, is the safest and surest method Of
obtaining profit, and permanent improve
ment of the soil, cannot be successfully de-
MED. While no system can be made uni
versally applicable, every farmer ought to
endeavor work out one for himself, accord
ing TO the location, soil and character of
his farm. In doing His, the following
principles must be kept in view:
1. The cultivation of small areas of land
in a rotation of crops-prfmaly or staple
crops for sale directly, and secondary crops
to be converted into meat, wool and ma
nure for additional profit and Improvement
to the land.
2. That the land cultivated must be made
rich in plant-food, chiefly by the use of the
manures made by the stock. which consume
the secondary products, and fertilizers only
purchased to supplement- the deficiency.
3. The grain crops ought not to succeed
each other, but that there ought to be an
alternate succession of grain, green and
grass crops.
4. That a long course is more favorable
to the soil than a short one; that a tive-tield
SvStom iS better than q three or fOur-fel6