The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-09-04
Agricultural Progress.

theory and practice which we observe
around us here in Fern Bank, and which
it is to be presumed obtain more or less
over the whole country, have set us to
cogitating upon the causes thereof, and
we have unwillingly come to The conclu
sion that agriculture, "the nursing moth
er of all the arts" rs she is rightly
claimed to be, lags far behind her chill
dren on the road to progress. The dear
old lady has gotten into rRt and we fain
would lend hand to pry her, and to do
so, we must endeavor to persuade her of
q fact which she certainly does not prac-
tice, even if she is aware of its existence,
and that is, that brain work is quite as
necessary to successful farming as what
is called in rural parlance "elbow
grease"
Hercules, the Samson of the polished
pagans of antiquity, shouldered heavy
job when he contracted to clean out the
stables of that untidy old farmer Augea,
in which 5000 oxen had been stalled for
many years, but the enterprising Here.
worked with his brain as well as his
hands; he saw at once that with his dung
fork, his shovel and his barrow, it would
be impossible to get through with the
job, so he set his brain to work and
turned couple of rivers through the
stable and so filled his contract. To be
sure the waste of all that valuable ma
nure was crime against good husbandry,
but there was no stipulation for its sal
wage specified in the contrct. Moreover,
| the place could not have been cleaned in
any other way. So we fancy that if our
good old nursing mother would make q
little more use of her brain she would
get along much better and march in the
front rank along with the other arts, all
Of which are the fruits of her womb and
the musings of her breast. Nor does it
seem to US that agriculture gets her fair
share out of our costly public schools.
Far from it. Indeed it strikes US that
the tendency of these schools is to incline
the rising generations to shun the hon.
orable toll of the husbandman, and the
equally honorable mechanical employ
ments, and to seek among the unhealthy
excitements Of the cities to live by the
uncertain chances of trade and specula-
ton, or the more than equivocal pursuit
of petty politics. AS the ignorant re-
cruits of the French armies were taught
to believe that each carries in his haver-
sack the baton of r. Marshal, so are our
farmer boys taught by the schools that
they are all destined to fill some fat pub
lie Office, and the girls are made to be-
lieve that humping on q rickety, un-
tuned piano, makes far sweeter music
than the revolving churn, or the rustic
hum of the spinning-wheel.
Do any of our public schools, even
those in the very hearts of agricultural
communities and remote from cities, inn
part to the farmers children these ele-
ments Of natural science, such as geology,
entomology, botany and others absolute
y essential to the proper understanding
of the rural industries to which they are
destined? If they do we are not aware
of it, and among their textbooks we
certainly have never seen one directly
and exclusively devoted to agriculture.
SHEEP HUsBANDRY.
One of our neighbors, probably the
most extensive landed proprietor in this
section of Ohio, has gone into sheep rails
ing on rather IN extensive scale for this
part of the country. Previous to his do
ing so, we had many discussions as to the
variety of sheep which he should intro
duce as best adapted to the topography,
soil and climate of his farm, and its loca-
ton in reference to market-all vital
questions to permanent success, and not
lightly to be decided; the problem to be
solved was whether he should breed ex-
clusively for meat or wool, or for the two
combined. Finally and fortunately, as
it turned out, he consulted the great
work on "Sheep Husbandrs," by H. S.
Randall, who advises as follows: "No
one breed of sheep combines in the high
est perfection all those points which give
value to these animals. One is remark
able for the weight, or early maturity, or
excellent quality Of its carcass, while it
is deficient in quality or quantity of wool,
and another which is valuable for wool,
is comparatively deficient in carcass.
Some varieties will flourish only under
certain conditions of feed and climate,
while others are much less affected by
those conditions, and will subsist under
the greatest variations of temperature
and on the most opposite qualities of
verdue."
In selecting breed for any given To-
cality, we are to take into consideration,
first, the feed and climate, or the sur
rounding natural circumstances and,
second, the market facilities and demand.
We should then make choice of that
breed which, with the advantages pos
sessed, and under all the circumstances,
will yield the greatest net value of mar
ketable product.
Rich lowland herbage, in climate
which allows it to remain green during
large portion of the year, is favorable
to the production of large carcasses. If
convenient to market where mutton finds
a prompt sale and good prices, then all
the conditions are realized which call for
a mutton, as contradistinguished from a
,cool. producing sheep. Under such cir
cumstances the choice should, undoubted
ly, in my Judgment, rest between the im
proved English varieties-the South
down, the new Leicester, and the i'm
proved Cotswold or new Oxfordshire
sheep. In deciding between these, other
and more specific circumstances are to be
taken into account. If we wish to keep
large numbers, the Down will herd much
better than the two larger breeds. If
our feed, though generally plentiful, is
liable to be shortish during the drouths
of summer, and we have not certain
supply of the most nutritious winter feed,
the Down will better endure occasional
short keep. If the market calls for
choice and high-havored mutton, the
Down possesses a decided superiority.
Tr an tho otber hand we wish TO keen