The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-11-10

:" DS'iS'o 'na' III tuiS Why can tue tW
important points in the agriculture of IL,
cotton states be most rapidly and perm.
nently reached, namely: /. The increa.
OF the crop of cotton to the acre and.
the introduction of diversified farming Il
a source of profit to the farmer and q
benefit To tho soil he cultivatcs.
OF course l cannot speak from expert
ence, but see no reason why the cottol
crop should not be carefully cultivate
under that exact system which il apple,
TO special crops. or why cotton cultivation
with rs much accuracy as is tn
cultivation Of land devoted TO local crop
for local markets. There is period il
the occupancy of lana for farming pur
poses when the farmer can, is il were
gather i'll the production Of the earth
The cereal crops of the newer states ant
the territories are produced without spe
cial care and without the aid of fertilizers
The virgin soil ponrs forth its return,
with unbounded lbcrality. But mi,
condition does not long continue: ar,
the husbandman is soon called on I,
manipulate his soil, and to restore il,
exhausted strength by careful farming
and judicious fcrIilizing. In this lies the
skill of the farmer, and in this lies also
the reliable profit OF his occupation
The agriculture of all the older countrie.
of the world consist wholly cf this. and
has become an art by which man draws
his subsistence from the soil, whether il
be the wheat of England or tie Black
sea. or the root crops of central Europe
or the wine aud olives of the South or
the coffee of Arabia or the tea of China
and Japan. 70 ali these crops the high.
est agricultural skill is applied whenever
ana wherever bountit'ul and profitable
crop is sought for. These results OF
farming are no more left to chance than
are charming shades and fascinating fig
ures woven by the looms of Lowell aud
Lyons. And this is true of all our older
st ates. Whenever n satisfactory crop Of
corn or wheat, or hay, is raised in these
States it is the result of great skill, and
If profitable it is the result of the strlctcst
economy. To those lands, lying around
our large cities, which are devoted 10
market gardening, and which produce
enormous crops, the cultivator applies
his utmost iDgenuity--and ho
seldoms fails 10 reap an ample reward.
1t seems rs if the earth was always ready
with liberal response to IL wise and
earnest appeal. And you must all have
witnessed with admiration the success
which has attended careful devotion to
any crop even when that crop was appa-
rently insignificant. suppose, nay,
think have right to be confident that
the same processes applied to tho cotton
crop will meet with similar result. The
yield OF cotton OH the 14,347 900 acres
devoted to this crop, varies from one bale
to the acre 10 one bale to three and
three quarter acres We arc told TINT
The wonderfully productive alluvion Of
the Red and Ouachita rivers, and the
never failing richness of the Arkansas
bottoms, give to the present area cultiva
ted in Louisiana and Arkansas, high
rate of yield; and the selected virgin
coils of Texas are Of equal productivcness
South Carolina and Georgia have more
of q partially exhausted soil, of lower
natural fertility, which, without fertili-
ization and good culture would not aver
age fourth OF bale TO the acre. Under
present management they average nearly
j third of n bale. The North Carolina
returns ofyicld for the past len years have
been quite uniformly higher than those
OF the other Atlantic States" A cores.
pondent from Beaufort says: "One-half
of all the land planted averages three
fourths Of bale" And very distin-
guised gentleman from South Carolina,
who receives for the rent Of his land 81. "
pounds of lint cotton to the acre, informs
me that his crop is usually as high as one
bale. Now allowing all that should be
allowed for the differences in soil and
these discrepancies in the cotton
yield are greater than they should bo,
when we consider the vast value
and Importance Of the crop, which an
titles It 10 the best care and cultivation.
That the large area devoted to cotton
could be at once improved by tillage and
fcrtilizing cannot Of course be expec.
ted. But much might be done in this
direction with n large portion of it even
without reducing the area itself The
for fertilizing are much
greater than is generally supposed, and
under ordinary circumstances tho farmer
need not despair to whom All outlay of
four or five dollars an acre for fertilizers
is cause of anxiety. Pulverized bones
even in small quantities disintcgratcd
mechanically, ashes of every description,
mari, wherever it can be found, yegcta.
bic deposits in meadows aud along the
streams, the decayed leaves of the forest,
cotton seed meal and refuse from oil
mills, and even the commingling Of soils
from different parts Of the farm by haul
ing heavy soil upon the light, and light
soil upon the heavy, all afford
means by which the ingenious
and diligent farmer can improve tho
quality CT fis land, without incurring the
expense and exposing himself to the un-
certainty of commercial fertilizers. DO
you say the fields are too large for such
work as this? Then occupy such space
as you can manage with your careful
culture, and you will find that the work
can be extended gradually and cconomi-
cally, until the improvement covers the
Whole acreage-a process which will 20 on
with surprising rapidity when once
Add to all this the supply
Of manure which may be made by the
diversified farming to which shall here
after allude, and the work will be far
less discouraging THU it appears to the
inexperienced. Says correspondent
of the United States agricultural! depart
mcnt, writing from Geneva, Alabama
I'm 1870, planted twenty acres cotton
in pine land, without fertilizing and made
three bales; in 1876 he planted three
acres and applied the manure Of two
COWS, mare and colt for three months,
and made 2,970 pounds seed cotton"
need no better illustration Of the Wow |
have advanced than this simple state
mcnt of an enterprising cotton grower
backed by two COWS and mare and colt.
| know many an agricultural section, the
value ofwhose product has been increased
in proportion as the cultivated area has
been reduced. This has already
been the experience of many of tho best
planters in the cotton States. Says Mr.. A.
NJ. Aiken, in report made to the agricul.