The Rugbeian. (Rugby, Morgan Co., Tenn.) 1881-1882, 1881-09-10

that so little is being done in the farming
line by my fellow countrymen> here, /
think | may possibly be able to make
some suggestions, based upon my limited
experience, which may be of some use
and, hope, stimulate some men to set to
work and try to do something, instead of
"loating" round the hotel and waiting
tor work to turn up of itself or be pro-
vided for them by the Board of Aid.
After looking around me for a few
weeks, | came to the conclusion that the
best way in which could invest my small
capital would be to buy sufficient land to
start stock-raising, and in the selection of
my land | considered the most important
points to be, to buy as cheaply as possible,
to buy land with good, free range in the
neighbourhood and with good timber on
it. AS | found the prices asked by the
Board of Aid for their farming lands far
too high, | did not purchase from them,
but secured land with better soil and
timber than that offered by them, for
about a third of their price, and had
my title examined and approved by the
best lawyer could hear of and also
obtained a warranty deed . from my
seller who as far as | could ascertain was
a man of reliable means. There was no
clearing at all done on my land and |
only got into my house and began working
at this in January last and consequently
my crop this year is naturally not much
to boast of, about acres in corn, 4 J in
millet, aquarter of an acre in potatoes
and beans sown among the corn. |
bought % head of stock. in ytle spring, a
mixed lot of COWS heifers and steers which,
are now doing well and getting fat on the
range without costing me anything but
salt and | am pretty confident of being
able to realise on an average profit of
81. head on them and have already
realised more than that Oh the sale of
COW and heifer, without counting the milk
and butter consumed in my household of
four persons, a very important item of
food. OF course have suffered like
everyone else from the exceptionally dry
season and shall consequently not raise
more than fourth of the feed | had
calculated on for wintering stock, but |
hope to do fairly well with those that l
shall be compelled to butcher in the fall
to avoid buying feed for them in the win
ter. This is rough sketch of my small
beginning and hope every year to in
crease my cleared land and stock and
eventually to get good pastures of grass
and clover which in the experience Of the
best farmers round here pay better than
anything else.
Now by way Of suggestions | would say,
do not be too hasty to condemn nattpe
farmers wholesale-of course there are
great many of them that are bad and
improvdent farmers, but if you will take
the trouble to go round the country and
consult the best of them, you will get a
great many useful hints from them. Do
not go slashing ahead and think that by
cutting down your trees and pulling up
the stumps with patent machines, you can
convert your land into meadows snch as
we are used to in England You will cer
tainlytind, if you do, that the natives are
right and that it wont do, and that you
must adopt, if not all, at all events many
of the ways of cultivating this mountain
land which they have proved by experience
to answer the best, and that, although a
large corn-feld studded with deadened
trees may not be pleasing sight to the
eye, it will be far more profitable than
one off which you have cleared all the
trees and stumps.
In conclusion | would say that tho
! ,.o,,,o+ ,.ocon,n,ond b,,viu,, fa,,,,r,. II