The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1882-11-10
WONDERFUL WORK ON A SCRUB FARM

EarM- Startling Figures.
ATLANTA, GA, September 3O.-I
suppose the arc few readers of tha Cons
stitution who do not remember Parish Fur,
| man.
lie was Il bright and hrainy senator in
1876, anI-led the capital campaign against
Atlanta-was mentioned for Congress-
--and always esteemed him as one Of the
best equipped and most capable of our young
politicians "A few years ago he quit poll.
tics and went to farming | heard that he
had settled on thin piece of land with
poor prospects, and in common with MANY
OF his friends, thought he had dropped out
of affairs.
At the last agricultural convention he
electrified the older farmers of the State
with the details of tho most astounding five
years. firnliag essrs. .slsse- ssshssaf
State, andist TO day nloie. talked about in tho
State than if he had served in congress
twenty years.
have heard the record of his wonderful
work several times within the past few
months. and the comment with which it
is usually greeted is, "I don't believe it," |
simply say that [ have the authority of at
least three excellent gentlemen for the
truth of tie following main points:
Furman started work with sixty five acres
of the very poorest land in middl, Georgia
live years ago. The fist year he made
eight bales Of cotton on the sixty five acres,
or less than one bale to eight acres This
shows that it was the poorest Of scrub land.
The second year he put 500 pounds of
compost to the acre, ard made twelve bales
OF cotton where he made eight before.
The third year he used 1000 pounds of
compost to the acre, increased the yield on
the 65 acres to 23 bales
The fourth year he used 1000 pounds Of
compost to the acre and Increased his crop
to AZ bales on IS acres
The fifth year he used 1000 pounds of
compost to the acre, and has crop is certain
ly above 80 to the G5 acres, and NAV reach
100 bales.
He has done all his work with two plows
and eighteen Gays extra plowing. His
Official and detailed statement shows that
the total expenses were $4,000, aud his nc,
profit S2,725, a iino rccored on a two horse
farm. In addition, the land that was worth
50 an acre five years ago is now worth 800
an acre. So with two mules this year he
has raised at least eighty bales OF cation,
900 bushels Of oats and 400 bushels of
corn.
Isn't that better record than he could
have made in congress Hasn't he done
the State more good BY this demonstration
than he could have done by ten years of
political speeches?
WHAT MIR. FURMAN SAYS ABoUTIr
| had al ,v;th E,,,,
the very picture Of health, prosperity and
intelligent enthusiasm, with perfectly indie.
pendent income, and thp secret of /, better
one In his hand, he is truly a happy man !.
He said to me:
"When | determined to go to farming,
live years ago, saw that it would not do to
farm in the old way saw farmers around
INC getting poorer every day, though they
worked like slaves. saw them starving
their lald so that each year their yield was
scantier, and their farms less valuable.
saw that it was still the plow following tho
axe, and that as fast as farmer starved
one piece of land he cleared out a new
piece. With 10000 immigrants pouring
into This country annually, and the public
domain virtually preempted realized that
this wasteful system must stop somewhere
and soon. Worse than all, saw that nv
own land rented to small farmers
WAS 20 PER CENT POORER AND LESS VAL.
| UABLE
than it was few years ago, and that it
would soon cease to pay me rent. knew
that Georgia was blessed with the best con.
| dtions OF season and soil and that, if PROD.
erly treated, it.would yield large results.
therefore selected 65 acres of the Door
est land had and went to work. The first
thing, of course, was to enrich the soil. TO
do this there was but one way to feed it,
and to give it more food than the crops took
from it-and above all to give it the proper
food. l knew that certain phosphate ma
nures stimulated the soil so that it produced
heavy crops for awhile aad then fell off. |
wanted none of this. l did not believe in
soil analysis. That was not exact enough.
TESTING THE APPETITE OF THE EARTH
"What | wanted was to know exactly
what perfect cotton plant took from the
soil. That ascertained then to restore to
the soil exactly those elemel ITS in larger
quantity than the crop had distracted them.
This Is the basis Of intensive farming, and
it will always make land richer year
after year. l hsd cotton plant analyhed,
and found that needed eight elements in
my manure, of which commercial fertilizers
furnish only three aud the soil only one,
L therefore determined to buy chemicals
and mix them with humus, muck, decayed
leaves, stable manure and cotton seed, till /
had secured exactly what was needed
did SO, and at last produced perfect com.
post for cotton. then ascertained that my
crop of eight bales had taken out of each
acre of my land as much of tho constituents
of cotton as was held in 25O pounds of my
compost. / therefore put 500 pounds Of
compost on each acre, restoring double what
the cron Of tho yaar haf,ro kol ..loD -.