Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1882-04-06

20 Hnpygftabls
By Dn. JosRrH n. 0wKxs, Anne Arundel
Coanty, Maryland. Il
Awarded tlss prizs of SIS I,E bess essay Oh
this topic. offered By The American
ksEnler. Committee Hon. VIM.
b. I'LL, ~ Primes CieorgeG s Dr.
Geo. W. Ds9aey. a. Chl-
vert. ard Geo. Thmn-
as. Esq. Of Ht.
AIaFyH.
It i nov conceded 81 shouahtful
farmers that = change il the aericul-
tufnl products Of lower Maryland, Il
not, indeed. m altered system Of ag-
ricuiture. Is demanded By the vital
interests Of It's citizens. The uncer-
tainty and the cost Of producing to-
baeeo, which has been its chief crop.
as well as the small prices 20 gener-
ally realized foFit. induce doubt az its
continued profitable cultivation. An
annual decreasing supply Oflabor. the
very general financial depression pre-.
vailihg among tobacco planters, and the
lessening demand from foreign mar
kets fer Maryland leaf" strengthen
The opinion held firmly in the minds
Of many that . more varied farming
10 undoubtedly the part of wisdom.
and that the cultivation Of tobacco
cannot further successfully be contin-
ued here, at least in such quantities
e heretofOre. and to the exclusion Of
other interests.
It 10 difficult to suggest ''the system
or crops that shpald supsrsede it. $
For more than q century tobacco has
been the chief money crop Of this Sec
tiOn. Land owner and laborer alike
are accustomed to its culture. To
suggest a discontinuance ofits growth
is by many persons regarded as the
opinion Of M ill-balanced mind, or Of
an impracticable person. Fortunes
that have been made in the past are
cited ~ reasons for its continued pro-
duction: fortunes that have been lost on
account Of repeated failures to grow
q profitable crop are forgotten. And
the query is propounded. what viii
you substitute for tobacco? Il cannot
be corn. nor yet can it be wheat. And
beyond that il midnight darkness,
for other crops besides tobacco, wheat
and corn are unknown in southern
Maryland.
The absence Of rapid transportation,
e. well as the want Of home markets,
such as are afforded by nearness to
cities and towns. has precluded the
culture Of small fruits and vegeta-
bles.
From the lack Of proper buildings
and of capital, as well as experience
in buying and feeding stock cattle,
farmers have not been disposed to
make winter feeding part Of their
system.
Milk and butter have been only
desired for home consumption. whilst
heavy rates Cor freight by water to
Baltimore would make hay an unprof-
table crop 20. therefore. in any sys-
TEN considered by the lower Mary
land farmer. the planting Of tobacco
seemed TO him to be essential. It's
cultivation on as large q scale as pos
sible was exceedingly tempting. az
when Q fall growth was made (and
failures are never anticipated) from
fifty TO sixty d0llarA could be realized
to the acre, whereas not more than
fifteen or twenty-five dollars can b
obtained from an acre in wheat OF
corn.
The Potomac and Patuxsnt planter,
conscious that cheap freights would
BRING grain from Chicago TO Baltimore
for about the same charges that were
demanded of him, conscious too that
his worn out soil could not compete
in the culture Of grain with the Wes-
tern prairies. eariched as they are bv
the decomposed vegetable growth oi
centuries. therefore naturally placed
greater reliance upon bis tobacco crop,
which had been the support Of bis an
cestors, and with the cultivation Of
which he was thoroughly familiar. s
IL is, however. maintained By many
that the culture Of tobacco az q speci-
atty Is prohtlesi, and should be aban-
doned ; that If for no other reason.
becanse it in directly and indirectly
destroying the fertility Of the soil.
which 10 the farmers capital. .
Let us note for moment some of
The evils attendant upon its growth.
Tobacco is 40 expensive crop, sxuen-
sive as to labor. expensive in prevent
ing attention to other interests upon
the farm. It's culture demands Al
least one able bodied laborer Cor everv
four or ave acres devoted to its growth.
and Il requires that labor during
every season Of the year.
No ether crop. no species OF work
however important can Be given pre-
eedence over it. During April and
May the plant beds must be cleared az
weeds and every sprig offender erass.
This is finger work, tedious and Slow
and often, indeed almost always, en-
cages the available force of the farm
Tor weeks as this season. In June and
July. earnest hoe work must be given
the Young plant after Il has been sek
Ont upon nicely prepared land; If not,
the vigorous growing crab grass and
pnrslnne will soon smother the much
slower growing tobacco plant not vet
large enough Tor horse cultivation.
There can Be no respite allowed here
corn has been planted underthspreus
Of work upon improperly prepared
land too frequently Z the case that