Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-11-05
1ntensire vs.. Extensive.

II has been well said that many farmers
do not seem 10 understand what Is meant
bv intensive farming. and as they nave
all their lives been accustomed 70 cuitl-
waiting a great deal II land 70 secure
even small crops, in the absence o.
personal experience they do not see no"
they can cultivate less without diminish
ing such crops a. the system Affords but
the numerous experiments on small areas
publisbed over and over for their 0enent,
ought 10 be good evidence Of what can
b done bv the intensive system
Besides. every farmer can Ty slch
exreriments Tor himself and kno"
the truth without dependence
uDon the testimony Of another. They
need not be costl-. Tor the fractional part
Of an acre will prove or disproVe theory
Of cultivation with as much certainty a.
A whole. or many acres. All the farmers
Of America. il NAV BE- said. have abund-
antIv tried the extensive system Of farm
ing. which Is we'll described as 'broad
and loosely scattering over large sur
face the labor. capital and anxiety Of
the farmer. To gather up, 10 contract and
concentrate these on a much smaller sur
face. will be a mastery move tOwaT
the intensive system. The contraction
need not be 20 great as 10 embarTass the
uninitiated farmer-he may contract,
draw in and concentrate-by degrees until
he arrives at the area OF surface he can
manage. If BIZ better manuring aud cul-
tiyating half the land be formerly
SKINNED over he finds that he has not
diminished the annual supplies Of his
family from the farm, he may fairly con-
clude that he has made a great gain IN
labor. wear and tear, etc. and that the
same operations the following year VIII
improve his land TO a still higher degree,
and consequently give him still better
Weld. This Will put him on the
I'D grade, and as his reduced
surface grows in fertility, we may safely
contract a little more, and 50 on. 70 the
diminished area called intensive, which
Is no more nor less than the surface area
he can thoroughly fertilize, cultivate and
bring up 70 the highest capacity Of the
soil and climate for production. But MS
advantages do not end here. His crops
thus cultivated are superior in quality
they 90 further in supporting his family
and the farm stock. and actually bring
more money in the market. Then. too, by
contraction he has gained a gOOdly guam
tity Of open land, heretofore necessary, ne
thought. 10 produce inferior nubbins or
poyertv-stricken cotton 10 help out the
family supplies: but now this land may
be sowed down in small grain OF grass-a
few good cows kept grazing thereon to
/ further enrich the land and furnish the
I family with good milk and butter. . II
| these lands are very poor they may be
started into paying productions in a SIN
| gle year by sowing and blowing in field
peas. The poorest drained land in Georgia
can be made rich by good system
/ Of grass manuring, and nothing
! Is better than field peas, unless it be the
/ Beggar-lice or Indian clover Of Florida
/ and Southern Georgia. The first crops,
/ s0wed on very poor land, should be
/ plowed under when half-leg high, sowing
again as the vines are turned under.
/ Keep this up until August, then SOW
full crop at the last turning under, and
I let the August crop remain for a fall
/ gathering Of the peas and the vines to
rot on the surface. That field will make
good corn the next year.
/ The Springfield H. Republican is the
/ first Republican paper to fly to the de-
/ Tense Of the u emory Of old John Brown.
/ Its principal argument is that Rev. Mr..
/ Utter. Of Kansas, is a ''young parson
! from the Lord knows where" and he Is
/ accused Of being a malicious trespasser
/ on holy grounds. Well, there's no deny
| in the fact that John Brown was hanged