Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1883-08-02
FARMING In THE SOUTH.
The Practical Value Of Intensive
Farming.
Some of the Results of Scientific Ag-
rlculture in Georgia--Charleston
Phosphates and How they Could
be Utilized by the South.

Phosphates and How they Could
be Utilized by the South.
From Farish F'urmdn's Address at
Montgomery, Ala.
Under the intensive system, the
rapidity Of plant growth is almost in
credible. Last year after raising a
crop of oats, I planted the land on
the 9th day of June in cotton. In
August pulled up a stalk Of the
cotton to exhibit in connection with
my address before the Georgia State
Agricultural Society. Just fifty nine
days after the seed were deposited in
the ground, and it then measured
FIVE feet.three inches in height, and
had ON it 126 bolls, blooms and
squares. You can readily under
stand how crop growing as rapidly
as this would soon cover the lana
and protect it in every way. Four
years ago I took "a piece of sandy land,
loose in texture and easily washed,
lying upon a steep hillside, so steep
in fact that it is necessary to have
the crops carried part of the way up
the hill to the wagon at harvest. My
object in selecting it was to see if by
q continuous succession of crops it
was not practicable to stop the
washes, which we're very numerous,
and in some places more than two
feet in depth. and bring the land
into good condition.
I began by planting oats, followed
at once by corn and peas; first filling
the gullies with pine tops and plough
ing over them. I fertilized each crop.
with manure suited to its require
ments, and kept the land continuous.
ly in cultivation, raising every year
on it three crops, as above stated,
and to-day its productiveness is in
creased four fold and the surface is
smooth and unbroken, without any
sign of gully apparent. From
these illustrations, drawn from my
own experience, you can see that the
intensive system is able to remove
the sources from which spring the
great evils that SO sorely afflict our
agricultural interests. The only 9th.
or questions left for consideration,
and one with which I am frequently
confronted, is: Granted that it can
do all this, does it pay ?" "Is it not
too expensive for general adoption 2"
''Is it within the means of the aver
age Southern farmer 2 To answer
:aese queries I will draw again upon
my own experience and give you the
figures covering my FIVE years ex.
pertinent on sixty acres ofland.
Five years ago 1 selected sixty
acres of the poorest land in middle
Georgia, FIVE acres being red clay,
twenty FIVE sandy surface with clay
subsoil near the surface, and about
one.half of thirty being sandy piney
woods land without any clay within
several feet of the surface. l cult.
waited this carefully the first year
without manure, and made on iteight
bales of cotton. The second year
applied 500 pounds of compost FER
acre, consisting of six bushels cotton
seed, six bushels stable and lot ma
nure, and 40 pounds chemical, cost
ing two dollars per acre, making the
cost of manure used on the sixty
acres $40. The crop was twelve
bales of cotton, averaging 47o pounds
and bringing $47 per bale-giving
four bales of cotton increase, or in
money $1s9, and leaving profit on
its use, after paying for the manure,