The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1886-04-01
Preservation of the Soil.

The reckless and exhaustive system of
cultivation practiccd upon our large
farms, before the war, has left us legacy
of poverty in the soil. The natural in.
crease of the labor, under the system of
slavery, made corresponding demands
for open lands, and forests were mcrci-
lessly slaughtered, and fields, failing in
maximum yields, were left to be washed
away by the rains and Scared into gap.
ing gullies. In many places the pros
pect now is unsightly and the outlook
for intensive farming is not full of hope,
at least upon the face of appearances.
1t is great satisfaction to know, how
ever, that nature has done much for our
soil, not only in its original fertility, but
also in its power 10 recover itself under
proper methods and judicious manuring.
The statements already presented to our
readers as to the possibilities of our Sec
ton, and the actual results upon the
farms of the State, arc sufficient guar.
antee that farming will pay handsomely
in Georgia.
To rais'. good crops upon our rolling
lands proper attention must be given to
the preservation of the soil. If year
after year the land is to receive deposit
of expensive plant food in the shape of
commercial fertilizers. farmers must not
be content TO take the single crop it may
furnish and leave the residue of manure
to be washed into the branches and
creeks before another crop can be grown.
II the soil does its best service, its re-
sources must be husbanded. Cultivated
fields must be preserved from the tramp.
ing and grazing of stock, protected
against the washes of the rains; they
must he made to absorb and hold all the
plant food put into them. The matter
Of soil exhaustion has gone far enough
with US, and it is time now we had called
halt. The farther we 60 into evils of
any kind the moro difficult we find it to
retrace our steps More and more is this
matter pressing itself upon us, and we
are gralfed To find corresponding re-
sponse on the part of farmers at the
South. Our people are awakened to the
necessity for change in the care aud
improvement of the soil; the results are
satisfactory and profitable.
The first evil to be guarded against is
the washing of the heavy rains. Terraces
and bitches are objected to, because of
the amount of land they occupy and the
attention pecessary to keep them in
order. This question involves simply a
balancing of expense as between keeping
up the fortifcations against waste and
allowing the land gradually to pass away.
A little expense distributed through each
season will, in the course of few years,
make soil of magnificent capabilities,
whereas neglect in this way will bring
about barren waste of sterile, unpro.
ductiye fields. Terrace your lands to
save the soil, and then see that all the
ploughing is doao in such manner as to
preserve rather than drain off the plant
food.
Soils are exhausted just as animals, by
overwork and insufficient food supply.
A continual taking out and never put
ting back would eventually exhaust the
sea. Changing crops from one field to
another rests certain elements of the soil
aud puts others to work regular rota-
ton, followed by abundant manure sup.
plies, will not only preserve but improve
our lands.
Begin this system at once; build up,
strengthen and preserve the soil, increase
its capabilities, enlarge its productive
ness, intensity all its powers, reduce the
area of work to such limit as can be
easily compassed, and let the soil of the
farm show its possibilities under judi.
cious, intelligent care, and abundant
yields will be annually secured.-SOuth-
erm CuHirator.