The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1886-04-16

CULTIvATINa Poor LAND.-Undcr the
caption, mo Money in Farming, in March
number of The Cultiuator. j. w. o. gives
a very practical aud sensible article. He
insists that the main cause of the failure of
Southern farmers to make money at farming
is the planting of poor impoverished lands,
requiring from three to six acres to make q
bale of cotton, even with the help Of COM
mercial fertilizers. AS we understand the
article the suggested yield of such land in
cotton is simply descriptive of its quality
or productiveness, and it is not intended to
intimate that the cotton alone should be
confined to the best soils and the poorer de-
voted to corn and other upland crops. The
idea is that such poor impoverished soils
should be thrown out altogether or sown to
small grain, and is in agreement with the
ott-repeated exhortations of THE Culioator
editors and correspondents during tho last
forty years. j. w. o. concludes his article
with the remark that he might write much
more upon this important subject, but
hint TO the wise ought to be sufficient
But it is sad reflection that so many far
mers are not ,cise.
Limo upon line,' ,tc., must be the motto
of the agricultural writer, If he would do
the greatest good. Old truths presented in
new forms of expression or under the guse
of novel propositions often result in convic-
tions and reformation at last. The argu-
ment has finally crystaNized into the express
sion, 'intensiUe .farminy,' now SO popular
with agricultural writer's and speakers.
The article under discussion is simply
wellput argument for intensive farming,
which, after all, is the inevitable result of
the exercise of common sense, guided by the
lights Of science. No merchant would be
so foolish as to buy sugar at a cost Of eight
cents per pound, when all chances are
against realizing more than seven ceats per
pound when sold again. Such man
would bo called fool; yet there are thous
ands of acres Of land in the South that are
cultivated at cost of, say ten dollars per
acre, which uniformly produce less than
ten dollars in value Of the crop. Such
practice is no wiser than swapping a dollar
for ninety five cents, and will just as inevi-
tably lead to bankruptcy, if persisted in on
large scale. Well, some will say, what
are we to do? The answer is, first, do as
J. W. o. says, throw out Of cultivation,
every single acre that cannot be made to
pay reasonable profit on the cost of the
crop. There is no getting around that
proposition, and it is not too late even now
to carry it into effect.
Next, dismiss and dispose of the labor
and stock relieved by such contraction Of
area, and concentrate skill, fertilizers,
quality of plant seeds, etc., on the remain
Ing land. DO n at once. If you have
planted field or ten-acre cut Of exhaus-
ted or very poor land, land from which you
cannot, on sober calculation, expect just
return for the labor that will be required
to bring it 10 maturity, let 1t go. Don't
touch it, except possibly to SOW it in field
peas 10 May or Juno. AS the good book
says, Nov is the accepted time now is
the day Of salvation So now is the time
for the farmer to do what no knows will
be best for him to do, and cease doing what
he knows will not pay him to do.
Atlanta, Ga. r. J.B.