The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-01-13

|
with one hand; and with drill or broadcast
sower, and hide cutting harrows, he seeds
down ten acres or more a day to one or Two
hands. So with corn; until six inches hlgh
can be cultivated exclusively with Il sinooth-
! ing harrow, eight or ten feet wide, going over
| fifteen to twenty acres day. These harrow
| ings begin before the corn is up. ana continue
| at intervals of about week, until 1T is SIN OF
eight inches high, they keep the land perfect
| ly clean destroying grass and weeds as tncy
| terminate After this the corn grows rapid
ly, and a wide cultivation, ilnlshlnsa row at t, d
| 90 passing over a few times, completes the
cultivation. Compare this with our SLOW. te-
dious processes, and does it not explain clear,
| ly and satisfactorily cheap and dear grain!
| But. saws one, "their lands are free of StumpS
and rocks, such implements and mcthods VIII
| do on prairie lands. but not on ours" IL Is a
great mistake to suppose that we at the Snuth
have a monopoly of stumpS and rocks: tnGIe mere
are stumps and rocks at the North as we'll;
som metimes their farmers dig up the Stun'pS
| and make fences of them; sometimes thcy
dig holes and bury the larger rocks, and haul
| off the smaller and build fences with them.
| We can do likewise. They have studied very
closely the problem Of economy IN LABOR ana
have concluded that it pays better TO remove
these distractions than to run over or around
them year after year without end Moreover
we have prairies, too. in the cotton States,
and hundreds of thousands Of acres or orlgl-
nally wooded land on which there are no
stumpS. and smaller, but still very IarSs
grown up in "old field pines will have no
Stumps in tour or five years after they are
cleared. No, good friends. 1t is not so mnch
the absence of suitable land that eHsiuues
these implements; it is the force OF habit;
overcautonsness holds back The spirit OF en-
terprise We hear a good deal OF nonsense
about the new South one unacqnamted
with the facts would be lea 10 thlnk We WEI, Wvre
Just emerging from state Of semi-Garnarlsin;;
Those of us whose memories 90 back beyond
the late war know the wealth OF our ancestFaI
civilization; its capacity TO produce men anu
women, to develop homes, and, through well
ordered homes Il society unsurpassed Tor It's
intelligence culture and refinement; an agrl-
cultural people OF wonderful skill VINO amaSs-
ell great wealth without speculatlnn or tie
dirty arts OF ovcr-reaching and dcraudlng.
But while We cherish and cling to this pccull-
ar Southern civilization, there Is one chai,Se
in our affairs which the red hand OF war mas
wrought and which will not be restored
Slaves have been changed to tree laborersI
the peaceful alliance between labor ana capl-
tai consequent on slavery has given place toa
system which involves an tagoniSm. rms an
tlgoniSm has not yet reached very alarming
PROPORTIONS with us, but it is growing and
will grow. At present the greatest trouble IN
cident to the changed stale or atialrS Is tne
unsteadiness and unreliabilty of labor Con.
tracts have little force, ana there IS noihinS
from which to recover damages. Now, labor
of this character, though nOmnally cheap. IS
in reality very dear and cheap bleador cheap
cotton cannot be produced when sucn IaDor
constitutes Il large factor in its production.
Under existing circumstances, cotton culture
il peculiarly Objectionable on account OF the
large amount Of labor it involves. The eN-
tended cultivation of cotton ought 10 nave
ceased with the extinction of slavery-it was
adapted to that institution; 1t is not adap'eo
to hired lab ,r At this point there ought 10
have been a "new South" Under the 1nten-
sive system, by the substitution OF manure
and machines for labor, a good deal Of cotton
can be raised with little labor: that is obrl-
ously and clearly our proper programme
Mark you, we do not say that large crops OF
!, frnn l.,h
be done, it has been DONE but we do insist
that it cannot be done cheaply. The large
crops Of cotton raised SINCE the war nave nov
enriched our farmers as dld the Shialler ones
before the war. The fact is patent TO every
one: where guano is used the blame is laid on
it, but it's use until quite recently, has been re-
stricted almost wholly to the Atlantic STATES.
That cannot explain 1t. 1t is eithera a matter
both. Perhaps it is best expressed thus: EN-.
ployment of dear labor. with insufficient
horsepower and slow-wOrklng implements, TO
produce dear cotton, with which to buy pro.
programme. Let US change 1t as promptly
and as thoroughly as such changes can salely
I've made. We can raise corn, oats, forage,
mules. horses and hogs as cheap as Northern
farmers can; let us do It,. Some or our 1ar-
mers are now doing it, why should not all?
In some of our towns Bermuda aad Johnson
grass hay are driving Northern nay Out OF .ne
market. Southern raised Jersey butter Is dls,
placing Goshen brought from New York and
PENNSYLVANIA. Why should not such dis
placements be universal. We may be Justl-
fed in procuring a portion OF our hour rom
farms need we buy? Why should not the
mountain regions Of the South supply all the
apples, Irish potatoes and cabbages consumed
By our people? Could not each farm raise one
colt at least every year without feeling the
cost? Even that apparently small number
would soon drive back the tide of Western
mules and horses. 4 mule or horse will aver.
1r,,So Inf
colt raised on a farm, therefore, would give
out there would be nine others ready TO take
its place.
Cost of Pork.
Very careful tests have shown that bushel
of corn will make twelve pounds OF dressed
pork if properly fed. making the cost SH cents
per pound when corn Is worth dollar per,
and five cents a pound at sixty cents bushel,
about the present price Of corn. Now THIS eS-
innate is based upon pig shut up in pen
and fed on corn exclusively. But with clover,
small grain, pea anu potato patches, now
much the cost might be reduced. One reason
why meat production at lhe South has been
kept, and each one insufiiciently fed, Keep
only as many pigs as CAN be supplied with all
the food they can digest, and push them from
the start, That Is the secret of cheap pork
raising. If this plan was pursued, every fam
lily might raise the pork IL needed at d very
nominal cost. The surplus milk, the trim
mings from vegetables and imperfect vegeta.
be$, imperfect fruit, the waste from the ktch-
above, and possibly by little cotton seed
meal, and little corn 10 flnish on. coula
raise an aInpie supply. Who can tell as about
feeding cotton seed meal TO pigs? Is 1t good
food Tor them, and how far can 1t be pushed?
1t is some three times as nutritious as corn,
and usually costs less per pound. If cotton
seed, or its products, could be turned INTO
beef, mutton and pork. and the manure, from
= tI,oo MI Ic fad rnrpfpIlr hDgbuntpi how
near would the meat thus obtained approXi-
mate clear gain. The manure would very
nearly equal the seed in terilizing value.
But perhaps enough has been said on this
line. Our object has been to set farmers to
thinking: to jostle them little ont of the
old paths to make a suggestion here and
there; but each one must plan for himself nc.
cording to his environment With strict
economy (not penuriousnesS), needing. the
lessons OF past experience, seeking light from
every quarter, studying long, carefully and
enter upon the work of the new year with re-
newed hope, renewed energy and renewed de-
termination to succeed
Gathering Manure.
No work can more profitably engage atten-
ttOn for the next two months. than the en-
largement of the manure heap. Crops must
be fed; they need food just as much us ami
mails. Upon od and worn soils they need
food into which organic matter largely enters.
Chemical fertilizers are good; they pay hand
somely If used alone, provided they are. judi
ciously applied; but they give greatly better
results IN conjunction with organic matters.
However freely therefore Il farmer proposes to
use commercial fertilizers. he ought to make
his manure heap correspondingly large. His
stalls should be Uttered as frequently as they
will bear 1t: AS soon as that put in becomes
well soaked In urine put more; don't wait for
it to rot before adding more. Tramped down
and mixed with dung and urine. it will under
20 the very best kind of fermentation; one
that is slow but constant, with slight develop
ment of heat and little loss of valuable gases.
I 6 lnl f,ln nI1f md