The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1886-12-29
There is no silver lining

: poorer, and crops less every year. Then
comes mortgage and loss of land.
The system is all wrong. ANY farm
ing that gradually wears out land, is
; not based on careful methods, and will
bring poverty and ruin on those who
: follow such plan.
, Do not our farmers need instruction
in more careful methodist Is not agri-
cultural education needed? 1t is not
difficult to point out the errors in so
careless a system of farming. We have
but to recall few of the elementary
principles of eommon-sense farming to
explain everything.
Let US practically see what are some
of the causes. Rich land is said to be
full of plant-food that the
crops draw from the soil, and which
causes it to grow, and thrive and pro-
duce abundant crops. Poor land has
not this supply of plant-food, and no
cultivation will cause it to grow good
crops.
There are two axioms as old as ag-
riculture itself-one The more manure,
the more crops; the other, ''Soil won't
grow crops without manure" The very
reverse of this is equally true; that
growing crops draw on the soil for its
support, and by virtue of this draft, the
soil becomes poorer, by giving up the
plant food to make the crops. Success
i've crops continue to make successive
drafts on the soil, and if the crops are
moved off and sold, and no return made
to the soil, of course the soil gradually
becomes poorer and poorer, as it contin
ues to give up the plant-food. The land
wears out, and will gradually fail to
make crops.
40 NEW PROBLEM.
This is no new problem. 1t has been
met and solved in every old country,
where the land is not so plentiful as
here. Systems have been adopted which
have maintained the fertility of the soil,
and caused it to yield good crops contin-
uously, or to maintain the capital in
land belonging to the farmer. These
systems have been worked out in the
hard lessons of experience, and have
been verified by scientific or common
sense farming. They consist of rotation
of crops and manuring, so as to restore
to the soil periodically what has been
used or moved off by successive crops.
In the old countries some lands are rich
er by 100 fold than they were centu-
| lies dSO
The landed aristocracy of Europe,
when their lands began to get poorer,
and their tenants unable to pay the
large rents, sought the assistance of sci
entific men. They analyzed the soil, the
crops, manure, etc. They found that
all vegetation is composed of fifteen ele
ments of plant-food, organic and inCr
ganic matter. They found further that
twelve of these elements are generally
found in sufficient quantity in all soils.
That it was only necessary in practice,
| to consider three essential elements, viz:
nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid;
that if these three elements were restor-
ed periodically to the soil, and in
amounts moved off by the crops, that
the soil would remain fertile; that this
arrangement was promoted, In rotation
of crops, and planting such crops as clio
yer, peas and Japan clover, which drew
largely for their sustenance from the
air, and filled the soil with organic mat
ter, such as roots, humus, etc. These
crops also induced stock raising, and
supplied manure to the soil, so that near
| ly everything was retained that was
taken from the soil. They verified the
systems of the practically successful far
/ l1ClSs 4DC1 QlcCONC1Cu AO<bS SNNASN
of nature-that to maintain the fertility
of the soil, return must be made for the
drafts of plant-food, made by the crops;
that to feed the crops, you must feed
| the soil.
Scientific or common sense farm
ing is not haphazard business, but
system based on principle. The prin-
ciple is to preserve the fertility of the
soil, which is the farmers capital in bus
mess; that unless there is such system,
the laws of nature are violated; that
those who ruthlessly violate these prin-
cfples will bring poverty and ruin on
themselves, and entail misery and pow
erty on their descendants.
A PLAIN PROPOSITION.
Now, my friends, are you ready to
| be benefited by the experience of 9TH
ers? Are you ready to put more value
on your lands? Are you ready to take
care of your capital in business, which
is the fertility of your soil? Is there
need of agricultural education? Your
soil was once fertile. You have care
lessly, and by pursuing wrong system,
| impoverished it. You have worn it out,
and now ready 10 deliver it to your
children poorer than you got it from
your fathers. This is not right. Your
children should receive their heritage
unimpaired, from you. You must be
educated in the new way of preserving
the fertility of your soil. If it is too
late for you, your children must be edu-
Gated in the new methods. If they do
not restore fertility to these lands, 9th
ers can and will. The question is, will
| you prepare them by education to do
this? 1t is plain proposition. If they
do not or cannot, they will lose those
lands. They will pass into the hands of
strangers.
The facilities in Mississippi are at
hand to restore these lands. They are
all favorable. We have plenty of good
land yet left on nearly every plantation.
The plan is to stop cultiyating poor
land. 1t will break all who attempt it.
One-fourth or one-third of our land is
still good. Cultivate only good land;
manure it, work it better, follow inten-
sive farming on our good lands. Do
away with one-half or two thirds of our
labor. Utilize the poor lands as grazing
lands. Nature will cover them at once
with grass. 1t costs nothing for grass
| to grow. 1t costs nothing for stock to
eat grass. Stock raising is the only
practicable way of using these lands,
getting profit out of them and allow
| ing them at some time to recuperate,
and have their fertility restored. 1t
will break anybody who attempts to
cultivate them The fertility that has
been lost must be restored before it will
pay to crop them again.
A GRASS CoUNTRY-CREAMEkTE
You say this is theory 1t is being
practically done in almost every county
in the State. Lands that will not pro-
duce cotton and corn are now
yielding handsome returns in the beef,
milk, butter, and increase of stock sold
annually. 1t is a notorious fact, that
negroes and most of the white people
make no provision for feeding their
stock in winter at the South. The stock
makes its living by running on the COM
mons. Your Agricultural College has
successful creamery, which can be du-
plicated for $1,000. DIR. Gates of Vicks-
burg, Mr.. Odeneal, of Jackson, Col.
Montgomery, of Oktibbeha, Col. White.
of DeSoto, the Aberdeen creamery, and
Others, are making and selling butter as
good in quality and bringing as good
prices as the Northern butter 1t is q
reflection on Mississippi, when New Or
leans pays from six to eight millions of
dollars for Northern butter, when we at
the South can raise it almost half as
cheap. The South is q grass country.
The native grasses of Mississippi last
nine months in the year, if the weeds are
kept dswn by mowers We have crab
-. o~ohard oroaz Porr,,,a< -