The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-08-22
More Capital Per Acre.

The productiveness of land depends
mainly upon she amount of labor, manure
and skill given TO IL, says the American
CltItiUdtor. l. and without these has no pro-
ducIng value, or only very little, such as
wild land may have, and even this usually
requires labor OF some kind TO an amount
equal to all that the produce is worth. So
il taxes are levied wholly on land, as single
tax theorists people, they propose are really
levied on labor. 1t is only labor that can pay
them, for even IL the land be wholly unpro-
ducuive the owner must labor somewhere
else to get the money annually required of
him. The only way the farmer can get
even with the tax-gatherer is to concentrate
his labor and fertilizers on a few acres,
and make them as productive as posi-
BILE, while selling the rest Of his land
for what it will bring; or, If no
longer worth cultivating, letting it lie idle.
This concentration of effort on the best
land may perhaps account for uncultivated
aud abandoned farms in some parts of New
England. and If this be the true explsna-
ton, 1t is not so bad a sign as is often
thought. 1t is something like amputatlng a
diseased limb, in order that the healthy
parts of the body may retain their vigor.
1t would be better il the whole could be
saved, In some cases it can be. After a
cultivation Of few acres, it will be seen
that what is naturally as good land lies
unused in the same locality, and it also may
be proftably cultivated through the same
process.
In all parts of the country, no matter how
Improbable farming may have been the
past few years, some farmers have made
money. What is the secret of these excep-
tional successssl In every case it will be
uvh
oeeded had more 10 do with 1t. They were
able to put more capital Of some kind to
each acre, aud by capital we mean what
ever represents money, whether it be labor
or manure, or superior thought and skill ia
management. Part of this may seem only
an intangible wealth, but it is real, and It
has the advantage of not coming under the
assessors observation. The good farmer
who owns fifty acres. unless he has money
that he does not invest in his business, pays
only little more tax and often no more than
the poor farmer In the same neighborhood.
In the one case the farmer has plenty to
pay with. In the other he has barely
enough to secure scanty living.
When all other forms of wealth manage
to evade taxation, why should not the
farmer add to his land as much as possible
of what makes 1t productive and which the
assessor does not seea II he were to 90 into
gardening business, build hot houses, and
thus add to the visible material on the
farm, he would undoubtedly be taxed
higher But he oan double or treble the
productive value OF his land by uuderdrain-
ing and heavy manurlng and not add 25
per cent. to its taxable assessment. This
is a vastly better way than putting all
his spare money In more land, leaving
him less able to manure, cultivate
and manage it. That used TO be
the fashion in all parts of this country, but
now the fact is everywhere recognized that
little farm well titled is better than large
farms, and that the surest way to make
farming profitable Is to concentrate the
farmers capital and energies upon the
amount OF land TO which he can give
thorough cultivation. AS be does this his
skill will increase with his capital. until in
gardening or small fruit growing his few
acres will still be plenty to take and profit
ably use all that he has to invest