Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1894-12-12


found i'll the Ridge section of
Edgefeld equity or even the slate,
flint and black rock of Saluda,
Just anything to keep their fertil-
izers from soaking through to
Purgatory, there is no telling what
they would make their lands yield
The almost uniform "levelness"
(if you will allow that word) of
their lands also operates against
them, causing the cotton to "yel-
low up" and shed during a pro-
longed "wet SPELL"
A few days ago while out on a
bird hunt I made it convenient to
pass the home os Capt. Drake, who
beat the world three years ago on
corn, gathering, as it will be re-
membered, 2544 bushels from one
acre. That was one spot of land I
wanted to see! But instead of
finding it, as I expected, naturally
SO fertile that one might easily
mistake it for a phosphate bed
right on the surface, what was my
surprise to have slightly depress-
ed sand bed pointed out! The sand
in the road running right by it
was half way up to the buggy axle.
The growth of the wood across the
road and opposite this famous
acre consisted of scrubby red-oak
and bushy-top short-leaf pine. An
adjoining acre without any fertil-
lzer might possibly yield seven
bushels of corn if the seasons were
favorable.
If this is not all overdrawn pic
ture of the natural state of lands
here, how is it that such large
yields are obtained? This is fair
question and it's answer will be a
demonstration of the scientific
pursued.
First, last, and all the time the
farming here is conducted on the
lntensice system, the only sensible,
paying one ever advocated or that
las proven satisfactory wheh put
nto practice. What does the in
;ensive system mean? Here it
means small firms, high .te'tiliga-
ION, rotation, Of crops and strict
,ttenti0n to business. To illustrate
The gentleman with whom | board,
Mr.. E. r. Covington, had about
twenty-five acres in cultivation
his year. Thirty-fve of these
we're in cotton, twenty-five in corn,
he remainder in OATS, potatoes,
ibbon cane, etc. On his cotton
and he put an average Of 400
pounds of fertilizer per acre and
ONE cotton seed, the same or it's
quivalent under his corn and oats.
The crop harvested was $1,000
pounds of lint cotton or 40 bales
525 pounds; $50 bushels
f corn; 800 bushels of oats; rs
allons of fine syrup; $50 bushels
+ potatoes, and peas, hay, and
cd Vlrvr s-r'-parn lu1l. lnio
ras done with two horses. He had
wo wages hands and day lsborers
;hen needed.
Before going further let me con-
rast this farm with one in the
;aluda section. There, 200 pounds
# guano per acre is considered
powerful high manuring; at that
ate even, it takes 10 acres of our
,est lands to produce what was
eaped on 35 here. Now let us no.
ice the difference in the matter of
expenses. Our purpose is to make
/ rough comparison of expendi-
ures for fertilizer and labor, for
hese are the expensive items on
arm:
Expenses for a 40 bale crop here:
s. acres, 400 pounds guano
per acre, 7 tons, at $40, $4,000
Item for 2 wages hands, 10000
2horses, feed, rent, 10000
Total, S49O.OO
Expenses for the same crop on
Saluda:
10 acres, 200 pounds guano
per acre, 7 tons, at $50, $4,000
Item for 4 wages hands, 10000
Z" 4horses, feed, rent, 10000
Total, $4,000
Here will be seen a saving of