The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1897-07-22
HOW 10 MAKE LAND.
Farmers can Increase Area by I'm
lnrGinR Production.

Farmers can Increase Area by En
IurGinE Production.
| Practical Farmer.
1t is said that an English politician
who claims that "thc land is the prop
crty OF the nation,' recently assured
the hearers OF one OF his speeches that
1--WE can make boots and coats. build
cathcdrals, railways, canals bridges,
tunnels, and make all the other Il, ticlcs
which we associate with the necessities
OF modCru life, but no man ever made
land. No man ever made an acre one
foot longer or one foot broader" Be
cause o. this difference between land
and various articles Of human manu-
lacture the speaker claimed that IL diff
fcrcnt rule regarding ownership and
taxation should be made and enforced.
There arc u great many people IN this
country, as well as abroad, who seem
TO think that tho farmer has nothing
to do with the making OF the land
which he owns. Among them there
are not Il few farmers whose practice
is in advance OF their theory, but who
do not NC how much they arc al
ready doing in the way OF making !tnd.
There are, also, many others who have,
as yet, made no use OF their oppo 'tuni
tics in this direction.
II VIC lldhiHS Oi lllc laHQ lS regard
ed merely as creation, the formation
OF the actual elements Of which the
ground is composed, we shall, OF course,
be obliged to admit that the f,nglish
speaker was correct in his assertion
that mo man ever made !aHii" but ii
We take it in broader sense, and re-
gard the matter in a practical light,
we shall find that, to all intcnts and
purposes, man can make land. Not
only can he convert great areas which
are Overllowed by rivers or seas, into
fertile soil, as has been done in Hol-
land on an extensive scale, but he can
also, by wise management, greatly in
crease tn" prOductivcness Of tracts al
ready under cultivation. The man who
makes his farm produce twice as much
as it did at an earlier period, has prac-
tically enlarged its area. So, too, has
the man who by subsoiling OF draining
has dccpcncd the soil that he cultivatcs.
As Emerson said Of the farmers OF Con
cord who adopted improved methods,
he has found Il farm under the one that
he formerly cultivated. The plants
have a much greater surface from
which to obtain food and moisture.
Practically the area OF the land has
been enlarged.
Then it VIC take productivcncss in
stead OF area as the standard OF meas
uscmcnt the man who seeds his land to
the best advantage really gains q good
deal over the one who does not fully
utilize the area that he cultivates.
Thus a man planting potatoes In hills
two feet apart and in rows three feet
apart will have about ,, 400 moro hills
on an acre than will one who plants in
rows Of the Same width, but who has
the hills three feet apart in the row.
II the land is in good condition to pro-
ducc the crop, and fertilizers are pro-
pcrly used, the closer planting should
yield As much to tho hill as the other
and Il very much larger crop will be
secured at a considerable lower cost
per bushcl.
In the various ways we have men
toned, and in others which will sug-
gcst themselves to thoughtful minds, it
- possible to DO what, as far rs results
arc concerned, is equivalent to making
land. Some one, or moro than one, Of
these methods is open to almost every
farmer. In working ont some Of these
plans not 81 few farmers would find at
least a partial relief from the burdens
which now weigh heavily upon them.
And work in this direction carries q
double reward. 1t gives material ben.
Gifts which can be rcckOncd in dollars
and cents and also gives encourage
mcnt and pleasure and nm increase Of
mental power. The man who enters
upon any course OF prOvCmcnt learns
to think better as trlIy as he lohrnS
to work better. Thds he not only ac-
composites much in the present, but he
also Qualiiicsl himself for still more cll-
cicnt effort in the future.