The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1897-07-20
HOW TO MAKE LAND.
Farmers can Increase Area by En-
larging Production.
Practical Farmer.

iarSinH I'rOuuCtiOn.
Practical Farmer.
1t is said that an English politician
who claims that the land is the prop
erty of the nation" recently assured
the hearers of one Of his speeches that
we can make boots and coats, build
cathedrals, railways, canals bridges,
tunnels, and make all the other articles
which we associate with the necessities
OF modern lie, but no man ever made
land. No man ever made an acre one
loot longer or one foot broader" Be
| cause o. this difference between land
and various articles OF human manu-
1acture the speaker claimed that diff
| lerent rule regarding ownership and
taxation should be made and enforced.
There are Ii great many people in this
country, rs well as abroad, who seem
to think that the farmer has nothing
to do with the making of the land
which he owns. Among them there
are nota few farmers whose practice
is in advance OF their theory, but who
do not real!ze how much they are al
.ady doing in the way of making land.
There are, also, many others who have,
as yet, made no use of their oppo ,tuni-
ties in this direction.
If the making of the land is regard
ed merely as a creation, the formation
|
| ground Is composed, we shall, OF course,
be obliged to admit that the Eaglish
| speaker was correct In his assertion
that mo man ever made land" But if
we take it in a broader sense, and re-
gard the matter in practical light,
we shall find that, to all intents and
| purposes. man can make land. Not
only can he convert great areas which
are Crerllowed 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 the productiveness Of tracts al
ready under cultivation. The man who
makes his farm produce twice as much
as 1T did at an earlier period, has prac-
| tically enlarged it's area. So, too, has
the man who by subsoiling or draining
has deepened the soil that he cultivates.
AS Emerson said OF the farmers OF Con-
cord who adopted improved methods,
he has found q farm under the one that
he formerly cultivated. The plants
| have much greater surface from
which to obtain food and moisture.
Practically the area Of the land has
been enlarged.
Then III we take productiveness in.
stead of area as the standard Of meas
| usement the man who seeds his land to
the best advantage really gains good
deal over the one who does not fully
utilize the area that he cultivates.
Thus man planting potatoes in hills
two feet apart and In rows three feet
apart will have about 2, 400 more hills
on an acre than will one who plants In
rows OF the same width, but who ha:
the hills three feet apart in the row
III the land is in good condition to pro.
duce the crop, and fertilizers are pro-
perly used, the closer planting should
yield as much to the hill rs the Other
and very much larger crop will be-
secured at q considerable lower cos
per bushel.
In the various ways we have mon
toned, and In others which will sug
gest themselves to thoughtfui minds, [
10 possible to do what as far as results
are concerned, Is equivalent to making
land. Some one, or more than one, O
! these methods is open to almost ever,
farmer. In working out some of thesI
, plans not & few farmers would find a
least q partial relief from the burden
which now weigh heavily upon them
And work In this direction carries
double reward. 1t gives material ben
, e6ts which can be reckoned In dollar
+. and cents and also gives encourage
3 ment and pleasure and au increase O
mental power. The man who enter
' upon any course of Improvement learn
+ TO think better as truly as he loarn
8 to work better. Thus he not only az
+ complishes much In the present, but h
: also qualifiesih for still more eff
! cient effort In the future,