The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1904-07-05
THE ONE-HORSE r
Prof. J. S. Newman Argues that is Chief Enemy of
Progressive Agriculture in the South.

the Southern States is the "One-horse farm" The
equipment of the one-horse farm is generally a
cheap mule, too weak, as usually fed, to do good
work; a boy Dixie, and a scooter pillow provided
with shovel, scooter and half-shovel. This print
tive equipment in the hands of one ignorant of
the very fundamental principles underlying sue
cessful agriculture is a guarantee of not only
failure in production, but of the deterioration of
the soil. The history of Southern agriculture
fully illustrates and substantiates these state
ments.
The landowner has the matter largely in his
own hands. Self-preservation and the protec-
ton of his lands from continued waste demand
that he stop the present practice of superficial
preparation, ignorant and wasteful use of ferti-
Hzers upon land incapable of retaining the mois-
ture necessary for their utilization by the plant
and cultivation, which is destructive rather than
conducive to the best development of plant growth
and production. The average landowner tenants
out his land to any responsible person who can
secure supplies from a merchant by mortgaging
crops not yet planted and buy ON credit some
broken-down horse or mule blanketed also with
a mortgage. The landlord does this knowing and
acknowledging that what he receives from the
tenant will not pay for the deterioration of the
land from which his profit is supposed to be de-
rived. This policy and practice are suicidal in
their results.
METHODS.
The tendency of the age in all other enterprises
is towards concentrated efforts combined with
vfhe use of the most advanced and economical i'm
plements and machinery. The farming industry
must fall into line and keep up with the process
sion.
Cotton mills are discarding Anticipated machin-
cry and installing instead the most up-to-date ap-
planes of every description. We find no one
horse cotton or wooden mills, no one-horse cotton
oil mills, no stringer and scrap iron railroad
track. We never now hear of the vhip saw or the
upright saw of fifty years ago, but the one-horse
pillow is still in evidence.
Landowners can protect their land, increase
their products and benefit their one-horse tenants
by requiring them to- unite their teams In the
preparation of the land. The writer did this
thirty-fve years ago. The tenants complained in
spring, but thanked him in the fall. The best in
vestment a one-horse farmer can make is the
purchase of another horse or mule. Land cannot
be properly prepared by a single team nor can
the most valuable and economical implements be
utilized with less than two-horse power. The
weeder, which should be ON every farm, is the
only exception to this statement.
BUY ANOTHER MULE.
Any small farmer can better afford to buy the
extra mule than he can to attempt to farm with
one, provided he will determine to plant no more
land than he can thoroughly prepare and ~fertilize
and will diversity and rotate his crops, thus pro
ducing ample food for the stock and annually in
creasing the productive implements, such as the
Chattanooga reversible disc pillow, the Mallory
plow, the disc harrow, the disc cultivator, the
mower. etc. on all of which the plowman rides,
better crops can be grown at reduced cost. By
h .no of r,,oh lohor-Sauinn imnlaments the WAGES