Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-10-14
CATTLE RAISING.
"No Grass, No Stock; No Stock, No
Manure; No Manure, No Crops"


Manure; No Manure, No Crops"
Recently in a trip through the west
ern states, Mr.. ]. H. Bennett, Of this
place, asked a banker Of Iowa what
crops they planted In his section. The
answer was corn, oats, barley, clo-
yer. He was asked II they did not
plant wheat. No, was the answer.
Our lands have become too rich to
make wheat, growing too rank and
lodging. This was in state where
no fertilizers are used, except, possi-
bly, gardens. In other sections Of
western states, and particularly some
farms, the land has become too rich
for even oats.
Can anyone, although South Caro-
lima annually expends nearly 10 per
cent Of the gross value Of her crops,
and in some sections 25 per cent for
commercial fertilizers-can anyone
point out section in which the lands
are too fertile to grow not only wheat,
but any other crop? Why this differ
ence? The farmers Of Iowa have
been following natures plan; the far
mers Of South Carolina have been
violating it.
In this section Of Iowa the grain
and hay crops are fed to stock and
the resulting manures returned to the
soil. If they do not make enough
feed to carry their stock, instead Of
selling their stock they buy more feed.
Instead Of selling their own fertility
they deplete the fertility Of other
states and add to their own. Grain
fed to stock costs less to market than
grain sold in bulk. This difference
and the added manures will make any
lands rich. Nature in making soil
fertile places first plenty of humic In
the soil. Next she places bacteria in
numbers. Without these two no soil
can be fertile. With these under
proper management the soil grows
constantly more fertile. Bacteria can
not exist in any soil where the moist
ure content is not right. There must
be the right amount, neither too much
nor too little. The humic, decayed
animal and vegetable matter, regu-
lates this moisture content. In wet
seasons moisture is absorbed; In dry
seasons moisture is retained and Civ
en- out. The bacteria then attack the
mineral contents in the soil, making
them soluble and available for plants.
The humic itself is acted upon and
turned into nitrates for the use Of the
growing plants. In the economy Of
nature plants build up the molecule,
animals tear it down. The animal
uses the built up molecule, the plant
uses the torn down animal molecule
to build up more for the animal to
use. It is never ending cycle.
Nature never intended that an agri-
cultural community should make one
plant continuously. Any that do so
will sooner or later suffer. 1t can be
saved for some years by buying fer
tilizers; but as the demand grows
larger and the fertilizers higher in
price, the humic content Of the soil
gets less and less. Fertilizers, higher
In the price, the more must be used. The
crop must either go higher or soon the
cost Of cultivation exceeds the value
of the crop. This was the condition
Of the cotton planters until the recent
advance in price. Do not mistake me
to say that fertilizers are not to be
used. This is far from right, and will
be taken up later. Used rightly, they
are very profitable and useful.
To return to our subject, natures
plan. In the wilderness every leaf
and every particle Of vegetable matter
consumed by insects and animals Is
returned to the sail. No insect, no bird
nor any animal leaves his own acre
very far. Nature through this plan
has formed a fertile soil for mans
use. For him to conserve and increase
its fertility he must follow her plan.
He must raise stock. No matter what
he grows, stock must be one crop. II
ter his crop Is sold. He will also have
the best Of fertilizers another year; If
an orchardist, grass and defective
fruit; If a cotton grower, cotton seed
and grass. Good cotton farming con-
sists in making one bale per acre. II
one bale is made and the seed ex-
changed with the oil mill for meal,
there will be enough to make ESQ to
300 pounds Of beef IL the necessary
roughness Is furnished. Right here /
wish to say that the oil mills are one
Of the best things in the south today.
More of this later. There Is no crop
so we'll fitted for stock raising as cot
ton. This same bale Of cotton we
have spoken Of Is worth today $50.
In this lint there Is practically moth
ing taken from the soil. 1t Is COM
posed of carbon and water taken from
the air. The oil in the seed Is the
same. The fertility Is left in the meal
and hulls. The potassium, phosphorus
and nitrogen are practically left. The
rest Is in the stalk and leaves. This
meal and hulls fed to cattle Is far
more beneficial to the land afterwards
than before 1t Is Of greater bulk,
supplies humus to the soil and feeds
the bacterial inhabitants already pres
ent. 1t is not so easily washed away
by the rains and adds to the moisture
content. Any before-the-war farmer
can tell you how rich cow pens made
land and how the place could be told
years after.
The writer, at the last state fair,
had several conversations with Mr.. F.
L. Studebaker, proprietor Of the Black
Creek Stock Farm, Fort Warren Ind,
the owner of the IS. 900 Hereford bull