Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-05-26
FIFTY YEARS OF AGRICULTURE.

FIFTY YEARS OF AGRICULTURE.
Retrospective Address by Prof. New
nan Of Clemson College.
At the 55th regular monthly meet
ing Of the Science club Of Clemson
college, recently, Col. ]. s. Newman,
professor of agriculture, made an ad-
dress on Fifty Years Of Agriculture"
which was greatly enjoyed by those
present. The speakers thorough IA
miliarity with the whole field Of agri-
cultural endeavor during the last half
century, makes him an authority and
he was listened to with closest inter-
est by the members Of the club and
the many students present.
He spoke chiefly Of the advances
made In agriculture as an art, hut
dealt also to some extent with the
science Of agriculture. Following Is
the substance Of his remarks:
A retrospective view Of the last
fifty years Of agriculture has not been
as great advance In agriculture as an
art as we might expect. The greatest
advances in agriculture as an art have
been made In the application OF The
mechanical arts to agriculture, there
by improving methods of work on the
farm. But exclusive Of this and Of
the rapid advances made In the scien-
tific knowledge Of agriculture, we have
not done so much. For example, the
principle of rotation. which the gov
ernment Is now sending men over the
country to impress upon the people, Is
over two thousand years old. Fifty
years ago. sub-soiling was perhaps
more common than 1t Is now. The
Romans knew alfalfa, and its value as
an enricher of the SOIL In my boy
hood clover following was a very
common practice for land improve
ment In these, as In many other
practices. we knew the facts then,
though not the scientific reasons on
which they were based.
There Is one respect, however. In
which we have taken a decided step
forward in farm practice, and that Is
in the matter Of deep ploughing. In
my boyhood 1t was the universal rule
to cultivate crops by deep ploughing.
but happily we-have largely abandon
ed this very bad practice though a
surprisingly large number Of farmers
still believe in 1t.
In the matter Of what might be
called home economics in many re-
spects there was fifty years ago a
much more intelligent economy prsGc-
ticed. Great attention was paid to
stock, provision made for them, and
to the outstanding Of home manures;
for 1t was not until comparatively re-
cent years that we became dependent
upon commercial fertilizers. At that
time each plantation was a little
principality which did its own maru-
facturing-shoes, clothing and the
raising of provisions for the farm. We
now spend millions for farm and gar
den seeds; then we raised our own,
and they were preserved by the good
mistress of the family. Today few
farmers pay sufficient attention to-
what I call the small Industries Of The
farm-the garden. the orchard, the
vineyard, the dairy. Then every farm
had these, though Of course we did not
have then our present large industries
in these things. But why should we
isolate these as separate industries.
and have the farmer dependent for the
products Of these upon the people who
make a business Of what really be-
longs to the farmer.
The culture and social life Of the
people in the country fifty years ago
was greatly superior to that Of the av-
erage farming community Of today; :'or
the conditions then were mu ch
more favorable, as all know, indeed The
world has never known a more culti-
waited civilization than was In The
south then, and its leaders were The
country people.
But, as was SdlQ III the ue6iiHi i6,
great advances have been made In
agriculture as an art. along the line
of mechanical inventions for use In
farm work, and 1t is thus that In
provement has largely come about.
For example, contrast the old COURIER
with the modern steam gang plough;
and the old reap hook or the cradle
with the modern reaper and binder
or the harvest and thresfler
combined; and the old worm rail ferce
with the modern cable wire fence, and
you will have only few Of the hun
dreds of ways in which during the last
fifty years farm interests have been
by mechanical inventions.
The union Of farm and shop In such
a school as this Is. therefore, natural,
and must work untold good.
Agriculture then was an art. as we
have said; now 1t is an applied science.
The facts which have always been the
basis of agricultural practice, have
been studied for the reasons-the
why's and the wherefores. until we
have now a body Of scientific laws
governing us-the laws Of plants, OF
the friends and enemies Of these, OF
soils. etc. Nature study-the study OF
Gods laws through his creations---is
the source of this scientific knowledge;
and 1t Is by following these laws, that
Is, by applying this science to the art
Of agriculture. that we hope for and
see greater things in the future OF
agriculture.