The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1908-05-20
"UNCLE JOHN" n
HIS FARMING IDEAS.
More Teams aud the Greater Economy
Is Necessary for the Most
Successful Farming.

.TSncle John about better cultivation of
his crop, | visited him again. 1t is a
good place to go, for with all his mis-
takes in agriculture he belongs to a
royal line of old-time southern planters
who confer honor upon the section in
which they live and of whom the world
has too few. AS soon as possible l re-
ferred to our former conversation and
asked him what he thought about my
suggestions, after mature considera-
ton.
He replied, "There may be some
thing in what you say and probably l
might get a larger crop by more inten-
sive cultivation, but l have made some
estimates which show hat the added
profits will all be eaten up by the in
creased cost. Your plan calls for in
creased expenses in a good many
items"
81 am glad to hear you mention this,
because it shows you have been think
ing the matter over with care" | re-
piled. "Let us take one thing at a
time. Name the principal item of in
crease in expense under intensive cult
vation."
"The main increase" said Uncle
John, els in the number of mules nee
essarY to work my crop. l have 200
acres in cotton and about 100 acres in
corn and other crops. 1t takes 10 mules
to do the field work and it costs me at
least $120 a year to keep a mule. |
can't keep a mule up for work every
day for less than $12 a month and the
least time for work in a year is six
months. For the remaining six months
the hay, grain, and pasture will cost So
a month, making $3.50 for the year.. AS
| understand, your plan will require
half as many more mules to do the
work. The cost of keeping five more
mules will be 5000. I can't afford it,"
Eyes, you can afford it," l replied,
''for it will bring you a large profit,
but you are mistaken as to the i~ncreas-
ed cost. I think your estimate on the
cost of keeping a mule one year is
rather high. 1t is true that it is ex-
pensive the way you keep animals.
Your pastures are mainly weeds and
brush. What grass there is does not
have much chance to get sunshine
enough to mature and become sweet;
hence, the richer grasses have gone on
a strike and refuse to live there, and
the tough and ~tasteless varieties of the
fgrass family have taken possession.
Your hay is poor, and these two causes
account for your feeding so much grain,
which is expensive. You are mistaken
about it's requiring so per cent more
mules to do the same amount of work.
1t is true l propose TO add considerable
more mule power, but the better i'm
plements fully compensate, so that each
man does double or more work per day.
Thus your 10 mules hitched in spans to
men to do more and better work than
your 10 mules and 10 men now do. The
saving of five men is something. Sup
pose, however, you adopt the most i'm
proved system and use only machine
methods in the production of cotton and
%corn-not practicable on all lands, but
entirely SO on yours-and allow Is mules
for your work; there is still a reduction
in labor from your present system. You
cut out the chopping and hoeing and
you use fewer men with teams, so that
the cost of producing an acre of cotton
would be no more than at present and
the average yield would be at least
%thrcefold:
"Your plan of keeping mules is too
expensive, and you are not alone in
this. Probably there is no extrava-
gance or southern farms more u%niver-
sal than allowing the mules to eat up
the profits. 1t is related that once a
lady saw a pet turkey swallow her
costly diamond. In that case they kill
ed the turkey and recovered the dia-
mond, but the farmer who sees his
mule swallow his profits cannot kill the
mule and find them. A better way is
to prevent his swallowing them. The
economical keeping Of work animals de-
ponds upon three things-good pasture,
the best hay, and the most economical
grain ration. A good pasture is well
drained and is free from brush and
weeds. Sweet grasses do not grow on
wet, sour land; they love sunshine and
they are too proud to associate with
low weeds.
"There must be a night pasture with
an abundance of grass for the mules