Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1909-02-10
EXCELLENT ADDRESS.

EXCELLENT. I. ADDRESS.
CONTINUED from first page)
sse~.s>ses~s~seseS1ee SesNses>ses>Sests'SssSs
insthe back quarters of by-gone prac7'
tices and.ideas.
Diversification.
Gentlemen, 1 do not believe that
there isa single acre of well drained
land in South Carolina that can not
be made to yield three times its pres
ent average production. Diversified
farming will bring it about. Diver
sifed farming is the one key that
will unlock the chest of gold that
lies hidden in every acre of our land
Diversified farming .compels us
to keep more live stock. 1t will rid
us Of the evils of over-production,
for if we diversity profitably we
must grow our crops in systematic
rotation. This will necessarily re-
duce the acreage of cotton, that crop
that is so liable to suffer from over
productions. The most profitable
and the most important lesson our
farmers have to learnis the value OF
diversified farming. If the South
ern farmer ever hopes to have a mo-
nopoly nfootton, and he does not
have this monopoly at the present
time he must diversity to the ex-
tent of producing on his own farm
most Of the agricultural products
that he consumes and have his cot
ton as surplus.
Basis of all Wealth.
s.The soil is the basis of all our
wealth. IF we make our soils rich
we will be rich, if we allow them to
remain poor, we will remain poor.
The continual cultivation of cotton
means that our soil will continue to
remain poor. Cotton is not an 'ex-
haustive crop when it is grown In
rotation, but when tits grown contin-
uously the fertility of the soil is inn
paired.
1t is not the crop itself that re
,duces the fertility of the soil, but 1T
is the lack of systematic methods
of farming which causes the decline
in, fertility. Old worn out cotton
soils readily recuperate when. some
humus forming materials are return
ed to the soil by the rotation OF
arops, the use of farm manures and
the cultivation of such plants as cow
peas, crimson clover, bur clover, Soy
beans, alfalfa, wheat, rye barley and
oats.
Marvellous.
South Carolina is now producing
annually about sl5O,OO0,ooO of
wealth. This is largely agricultu-
raj and without increasing our pres
ent labor force this figure can be
increased to .$eOO,Ooo,ooo by better
methods of farming. No phase OF
agricultural practice is of more Inn
portance than that of improving and
maintaining theifertility of our soils
s and I make this statement without
fear of contradiction: From the geo,
logical, physical, chemical, and biol.
Ssogica1 makeCp of oursoil and we can
II never economic 81 make them .ex.
! tremely yrich without the aid Of live
sock.
If we diversity our crops We
: must keep live stock or consume
! the forage plants produced. Ths
soils of this State are of such a ma
ture, being composed largely of SAND
of various degrees of fineness, that
) it is impossible with our present
rainfall to retain a sufficient amount
of moisture to produce large crops
unless we add manure to the sol
:. that will form vegetable moulo
!. which retains moisture.
We are now using annually about
sl2,00o,OoO worth of commercial
fertilizers in the state. While / do mo-
believe that this money is wasted
yet I do believe that we could pro
duce as large crops as we now pro
duce with half of this amount o!
commercial fertilizer, provided, W.
put more decayed vegetable matte1
into the soil by the use of legume'
.>>~>~~~~~>~~~-~>~>N~~e~se,Se.r-
PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURA
TION.