The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1910-08-17

OIdhON. AUGUST IL.
drains, the coarser the land the far
ther apart they should be placed. An
average for the different kinds Of
soils would be something like 100
feet apart The deeper the tile is
placed the more land it will drain
but it should not be placed too deep
as it will take too long for the water
to sink down to the drain. The main
| outlet should have plenty Of fall.
THE tile should be laid every even
ing after the days work is finished,
digging the bitches so not as to be
bothered with caves. 1t is not neces-
sary to dig canal for these tile. The
top Of the ditch is not necessary to
be more than IL or Is inches wide
while the bottom should be narrowed
down until it will just fit the tile. The
tops Of the tile should be placed even
and level and then primed, that is
enough dirt placed on the tile to hold
it in position. Then the ditch should
be filled with turn plow. If there is
water in the ditch it is best to begin
at the lower end.
The Cost.
The cost of the drainage for this
county would probably average from
SIS to $25 per acre but then it Is
permanent and there is no longer any
trouble with ditch banks. Then farm
ers, wet year like this, could do 20
per cent. more work on drained land
with the same force than they could
| on the ordinary wet land. Capitalists
will loan a great deal more money on
the drained land and at a cheaper
rate of interest because they know
the value of the land and they have
confidence in the farmers ability to
make good crops on these lands The
element of uncertainty to great
extent is eliminated.
'The next thing after draining the
land is to build it up. This can most
easily be done with cover crops. That
is crops which grow during the win
ter between the regular crops. The
vetches and clovers are best for this,
because they not only add humus
but they also add nitrogen, a very
expensive element of plant food. It
is best to start growing the vetches
and clovers on a small scale. First
| make. the soil moderately rich with
barnyard manure and then scatter
some soil where the vetch or clover
has grown, over the land so as to
thoroughly inoculate it.
Watson Speaks.
Col. E. J. Watson was the last
speaker. Col. Watson said in sub
stance: Standing here on this his
toric spot and having come here from
the histroic county of Marion, here
in the presence Of the portrait of Gen.
Sumter, the wielder of the sword and
scythe, of DR.. Knapp, that grand old
man Of Hampton and Calhoun, men
from whom I have imbibed so much
inspiration, I can truly say that 1 am
glad to be here. Agriculture is the
bedrock foundation upon which rests
everything. This foundation cannot
rest upon a one-crop system as it
has in the past. Our people have
been willing to sit down and content
themselves as if they had a rock
wall built around them and they have
taken no notice of the things hap
pening around them, or of the prog
ress of the world until recently since
the reconstruction period. The time
has come when the farmer is awken-
ing. Through the farmers union and
other agencies he is going to get what
he deserves. Only 25 per cent Of
our land system is improved. We
let our average yields run down to
the lowest in the union when we have
a record for the highest yields. We
turned our farms over to ignorant
negroes and what was the result
Soon they were making no return and
our boys and girls were going to town
to get employment that was more at
tractive to them. Until recently the
State has done very little for agricul-
ture. The development Of agriculture
was not established until four
years ago. Clemson college is doing
a great work, but it is off in one cor
ner Of the State and less than one in
a thousand can ever hope to go
there.