Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1913-11-26
INTENSIVE VS.. EXTENSIVE
FARMING.

There appears 20 be question In the
minds Of some people as 20 whether in
tensiye or extensive farming il better
for the individual farmer, the community
and the country at large.
BY intensive farming ia meant taking
a few acres and by thorough preparation
and cultivation Of soil produce larger
crops and more than one crop per year
on the same land
BY extensive farming is meant Gull
tiyating large number of acnes with a
smaller working force, which necessarily
means less thorough preparation Of the
soil and cultivation Of crops and less
Of the trucking crops.
Many Of the people of Tennessee have
been trying the extensive system with
the result Of washed and rundown land,
Improbable crops, with less reward for
their labor each succeeding year.
The experience OF so many ought TO
convince us that the extensive system
OF farming in Tennessee is not what we
want.
BY farming on the intensive plan we
are simply developing the soil TO nearer
the extent of its possibility for develop
ment, and no system of farming is going
to succeed that does not plan TO return
plant food TO the soil in some form to
replace that taken out in the growing
of crops.
Now | think it would be better for
the farmers Of Tennessee to cultivate
fewer acres per laborer, and cultivate
them better, with very few exceptions
Comparatively speaking, we have Just
been scratching the soil, doing the things
that would cause it to lose more plant
food from the washing rains than iron
the crops grown on the land. This car
be prevented by deep blowing and turn
ing under vegetable matter, and, in do
ing that, making available plant food
now lying dormant and unavailable in
the hard pan and subsoil that should be
available for growing crops.
The truck farmer is generally near
some town or city where he can buy
barnyard manure to keep food in his sol.
He naturally does not rquire a large
acreage.
The general farmer and live stock
raised requires more land, that he may
have pasture, meadows for hay and fields
for his corn, wheat, oats, peas, barley,
etc. With the right kind of a rotation
he can have all, and that portion :e cul
| tivates should not be greater acreage
than he can thoroughly prepare and cul
tivate at the right time and in the right
, way.
If our farm lands in Tennessee were
! divided into smaller farms and cultivated
as they should be, they would accommO
) date and profirably employ farming
!. population eight times the population
: now on them, and the production would
= be more than eight times what it nov
q is. Mr.. Business Man, Mr.. Banker, Man
i utacturer and Professional Man, dom
: you think your business would be NOR,
3 profitable if your patronage by the az
, ricultural class was increased NOR
than eight times its present volume.
Brother Farmer, don't you think yol
L could have better roads, better schools
Il better churches and better commmitie
to live in if the farms were reduced il
size and their producing capacity in
o creased
When we appreciate the fact that W
can have our soils ten, twelve or eve
eighteen inches ieep by simply breakn
up the subsoil and getting mixed wit
it vegetable matter to separate the so
I particles, making it porous so that tn
\ water, air and frost can penetrate
] and make the plant food that has bee
locked up available, we will realize tina
>, we have increased the producing capacit
J of our farms several times; that we ca
sell off three-fourths of the acreage {
our farms and still have greater Gro
producing capacity than when farmin
the larger area with haphazard method
We want to get in the habit of pilin
&c up our acres instead of spreading the
N out. There is more money in it, mo-
sr satisfaction in it and possibilities fl
II, better advantages in every way.