The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1914-04-23

ON it must be reclaimed. The popu-
lation of the United States is becom-
ing so dense that we are going to
have to make every foot of land in
the Nation produce something. There
is much land in the Southern States
not producing one penny that could
if properly reclaimed could produce
large yields.
To reclaim a worn out farm, We
must give it thought. A man must
study how best to stop the wash and
get the land back to crops.
We were on a farm last week in
Davidson county, North Carolina,
which the owner has just started to
reclaim. 1t was an old farm that
has practically been turned out. 1t
was slightly rolling, bitches were so
deep we were unable to cross them.
They extended from two feet to 10 in
depth and from four to IL feet across
the top.
The present owner has not had pos
session long so had not had time to
do much towards reclaiming it, but
he had begun along the proper line.
The first thing he did was to cut
pine tops and throw into the
washes with their heads. up
stream, thereby making it easier for
them to catch the wash as it came
down. He was then taking scrapers,
where he could get to them and cut
ting down the banks and pulling
them into the gully. His plan is then
to plow the gullies the best possible
and Plant something on them, in
order to have something growing.
Next fall &he expects to plow deeper
and pull more dirt into the washes,
and put more refuse matter in them
till he has the bitches filled and is
cultivating the entire field. 1t is pos
sible and only needs little deter
mination and good judgment to ac-
comphsh it.
We were in another State last week
and noticed farmer also attempting
to reclaim some gullies. He was cut
ting off the growth along the bank on
the wash but instead of pulling it in
to the ditch he was piling it up and
burning it and pulling the loose dirt
into the ditch with nothing to keep
it from washing on down the valley
with the first big rain. He will never
reclaim his field while the other man
will. That is the reason we used the
word good judgment. A man may
have ever so good determination
but if he does not use good judgment
in this work, it will be of little value.
We often say it does not require
brains to farm. It may not require
brains to farm but it requires brains
to make money farming. We will
wager that the man who was putting
the brush in his gullies and all the
refuse he could get hold of will in a
few years be making money from
his land while the other good man
may have worked just as hard but
the chances are that he will lose his
farm in some loan company and
spend the latter days of his life a
renter.
There are thousands upon thous-
and of acres of waste land in the
South that could with little work be
reclaimed and the Southern farmers
should begin giving attention to it.
1t does not take a farm long to
wash away. We were On a farm in
South Carolina a few days ago and
remarked to the owner about a large
gully running from the top of the hill
to the branch at its foot. We said
it was q pity that such an ugly scar
should be on his farm.
The owner said he had been trying
to fill it up but it was next to i'm
possible He then remarked that he
remembered when that was path
leading from the negro quarters to
the spring at the branch. His
fathers negroes before the war walk
ed up and down that path for water
and the wash started from the path
they made. 1t was not given any at
tention, in fact, the owner never
dreamed that it was possible for such
a wash to be made in SO few years.
In places it was Is feet deep and II
to Is feet wide at the top.
This all had taken place in about
so years, or during the memory of
the son who now owns it and is try
ing to stop the wash but is having a
time for it has gotten such hold on
the land that it will take years to
overcome it.
There are very few farms in the
South but what have some washes OH
tbopo fhoy may he very small now,