The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1916-02-23
Of INTEREST TO
THE FARMERS

AVN wis A~@ SA~
talking to a young man from Spar.
tanburg County with reference to
the different systems of farming car
ried on in his home county. His
reply to one of my questions was
that the farmers of Spartanburg
County engaged in three systems last
year, and judging from the high price
of fertilizers prevailing at that time,
he felt safe in saying that they would
engage in equally as many the cur
rent year. l then asked him to
name the three particular systems of
farming he referred to. He eX-
planned that the three he had in mind
were: Intensive, Extensive and Pre-
tensive.
Now as I travel over the county,
am convinced that the farmers of
Spartanburg County go the Abbeville
County farmers one better in that
the Abbeville County farmers en-
ploy only two systems, viz: Con-
structive and Destructive. therefore,
| desire to talk to our farmers col
iectively and individually in this let
ter.
What system Of farming are you
following? Did you ever stop to
think ard to figure if your system of
farming tends to deplete your soil
of it's fertility? Is your land as fer
tile as it was twenty or thirty years
ago? Did you ever think of how
thorough the banking system of this
state is? Banks cannot legally and
will not allow an overdraft; they
cannot permit it, but too many far
mers are overdrawing OH the soil.
The Almighty did not intend that in
our short life tenancy of the soil, we
should rob it of it's fertility.
There is a moral obligation that
when a man works the soil and leaves
it poorer than it was when he began
to live ON it and work it, he has rob-
bed unborn generations of their
just inheritance. He is almost In
the class of one who takes from
widows and orphans; they can enter
protest, unborn generations cannot.
Planting robber crops continually on
the same land is a practice no land
owner should permit.
If the total fertility taken from
the soil each year by this robber
crop system in our state was con-
fined to one section you would have
a large area of land that even the
insects would abandon. In a very
short time, areas as large as Able
Vile County itself would be with
out human, animal or vegetable life.
Our tenure of the soil is but life
long. We owe it to our children
and our children's children to leave
the farm in as good a state OF Ter
tility as when we began farming it.
Our fathers may not have done that
for us, but that does not lessen u
duty to unborn generations. Draw
ing continuously on your bank &C.
count results in an o~verdraft. II
we continue to take from the soil
those elements of plant food which
nature gave her, we shall soon have
the same thing. Continual over
drafts on the soil is the foster mother
of poverty. Farming without fer
tilizer is the destructive system.
However, this is the age of Construc,
ton. not Destruction; the period
of Progress and not Retrogresslon.
Our duty is before US; as plain as
any duty we have to perform. We
must maintain the fertility OF our
soils; protect our children and do
our part that the heritage of genera
tions to follow may not be squander-
ed by our Indifferent way of farming
and our own shortlived tenure of
the soil. We have the use of the
land only during our life time. Shall
our abuse of this privilege be a re-
proach or shall our use of it be a
benediction? -.
Again the Destructive system of
farming means to reap year after
wear from our lands; taking from it
the inherent fertility and supplying
nothing in return.
The Constructive system of Agri-
culture is one where the fertility OF
the soil is maintained year after
year by a we'll planned system OF
crop rotation and the growing OF
the summer and winter legumes. In
other words, the Progressive system
of farming means the addition OF
those plant food elements of fertility
removed by growing crops and the
supplying of these elements in the
most economical form. This system
may also be called "Proitable farm
ing with Permanently" 1t is not
only profitable to the present owner
of the land but it is permanent so
long as it is practiced. Under such
system the farm grows richer year
by year; crops yields increase;
greater permanent real estate value
is obtained and with the accomplish
men. of this end, follows greater con-
tentment, improved conditions in
community life, better schools and
better churches, and easier life for
the farmer and his family in general.
The progressive idea of permanent
Agriculture embodies but three main
essentials. The first is the growth OF
legumes or the addition of vegeta-
BILE matter or humus to the soil; Sc
cond, Nitrogen which the legumes
extract from the air and add to the
soil; and the third essential is the
application of PHOSPHORUS. All
acid soils are deficient in p%hosphor-
ous. Then it is we'll to add lime
stone. Legumes such as clover, al
falfa. etc, supply nitrogen and