Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE SEWS AND HSRALD. SUPPLEMENT^ STOCK kA isIXO. A Practical Discussion of the Subject by Gen. Johnson Hagood Before the Farmers Institute held in Winnsboro 30tli of October. The discussion as announced, which I am invited to open to-day. covers a ^ood deal of ground. "Stock raising" includes the fanner s association with all the domestic auiinals which may or should occupy the farm. It has an elaborate literature and its principles and practice find expression in many books. - Al 1 nw?n*nccivo fill'ITlPV i'tW lltuu^imui aiiu will be without them. You are familiar with the general principles of breeding which experience has established and recorded: and interesting as -is their consideration I shall make 110 reference to them in what I propose to say to-day beyond what is incidentally * necessary to my subject. I shall confine myself to stock raising for profit in South Car Una Coming in contact with the fa es of nature, the husbandman may co-operate with, he cannot successfully antagonize them. And when tlie product of his industry is placed upon the market, in these days of rapid and cheap transportation, the circle of competition is in our case practically the whole United States. Let us see what there is in our locality and surroundings bearing upon stock raising from the standpoint we! have selected for its consideration. Pastoral or range farming is practicable only when lands of little market value are to be had in large areas. In i the extensive ranches of the Western plains the land costs nothing, no cultivated forage is provided, and the ranchfnan's care is chiefly confined to the animal round up when the young stock are branded and the marketable annimals selected for sale. Notwithstanding the rigor of the climate and a pasturage that requires from fifteen to twenty-five acres to the cow, other circumstances that are more favorable have made the business a success; and its products arc profitably sold throughout the country. Beef raised in Montana, and slaughtered in Chicago, is found fresh in the stalls of the butchers upon the Atlantic coast. In two sections of South Carolina this kind of stock raising is eminently practicable. ? 4 * ?i.1. In the Alpine region 01 our iiurui. western counties are vallevs for slielL tered farmsteads aud affording fertile K lands for the arable culture which is necessary. Extensive ranges over adjacent mountains abounding in 11 utri^ tious p^Tuj^nnjj^^be had at iieminal cost. bracing and h&gWjSS^-y1ves a mean l Hfurecorre3ponding vjjl^iilP^ew Jersey or Kansas. Pure"and abundant streams arc on evjery hand. The move. ment and velocity of the atmosphere is below the average of the country at large, and in the frequency with which it is traversed by storm areas it ranks with the lowest in the C'nited States. This region is a well known . * health and pleasure summer resort. Stock raisiug has, in all its liistorv, had a successful experience in it upon a limited scale; and now that the Air Line Railroad at the foot of the monutains gives a ^uarket from Atlanta to New York, capital and enterprise may una Jiere a neia for extensive pastnra 1 fanning. Again, upon our sea coast conditions occur which are favorable to this kind of stock raising. Sufficiently large areas are to be procured of cheap unimproved highlaud and swamp. The excellent natural pasturage is perennial?vegetation being checked by cold for onlyj six weeks in the year." The winter "climate is that of Nice in Italy, and in summer malaria is avoided upon the frequent sand ridges, or in settlements upon the seashore. The latter are summer health resorts even i for pedple from the upper country, j Riilroads throughout this region give j piutiipt auu i tj uiioxv vvr and when ihe location is upon the coast of on tlie nu.nerous rivers and inlets steamboat service is had. Such opportunities as' these are attracting attention, but the field is unoccupied to any exten\ In my judgment success can but attend judicious effort in this direction. For the remaining pojtiou and by far the largest part of South Carolina stock raising upon the range is a thing of tl?e past. In the early settlement of the country it Jiadbeen the chief source of income to the pioneer. "With increased population, and the occupation of the land by tillage, it had become sn unprofitable nuisance; and the Legislature recognizing the fact wisely put an end to its sickly existence by the passage of the law requiring live stock to be fenced and not the growing crops. In this section fewer animals, of improved character, with careful and irinrp or less cost I v attention are the conditions of stock raising. Can it be done profitably? It is evident that ainon^ the plain factors in the solution of this question not the least are the breeds selected and the abundance and economy of the feed supply. BREEDS. South Carolina is a semi-tropical country. The products of the wanner and the colder regions alike grow and to some extent flourish within her l'mits Tint oriiorieiino nf lior 4 A/ki L V1IV V*k^/V??V><VV VA Atv*. agriculture shows that the greatest success is met with in the culture of plants having their origin in the tropics. Indeed, transferred to her congenial coil and climate they have in many instances improved in quality and quantity of production. Indigo, rice and cotton, her staple crops for two centuries, have this origin and in the markets of the world have been preferred jo those grown in .their original habitat. The only hay I liave known successfully grown for market in this State is from the Means and Bermuda grasses?the one of Egyptian, the other of East Indiau origin. On the other hand wheat, oats, rye, cerials of a colder climate, upon lands of equal fertility do not produce as well here as further north. Indeed with rye and oats which are more than wheat a special product of Iiigli latitudes, there has been found but one variety of each which can be cultivated by us with uniform i-enumerative results. I allude to the red rust proof oats, which \ comcs to us from Mexico, and what is ] kuowiras Southern rye. , I am pursuaded that this superior adaptability of our climate to plants of tropical origin extends to a considerable extent to animals derived from the same region. The i < mule, bred from a sire of tropical ( origin., is seldom found in the lielas of : 1 northern countries, but is undoubtedly i i our best plough and wagon animal. I ( Xo horse for light draft or tht> saddle ( ??wSS^m" ' can compare for use with us to one that, ha? a birge infusion of thorough : blooi?the blood of the desert. General consent seems to have accepted the snnerioritv in our climate of the Essex and Berkshire hogs over other imported breeds. Both of these oavc their origin largely to tropical crosses. Of sheep, the broad-tailed and the Merino?t.ic one of .Syrian and the other of African origin?thrive most readily with us. And in cattle. Brahmin are the healthiest and hardiest of all the breeds which have been imported into this State. Our native or scrub breeds of cattle, sheep and hogs are of European origin and varied crosses. They have become acclimated through length of time and are healthy and hardy, but originating in the unimproved breeds of Europe existing at the time of their importation and neglected in their breeding- here are inferior in many respects. Individuals among them have sometimes rare merit. The trouble with them is that of all conglomerate breeds the progeny is as apt to breed back to some inferior ancestor as to inherit the merit of the f parent. Prepotency?the power to uniformly impress itself upon offspring?exists only with breeds long established and. purely bred. The Brahmin cattle from their association with the religion of India have been kept as a pure breed longer than any other now known and they exhibit this power of prepotency to a marked degree. I have seen the pendant ears, t?? SiraiglU IUUU iuge> aiui iuc form conspicuously shown in an ox that I knew had but one thirty-second part of the blood in him. The broadtailed sheep, which was the sheep of the patriarchs, and the thoroughbred horse going back of the crusades in his historv,posses* a like power of marking their progeny. There is not a doubt of the superiority for many purposes of some of the modern European breeds. The difficulty is that in- our climate they lose thrift and hardihood. The problem is to appropriate their good qualities without the care and long years required for a thorough ciimatization. This can be measurably done by crossing the imported male upon selected females of our native breeds; but can be better done by an infusion into the Eurouean breed of the hot blood of the long descended and pure bred tropical races. The grade is at once climatized and renewed crosses upon the European stock and careful attention will soon give an animal equal to its European ancestor in all desirable . qualities and at the same : time one naturalized t > its new home. These remarks apply more particularly to cattle. The Spanish Merino sheep for fine wool is unequalled3^ any "breed here or sahroa^r -\c oroadTailea. regarded o* many as the superior of all others\for mutton, is a good coarse wool sheep; and both of these are at home wit'' us without a cross. AVe all remember what a valuable hog for plantation purposes the cross of the Guinea upon our native stock made thirty or. more years ago. I am sa -tied now that the best hog for us wc aid be from a new and direct infusion of tropical blood into some ox me mouern .uup.ru veu breeds. This cross comes to us through the Essex and Berkshire, but there is too much of the native English blood iu these hogs. Long residence in n northern climate has toned down the tropical blood too much, and the cross itself needs climatizing for our use. I have for many years made my bacon economically "and with due certainty by breeding Essex or Berkshire boars to native sows. The half breed was thrifty and health}", a good plantation hog, fit for slaughter without extra care or attention at twelve to eighteen months old. In my experience for purposes of bacon a higher grade was no improvement. "When early maturity was desired for purposes of sale as fresh pork, a second cross gave it, at A-P V:il?D lllAAflc ! tJIU ^A|/tllCV VI. JKtl. V4iliVV/\J .A UA\y V4VV\?V I have in my hands been a failure for ! either purpose. I know of no pure bred Brahmin cattle now in this State, and high grades are rare. Dr. Davis imported a cow and a bull into South Carolina in 1850, which he afterwards sold into Kentucky. I have seen in the column? of the old Farmer and Planter a statement from Mr. Eades, the Kentucky purchaser, that after six years successful breeding in which he sold near $10,000 worth of calves from the bull, he sold the original pair to Mr. McHatton, of Louisiana, for $4,200, something more than lie gave Dr. Davis for them. lie claimed for the grades not only the superiority for beef and work which is generally conceded, but also high milking qualities. T om oti'qva tliot tl?o +a miltiiur qualities is sometimes contested, but in' my observation lie is right. I once took from u twelve year old cow in one day without exra feed twenty-two quart,? of rich milk. She was half Brahmin and half Alderney, and would have weighed, fat, fully one thousand pounds. The same cow bred to an imported Alderney buil produced a cow that approximated the Alderney nearer in reduced size j*?d smaller quantity of milk. The Brahmin blood in that instance did no damage to the milking quality of the Alderney while it greatly added to size, symmetry of form and thrift in the cross-bred cow. Subsequent breeding a-P cfiHiitt 11 o l\Ann f a vAAn.-f Aim/J ui i/iat oiiaiu iiai? uuvu iv iu^ipiviui Jersey bulls; and descendants now in the fourth and fifth generation still retain the superior symmetry and hardihood over the pure bred European animal: while in every other respect temper, style and quality of milk?the excellencies of the latter remain. The late Col. Frank Hampton of this State and Mr. Peters, of Georgia, each imported a Brahmiirbull and these have been the only importations of which I am aware. Mr. Peters found in the grades the merit here attributed to them. A slight infusion only of the Brahmin blood is required to climatize the breeds of a colder climate, exempting them from the murrain or maiarial fever i- suallv so fatal to such importations. That distinguished naturalist, the late Dr. Bachman of Charleston, is . . a . .1 A.I- ^ . *i.. .r .. a* quoieu as aiunurnv xur uiu ns*uniun that 5i> little as one-eighth or one-sixteenth of the blood will accomplish the purpose. Jt seems to me the part of | wisdom to cherish what remains among j lis of this blood?and I am satisfied i1 that in cattle raising upon the range on ; the coast, the highest grade Brahmin j i bulls that can be procured with selected j ] native cross would be the stock most 1 promising of success. ! j KKKl) SliTLY. I' !?/? uiifl V Inino vn_ ! 4 uni III*: ?A/?ci MIIU. > IV- I J ?ions of South Carolina the country is j livided by natural feature? into hvo ? narked sections. Fi\ ni tide water to ] i little above Columbia is the section \ )f tho lon<r-leaved pine; from above j 'oluinbia to the foot of the mountains c - r" * ,? ? -fc?? ? the short-leaved predominate in the s soil, ar.cl it is generally known as .tlie 1 Piedmont section. * I In tlie pine section the soil is a Iijdit } sandy loam and not well adapted to ? the usually cultivated artificial grasses. s but valuable natural jrrasses are found, s Tlio f?vH- settlors konf im tlin Indian 1 practice of burning: the forests in the 1 spring and autumn, which by keeping ; down the shrub undergrowth gave : opportunity to these grasses: and the 1 stock raising upon the range then ] common to the whole State was here : specially remunerative. Cattle were i sometimes slaughtered merely for their : hides and tallow, and the woods were full of them and of droves of half wild horses. Col. Maliani, a distinguished officer of Marion's brigade, it is said had even after the Revolutionary war a horse ranch on the Upper Runs in Barnwell County, carrying over three hundred head: This pi no region i.- now more especially the cotton region of the State. The forest pasturage is of little value: but the natural grasses remain, and the tillage that prevails Jimls its chief occupation in 'preventing them from smothering the arable ero]*s. The Bermuda grass is naturalized, and on these soils affords unsurpassed grazing from early spring until near midwinter. Highly fertilized it maybe | cut for hay with extraordinary results. Dr. Kavenel, near Charleston, succeeded from a highland meadow thus treated in obtaining near live tons to tht acre, more than four times the average crop of the United States. The hay from this grass is in my observation preferred by stock to all others; and chemists assign to it a feeding value equal to the best Timothy. The Means grass is also a success for hav; ^ i->-~ 1 ana one ox uu; j.njiou nuu^ m the South?that of Mr. Childs on the alluvial lands of the Congaree below Columbia is devoted exclusively to its culture. His sales of hay have reached as high as ?10,(MX) ])er annum. These are the only two passes that 1 am aware of wlrch are suited to permanent meadows. These once set are difficult to eradicate, and with fair treatment give unfailing crops despite the vicissitude of seasons. The crow foot and crab grasses arc animals requiring more or less cultivation and more dependant than either the Bermuda or Means upon fanning seasons. The hay from them is highly relished by stock. As grazing grass in the later summer when vegtta i >n lias been parched by ii.ni. rrAt'v v.ilnnhlA. prevailing i<> <ii iuu? The cow pea, belonging1 to ilie. family of legume*, ha? been called t l?o clover of i he South. O iJLiu.se finds '. Sown if rain crops are harvesin Juno iiiul J.;ly ?it is as ameliorating a crop as the nd closer; and harvested when the seed pods are halfripe, it alTnds a wonderful yield of excellent forage. Like all ihelegnmes the difficulty in sowing it as hay is to preserve the leaves from crumbling. I have found the best plan to be to take and cock immediately behind the mower without submitting the cut ! viiirs to ilie usual snnninir. The cocks ) are about i he size of a imlf hogshead and remain in the field a week, being once turned ever upside down daring that, liiiie- In hauling in, the'cock? are opened and aired fbr half-hour or so before loading, and then packed away in a house or stacked, using from two to tf rec quarhs.of salt to the ton. If stacked, tiiev shoiikl be well capped with corn blades or -^itli some long grass, to make a rain proof thatch. These, with the cured ulades from Indian corn and the straw from the small grain crops arc the chief reliance of the farmer in thi.s section for dry forage. I am persuaded, however, that tlie silo is destined here in the near future to largely take the place of the hay rick. The crops most suitable for ensilage arc grown no where with more facility and experiment is rapidly reducing the cost of the silo as well as demonstrating the value of ensilage. Another marked resource for stack ! food in this section is crops for winter grazing. The Southern rye, while its seed product is not extraordinary takes rwii +lif> / litirortAr of ;i irtftsf valuable V,1L winter grass. Sown 111 September at tlic rate of one bushel of .seed to the acre, on improved land it is tit for grazing by December and affords a pasturage until late spring which will carry more stock to the acre than clover or Bermuda grass in the summer. The annual known as rescue grass is nearly as valuable for the same purpose. Wheat sown with either of these makes the pasture to be more relished by stock. Barley does not stand the hoof so well; but sown in drills in October and supplemented by Egyptian and other millets in March gives a succession of soiling crops from early spring till frost that almost 1 ixi. *1 uoes away n un uiw vj. sunr mcr pasture. This pine region seems especially adapted to root crops. The turnip, the groundnut, the chufa and kindred crops all flourish: and the sweet potato, the feeding value of which is accepted at half that of Indian corn, produces commonly two hundred bushels to the acre. Cotton seed, with the oil expressed, which pays all the expenses of preparation, gives more cheaply than from any other source the nitrogenous element of a food ration: and its hulls are now alleged at the experiment Stations to be a sufficient substi- tute for loiiir forage. ' 1 Passing into the Piedmont region, < we find available for stock feed all the ' resources above enumerated. In addi- < tion to these, the artificial grasses from * Northern climates grow and flourish ' iii proportion as you approach tlic i mountains. They arc cultivated with profit; hilt the tropical grasses, the Bermuda and the Means, "with the cow pea. maintain their superiority in economy and certainty of production. The lucerne, too., finds here a eongenial soil. The crop of the late Col. Kion. of this vicinity. i< reported in Hammond's Hand Book of South Carolina to have given ten cuttings in a year?each cutting averaging two and a half feet in height. This grass requires very rich land for ils .results; but the rate of production indicated is so enormous and Its feeding value is so Irish that, taken with ttie further feet that once s-jt it lasts for twenty years, rich plots should be devoted to it on every fai m. rn * * ? ? A. K/\irr> I C iliers IS ;i liiriuuruiiiciciitt; ucLivtcii [he Piedmont and llie Pine cv:ntry. c [n the latter the swamps have hereto- ^ fore been generally formed foo low for * profitable reclamation. L-jw land or v laiural meadows while occurring of * valuable character in localities are s' herefore not?common. Pigh lands r neadows, soiling crops, and the silo s ire the resources of the stock raiser. 1' [n the Piedmont country arc to be 11 bund every where branch, creek, or c iver bottoms long devoted to Indian ^ :orn, than which no land* aro better " ??? ? ??i? * 1 1 X- J/s> TuAYYl AII O f C aneu io mrauufts. x ivm wvu u c neadow of seventy-live acres set in i ienmulu gross 1 liave taffbn for the ] )ast twelve years an average of two 1 md a quarter tons per acre unfertilized 1 ;ave by annual winter and occasional 1 summer overflow.-. The present crop s from favorable seasons appears :b be the largest yet harvested. I < >ay appears; for it is not yet 1 ill sent to the market, and ; the weights arc for thoroughly cured hay which has been in the barn for six or more weeks, and are taken from j accounts of sales. I will add in pass-; ing that the drawback upon these j ......tl,r> ffivtec ! Illl'llUUU^ tJIV/ 1*4MV?%?.V? by the occasional summer overflow, is obtained when such trouble occurs by running through a macliine consisting of a whipper and fan arrangement, at n cost of about sixty, cents per tonAnother difference not so favorable to the upper country presents itself. The pine country from its level character lias suffered less washing of the soil under the clean culture of the present century: its highlands are nearly all arable. In the Piedmont section galled and gullied hillside* occur on nearly every farm. Once fertile. I see but ^ne reclamation for^ these hillsides: aftd that is in Bermuda grass and the hoof of sheep, which the Spaniards say is golden. The creeping and clinging character of this grass will do much to hold the soil together i ..wl in -tfllitlM* imlliOS I Ullii uvea aiu natm v m which the ill advised hand of man has j made. Terraces, when a larger practice lias settled upon an effective mode sufficiently cheap, will complete the work. Before quitting the subject of feed supply let us glance for a moment at the cereals in South Carolina* I have said that upon lands of equal fertility certain of them do not. produce as well here as in regions further north. Of wheat, 1 believe this to be true without qualification: no variety to my knowledge has been introduced specially adapted to our climatic needs: but of outs and rye the remarks was qualified. The characteristic of the Southern rye has been indicated; audit may be a f*nir?v nf initio. lm? it seems to me these characteristics arc best maintained in all parts *)f the State when it is grown . from seed obtained below Columbia. Fond of horses from my youth, and.anxious to secure a home supply of oats the best grain upon which they arc fed, 1 had faithfully tried and had abandoned the crop^n j the pine region. It failed Jfeffld^nist i oftener than it succeeded. "~The late Wyatt D. Aikeu^oiight. to my attention the rc-lT-rust-proof oats then just introduced from the South "West into Abbeville County, and I have since never been without a sufficient supply. Under ordinary fair culture, the crop of the State ranges from twenty-five to fifty bushels to the acre. "With higher fertilization and more care, sevent-five to one nunarea bushels arc commonly attained in different sections, and Col. "Wylie, of Lancaster, is recorded under special circumstances of liijrli culture to have reached a yield of one huudred and eighty-one bushels to the acre. The local history of Indian corn ? that queen of cerials?is still more interesting. The first colonists unused to its consumption and looking upon it with contempt Jis .the food of the savages .whom they encountered, took slowly to its ouitut'e.. Since then, though it has become with us the chief food both of man. and beast,, in the rivalry with our valuable market crops it has been sorely neglected. Planted without manure and irenerallv on our poorest lands, the average yield per acre has been low, and only the area given to it has enabled the supply to approximate our needs. Vet strange to say. the largest recorded crop ever grown to the acre of this world wide cereal and upon which more human beings are said to subsist than upon any other save rice, was grown in South Carolina. The crop of Dr. Parker?two hundred bushels and twelve quarts?is authenticated beyond doubt, and was grown by the help of irrigation, upon a branch bottom underdrained and highly fertilized. With a view to exhibiting the possibilities of Indian corn under improve culture the State Department of Agriculture has oflered a prize of live hundred dollars ior me best acre grown during the present year. The contest lias not yet been decided, but the competitors are numerous, and results when announced will be hardly credible to those wdo accept the census returns as limiting the capacity of the State in this produesion. I have heard of one crop already harvested of over one hundred and thirty bushels upon land wliieli a few years ago cost to the owner six dollars per acre. THE KEASOX W"v. With this necessarily incomplete exhibit of the resources of the State for stock feed and considering its climate requiring but three to four months of winter care, the question obviously occurs why stock raising is not now, as it was in the past, her chief rural industry. It is answered best by asking another question. "Why are live stock raised at all for sale? Agri cultural products with few exceptions cm not be sold profitably from tlie farm. Their perishable nature and small value in propoi*tion to bulk-forbid it. Further in their crude state the supply is far beyond the demand. To utilize them profitably they must be condensed and converted into other values at home. Live stock do j this; and in fact is found the 1 sole reason why a farmer produces ? thetn 10 ihe extent beyond his own Deed for the nse and consumption. With the introduction of cotton our i fanners were supplied wijh one of i hesc exceptional agricultural pro- i 3'ucts. Cotton, in the case of preser- " ration, facility of transportation, and 1 " 'n"' if mofL-et tnrnsissps flllV firon 1 P A 11/ < 1 V V/ 1 >11 M * 11V V W % WW ? J. hat is grown. It can be sold in the i seed, at the gin, at the railroad station, i >r at the sea port; by the handful, by i he single bale, .or by the thousand"; < tnd every where it is as promptly con- < rertcd into gold at current rates as is i he note of a solvent bank. It is so tv it ' n April and sold in October ; crops i ed to live stock in most instances are J c lot realized under three or four years, i i rVhen ready for sale cotton may be1 a :ept at the cost of storage; live stock j 1 ea.Iy for market, if withheld, requires are and maiutanence, and unless of a! haracter for which there is a general j KQC* tA holnnl'Ofl i li it' I Hit II l-t lllG [/Ul^liaoui liuo iw vv avv^wv. j ur. Fancy articles bring fancy prices's rhen sold; but the farmers of average j v uiTOundinars needs to producc what s ells promptly at reasonable and steady 1 atcs. Wc thus see why cotton lias ti uperseded live stock as a principal ? roduction of Carolina farm, and can ppreciate the tendency to run to its ?iTa tl>v<v?r if nwjiv AUiU5i> i; iu. AW vMAv.t -w . rould be to throw away a pearl richer ( um the whole tribe: to rety upon it J s ;olely is epual folly. Neither man xor the land can live by cotton alone. [11 succc developing this great >lessin<r of our soil and climate "we lave suffered by its abuse, and find hat in this as in mest" things we go ?afest in the middle. Popular speech has boiled down our experience in the phase that we "live best who live at home"?who raise at least our own supplies, and send cot- 1 ton to market as the exponent of ! profit. ! EXTENT OF STOCK 1*-USING. But the general economy of mixed husbandry is not our subject to-day. "We are inquiring to whal extent stock raising with us may be profitably entered into such a system; and when, if at all it may supersede it. We have seen that in" the mountains circumstances indicate success fof extensive stock fanning of a pastural character. 1 * a i1kc concuuoii ol uun^s i>i itself 011 the sea coast, although with the facility for market gardening in that region, the combination is obvious. lndivuals anywhere in the State, but more especially in the Peidmont section, may and now do devote themselves to exclusive ^tock fanning, with pure bloods for breeding purposes. In skilful hands and with sufficient capital to aw:ait the returns from stock raising of limited demand profit ensues, high prices make up for slow sales. The thoroughbred must precede the gtade, and with the increasing attention to improvement thriughout the State at large ihc market for such animals is becoming more extended and more constant. Such farming it very attractive. It is* the poetry of . stock rrising; its rivalries and triumphs, are the teatures or our ciock suu>vs>, those engaged in it contribute to a public goodj and 1 very much doubt if the exhibit they make, at our annual State Fair is -surpassed elsewhere in the cotton states. But for the average South Carolina farmer, taking into consideration all his surroundings, stock raising for profit must be generally with grades and as a feature of mixed husbandry in which it will have more or less developiijgtft^ccordink to locality. Vv hen alluvial lanife are had with their pergaial meadows lining fertilization 'tfnlv from onr plow, with the cane>of the enclosed swamps foi'1 natiypffT winter pasturage, and broken | hHisides for summering live stock may predominate in the system, and the. level lands only be given to erable j culture. Even here cotton will- be - "? ? * ' round tne uest. crop w::r. wmcu u? realize tlie manure which enters largely into the incomc from stock. Sometimes, however, in such localities and unexpected limitation upon stock raising may arise. If the facilities for marketing the hay be good, at the prices for which it sells in our town and city markets it will be found that an article of best quality cannot profitably be fed to animals intended merely for the shambles. Under such circumstances for many years hay has brought at the barn from/16 to 20 dollars per ton. msiizvi*- it a market crop superior in7neTN?esults to cotton. But these facilities^slo exist. Hay cannot bear trau^xrr^ tation by highway, and local railway | froiorhfc roill ernn not n:i fl /?nr lnjlfl I that Las to go any distance to be sold. Each one must necessarily determine for himself, unless his special surroundings, the minimum of stock his farm should carry in a mixed husbandry. He will find that care and j quality will pay better than number and neglect. He must also determine j the kind, whether horses, hogs, cattle J or sheep to which prominence should j be given. Most generally it will be ! found that these supplement, rather than interfere with each other. When a pasture or farm can carry no more cattle, a not inconsiderable number of 6heep may be added without disadvantage, and hogs will do well upon what neither sheep nor catr tic consume. SOUTH CAROLINA'S EXPERIENCE. I do not under the present system of labor find it desirable to make bacon beyond what is required for family use. So many pounds is part of Ihe wages of the laborer, and he is satisfied with the coarser and cheaper western bacon. Better results are obtained from the hog crop by selling it on foot at from eight to twelve months old for fresh pork. With sheep ray attention has been LKlUSliy glVCH IU lliC laiuu iwaiavv* i Broad tails graded on natives have | for the purpose done best with me. A cross of i:he broad tail upon the down sheep?both sheepshire and south down ?has been tried. The cross bred were smaller than the grades, less prolific, and no improvement in the mutton; certairlv better prices were not obtained. * Before the stock law was passed, where scrubs were more abundant than at present. I tried purchasing tliem in February when poor and cheap, and after summer and fall feeding on natural pasturage and the refuse of summer crops, sending them to the butcher. The plan met with some success. Mr. Starling tells nie that he PI/Mii/ln nn/1 -foorl J I1UW UUV & X' iunuii v.atuv anu jlvvuc i them successfully in like manner upon j the natural swamp pasturage 011 the j Congaree. Afterwards I undertook breeding with some care grades for beef. This proved unprofitable: western beef could be put in our own markets cheaper than I could raise it. Xow, my reliance with cattle is upon the dairy, and raising calves of high grade. The steers are sold for work oxen, readily commanding good prices; iind the surplus heifers when I have them will be offered as milch cows. I have never raised horses of common breed. They cost as much as those of better blood, and neither for use nor sale are as remunerative. Horses for light draft and the saddle ivith two or more crosses of thorough jlood have proved successful m ny horses, meeting with ready sale and sometimes high prices. With mules the difficulty has been scarsity ofgood jacks, tne size and \ value of the mule depending * more ] ipon the jack than upon the mare. This is af trouble. however, that can be emedied. The mule is in more gen;ral demand than any animal we can aise, and profit must certainly attend , my well directed effort at breeding i lirii. CONCLUSION. Your attention has been occupied j onger than intended; what has been aid I trust will elicit from others iews perhaps more valuable, and reults derived from a wider experience, 'here is no subject of more importance o us as fanmrs. ! Fine Seed "Wheat for Sale. ^ ~1ALL AND EXAMINE SAMPLES AT J R. M. HUEY'S. j 10- JAMES PAGAN. , lunTTT" II ? FALL ANN* I CONGRATULATE my customers the season comes the necessity oi machines and household decorations; ponr attention to the bargains I offer goods is the goods, themselves. I won only practical workman in the fnrnitni experience and knowledge of local ta will find mine the largest and hand superior, my policy being to sacrifice a the confidence of my cnstomers. I desire it to be known that I handle a low price and give the best article th short-siylited Dolicv foranv merchant t at the expeuse of his reputation. My bargain?, bat by the satisfaction that i wear. So come to the First-Class Far bargains, and find more than one car-1 better anywhere. We are leading the wa?t more, so come and be convinced R. DOW. DO1 rain #01 ? mi i 7 NEW YORK 1 Great reduction in cloak from $2.50 to $1.50. Men's, Youths' and Children's Soils be deceived and think you can get prices.. Jersevs at from 40c. to 75c, Ladies Twilled Red Flannel, reduced from Don't forget to bny i Hat Racket at 10c. aud 15c. We have on hand a great snpply of sizes, best sewing Neeales^also the I Bodkiu, Bong (Jotton uarner, snort v. and Button Needle. All for five centi Dou't bay a penny's worth until yo [ the best bargains of the season. JUSTT A CARLO A just a: WILL BE 03 fewv 0me km j j nm *- W TjtfH gsSBA& DRESS vTV v- ! Al iviilli BEFORE Y01 , DRESS COME AND INSPECT OUR LINE MILLINERY. YOU WILL AND CORRECT SJYL BOUGHT TO SI DEPEN TP Emm YOU WILL FIND , Fashionais aENRIETTA ROBES, EJdBROIDEI CORDS, TRICOTS, FANCY 1 AN EXCELLENT STOCK McMaster, Bri flGHEST PRICES PAID FOB COTTON SEED. SPECIAL PRICES FOE DAR-LOAD LOTS. W. D. CREIGHT. 9-28fx4m 3DNCEMENT. upon the return of the fall season. With : replacement of old faraiture, sewing1 in view of Lhese facts, therefore, I direct ; indeed the Best advertisement of the Id have you remember too that I am the re business, and have had a long business stes as to the selection of goods. You somest stock of farnitnre, and with no i margin for profits rather than sacrifice no cheap goods as to qaaiity, bat sell at s market affords for the money. It is a :o make a reputation for low price goods aim is to satisfy buyers, not by alluring :omes from the test of goods by actual niture Store, where you will get the best i. v? '* wau iiuui wmui iu aeicui. iuu utu b uu trade, and the .crowd is with ns, yet we before yon bay elsewhere. W. PHILLIPS. mi. DOWN. LL WINTER GOODS AT IHI jacket store. :s. WALKING JACKETS REDUCED > at prices that will astonish you. Don't nlntliinff nlontvhArp At ftnvth ill? likfi ODf VIV/LUlUg V?wv If MV? V WW ? ci ' Balmorals at 50c., <50c. and ;75c. 35c. to 28c. at 5c. and 10c. Perforated Chair Seats Needles. Just Iook! One paper, mixed seven other usefal needles, viz.: Steel 'otton Darner, Wool, Worsted, Carpet ?. in have seen for voarself that we hare H. LANDECKER. [ETOB NEW YORK RACKET STORE. N ? s J> OF GOODS R EI Y ED S EXHIBITION IN A avin mfxptv JjJ&Sji t sjuflt? RIG &. CO. GOODS BBS. SU MUi GSSO Ini NERY. [J BUY YOUK /^\T1 TT A m un HAI OF DRESS GOODS AND STOCK OF FIND CHOICE SELECTIONS ES. THESE GOODS WE . ILL, SO YOU CAN D-ONIT. g JRB C0W. i FULL STOCK OF tie &oods. ??/ RED SERGES, SIDE BANDS, WHIP iND PLAIN FLANNELS, AND . ' OF MOURNING GOODS, ee & Ketchin. money to loan ON? I REAL ESTATE AND PERSONAL SECURITY -BY THE t F AIRFIELD SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATION. ! \rAnJ.1ilv in?t-.alm*nt<5 nf nn<? dollar a | share dues on the First Tcesdat of each month: a penalty attaches if not Mid when i due " W. G. JORDAN, Secretary and Treasurer. i