The Lancaster news. (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, February 21, 1906, Page 2, Image 2
Agricultural '
Farming Methods Twenty \
Years Ago and Those of
Today.
J. K. Bruner, Secretary North
Carolina Board of AgricuIture.
in the Progressive Farmer:
Twenty years does not seem to
he a long period, as time is meas
ured, but it is, in fact, one-third
of the average age of man. In
that sense it is a long period, and
within its span the young come
to maturity, the mature build as
best they may?success or failure
?and then the slow decline;
with lengthening shadows falling
t?e?ore; sometimes all too short
and, perchance, lingering yet
awhile for rest and the enjoyment
of life, as character has
taught how best to enjoy it. ,
But it is of farming?that God ^
ordained vocation of finite man ^
?that I am to write. Turning j
my thought in that direction 1 j
am strongly tempted to tell of
my own experience on a dearly j
loved uncle's farm in old Rowan,
but as that was irinro than tmontu
years ago, I shall forego the re
miniscence. A review of conditions
then exisiting must of ne
cessity be brief, since to tell it all
would require a book; and the
progress of the science during
that period would require as
large a sequel ; the outlook for
the next twenty years, an appendix
!
But twenty years ago our farmers
were still pursuing the meth
ods handed down from father to
60n for more than a hundred
years; the same methodp, the
same rotation, when any was followed
at all. It was a wellknown
"round:" corn, wheat,
pasture, wheat, corn, pasture;
pasture wheat, corn. In the cot (
ton eouuiry uie wneat and pup- .
tare were omitted and cotton ,
substituted; in the tobacco country
the same conditions prevailed.
' 1
TIIK "RIDGING" SYSTEM.
One of the practices inj'those ,
days with all farmers was the ,
high "ridging" of the rows .be- t
fore planting, not only in] pota- ,
t >c , but in corn, cotton a: d ?
tobacco. "Hilling" took the ?
pla *e of "ridging" in the tobacco t
fields, and this is still adhered to t
in some tobacco regions of the n
States. These hills or rid ires I ?
??? , I
were six or more inches above I (
tho level of the field, and the 1 }
{.recess of throwing them up with jp
the p!??w was taxing t.o the mus u
cle of both man atid horse, a nib U
when done there wan a corre
spending depiv ssion of the same j
depth in the middle of the rows. r
There were intended to hold the (
moisture, it is supposed. Kvcn
now, iu pinny woodlands, turned L
out twenty or more years ago, in
walking through the forest these
by-gone evidences of useless
U/nvIr m d rr k/? t.l a i t? l*? 'Pi.*..
?*%# ? uiuj uv; piaiuij PCCU. 1 l?I^ .
shows how thoroughly well the
work was done; with what per
8isfence and patience horse and
man "worked'' the soil.
Hut. all of this has passed away, r
llat cultivation has supplanted it 1
and with much better average re
suits in the harvest and much *
saving of time and labor. This is (
one of the improvements in our ^
agriculture: the hill side terrace "
is another along the same lines. *
t
INCREASING THE YIELDS. ^
Still another improvement is ii
the increased yield in our v
acreage: this, frankly, is applic- b
Department.
ible only to the better, farmers,
rhere are still certain shiftless,
jareless, small farmers amonn
he white population, and, th*
ireat majority of "tenanters'
vho aro not rigidly "overseered*
L>y owners who aro responsible
'or the rating given this State in
he census returns as to yield per
tore. However, when such farriers
as Mr. N. Shaw grow thirteen
bales of cotton on six acres,
n Robenson County, and when a
tale to the acre is becoming the
:ommon yield among the best
'armors of the real cotton.'counties
of the State, we must] acknowledge
the increase and ^put
t down to bettor farming. 1
taul 'Teal" cotton counties; 1
nean it. There is much land
vest ana north ot Mecklenburg
jouuty planted in cotton which
vould grow tons of good ..hay,
tood alfalfa and good cloverjand
field more cash at less expenditure
of money for fertilizer, and
ess of labor. Excuse the digreslion;
but truth is might and 1
lope to see it prevail.
But to get back : it has been
1 hard lesson for our Southern
'armers to learn the difference
between the ante bellum "planfa
iion," with its broad acres and
uicestral "mansion," (which had
seen the ambition of our people
for more than .a hundred years),
_ j a. i_ _ ur 11 f i
tuu me ' isrm 01 to uay, wirn its
home" and its few hundred acres
lurrouuding. In fact, the lesson
s but half learned, since the hold '
ugs are too large, especially
ivlien the tendency for intensive I?
arming is taken into account.
That tendency to intensive ?
J SOI
arming is another improvement
in ttie old methods. Why culti- ^
/ate thirty acies, as we did twen- j
v years ago, to harvest ton bales
?f cotton? The average farmer is
low getting that much from ten
teres; the best farmers are get- pU
ing that much from less than ten
teres!
Ml'KOVKD TOOLS AKK DKCR K ASI.VO sp
EXPENSES. p!;
Still another factor in the ad- Pu
/ance of our agriculture is thel, r<
nore general use of improved | Pa
arm macninery. J he old moth j151,1
><In giving place to the new ;handlowing
of grain to the drill; the ac
'old tin horn" t > the cotton plan- j11 '
,er, the scythe and the cradle to
he mower and the reaper; the vv*
'bull tongue" to the sulky plow ; P1
he ln>e to the scraper and the
ultivator; the pitchfork to the!ta'
lav stacker and the manure I tei
^ I 'Pi
ipreader; whole dry stover toj *'i
dlago and the shredder?these ph
ind many other labor saving de-I'd'
noes are taking the place oflrel
land work, thus increasing the!
esnlt of die working hours of
he day. i
Sll
jood Advice?Don't Increase'
Your Cotton Acreage.
In.
I 1,10
ireeuvilie Mountaineer. in
? v . out
Don t increase your cotton | Hm
icroij^e. J' in not time to olantlw"f
con
iotton, ol course, but doubtless ism
nany are thinking over the mat ?
er. The bent way in the world j
o lower the price ?>!' cotton is to
>ogin preparations for an increas- To
d acreage. The crop of the past
'ear in South Carolina was one! I
if the largest on record. Had the
easona been altogether favorable
hroughout the state, it would j',,',
ave been still larger. The crop J">'
n the entire South, to be sure,
fas smaller by several million
ales than the year before, but Fol
S E E D I
T I M E[
*3Se experienced farmer
has learned that some
grains require far different
soil than others;
some crops need differenthandling
than others.
He knows that a great
deal depends upon right
planting at the right
time, and that the soil
must be kept enriched. i
No use of complaining
in summer about a mistake
made in the spring.
Decide before the seed
is planted.
best time to remedy
wasting conditions in
the human body is before
the evil is too deep
rooted. At the first evidence
of loss of flesh
Scott's Emulsion
should be taken immediately.
There is nothing
that will repair
wasted tissue more
quickly or replace lost
flesh more abundantly
than Scott's Emulsion.
It nourishes and builds
up the body when ordinary
foods absolutely
fail.
We tvlll send you a sample free.
/r^s Pe sure that this
Jk picture in the form
V WUddfiV of a label is on tho
wrapper of every
i V^? bottle of Emulsion
SCOTTC&
BOWNE
g^ilCf'lr CHEMISTS
409 Pearl Street
NEW YORK ],
5CC- and
x W!l ? all druggists
<j
is whs due to unfavorable pea *
118.
If every planter in the South
lilts this year juftt the amount
planted last year, and the -en I
as are p*od, the crop
unda ut.
Already we hear taik in some |
rts of the State planters ^eltiup i
inly for a hi^ crop, in some in 1
inces niiiti.y leaving a n ..ei ;
nt (Hi (heir farms, in many
ices much line stock is belli}:
rchased, and some of K on a
-iiit. with the expectation ol
yiok for it with liiteen cents
lion next fall. In some of tile
stern counties the tobacco
reage is go:ng to lie cut, and
<re cotton planted.
A i of this we deem very tin
-e. (J it ton will brim; a good
ice next tall. Them's baldly
y doubt oi that, but ail of tins
k of in reused acreage wiil not '
>.i i..a.. 11. . I
iw i?/ \ 11 }'l lit* J Ml*" IU i iti |
e day the Southern farmerI
(Ml- cotton to tii>- exolush ;i Oil
.or crops, t at day wih see ..
furci to lower prices.
What we need is not more col
i acreage; ?t is diversification
versify, make your faun el
pporhng, and greater will be ij
or measure ot success.
Attacked
in Mrs Nancy St 'ddnrd of Fount-in j
i, S. (3. I w.is atlacked by tli.it tcrrilih |
ni-.tcr you cull lihcnnmtisiu OUli NKW j
>''t) V I! Y iviih rcconi" t-.ided to me liy
druggist, ami alter t iking two hot ties, i
t gnat monster of trouble and sufl linn!
< b-ro il to take its tl ght. | ghu'.iv ic- ;
amend i' to any snthiiog with Ulu-umii- j
i. .Sold l?y Crawlor I llros.
Notice
the Overseers of the Public Highways
of Lancaster County :
ask you all to warn out your hands on
h k*. it ion of road and work tcur mad
d In two n now and the loth day of
ich, so you c ill all make a good i port
til- first Monday in .t|>ril, its the grand f
v ri ijuirr s yon to do. The roads uiust J
ivorkcd, and I hope I will not have to
e any trouble with any of the overseers.
ie due notice and work your roads.
M 0. OAKDNEH,
County Supervisor,
ruary 17, 19UG. lui ~
TO THE
i TRADING
PUBLIC!
I ^
If you want to SAVE
your money during the
present month,
I Don't Spend '
A Nickle
till you get our prices on r
ILlotning, canoes, ^overcoats,
odd Pants, Ladies'
Jackets and a hundred
other things.
We have odds and ends
in all these that we are
going to close regardless
the price.
With best wishes to our
I patrons generally,
4$
< Funderburk Comp'y.
T-^ I J
IfIIA ITV'JJ! 1V f \
| iiMlw9 iLiy iiiliiil
| GIVE ME ? ti
J. C. Edwards' Store , ~
"You will have to wait, the line is
busy."
"Well, I don't mind waiting, if time
is money?I'll make it back when I
get my goods."
His Magnolia Flour is $2.30 per hundred.
livery where else $2 40 and $2.50, and not half
as nice and white. Seed Tick Coffee 11 1-2
cents per pound. Beautiful 5 lb. milk Fail
filled with Roasted Java Coffee for $1.00.
Wken Shoes j
are needed, don't fail to see Hdwards. When
you need Linen Collars at 5c each, see him?
and when you need anything in Groceries and '
Dry Goods, it will pay you to call.
000 Kushels
I. /
of Virginia Valley Corn to come in this week
nriro ??i / r h f T #? ? ? ? ? *- ? *
? ??&? ?- a wcini country people, town I
people, and all other people, to come and see
us.
J. C. Edwards ||
Bennett's Old Stand.
- f