The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, February 08, 1878, Image 1
VOL. IX.?New Series. UNION C. H., SOUTH CAROLINjA, FEBRUARY 8, 1878. NUMBER 6.
A VnnKT. VAW TV QftnTif ?! !>?..-. i -
Mr. Editor.?As a short description o
n visit to the model farm of our county wil
bo interesting and profitable to many of ou
farmers, I have thought it not amiss to giv
it with a few thoughts it impresses upoi
my mind. Wo (myself and a friend) arrive*
there about sun down and were heartily wel
corned by the owuors, Messrs. Satterthwaitc
father and son, or, wo should rather hav<
Eut it, son and father, for the son seems t*
avo the management of the farm. Ou
curiosity was oxcitcd by a glimpso wo ob
tnincd of the arrangements that evening
but as it wus too late to be shown aroum
wn^"^ccdved ^frmoToth tho gentle
men and their estimable ladies. After <
good supper, a night's rest, and good break
fast, we were ready for inspection. The firsi
thing on the docket, as the clerk would say
Was tho dair^i^This was furnished with a!
the modern improvements and conveniences
Attaining uniformity of heat, including
ventilation, thermometer, patent churn, but
tor washer, &c. This department is presl
ded over bv the vouncrcr Mrs. Sutiprfhwnifn
and most successfully does she do it, turning
out an article that brings in the Aiken
market 35 cents por pound while othoi
country butter is only gelling for twenty-five
The next things ta look were fowls,
Hero is M r. SUt has one. Tur3gmr
0 keys that wUl4hfih ffcto 15 to 30 pouuds,
magnificent. Reeks,'Pekin and other varieties,
eery interesting. Toulohso geese,
-hum Mr.' 8?ttoUhw*ite very eptly put it,
would make a lot of 'darkey hash," weighing
40 pounds. Our notice of the chicken
department will be a little more extended,
as it is very interesting. First, the hatching
bouse. In this is an incubator for
hatching artificially, with a capacity of 240
.eggs every threo weeks, lmugino yourself
with 240 chicks without a mother. What
would you do with them ? Mr. S. is ready
for their comfort. Ho 4ns a chick house
made with glass sides on the east and south.
This admits the light and some warmth to
furnish all the timo tho requisite heat. Ho
has in the house a largo boiler stove whioh
is kept running all the time. He feeds all
US I *? n % * ~
uio Biuc*. as wen us iowis on cooXJd lood.?
The chicks will bo kept in this houso until
they can take care of themselves on-their
Jot. U is idea, ia.to he<j>-only such fowls as
the Ptymoth Rock, Brown Hcghorn, and In
whom tho instinct of settfng is nearly bred
out and to hatch with the incubator. The
house which he uses for setting his hens is
a model of neatness and convenience, as are
all his other fowl houses from which it is
entirely distinot. Our next visit was to the
lot. llis barn arrangement for convenience
and utility and for comfort of stock cannot
bo excelled. It includos among othor things
a patent arrangement for stalling cows, by
which a largo number can be enclosed in a
email spaco without tho danger of the
weaker ones being imposed on. This consists
of three bars so arranged that when a
cow puts her head down iu tho trough to
oat her neck touches a spring when two of
the bars come together and, lo, she is haltered
for the night. She can eat, stand up
or lie down with comfort, but sho cannot
* ' worry her neighbors with her sharp horns.
His arrangement for the care of his other
stook is par excellent. His cattle aro Aldernoy,
yielding from seven to thirteen
quarts of good rich milk per day, none of
Jour ''Blue Johnnie," gentlemen. His
ogs are Berkshire ; some fine specimens;
and his sheep Cotswold. These breeds he
considers the best suited to our wants and
climate. We will now notice the farm
proper. This farm was sold by the original
owner bocauso he could not make a support
on it. The fact is, it would notmpoW crops,
. and was considered, until the pfiscnt owners
came into possession, as the poorest farm in
all that country, but by high manuring,
good culture and a proper rotation of crops,
these gentlemen are now making one bale
of cotton, from twelve to thirty bushels of
oorn and from twenty to tweuty-five bushels
of wheat per sue, and other orops in proportion.
This is on land condemned for
. H_LtLv J rwr * -
poverty, w e win Drieny earn up a part of
what we saw on the farm, and close. First,
Strawberry bed, about two acres, the conditiou
of which plainly showed the attention
which they reccifed, besides raspberries,
blackberries, Ac. Next, three or four young
orchards looking, very thrifty and healthy.
Mr. S. docs'nt propose to loee the benefit of
his time and money by neglect, for he had a
hand vcrv busily engaged exposing the collars
of his trees to the frost and removing
the borer with a knife. Next, was an asparagus
bed, .yhioh knocked our preconceived
notion of a little bed in tho garden
in the head. This contained about one acre,
from which Mr. 8. proposes to sell after
nr**fc RAnunn vh?n it will ka miJ? ? ? <?
? ? I ?. ??>. ? ?? ? ??v 1VUUJ V*/ ViUV,
from 9150 to 9200 worth per season. And
last, his ootton land sowed in rye at the
first picking. This rye is fVout threo to six
Ibohes high. Very d?nso and tender.?
Quite naturally wa suggested thst he would
Psture this down. Oh, no, he replied, this
will turn under when 1 put in my crops.
Undor the foroe of eiroumstanees, Mr. Editor,
I reasoned thereby: Heap of vegetable
matter ploughed under make a heap
ofi crop. Heap of crop fed to heup of
"good cows make a heap of butter. Heap
of butter brings a heap of money, and
again heap of stock highly fed furnish heap
I of good manure. Heap of good manure
II returned to the.soil again mako a heap of
r crop, and so rotation interminably. All
c this good rich food ploughed uudcr for tho
3 improvement of the syil. Think of it ye
1 farmers who haven't got anything for your
- poor cows to cat but cotton stalks. I havo
>? ouly given an unvarnished statement of
b what I saw. An inspection of this, the
^ model farm, is well worth tho time of any
r farmer. In fact one progressive man eu
thusiustically renjarkeel that a visit to such
< a farm would place a farmer> generation
- He would receive ideas that he could tnrn
* to account and be useful to him as long as
- he lives. Tho Messrs. Satterthwaite dct
serve great credit for the example they have
, set. These are the kind of emigrants we
1 want; men who will discard politics and go
to work to build up our waste places.?
1 more anon, in Ai/ccn Journal.
Tqe Mule.-t-A correspondent of the
, Rural Sun, in an able letter concerning the
; ''breaking of mules," says : "Wo have had
i quite a considerable expcrionco in breaking
mules and our usual practico has been to
, gear him and hiteh him to the plow at once,
, ^by the side of a wcjl-brokcn horse or mub.
Tho assistance of an extra hand is sometimes
required ftft^fchouror two* ^ ua0<^
to be thought best to'break his spirit and
, exhaust him phvsio&lly, to bring him to a
,* true senso of his condition, but fetter coun.
sels now prevail, and we en-ienvor to preserve
both his strcng th and spirit by not
over-taxing his powers of endurance, and by
kind treatment, to which he is as amenable
as a horse or an ox, soon becoming submisi
sivo and gentlo, when properly handled.
? "Mnch of the obloquy which attaches to
, his character results rom tho thoughtless
and injudicious training ho receives, and
the cruel treatment meted out to him, moro
od account of his charactor, however, than
his conduct. Wo hail it as au indication of
real human progress that his claims to a
high consideration arc now being nice generally
recognized.
"The negro is, however, implacablo and
unfeeling in his treatment of the rnulo, unwilling
to accord to him auy of the sensibilitic&jyaJ|yivk4fi&hheir.
lie was his
associate In the *Dang Syne, which ft fast
becoming traditional, and the ucgro placc3
him in the same category with tho nsh-cakc,
i which he now ignores, because he regards
it as the emblem of his slavery. The negro,
tho mule and the ash-cake! Evcu
thus associated they form a trio that recalls
the pcacoful, prosperous and happier days
of our beloved Southerland; rudely sovercd
and disjointed, they recall the humiliation
and poverty of our sojourn in tho land of
Yatikae misrule and intolerance. Let us
thank our stars for deliverance and the hope
we have of one day seeing the negro a rational
and useful member of our body politic,
the mule a respected member of lho
equine family and the ash-cake restored to
our firesido, for it is dear yet to our memory."
Leap Manure.?This manure possesses
excellent fertilising properties, and greatly
improves the texture and character of the
soil. Aualysia proves that the foliage of
. trees contains vastly moro minoral riches?
such as phosphates, litno, potash aud soda
?thon the solid wood, and that the older
the leaves, the greater the amount of these
they contain. Now, that tho fallen leaves
litter the ground, the farmer whose furm
pays well gathers them carefully to be cither
used in the compost heap with other do
composible vegetable matters, or employed
as litter for his animals daring witcr, or as
coatings for bis yard or other inclosures
where animals are confined, and where the
leaves by absorbing the liquid voidings may
be readily converted into excellent plant
food.
Washing of Land.?As this is one of
the greatest of evils on a cotton farm,
attention' cannot bo oallcd too often
to modes of preventing it. On very
steep hillsides nothing but well constructed
ditches can prevent it?but on moderate
slopos, wo suggest that lines of level be laid
off at ordinary distances of hill-side ditchcB,
and strips fivo to ten feet wide along these
lines be sown in oats, ryo, orchard grass and
clover. No land will be lost, and these uncultivated
strips will quite effectually stop
tho washing, if care be taken to lay off the
cotton rows on a level.?Southern Cultivu
tor.
Com Stalks and Straw should be out up
with a foddor cutter if only to be thrown
into the yard, or usod for litter. Short
stalks absorb more Kquid than long; the
manure from them is easior handled, and
they rot more quickly. A fodder outter
run by a two-horse tread power, will cot
100 poncds of straw, or stalks, in five minutes,
and the oost of the maohino and often
i labor will be repaid in ono season in the
convenience of handling tho short manure.
A popular clergyman in England recently
gave a Icctnro on "Fools." The Tickets
' of admission wcro inscribed, "Lecture
on Fools. Admit one." There was u large
audienoe. 5
BUBAL ECONOMY.;
Editor Southern Cultivator.?
There are more ways for farmers to economize
than by eating corn bread and wftaring
homespun clothiug. In this country
labor is the dcares} factor in farming.?
Therefore, horso-powor should be used as
much as practicable. Land being cheaper
in many localities than anything olio, that
system of furuiing should be followed that
utilizes tho most l;j?>d, and least lnpor, implements,
&o., Fencing in crops lis often
practiced, where feucing in stock would bo
cheaper. Poor crops ore very nqjrly as expensive
to tnakf jut good ones. /j.b?-nfoio,
monts, good" work, stock, good soeds, and
thorough cultivation will produco.
It does not pay to let your soil deteriorate
and finally become exhausted. It re-1
quires more labor to make a crop on a thiu
soil than on a rich one. The loss in produce
while your scftl is becoming cxh lusted,
is enough to buy tfcroc such farms, lleutcrs
are no exceptions to this rule, if they
rout for long enough periods. A great portion
is applicable to short periods ; all of it
when the farm is in a high stato of cultivation.
It never pays to pasturo any cultivated
crop. The objections are, cost of cross
fences, waste of produce, loss or idleness of
the soil, and damage to tho soil by tramping
of" stock. Land can be too dear to evcu
havo pastures of the grasses; practico soiling
instead, with other prgduOts. Pasture
grasses that do not mptujoi/ivagteM^dccay
like cultivated dVops VKat arenot {Proofed
at tho proper tiuie. Furthermore, the soil
becomes compact aud does not tramp badly.
It pays well to protect slock from inclement
weather. Tho food saved in a few
years would put up commodious buildings.
It also pays well to keep stock in good flesh.
They pay for food by growth. The saving
of food by inferior .and scant feed is overbalanced
by loss of growth, stunted stock,
and increase of feed requisito to restore flesh
or to fatten, ^
As Josh Billings says, "wheu u start
down hill u find everything greased for the
occashun." But going up hill, you have to
furnish tho "ile" yourself. It pays well to
have good stock when you have food to correspond.
It takes less food for a given
amount of growth. More flesh in proportion
?n tho l?u valunhln horns haiict
entrails. In the matter of food'for man
and beast, there is much room for roform.
Tho cost of food for man comes in the following
ratio: fruit, vegetables, bread aud
meat, For slock, pasture, hay, oats, peas
and corn.
They should be used in proportion to requirements
of flesh, muscle, heat and fat.
For stock, they arc adapted in the ratio iudicatcd.
Perhaps it is very near true of
human beings.
Sell for cash. Buy the same way. Do
not rush into market. Nor hold too long.
Thoro is a medium between. Be satisfied
with fair sales. If you raiso produce for
which there is a market at home?do not
dribble it out. But sell in bdlk to your
merchant, for cash. Do not be too parsimonious
when you get behind in cultivating
or gathering your crop, to pay gpod prices
for day labor. It pays well to get help thcu
at any price. But do not over-crop and depend
on day labor. O. JONES.
Rural Brevities ?Without agriculture
wo should not have manufactures, and
wo should not have commerce.?Washington.
What nobler occupation engages the activo
power of man? And as all othors arc
supported by it, why should it not rank
first in dignity?
Farming is a calling which should raise
tho thoughts and feelings, soothe tho rugged
pangs of life, and straw "the valo of declining
years with many a thornless flower,
in tho recollection of innocent cniovments
# V ^?
God Almighty first planted a garden, and
indeed it is the purest of ull human pleasures.
It is the greatest refreshment to the
spirit of man, without which huildings and
pnlnocs are but gross handiworks, aud a man
shall evsr see that when agos grow to civility
and elegance men come to build stately
sooner than to garden finely, as if gardening
were the greater perfection.?Lord Bacon.
?.
Clover and Grasses.?May bo seeded
down this month, just as soon as the hears
freezes aro over. If to bo sown on small
graiu, ran alight harrow over the laud,and
then sow seed; if by themselves, break the
land thoroughly and pulverize it by repeated
harrowings, aud thee smooth it with a
"drilir." Hftfnrfl llnrn.irinf* onnln
?for clover, barn-yard manure is good.?
Ashes also, 30 bushels por aero. Acid
phosphate, 200 to 300 tbe. per aore, will
generally insure a stand. Sow 12 to 151b9.
seed per sere. For grass the same preparation
is required, but a niirwenout mauro
is needed?barn-yard manure, cotton
seed meal, Peruvian guano or nitrate soda.
?Southern Cultivator.
A near sighted hen that ate sawdust, supposing
it to be corn-meal, then went and
laid a nest full of bureau knobs set on
them thfee weeks, and hatched out a
set of parlor furniture, and was a pretty fair
hen.
THICK PLANTING OF CORN BY R. H. HARDAWAY.
Editor Southern Cultivator.?The
Jauuary No. of tho Cultivator for 1878,
contains tho following startling announcement:
uIn tho September No., Mr. James
H. Oyphaut expresses his opiuiou agaiust
thick 4p)nr>?ng of corn and potatoes, and
says, &c." VThen he turus loose upon
me his whi^o park of artillery. Jauics II.
O. never expressed the views attributo.d to
hiin. ?He?Ilardawuy?has got "the wrong
pig by the cat?' lie ft ire ho quotes from
the Cultivator again, I would advise him to
wipe his spectacles. I said just nothing at
[ffaHBMfcftiMMttteMS Hoirew
["to err is human, to forgive divine."
1 huvn't inked my nib this timo for the
purpose of writing an essay, but as br<
llurdnwny has called mo out against my
will, I will add a little more.
lie gives us in his article the following
beautiful and plausible theory: "If you
make land very rich, you concentrate in tho
earth uodue heat, and to plant corn at a
great distance iu heated earth, will most
certainly create fire heat ih the corn ; and
the only plan to counteract this heat is to
multiply the stalks upon tho land in such
quuutity that tho engendered heat may be
carried oil and distributed through tho sap
and foliage of the plants grown upon the
land. The difficulty is, to rcgulutc the
quauvity of each, manure and foliago, so as
to prevent 'the firing process' cither of land
or plant."
f-f I understand him, the amount of foil
ago must corrcspoud with tho fertility of
the soil, or 'tho firing process' cannot be
prevented. In opposition to this theory, I
may state, that in tho richest dung-hills,
river bottoms, and where manure heaps
have been thrown in fields, tho stand of
corn is sometimes very imperfect, owing to
cut worms and other causes ; but so far as
my observation cxteuds, coru under such
circumstnuccs, having too much distance, is
less liable to fire than when it is thicker.?
Imperfect decomposition and application of
the nianuro, together with a wrong mode of
cultivation, too late planting, and a too partial
incorporation of the fertilizer with the
soil, aud perhaps other causes, have, I
think, much more to do with tho 'firing
process,' thau tho quantity of manure or
deficiency in the auiouut of foliage,
r *T-reaefily admit that a fnrgc -quantity of
crude manure, unwisely applied, may, during
the process of fermentation or decomposition,
generate and set free an auiouut
of heat in excess of what plants need for
healthy growth and development; but Solomon
with all his wisdom, aud tho queen of
Sheba to assist him, couldn't tell in a month
of Sundays how much beat a certain
auiouut of crude material will generate in
the earth ; and even if he could solvo the
mighty problem, auothcr still greater would
be just behind that, to-wit: how much foliage
would be required to take up this heat
without violating the laws of the Goddess,
! Ilygeia.
Neither can the problem be solved by experiment.
The character aud condition oi
I crude manuro, the tenmcraturo of the snil
the seasons, and other conditions, nrc ncvci
alike two yoarsin succession. So down
goes bro. Ilurdaway's beautiful theory !
1 will also remark that bro. Ilnrdaway?
like many otter writers?in advocating the
thick planting of corn, based upon his experience,
has left out thrco or four very iui
portant items, to-wit: the best time tc
plant, the proper mode of cultivation, the
chaructcr of the soil, and the way that the
manure should be applied. These thing;
have muoh to do with tho thick planting
of corn ; and tho omission of thcui renders
his article useless, if not liable to injure inexperienced
farmers, lie has left out the
four leg* upon which the thick planting ol
corn must necessarily stand, iu order to be
successful. What is a thing worth without
legs ? j
I will say in conclusion, that so fur as my
observation extends, corn may be planted
to. advantage on common pine land thicker
than is usually done; provided it bo planted
early, well manured aud thoroughly eulti
vated.?J as. H. Oliphant, th Southern
Cultivator.
Rich Manure can only be made from rich
food. Animals add nothing to the manure.
If we foed straw, wo get back as manure
something loss than the straw we.feed, and
straw alone is very poor manure. If wo
feed o 1 cake meal, corn meal, bran, and similar
rich food, to mature animals, they consumo
the starchy and fatty portions, while
much of the nitrogen and phosphates go
into the manure heap along with the straw
_ 1 ' s? -11-1 -
or nujr.uuioii, wmcn gives tne needed bulk tc
the manure. The more nitrogen the food
contains, the richer will be the manure.?
It is thus that the statement made by chemists,
that the manuro made by feeding a ton
of bran, or linseed, or cotton seed oil cako,
is for some soils worth more than the food
itself, can be satisfactorily explained.
w
Manure is wasted by exposuro to washing
rains, or by being- trampled by stock in
wet yards. It may easily lose three-fourths
of its ralue in this way.
< - . ?
Bran and Middlings may be fed to all
kinds of stock. All, from horses to poultry,
eat theso eagerly, and thrive upon them.
THE IRISH POTATO.
Editor Southern Cultivator.?Below
are two interesting items in regard to
Irish potatoes. There is no crop that better
deserves an increased attention from
Southern farmers thin the Irish potato. It
is easy enough to make two crops on tho
sauie land, and the November crop can tfe
preserved as easily as sweet potatoes through
the winter. As soon as it becomes generally
known that there is no need for largo
"sets," but that tho sprouts and the very
smallest potatoes aro good seed under proper
cultivation, thcro will be *.wonderful increase
in the area devoted to tkp crop. Of
- **~?f f 'vlmfw
the sire of small tnnrblef, savcd otmy ift November
and re-planted in Janualy,' make
good crops, and the only occasion we tried
tho sprouts or "draws" was a success. Tho
sprouts had quite a number of roots. This
winter we hopo to liavo something further
to say on tho subject. C.
Millcdgovillc, Ga.
potato sprouts for seed.
"It is now upwards of 40 years since I
tested the use of pototo sprouts for seed,
and I continued to do so for some years as
an experiment; for at that time my potato
growing was confined to garden produce.?
I had tho buds carefully picked Iroui tho
tubers after thoy had throwu out roots outside
tho parent tuber. At the same time I
had other tubers cut for seed in the usunl
way. I planted 3 drills in the garden, sido
by side?one of cut tubers, ono of sprouts,
and ona of small unout tubeis. When at
> maturity l daily dug up 3 hills from each
drill, counted aud weighed the produce of
each three, aud fouud that of tho sprouts
equal to any, both in weight and in number.
The 2d year I did the same, taking
no pains to dibble the sprouts, but scattered
them in the open drill, aud covered lightly.
I wout furthor, for having fouud a heap of
fine sprouts on tho road?thrown over tho
wall by some sagacious cultivator, who had
got his seed potatoes carefully ~4kirncd and
picked, and had thrown away thQ* vigorous
shoots?I had a barrowful gathered upland
scattered broadcast on a few ridges prepared"
for the purpose, and covered them with
mold out of tho furrows. The result was
most saisfactory. The sprouts soon appeared
over the ground, and the crop came to maturity
much earlier than that from tho potatoes
plan tea iliu sauie Uay.
It must be obvious to any one who considers
the matter, that once the tuber lias
generated the sprout, it is no longer of use,
for on digging the crop, the tuber, whole or
cut, will frequently be found whole and detached
from the roots of the stalk. Why,
then, pick of the first vigorous growth, aud..
plant the tuber to produce a second and
more puny aud sickly one?
Sprouts can be planted much later than
the tubers, or if at tho same season, they
will mature much earlier, because they aro
so much ahead of the tuber, which, after
being planted, has to throw out a sprout."
? I/'or. Toronto Globe.
"For the pa?t twenty years, my practice
> has been to plant the largest of the small
ones, cutting t>vo eyes on a piece, and put!
ting 3 pieces in hill 4x4 feet. I believe
( the only advantage derived from planting
largo potatoes, is tbe extra amount of starch
secreted, and that, on the other hand, is
more than made up by the gain in eccd, and
the slirjht cost of the small ones. As an experiment
I once planted in my garden a pota(
to the size of a pea. It produced a vine
, three-fourth of an inch in diumetcr, and
j had a number of potatoes, one of which
( weighed one pouud.?A. W. Hurdy, in
, Transactions of New Hampshire Board
\ ?f AG
What to Buy.?Just as little of every
thing needed as you possibly can. Economy
should bo our motto for years to couic.
We aro too poor to buy much of anything.
Iron, salt, a few implements, aud perhaps
coffee, pretty well mako up the list. Ton
we can make at home?sugar, also, in a
largo portion of the cotton States?syrup
in abundance cveryWhere.Dutter and checSo
iu any quantity, cotton and .woollen goods,
hnrfloa nrl mulao ~?1 * 1
_u1a uiuivo nc uauiauu piUW BLOCKS,
axe haudlos, hoc helves, wagon bubs, spokes
and felbcs, grain cradles, snaths, our fathers
mado them all, and we are no better,
and need be no more helpless thnn they.?
A tiths of a strictly surplus cotton crop
ought to buy everything needed on a farm,
and the remaining Vine-tenths pass to tho
account of accumulated profits.
1 Watering Stock is a very important part
1 of the care needed for them at this season.
Empty and clear tho troughs of ice every
' afternoon, so that when filled id tho morn1
iog there is no ice to chill tho water. _ In
cold weather water should not bo drawn
from the well until it is needed for the stock.
1 Covers should be provided for all outsido
I water troughs to keep one snow.
w? - *
Tho Manure Heap may be ^nade in a
central place in the yard, and tb? different
kinds of manure should bo whcolcd out of
i the stables and pans, and mixed together in
tho heap. We find it pays to turn over tho
heap onco or twice during the winter, mix
I it thoroughly, and break up all the lumps.
, This makes it fine, and fit for uso car)y iu
"Prfng- . .
T't' ? V *t