University of South Carolina Libraries
Reclamation c W( Paper read by Jos. L Keitt be Sere County Farmes' Union, Decem ber 4, 1909. In beginning the Annals of Newberry, Judge O'Neall attributes to Col. Robert Rutherford the ex pression that, "South Carolina is the garden spot of the world, and New berry the garden spot of that gar den spot." Judge O'Neall further says that the 368,640 acres of land eomtituting Newberry county pre sents the most unbroken body of cultivatable land in any portion of the state. There are not 10,000 acres in the whole county, which have not been cultivated,or which may not, by! proper agricultural industry, be brought into cultivation. The pri meval condition of the land of this county doubtless justified the lam giage of Charles Pinckney nearly a nury a.d a half ago. that "Ag iultuxe is the only honest WaY -wherein a man recetvhs a real in trease of the seed thrown into the ground in a kind of continual mir our progelntoe felled the forests and plowed up and down hil. When ,fotility waned the land WBS cast uside and a further eneroaChment was made upon the virgin forests. That forest has practically disap peared, and, where it once stood rich with humus, slopes are now furrow ed with red gullies, and fields com paeted by exhaustion of humus. Such land cannot be productive. Forl we have from the source of eternal truth in the parable of the sower that some (seed) fell upon stony I places, where they had . n6t much earth, and forthwith they sprang up, beeause they had no deepness of earth. And when the su. was up, they were scorched, and, 'because they had no root, they withered away. That soil in Newberry county shotLld be unproductive and consid ered worn out, is due to the de structive agency of man. Its res toratiam' and development is n6W ,be inig aehieved by some of our pro gressive farmers, and can be accom plished by a1R who will be sufficient ]y painstaking in the application of simple methods. The highest devel opment can be attained only by a deep soil with abundance of avail .able plant food. In contrast, a. soil two inehes deep, with a clay foun dation, which is characteristic of this county, the subsoil rendered im parvious to air and water, by clean cultivation of successive crops of cotton, prepared by plows scratch ing no deeper than the soil-plants upon such lands may be compared to Tantalus-who, as mythology re cords Jupiter, for some offenses, ,ensigned, with an insatiate thirst, up to his chin, in a pool of water. Every effort he made to drink caus ed the water to recede, and he could not get a drop. Above his head was entspended tVhe most luse'ous fruit, but his attempts to grasp it were thwarted by a breeze that . always .carried it beyond his reach. Upon such lands copious rains may descend ;-when the two inches of soil becomes .satu-rated, the surplus water must move off, aceumuiiating in .its downward tenden'cy; a cur rent is formed, carrying the soil with it, and leaving in its wake ero sions that attract latercarrents bear ing the soil to lower grounds. Just beneath the soil of such land in Newberry county is the clay subsoil. ~Ood clay carries from one and one-, half to four per cent. of potash. Pen dieton, an eminent agriculturist of 6eorgia, said that'the poorest acre of 'land contains enough phosphoric acid to make five 'hundred good crops. Only one of the "tripod of agriculture' is lae]fng-iniltrogen. But all may as well be lacking; for, 'under the conditions they are not available as plant food. As bear ing upon this point, I will cite an ex periment of Lawes and Gilbert. A soil of average wheat producing quality was selected. After five suc cessive crops, without manure, wheat 'was grown forty years in succession 'without manure. T'he first year's yield was 15 bushels per acre, with an average of 14 bushels per ace for the forty years. Some inter mediate years, owing to good sea sons, the yield was much higher. They concluded from their experi ments that crops without manure de eline at the rate of one-fourth to one-third of a bushel per acr'e en: year. and this deeline they. attribute 'to the gradual consumption of th:e nitrogen originally stored in the soil. Worn out soils excludes from con siat+.n all battom lands: for they re fertile and only need drainage nd protection against overflow. Tha first step, then, 'in the recla mation of our unproductive uplands E would suggest is terracing, where ; is needed. I find a number of our armers, in, other respects pro ressive, still eling with favor to he hillside ditches to carry off sur plus water. The terrace, properly nstructed should Is on a level, the purpose being to prevent the con Yentration of water and thus avoid rosions. The next step is deep plowing and as rapid incorporation of vegetable 1atter as practicable. As a preliminary matter I con ider terracing very important. Af ter land has been broken deep and omtains sufficient humus, it will ab sorb most of the rainfalls we have, without injury; and I do not then onsider it necessary to have the terraces close as the regular three feet fall, unless the land is very steep. Rows, however, should al ways be made as nearly parallel to the terrace lines as practicable. Deep plowing of land void of hu mus will probably not prove profit able, nor with humus for general crOps, until they follow a crop of legumes. The mechanical condition may be made as good as possible by good plowing and incorporation of vegetable matter; but, without suffi ient available plant food, crops will ot thrive. This brings us to the eobsideration of the subject of fer tilizers. Upon what I consider good au thority, there are thirteen elements that enter into plant growth-five metals, four non-'metallic solids and four gases. Of these nature suffi iently supplies aU except one of each class. Potassium is a metal, phosphorus, a non-metallic solid, amd nitrogen a gas. Without the presence of each of these elements in the soil rop cannot be successfully grown. The commiercial fertilIizers whieh ost us so .mueh each year have marked on the sacks the quantity of ach of these elements. These ele ernts are neces.sary, but whether or not the county gets value for the enormous outlay in purehasing com ercial fertilizers, I consider doubt '1i. If the conclusion of Lawes n Gilbert, that a slight anmual de cline in the production of wheat was ue to the consumptionl of nitrogen in the soil, is applicable t> our worn out soils, as is probable, :a elose ctudy of the subject of mirogen may prove very profitable to us. The air we breathe contains near ly 80 per cent. of nitrogen, and it would seem tha~t of all the .elements of plant food Nature has supplied nitrogen in abundance. But it has been demonstrated that plagts are not nourished by free nitrogen. It must enter into combination, and be taken up through the roots or plants. The most available forms in com erce are ammonia and nitrates. These are very costly fertilizers, a;n on that a,ccount, if we have to de pend solely on the commercial com pounds there is danger that the ex pense would exeeed the profits. The subject, then, that should en gage our attention is how best tc obtain an abundant supply of avail able nitrogen. Much availa,ble ni trogen is taken from our soils ir otton seed. If the seed should bE returned to the land, with the stalks there appears to be no reason why the soil should become depleted o: ay plant food; for the lint is corn posed mainly of carbon, of whice there is always an abundance. Bu1 the exhaustion of nitroggn is neces sarily very rapid by the removal o; the cotton seed. The best of all fertilizers is sta be manure, whieh contaimns avai? able nitrogen, potash and phosphor i acid in proper proportions, but il seems that in a cot4on countr3 enough of this kind of malnure car nt be obtained, and only a smal. ara can be supplied from this source. But there appears no rea son why available nitrogen, the most expensive of all fertilizers, cam nol by judicious management be made th cheapest of all. Al'i animal anc veetable matter contgins nitroger in bundance. The poorest lai contains some, and Nature is con stn!y adding to it; surely, thougi slowly. Decomposed vegetable mat tr, known as humus. cautain1s aboul th same proportion of nitro.rrn : stable manure; but the greater par: is inert and not available for ge'n erl crops. But this i:s not true as to the :egumes, and herein li'es th< set. of re-establishing our worr o- il. Th leu nounsn eros proper-Ty <t e.iraetili (:humed ie trogen from humus in 'the soil; and when it enters these crops it becomes pre')pared food for other crops. The clover, peas, beans. ete.-have the amount of available nitrogen that is obtained in the roots of a pea crop, which is the clover of the South, and may be considered the nitrogen pro daeer, would make the amount from commercial fertilizer applied oi an acre appear ridiculous, and.the plant ,contains about an equall quantity a:s the roots. The mechanical action of the pea plant in loosening tight laind is also very favorable. Many chemical changes take place in the soil as different elements come in contact. One of the most im portant is nitrification, which is the formation of nitrate of potash (salt petre) in the soil. This combination at once impresses us that two of the three necessary elemein-ts of plant food have come together. Nitrifica tion occurs in vahying degrees in all lands that are cultivated. The more nitrate of potash in the soil the bet ter the land. Nitrification is en hanced by a -ood ciculatio:n of air in the ground so as to admit oxygen, the acid forming el-ment. Nitrifica tion does not take place under 40 degrees of temperature, but reaches its maximum at 98 degrees. This pro cess, then, is at its height when mKt needed for the developing of crops. A method of obtaining nitrification to a high degree would be to broad east 'stable manure, and later ap ply a dressing of wood.,ashes. ,To summarize: I would say to re claim our worn out lands. Terrace where needed, to hold the soil; plow deep; incorporatel vege table matter; rotate crops, sowing or planting peas as often as practicable. The pea is the best renovating crop we have. I do not wish to be understood that it is not advisable to buy potash and phosphoric acid. Lands may be de ficient in either. But I believe that our lands contain a great deal of both, much of which is insoulble and reverted that can be con verted into plant food by reestablish ing a supply of available nitrogeun with proper preparation and culti vation. . STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, *County of Newberry. :Court of Common Pleas. Arthur Quattlebaum, Plaintiff,. Against Osborne L. Dominick, The Prosperi ty Stock Co., Louisa Dominick and Pearl Dominick, Defendants. By order of the Court herein, I wi-l sell to the highest ,bidder before the Court House door at Newberry, S. C., on Monday, Salesday, Janu ary 3, 1910, during the legal hours of sale, aill that tract or plantation of land lying and being situate in Newberry county, State of South Carolina, in Township No. 9, con taining seventy and three-fourths (70 3-4) acres, more or less, lying on the Amick Ferry road, and bounded by the lands of Marion Dominick, Louisa Dominick, Belton Stockman, Wiley Stockman and others, same being the tract of land conveyed to IOsborne L. Dominick by H. P. Dom inick by deed recorded in Clerk's office in Book 13, at page 180. Terms of Sale: One-third of the purehase money to be paid in cash, the balance on a credit of one and two years with eight per cent. in terest from day of saie, to be se cured by the bond of the purchaser and a mortgage of the premises sold, and the said mortgage to contain a stipulation for the payment of ten per cent attorney's fees in case said mortgage is placed in the handsof an attorney ,for collection, or is fore closed by suit or action-. with.leave to the purchaser to anticipate his payments in whole or in part, and in case the purchaser at the sale fails to comply with the terms of sale within -five days from day .of said sale the premises will be re sold on the succeeding salesday at the risk of the purchaser so failing to comply; purchaser to pay for pa pers and recording the same. H. H. Rikard, Master. Dee. 8. 1909. STATE OF SOUTH CAROLNIA,. County of Newberry. Court of Common Pleas. John B. Bedenabaugh, Plaintiff, Against Augustus G. Neely, et. al., Defend ants. In compliance with an order of the Court ~herein, I will sell to the h.ighest bidder before the Court House at Newberry, S. C., on Mon day. Salesday, January 3, 1910, dur inz the lezal hours of sale. all that lot of land situate in the Town of Newberry. ini the Countyv of Newber ry, in the State of South Carolina, containing thirty-two hundrediVha (32.-100) acres, more or less, bound ed by Vincent street, by the South en .Rasi1v company, estate of B3UR (TON HAT) DON'T M Big Auc HATTON F DIEC. 15, 19( TERMS: One-third cash, balanc( Purchaser-to p REASON WHY you should bu: Because the land is geltly roll ing and self draining. Because it is very convenient to the churches, schools and business portion of the town. Because it is a splendid place for a home. Because there is an aburn dance of fresh pure water just from the artesian well. Because thelocation is healthy. Because the city is advancing and property values are increas ing. J. A. BURTON, Agt. Wllace H. Cline, and by Alexander happell. Terms of Sale: One-half cash, and the balance on a credit of one year, with interest from day of sale, the credit portion to be .secured by the ' bona of the purchaser and a mort gage of the premises sol'd, with leave to fhe purchaser to anticipate the Gv credit portion inwhole or inpart. Purchaser to pay for papers and re-1 ording same, and to insure the house and buildings on said premises against loss or damage by fire in not less than the credit portion of such sale and keep the some insured un til all of the purchase money shall be paid in full, and assign the policy of insuianee to the Master. H. H. Rikard, Master. December 8, 1909.1 GROUND BONE at Wright's Market. 12-7-09-2t. I Tepo ELUB RIDGB SCHEDULES. W1 Ole Eastbound. wssle No. 18. leaves Anderson at 6.30 a chanism. in,, for connection at Belton wiU Now, ev< Southern for Greenville. Inner-Playi No. 12. from Walhalla, lea'es A X tigC derson at 10.15 a. in., for conn~ewacia at Beton with Southern Railway fo No other No. 20, leaves Anderson at 2. has the spe p. m., for connections at Belton with Southern Railway for Greenville. tain results No. 8, daily except Sunday, frow No instri Wahalla arrives Anderson 6.24 .p. The Cable in., with connections at Seneca wath Southern Railway fremn points south Player. T No. 10. from Walhalla, leaves An- "player pia derson at 4.57 p. mn., for connections a ela at Belton with Southern Railway for a ela G 4reenile and Columbia. menits. Westbound. I Let us d N~o. 17, arrives e-t Anderson at 7.59 thIne a. n., from Belton w:ith conheeInher rom Greenville. expression. No. 9, arrives at Andersar. aIt 12.24 posing Dev n.., from Belton with ennne - and other ~ comr Greenville and Columbia. Goes to Walhalla. ism more No. 19. arriven at Anderson at 3.40 similar pur] o. mn., from Belton with cnctosYou Can tron Greenville. No. 11. arrives at Anderson at Pianos whi ~.29 p. in., from Belton with con- yO is t rieetions from Greenville and Colm- o ihI ija. Goes to Walhalla. No. 7. daily except Sunday, leaves \nnron et 9.20 a. mn., for Walhalla, 'os. 17, 18, 19, and 20 are mi E Nos. 7 and 8 are toeal f<ed r:2-. carrying passengers, betweer nd -so an Walhalla and betweeD 1VlhagaI an? Adei4On BUR) HAT ISS THE ion Sal >ROPERTY 9, 11 A. M. . one and two years, 8 per cent ay for pap:rs. ' one of these lots for a home. There is no more convener place for a boarding house reasonable price than this .t room residence. With two large Cotton Mis two Cotton Seed Oil Mills, k Factorv, Knitting Mill, PlaI Mill, good College and Sc how could you make a mista by investing in some of property. NANCY L. HATTON, Admx. - With the Will AttEcbe nqer Ploger PionoSi SYou Control of Expression. lem of expression control with player piariosj by thk invention of our Inner-Player me n a novice in music who has \one of our ~rs can produce effects satisfactory to the Ltic player device is like this one. No other cial features which enable you easily to ob-. like those of the skilled pianist. iment of this type, except those made by Company are equipped with the Inner herefore.- be careful not to assume that any o" is an Inner-Player Piano. The name, he mechanism, is exclusive to these ins imonstrate the3 truth of our statement thatn layer gives you czontrol over the musical4 Let us show you the use of the Trans ice, the miniature Keyboard, the Solo-Aid, atented features which make this mechan fficient than any other device used for a >ose. prove it easily with one of the Inner-Play :h will be placed at your disposal any ti ry thing Known in Mus" n. JIV. WALLACE. Pres.. Cha