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NO. 8.
2Vgricultural.
Wr.Uen for the Bauner of the South and Planter*
JuiiruaL
Agriculture Before Manufactures.
HT UK.NHX STEWART, STROUDSBURG, I’A.
If the measure of the wealth of a
nation, is’the measure of its welfare and
happiness, then to be wealthy should i
be the aim of the nation. It is cer
tainly true that wealth, or, in other
words, a certainty of the possession of
the necessaries and luxuries of life, and
the absence of care and the corroding
uneasiness which attends a contrary
state, giving ease and leisure, leads to
a higher degree of education, polite
ness, and refinement; relieves from
the btmlens of toil, and engenders that
chivalrous and honorable spirit which
raises man above the common level,
and marks the character of a people.
It is also aci'iainty true that in the high -
est degree "this, characteristic while de
luding on a [Hwition of ease and free
dom from care, finds its higher devel
opment among a people peculiarly
agricultural; and though a trading and
manufacturing community limy be more
wealthy and possessed of more of the
appliances of wealth ; yet the spirit of
the shopkeejier is there more apparent; j
vulgar ostentation is more the rule;
and wealth is used not so much for the
procurement of ease from toil or care,;
as a means of aggrandizement and the
production of more wealth; giving j
rise to a sordid craving that destroys
the soul of man and all that is elevated
in his nature. Contrast the politeness
of the old patriarch Abraham, in his
dealings with the people of Ileth for
the purchase of a place of burial for
Iris wife Sarah, and the equal polite
ness with which they responded, with
the devilish malignity of Shylock
and the cunning and smartness of Por
tia in the matter of the bond. In the
one we see the honor, and uprightness,
ami lofty dealing of a pastoral people
while yet in the early simplicity of an
agricultural state; and in the other, the
tricks, the cruel and unrelenting and
remorseless vindictiveness, of traders,
of debtor and creditor; the triumph of
greed over all that is human—in fact,
the exhibition of the spirit of evil incar
nated. And this may be epitomized
in the phrase “the almighty dollar.”
W e might observe further how this
character is carried out in political mat
ters ; how this spirit, destroys the
chivalry of a people and makes nations,
even in public affairs, false to honora
ble principles.
Now if this were the irretrievable
result of increased wealth, we would
say, with the man of ancient times,
“God keep us poor but honest.” But
we do not believe it. We look upon
wealth as a good to he desired, an in
crease of prosperity, a means of lmppi-
BY THE CHRONICLE PUBLISHING COMPANY, AUGUSTA, GA.
FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1870.
j ness, and a source of intellectual ad
j vancement, that might be tinned to
j the common benefit of ottr race. Ks
! peeially is it to be considered as a
j means of providing for the enlighten
| ment and education of the poorer
| classes, those who live by labor; and
; by finding a ready and persistent mar-
I ket for their brain and muscle, to relieve
j them from periods of want or distress,
aud thereby elevate their mental con
dition at the expense of that which is
merely animal.
And here is the point t.o whicli we wish
to arrive for discussion viz: at what
point of completeness must our agri
culture have arrived liefore, we can
profitably divert our attention to work
ing up our products.
I.et us consider then, first, what we
| need as an indispensable means for this
pui'i>ose. Certainly twothings—-capital
and labor; one thing else is necessary,
but must be purchased, and can be
gotten no other way, that is experience;
therefore it is bootless to wait for that.
Then the question arises, is the South
prepared for the transition; and the
answer is—not yet; and for this rea
son, it no other: she must possess a re
dundant population from which to draw
the necessary supply of workers. Her
! fields must he tilled like a garden; her
pastures must be covered with cattle ;
her stalls must be filled with fattening
beeves; the bottoms must yield corn
and fodder in profusion; villages and
hamlets must spring up in sight of
eacli other, in each of which must be
heard, day by day, the clang of the
smith's hammer, heating a musical
chorus on his ringing anvil, while won
dering boys and timid girls on their
way to school stay awhile to gaze in
admiration on the showering sparks;
and troops of young men and maidens
pursuing each their daily avocations re
main in readiness to answer the call of
the spinning jenny and the loom. Then
there will be no need to watch with
care the changing aspect of foreign
complications, for it will be only the
surplus, after supplying our own needs,
from whence they can draw their sup
plies of the needed cotton, and the
European demand will not then fix a
price for our staple crops. And to ar-;
rive at this “consummation so devoutly '
to be wished” improvements must be j
set on foot forthwith. Let eacli house j
be set in order and according to one's
means preparations, lie made. A few
years of effort and the lace of things
will be changed. While on each plan
tation field after field is brought into a
course of recovery from its lost
fertility and made to smile again with
verdure, giving forth food for growing
herds and flocks, and furnishing labor
remunerative to both employer and
worker in greatly increased abundance;
so at the same time will the social con
dition be improved by earnest desire to
raise in the scale of intelligence those
to whom new duties and responsibili
ties have come without a corresponding
fitness having been made; and who,
by reason of ignorance are a prey to
every noisy charlatan or political quack
who plays upon them as upon a pipe;
and who cannot see in their changed
condition how they have become sub
ject to grave responsibilities, nor if they
could see it, how they must set about it
:to meet them. Thus with an improved
I physical condition will the intellectual
| status lie improved, and this one need
ed element be secured, a population of
free workers sufficiently educated to
know the nature of their own rights js
well as those of others, and the duties
incumbent upon them in connection
therewith ; and whale this is in course
of preparation the other element need
ed—capital—will aefaiunlate, and, ac
cording to the inevitk e laws of politi
cal economy wifi tin.'Li scope in mnl
tiplying improvements and gradually
inaugurating a complete system of do
mestic manufactures. And in all this
there will be no hurry ; progress is ever
silent in its most rapid march, and it is
only when taking a retrospect that we
perceive how much has been accom
plished in the mean time. These
changes are gradual; but in our life
times how much has been accomplished
and jjow much may yet be ? The man
of middle age may in his day yet sec
the mine, the forge, the machine shop,
all working on the ores of Georgia,
and turning out the furniture of a mill
whose product may be shipped on a
Southern built ship to the most distant
parts of the globe; while the various
mechanics engaged in the needed la
bor will be supported on the produce
of the rich fields restored to their pris
tine vigor ; and the interchange of la
bor and material will conduce to the
mutual advantage and the common
interest of all.
Written for the Banner of the South and Planters’
Journal.
Second Application of Manures.
ny GEORGK C. DIXON, CAMERON, GA.
Mr. “J. L. A.,” of Edgefield, South
Carolina, differs with me in regard to
the second application of manure to
cotton. lie says he regrets that I did
lfbt give the yield per acre from my
large outlay. I particularly stated that
I only manured two rows, one acre
long with a second application, at the
rate of 220 lbs. per acre. Now if he
calls these few pounds applied at the
second application a large outlay, what
shall we say of his twelve acre experi
ment. And after all this large outlay
as he calls it, I believe 1 made .7s much
as he did, on old worn oul land, yet it
did not pay as well as one application.
I stated I made 24 lbs. to the row,
one acre long, with second application.
As the rows were four feet apart, there ,
was but fifty-two rows in an acre. Now
multiply the 52 by 24 and we have
1248 lbs. per acre. Now what did he
make on his twelve acres? lie claims
he made 0,100 lbs. seed cotton on his 12
acres. This, you will observe, was 758
lbs. per acre.
The next question is what did I
make per acre, where I made second
application ? I have already shown I
made at the rate of 1248 lbs per acre,
which excels him 400 lbs. per acre ;
yet I claim it did not j>ay me; neither
did it make as much as that with one
application. With all my large outlay
as Mr. ,T. L. A. calls it, I have excelled
him 490 lbs. periaere—beat him at his
own game. Yet I could not recom
mend second application, as he did, af
ter making the 1248 lbs. per acre. A»d
my reason for not recommending it
was that the row manured with one
application made 2GJ lbs.; multiply
this by 52 (the nuinlK-r of rows,) and
it gives its 1865 lbs. per acre, which ex
cels the second application 117 lbs.
Now if I had done as Mr. J. L. A.
says he did —manured the whole field
with a second application—l should have
thought I had made a good crop. But,
manuring as I did, I was shown that a
better crop was made by using only
one. As I stated in my article of the
12th inst., the result was different to
what I expected. But such were the
results, and I would not give them
otherwise.
Mr. J. L. A. says if one half of the
manure intended to he applied, was ap
plied when the crop is planted, and the
other half applied either the first or
second ploughing, a much larger yield
would be the result. Such, lie says, is
hi* experience. Now, what does he
give as his experience ? Well, he says
he had an old field containing 12 acres,
which he says would not have produced
more than 150 or 200 lbs. seed cotton
per acre, without manure. This, you
will bear in mind, is his opinion. But,
in experimenting, we should know be
fore we attempt to dictate, or even re
commend. For Mr. J. L. A. to have
been certain (and he should have been
from fair experimenting.), ho should
have tried some rows with one applica
tion, and others, side by side, with
second ; picked, and weighed carefully,
as I (jid; then he would have known.
Tins is necessary. Suppose the row
manured with second application should
have turned out a greater yield; it
cost more to manure this row, and per
haps the yield in excess would not pay
for the extra application; if not we
could not recommend a second appli
cation. However, Mr. J. L. A. claims
a second application of ipanure will
pay. How does he know, and what j
is his evidence or proof? The only j
proof he gives us is this : He mixes 1
50 bushels of cotton seed with stable ;
manure (he don't say how much stable
manure) and applied it to four acres of
the field; upon the other eight acres
he put sujierphosphale of lime at the
rale of 250 lbs. per acre. This is his
first application. On the 6th July fie
applied 150 lbs. Wando to the acre.
Ho say's the cultivation was alike over
the field; two ploughings and three
hoeings. Now, so far he has furnished
us no proof that a second application
will pay. But he says the cotton kept
green all the season and shed but few
forms; the cotton, he says, grew oft’
very slow in the Spring; the crop of
bottom bolls was not good.; the bolls
on the top crop were as large as on the
bottom crop. So far we have no proof
that a second application of manure
will pay'. But for the results: Mr, J.
L, A., says he picked from his 12 acre
field 9,100 lbs. seed cotton. Now, 1
repeat it, is this any proof that his se
cond application paid? Now, Messrs,
j Editors, I believe that Mv. Xt , is
honest in his belief He mi ode a* fail
crop on his 12 acres. But my objectis
to show he lias not as yet shown or
proved to us that a second application
will pay. I will state, by way of
strengthening my argument, (or rather
my experiment) that this question was
discussed in the Paris Hill Agricultural
Club, a short time since, and the expe
rience of the members of that Club
were about the same as mine. And I
am yet of the opinion that if* the same
amount intended to be applied at se
cond application were broadcasted over
the land and turned under before plant
ing, it would pay better. I hope Mr
J. L. A. will, another year, try two
rows, one with second application, and
another (side by side) with one, and
then give us the results, after picking
and weighing carefully. Then he will
know if a second application will pay,
and if so, how much.
As someone may wish to know how
I managed to make 1,365 lbs. seed Cot
ton per acre, on an old field, I will give
my plan: I first broke up the land
about 8 inches deep with turn plow;
did not subsoil; laid oft’ my rows 4 feet
apart with an 8 inch shovel plow, with
two wings, running twice in the same
furrow; planted 7th April; thinned out
when four leaves high, leaving two
stalks in a hill, about 15 inches apart;
cultivated with a 2G inch sweep and
hoe; ploughing four times, and went
over lour times with the hoe, taking
out all the grass and weeds the plow
had left ; put no dirt to it save what
the plow threw to it; and I had liked
to forgotten to state that I used
Whann’s raw bone at the rate of 220
lbs per acre, applied in the drill.
Taehygraphy is the rather qnprepos
sessing name of anew system of short
hand writting, which is bound to super
sede, its orignators say, all other sys-«
Stans.
YOL. I