sou 
 
 CROPS 
 
 UiUii by 
 
 is. r. HlIIVNICliTT 
 
 ii»wwBwiWMMMwiHimiM»aawiw«ft«aaBOi^^ 
 
 'HE CULTIVATOR PUBlISHiNG COiPAIiY 
 
 ATLANTA, QEHMU 
 
Class SLi^5„__ 
 
 Book ^^ . 
 
 CopightN! 
 
 3 02 
 
 COPYRIGHT DEPOSnV 
 
The Cultivator Publishing Company 
 
 BOX 798, ATLANTA, GEORGIA 
 
 Publishers of 
 
 THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR 
 
 and 
 
 ' 'Agriculture for Common Schools, 
 
 "Dickson's System of Intensive Farming," 
 
 "Ten Acres Enough. " 
 
SOUTHERN CROPS 
 
 AS GROWN AND DESCRIBED 
 by 
 
 Successful Farmers 
 
 AND PUBIylSHED FROM TIME TO TIME IN 
 
 THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR 
 Including FURMAN'S FAMOUS FORMULA 
 
 
 Compiled by 
 
 G. F. HUNNICUTT 
 
 Editor THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR 
 
 1908 
 
<> 
 
 h 
 
 
 ^<^ 
 
 LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
 Two Cooies Received 
 
 DEC 26 1808 
 
 rs CopyrikjU entry 
 CLASS O- XXc, No, 
 COPY A. 
 
 Copyright 1908 
 by 
 
 the; cui^tivator pubushing company 
 
 ATLANTA, GEORGIA 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Cotton 1 
 
 Com . 51 
 
 Wheat 82 
 
 Oats 91 
 
 Hay & Forage Crops 101 
 
 Peanuts 102 
 
 Sweet Potatoes 167 
 
 Melons 173 
 
 Irish Potatoes 190 
 
 Tomatoes 197 
 
 Onions 205 
 
 Cabbage 209 
 
 Koot Crops . . . . . . 218 
 
 Asparagus 224 
 
 Celery 228 
 
 Lettuce , 243 
 
PKEFACE 
 
 Having received so many letters from farmers over va- 
 rious sections of the South, asking how to grow certain 
 crops successfully, we deem it advisable to publish in 
 book form an account of the most successful methods of 
 growing, not only staple crops of cotton, corn, wheat, oats, 
 but also of our most popular truck crops and garden vege- 
 tables. So we have decided to gather together from the 
 Cultivator for the past twenty years, the articles giving 
 account of the most successful methods and of the 
 largest yields that have been made by practical farmers 
 all over the South. This work contains the cream of our 
 Southern agricultural experience. It is therefore w^orthy 
 of being presented in book form. All Southern farmers 
 of to-day should prize such a practical and high-class col- 
 lection, and this book should be helpful to all young men 
 who expect to make farming their occupation. "Fur- 
 man's Intensive System of Farming," Dr. Drake's world's 
 record yield of corn, the "Williamson plan" of growing 
 corn, Warthen's record yield of cotton. Fowler's yield of 
 cotton on 100 acres, W. P. Walker's wheat, Geo. O'Kelley's 
 oats and Claude Tuck's peavine hay, should become famil- 
 iar words in every Southern home, and a book giving all 
 this information should be upon every farmer's reading 
 table. Feeling the necessity to embody this valuable infor- 
 mation in book form, we also thought it would be excellent 
 addition to give in connection, Dr. J. B. Hunnicutt on 
 Irish potatoes and other crops, 'Nje on onions, Riegel on 
 
celery, Trott and Hancock on cantaloupes, Maiighon on 
 watermelons, Deckner on tomatoes, etc., making a complete 
 collection of the best methods of growing all the above men- 
 tioned crops, so any one can refer to them at a moment's 
 notice, to refresh the memory of our older generation and 
 to instruct and stimulate our beginners upon the farms. 
 Such a book should stimulate a higher degree of profi- 
 ciency in our farm operators, and serve to raise the stand- 
 ard of our calling wherever it is practiced. 
 
 The Cultivatok Publishing Company, 
 
 By G. F. Hunnicutt, Editor. 
 
Twelve Bolls to One Limb. 
 
COTTON. 
 
 COTTON CULTUKE. 
 
 BY FAEISH C. FUKMAN. 
 
 The intelligent observer, traveling through any portion 
 of the Southern States, can not avoid iDeing impressed with 
 the general appearance of slovenliness and carelessness 
 that seems almost universally characteristic of Southern 
 farmers, as manifested by their system, or rather want 
 of system, of agriculture, and their entire disregard for 
 the conveniences and necessities of advanced agriculture. 
 It is difficult indeed, after leaving behind one of the farms 
 of ]^ew England and the Middle States, where everything 
 is neat and orderly, and where there is a place for every- 
 thing, and everything in its place, to realize that one is 
 in the midst of an agricultural people; a people who are 
 the producers of a staple in universal demand, and whose 
 aggregate yearly value is greater, perhaps, than that of 
 any other single product known to mankind. 
 
 The truth of the matter is, that the farmers of the South 
 cling with a tenacity that would be praiseworthy in a bet- 
 ter cause to the custom and tradition of their forefathers, 
 and are almost prepared to resent any innovations on meth- 
 ods and systems that are old and established. Hence it is 
 that the rule of our ancestors, that, for success in agTi- 
 culture, the plow must follow fast upon the axe, is still 
 the rule with us to-day. The plan is still, cut down, 
 I 
 
2 SOUTHEBJN Ck.OPS. 
 
 wear out, and seek again new forests, fresh land, leaving 
 that already exhausted to the efforts of nature, striving to 
 restore to it some portion of its wasted fertility. Such a 
 plan, so wasteful in its methods and destructive in its re- 
 sults, must in time have its limits, and with us of the 
 South those limits have been reached. Under this system, 
 nearly all the original growth in my section of the South, 
 middle Georgia, has been cut down, and the soil, originally 
 fertile, has been so depleted by a system of agriciilture in 
 which there is a continual drain without any adequate 
 return, that the decrease in productiveness of our lands 
 within the last ten years has become alarming to the 
 thoughtful observer, the man who looks not only to the 
 present, but the future. 
 
 For myself, the evil impressed itself j)ainfully upon 
 my mind. I knew that we were blessed wdth advantages of 
 climate that left nothing to be desired in that direction, 
 and I was satisfied that all our soil needed was careful, in- 
 telligent feeding to make it teem with the choicest produc- 
 tions of the field and orchard. I tried to impress my 
 views upon my neighbors and my tenants, but they laughed 
 at me, and finally I. made up my mind to make a series 
 of experiments, running through a succession of years, 
 with a view to obtaining practical results in the matter. 
 T had been very much impressed with the idea of the 
 French agriculturist, George Y^lle, as illustrated by him 
 in his experiments at Vincennes, to ^vit, that land is only 
 the vehicle for making any crop. In pursuance of this 
 idea, in order to give its correctness a thorough test, he 
 took sand and burnt it, so as to destroy all foreign mat- 
 ter; then took water and distilled it, so that it should be 
 
Cotton. 3 
 
 chemically pure ; took next the wheat plant and subjected 
 it to careful analysis — root, stem, leaf, and grain — there- 
 by ascertaining its constituent elements; then he took 
 his sand, scattered it on a plank floor, and planted wheat 
 in it; took his distilled water, and dissolved in it every- 
 thing which his analysis showed him that his wheat re- 
 quired; w^atered the wheat with it carefully and regularly, 
 and harvested from it at the rate of exceeding forty bushels 
 of wheat per acre. 
 
 This seemed to my mind a complete demonstration of the 
 truth of his theory as to grain. Cotton being the crop 
 of our section, I determined to make an experiment upon 
 the same line on cotton. For this purpose I selected sixty 
 acres of land immediately adjacent to my dwelling, for 
 two reasons — one on account of its convenience, the other 
 because of its almost remarkable j)Overty. I reside four 
 and one-half miles north of Milledgeville, at a point se- 
 lected by my grandfather, Parish Carter, on account of 
 its remarkable salubrity, at a time (about 1820) when al- 
 most all this portion of middle Georgia was visited every 
 fall by a variety of bilious fever almost as fatal as the 
 yellow fever of to-day. The fever w^as caused by the 
 free use of the axe — destroying the forests and exposing 
 the vegetable matter to the hot rays of the summer^s sun. 
 From this fever Scottsboro w^as exempt, being located on 
 a high, piney-w^oods ridge, elevated two hundred feet above 
 Milledgeville, and the soil in the immediate vicinity being 
 too poor to breed malaria, and here my grandfather 
 located. 
 
 This ridge constituted, in days gone by, the dividing line 
 between the sea and high land — marine shells being abun- 
 
4 SouTHEKN Crops. 
 
 dant in the vicinity, and the geological formation mark- 
 ing the junction of the tertiary, vvitli its sandy soil and 
 pine-land growth, with the metamorphic rocks of the 
 up-country, giving red clay land a prevailing growth of 
 oak and hickory. 
 
 Just on the backbone of this ridge my farm is located, 
 the land, as is usual on ridges, being level, with a ten- 
 dency to break into hills on each side, giving enough roll- 
 ing land to make a fair test as to washing. The char- 
 acter of the sixty acres is mixed, about five acres being 
 stiff red clay, forty acres sandy, with clay from live to 
 ten inches below the surface, and fifteen genuine sand, with 
 clay several feet below the surface. The growth (original) 
 was long-leaf pine and oak, mostly scrub oak, with a 
 sprinkling of hickory. The soil naturally was very thin, 
 and fifty acres of the sixty had been cleared and exhausted, 
 worn out more than half a century ago. 
 
 The first year i determined, as I had started to make 
 a demonstration, to cultivate the land without manure, 
 and thereby secure a basis for my demonstration. I broke 
 it thoroughly with good ordinary one-horse turn plows, 
 using the iron foot-stock; bedded, rebedded; planted from 
 the 25th of April to the 10th of May, using the ordinary 
 seed of the country; planting in the bed in rows three and 
 a half foot wide; cultivated with the sweep, as shallow 
 as possible,, keeping tlio crop cl^r of weeds, and giving it 
 every chance; and with a fair av^rag^ season my crop for 
 the year was, on tho sixty acres, eight bales of cotton. This 
 pivxl notion, giving a bale to every seven and a half acres 
 of tho land, conclusively demonstrated the poverty of the 
 soil, and T was, tlioroforo, in a condition to start and 
 
Cotton. 5 
 
 see what could be done in the way of, at one and the same 
 time, building up the land and securing such yearly returns 
 as would in themselves be remunerative. On my first crop, 
 as just detailed, of course I lost money. 
 
 Having ascertained what my land would produce with- 
 out assistance, and that it was fearfully deficient in some 
 or perhaps all of the elements essential to the proper 
 growth and development of the cotton plant, I was met at 
 the threshold of my experiment with a difficulty the solu- 
 tion of which promised to be a key to all future trouble. 
 It was this : First, how to ascertain in what the land was 
 lacking, and second, to find accurately and definitely what 
 elements and in what proportion these elements must be 
 given to the land to supply the deficiencies already ex- 
 isting, and build up the land crop by crop instead of leav- 
 ing it each year more and more exhausted, and conse- 
 quently less productive. It struck my mind at first that 
 the first portion of this proposition was a most important 
 one — that is, to ascertain what the land was deficient in 
 and lacking — and while in the theory this is no doubt true, 
 I soon found upon investigation and reflection, that in 
 practice, with the best assistance that modern science can 
 afford me, it was entirely out of my power. 
 
 I have had this argument so frequently used to me 
 by men of intelligence, and good farmers: "Oh, if I was 
 only a <jhemist I would analyze my land, find out in what 
 it was lacking, replace it, and then I would be all right; 
 but I canH do it myself, and I do not know where to get 
 it done, and so I see no way out of my trouble. '^ The 
 truth of the matter is that soil analysis is practically 
 worthless to the farmer, and upon this point I beg leave 
 
6 Southern Crops. 
 
 to produce the opinion of that most eminent authority^ 
 George Ville; he says: 
 
 ''A priori, one would think that a chemical analysis 
 which has been pushed so far in our day and whose meth- 
 ods have acquired at the same time so much delicacy and 
 certainty, ought at least to give us a means of estimating 
 with certainty the richness of the soil, and so guiding us 
 in the choice of manure best suited to its nature. There 
 is none, however, and I defy the most skilful chemist to 
 say in advance what will be the return from earth sub- 
 mitted to. him, and what manures are most appropriate. 
 A few words will explain the reason why chemistry is 
 powerless to furnish us with these indications. Let us 
 suppose a soil containing both quartz and feldspar sand 
 among its mechanical elements. For vegetation these two 
 sands are equivalent, although the first is from silica, and 
 nothing but silica, while the second is a silicate, based 
 upon lime, potash, and soda, besides containing phosphate 
 of lime in very feeble but very appreciable quantities. 
 Here, then, are two bodies whose composition, in spite of 
 similitude of exterior, have no analogy, and which, how- 
 ever, are equivalent in an agricultural point of ^^ew, be- 
 cause the feldspar being insoluble in water, its role in 
 regard to vegetation descends to that of the quartz sand — 
 that is to say, to a simple mechanical element. But for 
 the chemist there are no insoluble bodies, so he confounds 
 in one whole the potash, lime, and phosphate of lime that 
 the feldspar sand contains, though they are of no use 
 in vegetation, with the products of the same nature which 
 we have ranged under the class of active assimilable ele- 
 
Cotton. 7 
 
 ments. Thus is explained the insufficiency of the signs 
 with which chemistry can furnish us.'' 
 
 E"ot being able, therefore, to ascertain, as I would have 
 preferred to do, the deliciencies of the land, I set to work 
 to see if I could get at the second part of my proposition 
 — that is, to find which elements, and in what proportion, 
 to apply to the soil to at one and the same time build up 
 the land and give good dividends in crop returns. In ar- 
 riving at an answer to this which proved satisfactory to my 
 mind, the following train of reasoning suggested itself: 
 Land is only the vehicle for making the crop ; we can't 
 grow the crop without land to grow it on; and yet, unless 
 the land selected on which to grow the crop is supplied with 
 the diiferent varieties of plant food, organic and inor- 
 ganic, to meet the requirements of that crop, just in 
 proportion to the deficiency will be the falling oif in 
 production, until absolute sterility in the soil will cause 
 absolute failure in the crop. If, therefore, I can, by 
 the aid of science, ascertain exactly w^hat elements, or- 
 ganic and inorganic, and in what proportion of each, enter 
 into the composition of any crop — stalk, leaf, root, and 
 fruit — then I can see my way to preparing a compost 
 that will furnish an adequate supply in my land of a 
 perfect food for the growth and development of my crop. 
 Having settled upon this line, and cotton being the crop 
 upon which my experiment was to be made, the next step 
 was to ascertain the composition of the cotton plant — ^lint, 
 seed, bolls, leaves, stem and roots. Of this plant a very 
 able and exhaustive qualitative and quantitative analysis 
 was made in 1878 by Prof. H. 0. AVhite, at that time 
 Professor of Chemistrv in the Fuiversitv of Goorgin ; 
 
8 Son I II I'lK'iN ( 'uors. 
 
 jiikI as I lia\(^ iTccixctI a '^fcal many iii((iiiii('s ii|kiii llic 
 siil»|('ci (il I lie analysis of ( he (MtlloM plaiil., I will reproduce 
 it: 
 
 '•'>^ <^'"'-'- ^";;;xr"' 
 
 Liiil, (M.iisisis of (in 100 |)ui-ls) US/Jf) J. 75 
 
 S(H'(I troiisislH (»r (in 100 parts) JXkT)!) 3.41 
 
 liolls coiiHist of (in 100 partH) 85/21 12.9(1 
 
 Leaves (MHisisl (.!' (in 100 parls) S2.7 I 15.22 
 
 St(UUH consist el" (in 100 parts) !)5.02 ;i.l)S 
 
 Hoots consist of (^in 100 parts) !)2.7t; 5.08 
 
 Tiit^ or«;anie niatlei" (U)nsists in all cascvs of oxygon, hydro- 
 i^-en, earlxm and inlroi;-on. The dilTerent porlions of llio 
 |)lant eonlaiii in 100 parts llie followiiii;- n^spoctivo 
 ainonnls (d" nil rt>i;-en : 
 
 Linl * 0.5 1 
 
 So(h1 l.JU) 
 
 Hells \.o:\ 
 
 I.(MIV(^S 2. It 
 
 Sleins 1.1(> 
 
 Ivoots 1,17 
 
 Tht* ash o( lh(> lint (MMitains in 100 parts: 
 
 rhosphorie acid 10.25 
 
 Potash 21.31 
 
 Liuio 2().7 1 
 
 M agnosia 9. 1(> 
 
 OlhtM- ininiM-als 32.21 
 
 There w i 11 hr contained in 100 |>art8 of tlio ash of — 
 
 S.T.lM |{»)llw. 1.0»IV»>S. SttMUM. UlU>tS 
 
 IMiosphoric aeid ...;>5.7(; (5.S7 7.75 13. (>8 7.50 
 l*etash 30.25 1 1.2S 1 1.<)C. 21. 0(1 23.52 
 
Cotton. 
 
 1^7.:] 1 
 
 lis. 14 
 
 ^{\.:u\ 
 
 2:i.:57 
 
 0.14 
 
 0.11 
 
 9.75 
 
 8.93 
 
 i;i/j5 
 
 \'ZA)1 
 
 5.5^^ 
 
 4.12 
 
 5.12 
 
 r).()() 
 
 1.11 
 
 6.98 
 
 4.11 
 
 4.or> 
 
 0.42 
 
 8.01 
 
 8.84 
 
 \).'Ar> 
 
 0.7*J 
 
 10.04 
 
 14.08 
 
 10.57 
 
 7.01 
 
 8.03 
 
 Lima !).S7 
 
 Magnesia 12.42 
 
 Siilpliuric acid .... 0.48 
 
 Oxi(i(3 of iron 1.87 
 
 Cliloi-iiK! 0.85 
 
 Soda 2.50 
 
 Silica 
 
 In review iriji' these rcsidls, we observer iliat IIkj most 
 iiripcjrtant mineral constituents in each and every part of 
 the cotton })lant are plios])]ioric acid, potash, lime, and 
 magnesia, in round numbers we have, in 100 parts of 
 the ash of each part of tin; phiiit, th(^ fol lowing- amounts 
 of these main constitucnis. hi 100 of the asli of- - 
 
 l-liit. Refids, RollH. T>eHVt'H. RUmuh. IlcjolH. 
 
 Phosphoric acid 10 30 7 8 14 8 
 
 Potash 21 30 14 15 24 24 
 
 Lime 27 10 27 28 20 22 
 
 Magnesia 10 12 10 8 
 
 Estimnted from tlies(! })ercentages, and th(i pi'opoi'tion 
 of the ash l)efore stated, as yielded })y the several parts 
 of th(i plant, we have in 100 parts — 
 
 Lint. Heeds. BoIIh. Leavew. SUmiih. KooIm. 
 
 Phosphoric ;i(tid ..0.18 1.22 0.91 1.22 0.50 0.40 
 
 Potash 0.37 1.02 1.82 3.28 0.90 1.22 
 
 Lime 0.48 0.34 3.49 4.25 1.01 1.12 
 
 Magnesia 0.17 0.41 0.77 0.92 0.40 0.41 
 
 Mtrogen 0.54 1.30 1.03 2.14 1.10 1.17 
 
 A crop that will produce 150 f)oiinds lint cotton |)er 
 acre will produce also 300 pounds seed, 250 pounds bolls, 
 
10 SOUTHEKN CkOP{^. 
 
 250 pounds leaves, 600 pounds stems, and 150 pounds 
 roots, all air dried. There will be contained in — 
 
 Lint. Seeds. Boll . Leaves, Stems. Roots. 
 
 Phosphoric acid ..0.27 3.66 2.26 3.05 3.36 0.60 
 
 Potash 0.54 3.06 4.52 8.20 5.76 1.83 
 
 Lime 0.72 1.02 8.82 10.00 6.24 1.68 
 
 Magnesia 0.24 1.23 1.93 2.30 2.40 0.61 
 
 ISTitrogen 0.81 5.88 5.07 5.35 6.96 1.75 
 
 To sum up, therefore, to produce the above stated crop 
 of 150 pounds lint per acre there will be required in all — 
 
 Phosphoric acid 13 lbs. 
 
 Potash 24 lbs. 
 
 Lime 30 lbs. 
 
 Magnesia 9 lbs. 
 
 JSTitrogen 26 l])s. 
 
 The bolls, leaves, stems, and roots are usually returned 
 at once to the soil. In the seed are — 
 
 Phosphoric acid 4 lbs. 
 
 Potash •. . 3 lbs. 
 
 Lime 1 lb. 
 
 Magnesia 1 lb. 
 
 ISTitrogen 6 lbs. 
 
 While there is entirely removed from the acre and sent 
 into market with the lint — 
 
 Phosphoric acid \. -/4 lb. 
 
 Potash .>. .> % lb. 
 
 Lime %. lb. 
 
 Magnesia % lb. 
 
 l^itrogen 1 lb. 
 
Cotton. 11 
 
 From this analysis, we see that if the stem, leaf, boll, 
 stalk, root and seed of the cotton plant are returned to 
 the soil, the wear and tear should be very small as com- 
 pared with wheat, as shown by Prof. White. Assum- 
 ing ten bushels per acre as an average yield of wheat, a 
 calculation on that basis, from analysis of Wolff and 
 Knot, shows the following quantities of the principal ele- 
 ments of plant food are removed in every ten bushels of 
 wheat sold from the farm, compared with that removed 
 in lint from an average acre of cotton : 
 
 Wheat. Lint Cotton. 
 
 E'itrogen, pounds 12.40 1.00 
 
 Potash 3.30 .50 
 
 Lime 36 .75 
 
 Magnesia 1.40 .25 
 
 Phosphoric acid 4.90 .25 
 
 32.36 2.75 
 
 Having obtained my analysis of the cotton plant, an 
 examination of it showed mo that I had an extremely 
 composite plant to deal with. Phosphoric acid evidently 
 was what scientists call the dominant, but potash, magne- 
 sia, soda, chlorine, sulphuric acid, iron and silica, were 
 all required, and the presence of each of them in greater 
 or less degree, in such a condition as to enable the 
 plant to assimilate them, was absolutely essential to the 
 production of a perfect, healthy growth and develop- 
 ment. Another fact, too, struck me, and that was that 
 with a return to the soil of the seeds, leaves, stems, roots, 
 etc., of the plant, removing only the lint, the amount of 
 
12 Southern Crops. 
 
 inorganic matter withdrawn from the soil was so insig- 
 nificant that cotton production properly pursued ought 
 legitimately to build up and improve rapidly any soil de- 
 voted to it. While this is true in theory, yet we know that 
 in practice our cotton lands deteriorate rapidly, a fact 
 which, together with the causes operative thereto, I will 
 discuss later. 
 
 In making a list of the requirements, then, of my 
 plant, I found them to come in the following order in 
 comparative value as to inorganic elements: Phosphoric 
 acid, potash, lime, magnesia, soda, silica, sulphuric acid, 
 chlorine, iron. 
 
 Having satisfied myself that each of these was necessary, 
 and my analysis showing me in what proportions of each, 
 the next question was, in what form the most available as 
 plant-food, and the cheapest to myself, could I obtain 
 these different substances so as to combine them in the 
 requisite proportions to make at one and the same time 
 a perfect and economical food for my plant? There was 
 no difiiculty as to three of the elements. It has long 
 been admitted and agreed by all the advanced agricultu- 
 rists, that a super-phosphate of lime, consisting of sul- 
 phuric acid, phosphoric acid and lime, commonly known 
 to commerce as acid phosphate, was the best and cheapest 
 form in which to apply the phosphoric acid, inasmuch as 
 we thereby obtain a large proportion of soluble phosphoric 
 acid, and at the same time secure 4he presence, of sulphuric 
 acid and lime, thus giving in one substance three of the 
 nine varieties of food required. 
 
 TTaving secured three without any difficulty, I began to 
 hunt for a combination of one or more of the others. I 
 
Cotton. 13 
 
 found that the presence of potash had been admitted to be 
 a necessity in a manure for cotton, and it had been 
 introduced in most of the commercial fertilizers, but in 
 nearly every instance it was used in the form of muriate 
 of potash, and the presence of soda and magnesia seemed 
 to be regarded as unnecessary. An examination of the 
 analysis of my plant showed me that it contained about 
 half as much magnesia as it did potash, and soda too, is 
 largely needed in its economy. I could get the chlorine and 
 soda necessary, as chloride of sodium or common salt, 
 but that left me still without a combination of potash 
 and magnesia. While hunting around for something that 
 would fill the bill, I struck upon a little pamphlet pub- 
 lished by the Messrs. Kerr, of Baltimore, upon the subject 
 of German kainit, and no sooner had I glanced over its 
 composition than I knew that my trouble was over, and that 
 I had found the very thing I needed. Its composition is : 
 
 Sulphate of potash 25 per cent. 
 
 Sulphate of magnesia 15 per cent. 
 
 Chloride of magnesia 12 per cent. 
 
 Chloride of sodium 32 per cent. 
 
 Moisture 14 per cent. 
 
 Insoluble matter 2 per cent. 
 
 It is a natural product, dug from the earth in Ger- 
 many, and the supply is declared by those who ought to 
 know to be practically inexhaustible. It possesses too 
 the great advantage of being easily and cheaply mined 
 and prepared for market, and can be laid down by ship- 
 load at Charleston or Savannah for far less than $8 
 per ton. 
 
14 SouTHEEN Crops. 
 
 The demand that has unexpectedly opened up for it 
 this season has exhausted the supply and caused it to ad- 
 vance in price; but next season I hope the importers will 
 prepare for a heavy demand, and guard against short stocks 
 and excessive prices. By examining its composition, you 
 perceive that it contains potash, magnesia, soda, sulphuric 
 acid, and chlorine, or five of the varieties of plant-food of 
 which I had been in search, and you perceive further that 
 it has twice as much potash as magnesia, which is the 
 case also with the cotton plant. 
 
 It seems, indeed, to have been combined by nature as a 
 cotton manure, and its effect upon the growing plant is 
 certainly admirable. By a combination, then, of acid 
 phosphate and kainit in the proper proportions with cotton- 
 seed, all the mineral manure we need practically, except 
 perhaps silica, is furnished to the soiL In case of extraor- 
 dinary or unusual production, I am inclined to believe that 
 soluble silica is also an essential, and am now experi- 
 menting with a view to determine that question. ^Vhile 
 it does not enter into the composition of the seed or lint, 
 you will observe from the analysis that it figures quite 
 prominently in the stalk and boll, and is necessary to give 
 the stalk strength to enable it to stand heavy fruitage 
 without breaking. 
 
 Having obtained the inorganic elements, however, my 
 task in making my compost was by no means concluded. 
 As I have stated before, plant-fT)0(I is worthless unless 
 a constant and steady supply of moisture be secured and re- 
 tained to render these inorganic elements soluble, and 
 thus in a condition in which the plant can assimilate them. 
 IN'ow humus or decayed vegetable matter is the great con- 
 
Cotton. 15 
 
 servator in nature of moisture. We all know this from 
 our experience as boys in hunting earthworms for bait 
 in our fishing frolics. Earthworms love moisture; it is 
 essential to their existence, and to lind them the boys al- 
 ways looked in fence-corners, or around manure piles, 
 where there is an abundant supply of decayed vegetable 
 matter. If you will take a lump of humus, wet it thor- 
 oughly, and cover it up with dirt, it will retain the 
 moisture for an indefinite period. Of all the forms in 
 which we can employ humus in our compost heap, stable 
 or lot manure is the best, and swamp-muck, thoroughly 
 dried and treated with plaster to correct any tendency to 
 acidity, is the next best. In the kainit there is, as you 
 remember, 32 per cent. salt. Salt, as every one knows, has 
 a great attraction for moisture, so much so that under 
 favorable circumstances it is almost deliquescent. Where, 
 then, the salt is mixed with the humus in bulk, we invari- 
 ably have a plentiful supply of moisture as a result of the 
 following process: The salt draws the moisture from the 
 air, and the humus, by capillary attraction, in its turn ab- 
 stracts the moisture from the salt, and holds it in the 
 furrow underneath the plant, to be given to that plant 
 at the time of its greatest need, when the hot sun and burn- 
 ing air of a July drought threaten its destruction. 
 
 Having ascertained by actual experiment what my land, 
 unaided, would produce, and having determined what the 
 proper constituents should be in the compost to be ap- 
 plied to it, the next step was to fix the proper proportions 
 to be observed in the use of each of those constituents in 
 the preparation of the compost. The reader will remem- 
 ber that the analysis of the cotton plant shows ^hat to 
 
16 Southern Crops. 
 
 produce a crop of 150 pounds lint cotton to the acre, or a 
 bale to three acres, there will be required of phosphoric 
 acid, thirteen pounds; potash, twenty-four pounds; lime, 
 thirty pounds; magnesia, nine pounds, and nitrogen, 
 twenty-six pounds. Of these, far the greater portion is re- 
 turned to the soil with the leaves, bolls, stems, and roots, 
 so that the actual drain upon the soil is, phosphoric acid, 
 four and one-quarter pounds; potash, three and one-half 
 pounds; lime, one and three-fourths pounds; magnesia, 
 one and one-fourth pounds, and nitrogen, seven pounds. 
 
 With these figures as a basis, I determined, inasmuch 
 as my land was peculiarly deficient in humus, that I 
 would, in my formula for compost, make the organic con- 
 stituents proportionately very heavy as compared with 
 other formulae that I had seen, and for the purpose of con- 
 venience in mixing, as the chemicals always come in 200- 
 pound bags, I made the formula as follows : First, thirty 
 bushels stable manure; second, one sack acid phosphate, 
 half sack kainit; third, thirty bushels cottonseed; fourth, 
 one sack acid phosphate, half sack kainit. 
 
 To prepare the compost I select a piece of ground con- 
 venient to my lots, so as to avoid unnecessary hauling of my 
 heavy manure, taking care that it is^not in a low spot, 
 where water might collect and seep the heap, and having 
 cleaned it carefully, scatter my stable manure evenly over 
 it, never allowing it to be m6re than throe inches thick 
 when the manure is well scattered. ^ it is dry T sprinkle 
 water over it, and this is something that must by no 
 means be omitted. Water, and a pley.ty of it, is a necessity 
 in a properly regulated compost heap, where decomposi- 
 tion and chemical reactions are valuable and essential. 
 
COTTOJV. 17 
 
 Each layer, both of manure and cottonseed, should be thor- 
 oughly wetted as it is laid down, as otherwise one dry 
 layer running through your heap may give you cottonseed 
 that wilJ come up and give great trouble, especially if 
 the crop is planted with selected seed. Having wet the 
 manure, the next step is the manipulation of the acid 
 phosphate and kainit, preparatory to scattering it evenly 
 on the heap. Take a sack of the acid and half a sack of 
 kainit and mix thoroughly with hoes, breaking all lumps 
 with a heavy, wooden pestle. 
 
 When thoroughly mixed, scatter evenly over the surface 
 of the manure. AVe are next ready for our cottonseed, of 
 which we take thirty bushels and spread them evenly on 
 the heap, and wet thoroughly — remembering not to be 
 sparing with the water. I have had so much trouble with 
 cottonseed in my compost heap on account of the careless- 
 ness of my laborers in neglecting to wet each layer thor- 
 oughly, unless I am personally present to superintend the 
 whole operation, that I have made up my mind to get for 
 next season a small mill, manufactured and sold in At- 
 lanta, Ga., for the purpose of crushing seed preparatory 
 to putting them in heap. I am satisfied that such mill 
 will prove a valuable investment on any farm, as it is 
 a fine corn-cracker and can be utilized in many ways. After 
 the cottonseed we come again to the chemicals, of which, 
 as before, we take a sack of acid phosphate and half a 
 sack of kainit, mix them as thoroughly as possible and 
 scatter on the pile. This mixture of first, stable manure ; 
 second, chemicals ; third, cottonseed, and fourth, chemi- 
 cals, makes my compost as I prepare and use it, 
 3 
 
18 SOUTHEEN CeOPS. 
 
 Just here i think it proper that 1 ahuuld call the atten- 
 tion of my brother fanners to one very important fact, 
 and that is the great value, in the use of the chemicals, of 
 a thorough fine division or comminution of the materials. 
 This principle is thoroughly understood and appreciated 
 by the medical world in the application of mineral medi- 
 cine to the animal economy. For example, it is well known 
 that calomel, reduced to an impalpable powder, requires 
 but one tenth in weight to produce a given effect as the 
 same medicine before ground, or when in the ordinary 
 coarse, grainy condition. This same rule in the applica- 
 tion of mineral manures to the vegetable world holds 
 equally good, and for this reason I recommend the mix- 
 ing of the chemicals before they come into the hands 
 Qf the farmers with properly arranged machinery. I have 
 had great trouble myself in mixing my chemicals, and 
 have never succeeded in this portion of n\j work as I 
 would have desired. Realizing this, I made arrangement 
 this year to have the chemicals . mixed by machinery in 
 Atlanta, and I have found it a very decided improvement 
 on the old way. 
 
 I have received many inquiries as to the necessity or ex- 
 pediency of mixing the compost under shelter. A mo- 
 ment's reflection will convince any one that, where so much 
 water is used in the manufacture of a compost, the addi- 
 tion of all that may fall upW the heap as rain, for the 
 space of two or three months, can do no possible harm. T 
 never think of putting any shelter over my, heaps. On 
 the contrary, I have noticed that those that were built just 
 along the eaves of my stable, so that the heap caught and 
 retained all the rain from the roof, decomposed more 
 
Cotton. 19 
 
 ilioroiigJily ciiid sutisfacturily tliaii any other. 'No one 
 need be uneasy about making such a compost heap as I 
 have described in the open air. As decomposition takes 
 place, there are in the. heap itself, in the chemicals com- 
 posing every alternate layer, materials that will fix and 
 prevent the escape of any valuable gas that may be gen- 
 erated. In the acid phosphate there is always a quantity of 
 sulphate of lime, and in the kainit we have sulphate of 
 magnesia, and either of these chemicals have the power 
 of fixing ammonia, converting it into a salt and preventing 
 its escape. 
 
 THE COMPOST HEAP. 
 
 The compost heap should not be built more than five feet 
 high. Keep the edges as nearly perpendicular as possible, 
 and finish it off on the top with a covering of rich top 
 dirt from three to six inches thick. The heap should stand 
 after completion at least six weeks before using it, and 
 if it could be so arranged that at the end of six weeks it 
 could be cut perpendicularly down, mixed thoroughly and 
 allowed to stand a month longer, it would improve the 
 compost. I make such quantities of it that I have not time 
 to do this, but, ais a rule, the more compost is mixed and 
 manipulated the better it is. I have received many in- 
 quiries as to how it is possible to manufacture so much 
 stable manure as my formula requires, on a small farm. 
 This is an inquiry the force of which T appreciate, for 
 in the solution of the question how to make an abundant 
 supply of stable, barnyard, and homo-made manure, is to 
 be found the key to the future prosperity of Southern ag- 
 riculture. With our hot climate, burning sun, and parch- 
 
20 Southern Crops. 
 
 ing winds continuing uninterrupted for six months or 
 more, we have adopted, from necessity, a shallow sur- 
 face system of culture, and the result has been that 
 within the last twenty-five years the cultivated lands of 
 the South have been largely drained of that supply of de- 
 composed organic or vegetable matter known as humus, 
 which, while it has no chemical value, or very little, is yet 
 absolutely essential in order for remunerative returns 
 from any soil. There are only two ways in which this 
 wasted material can be restored — by the use of a properly 
 regulated compost, or by natural process, allowing the 
 land to lie out and become covered with weeds and grass, 
 which is, at best, a very slow, uncertain and unsatisfac- 
 tory proceeding; or better, to plant in small grain and 
 follow the grain with a crop of peas, manuring the peas 
 with a chemical manure and allowing them to die on 
 the surface, to be turned under in January, but never 
 tuvuerl under greon in our climate. Green manuring will do 
 at the North, but farmers at the South had better let 
 it alone. 
 
 Restoring the humus to the soil through the growth of 
 the oat, followed by the pea, is a plan that, as a natural 
 one, is unsurpassed. 
 
 In the case of the growth of a cotton crop, tlu^ ]u-esence 
 of humns disseminated generally through the land is of 
 course of great value, but cotton is a tap-root crop, and 
 for the successful and remunersitive cultivation of all 
 tap-root crops, we must manure in the drill, and rny 
 experience has taught me that to manure cotton heavily 
 in the drill with chemical manure alone is dangerous, but 
 that if those chemicals are mixed thoroughlv with de- 
 
Cotton. 21 
 
 composed humus in the presence of chloride of sodium that 
 the danger, which is that of firing in time of drought, is 
 reduced to a minimum. In fact, mj experience with my 
 compost applied immediately in the drill under the cotton, 
 at the rate, for the purpose of experiment, of five tons to 
 the acre, has satisfied me that instead of tending to 
 "burn the cotton up," it absolutely kept it green and flour- 
 ishing when unmanured crops and those fertilized with 
 chemicals alone were parched and yellow. 
 
 E'ow, to secure an almost unlimited supply of the val- 
 uable and essential material, all that any farmer, who 
 has within his reach the pine straw of the South has to do, 
 is to keep his stable, barnyard, cow-lot and hog-pens al- 
 ways thoroughly littered with the straw, moving it out in 
 heaps as soon as it becomes saturated with animal manure, 
 and re-littering at once, say once a month. 
 
 Be sure to keep all your cattle up at ni-ght. I am sat- 
 isfied that a well-fed cow will make from her droppings 
 at night alone $25 worth of manure in the course of a 
 year. Don't be satisfied, though, with what you can get 
 from your lots and stables; remember that humus is de- 
 cayed organic matter, and that leaves and muck are a fine 
 form of it. Gather all the decaying vegetable matter from 
 the ditches and fence-corners on your place, and add 
 them to your piles that are accumulating ready for your 
 winter composting. Go into the ponds and branches in 
 your vicinity and gather the mud or muck, haul it up, miji 
 with it a little land plaster, let it dry and add it to your 
 heap. In short, turn your attention to accumulating 
 humus ; make up your mind that you will have it ; gather 
 it together day after day, and week after week, and at the 
 
1^2 Southern Crops. 
 
 end uf tlu' year you will Hud yourself wondering whert 
 it all came from. 
 
 While the compost lieap was in course of constructioh 
 during the second year of my experiment— the lirst year, 
 as the reader will recollect, being an experimental test, 
 without manure, to determine the productiveness of the 
 land — my plows were at work preparing the land for 
 the reception of the compost. The plows used for the 
 purpose were upon the pattern of tlie ordimiry s(wen-inch 
 turn shovel, made, however, so as to be longer than the 
 ordinary shovel to give the plow penetrating power. These 
 were attached to the liarman stock, an iron foot-stock, man- 
 ufactured in Atlanta, combining strength, adaptability, 
 and lightness. 
 
 With these the ground was thoroughly broken as follows : 
 First, a ten-inch shovel furrow was run in at intervals of 
 three and a half feet, and the turn-plow furrow thrown 
 upon this shovel furrow from each side until the ground 
 was thoroughly broken, with a water furrow in each mid- 
 dle, throwing the gronnd up into broad beds three and a 
 half feet wide. This was alh:)wed to stand nntil just before 
 planting time, when the water furrow w^as opened with a 
 ten-inch ordinary shovel, the compost placed in the hill 
 and immediately listed upon — that is to say, covered with 
 a furrow from each side thrown upon it with a turn 
 shovel ; this was allowed to sta\d until ready to plant ; then 
 two more furrows with the turn^o^vel were thrown upon 
 this list, one from each side, and the cotton planted at 
 once in the fresh dirt, and iunuediately over the center 
 of the list made by the four furrows, with a Dow-Law 
 cotton-planter, using two bushels of seed per acre. 
 
Cotton. 23 
 
 The amount of compost applied tliia year was five 
 hundred pounds to the acre, being e<piivaieut to about six 
 bushels cottonseed, six bushels lot uiaimi'e, ninety pounds 
 acid phosphate and forty-five ^xjunds kainit to the acre. 
 The time of planting was from the 1st to the 12th of 
 May. ll will De perceived that my planting was a late 
 one, as it always is; and, as L regard this as an impor- 
 tant point in cotton culture, I will give my reasons for it 
 now. Cotton is a ])eeuliar j)lant. If it ever stops grow- 
 ing from any cause — frpm drouth or otherwise — it will 
 never take on any more fruit on the old stalk, but puts 
 out new twigs, upon which its new fruit must grow. 
 
 One of the peculiarities of our Southern climate is that 
 almost every year we ha\'e a (h'oiith <^f greater or less 
 duration in July, frequently accompanied with intense 
 heat and parching winds. Cotton planted early, say from 
 the r)th to the 20tli of April, has ]u-ogressed in growth 
 and fruitage by July to a point where the bottom crop, or 
 the bolls on the lower limbs, have begun to mature, and 
 therefore have gotten so large that the plant can not cast 
 them ofi^, but uiust retain and mature them. Just at this 
 time the drouth c(mies on, the ground parches up, the plant 
 begins to sufi^er and shed its fruit, for instinct teaches it 
 that it is fatal to its prospects for a full yield to stop 
 growing, and it will cast ofi^ all its fruit to avoid this 
 danger. First it sheds the upper or youngest fruit, then 
 the middle crop goes ; but, with a continuance of the 
 drouth, when it undertakes next to rid itself of the bot- 
 tom crop, it finds it too far advanced, and in despair the 
 plant stops growing and throws all its remainino; vitality 
 into a supreme effort to mature the bottom bolls. Then 
 
24: Southern Crops. 
 
 the droiilQ is broken, the August rains begin, the plant 
 begins to grow once more ; to put out new shoots which in 
 time become loaded with fruit, only to encourage the 
 farmer's hopes of a good crop to be certainly blighted by 
 a frost that never allows it to reach its full maturity, 
 and the farmer exclaims, '^Oh, if I had only been able to 
 plant a w^eek earlier 1 should have made a splendid crop,''* 
 when the truth is that if he had planted two weeks later 
 he would have largely avoided the injurious effects of 
 the drouth. Cotton planted in May is never sufficiently 
 advanced to be injured permanently by a July drouth. Its 
 growth is retarded, but not stopped. It throws off all its 
 superfluous fruit, but continues to grow slowly, and when 
 the August rains come it quickly becomes covered with 
 fruit and rewards the labor of the husbandman with 
 three full crops — bottom, middle, and top. 
 
 In this State (Georgia) there is no report of an extraor- 
 dinary production of cotton or any crop planted earlier 
 than May. Mr. Warthen, of Washington County, a county 
 adjoining the one from Avhich I write, who has made the 
 largest production from one acre of cotton ever reported, 
 to wit, five bales, planted his acre on May 13th, and I 
 am satisfied that early planting will never give a full 
 crop of cotton. 
 
 I have received a great many inquiries as to the best 
 plan for putting out compost. I have found that for ap- 
 plication in the drill, the quickest and most satisfactory 
 was to get negro boys, furnish them with half -bush el 
 baskets made from white-oak splints, make them take the 
 manure directly from the wagon, keeping it just ahead 
 of them all the time, and scattering it evenly in the drill. 
 
Cotton. 25 
 
 They require instruction at first, but learn very readily, 
 and six boys, costing for labor thirty cents each day, will 
 distribute the manure in drills as rapidly as two wagons, 
 hauling a quarter or half a mile from the heap to the field, 
 will bring the material. For broadcasting I find nothing 
 equal to the Kemp Manure-Spreader. It also has a drill- 
 ing attachment, but it drills only two rows at a time, 
 and can not be used where the rows are more than four 
 feet wide, and for drill application I prefer the boys, as 
 above stated. 
 
 As soon as convenient after the cotton was planted, 
 the bed was completed by breaking out the middle with a 
 straight shovel, leaving the cotton on a broad, flat bed, 
 with a water furrow in the middle. When the cotton 
 came up and the third leaf began to show, a small sweep 
 sixteen inches wide was run close up to it on each side, 
 and it was chopped out two stalks to the hill, a hoe's 
 width or eight inches apart. After standing this way for 
 several days, a larger sweep (twenty inches) was run 
 round with one wing slightly turned so as to throw a little 
 dirt to the cotton, and the hoes came round again, cutting 
 out every other hill, and putting the crop to a stand, or 
 one stalk to the hill, sixteen inches apart. 
 
 From this time nothing was used except the sweep, 
 running over the crop as often as any tendency to form 
 a crust on top showed itself, and plowing as shallow as 
 possible. Just before laying by, the hoes were sent over 
 once more to destroy any bunches of grass that might 
 thicken a crop of seed to give trouble to next season's 
 farming. The yield from the crop, manured and culti- 
 
26 Southern Ceops. 
 
 vated as stated, was twelve bales of cotton, averaging four 
 hundred and seventy pounds. 
 
 The FormuLxV For The CoMrosT. 
 
 Take thirty bushels well-rotted .stable manure or well- 
 rotted organic matter, as leaves, muck, etc., and scatter it 
 about three inches thick upon a piece of ground so situated 
 that water will not stand on it but shed off in every direc- 
 tion. The thirty bushels will weigh about nine hundred 
 pounds ; take two hundred pounds of good acid phosphate, 
 which cost me $22.50 per ton, delivered, making the two 
 hundred pounds cost -$2.25, and one hundred pounds 
 kainit, which cost me by the ton $14, delivered, or seventy 
 cents for one hundred jiounds, and mix the acid phos- 
 phate and kainit thoroughly, then scatter evenly on the 
 manure. Take next thirty bushels green cottonseed and 
 distribute evenly over the pile, and wet them thoroughly ; 
 they will weigh nine hundred pounds; take again two hun- 
 dred pounds acid phosphate and one hundred pounds kai- 
 nit, mix and spread over the seed, begin on the manure and 
 keep on in this way, building up your heap layer by layer 
 until you get it as high as convenient, then cover with 
 six inches of rich earth from fence-corner, and leave at 
 least six weeks ; when ready in haul to the field cut with a 
 spade or pickaxe square down and mix as thoroughly as 
 ]>ossible. Xow, we have thirty bushels of manure, weigh- 
 ing nine hundred pounds, and^^hree hundred pounds 
 chemicals in the first layer, and thirtv bushels cottonseed, 
 weighing nine hundred pounds, and three hundred pounds 
 of chemicals in the second layer, and these two layers 
 combined for the perfect compost. You perceive that 
 
Cotton. 27 
 
 the weight is two thousand four hundred pounds; value 
 at cost is : 
 
 30 bushels cottonseed, 12 i/>c $3.75 
 
 400 pounds acid 2)hosphate 4.50 
 
 200 pounds kainit •. 1.40 
 
 Stable manure nouiinai 
 
 Total $9.65 
 
 Or, for two thousand foui" hundi'cd pounds, a total value 
 of $9.65. This mixture makes practically a perfect ma- 
 nure for cotton and a s])h'ndid application for corn. 
 
 CROP OF 1882. 
 
 The experiment made this jv-dv by Mr. Furman as set 
 forth in the following pages, was one that required nerve 
 and skill. The cotton did not come up for over two weeks 
 after planting, and had very little rain from the beginning. 
 It stood the July <lrouth splendidly, and when 1 saw it 
 in August it was the finest six acres of cotton I ever srw. 
 It was the universal opinion of good judges that the yield 
 would be at least eighteen bales. The drought continued 
 through August. The caterpillars also visited it. Only the 
 bottom crop matured, and yet the yield was one bale to 
 an acre. The yield on the 65 acres was about one bale to 
 the acre, the cotton in the drill producing about the same, 
 though it had only 4,000 pounds compost to the acre. 
 The cotton in the drill was planted earlier than the cot- 
 ton in the check. Mr. Furman was absent from home 
 much of the time and he thought the cotton in the drill 
 
'28 Southern Crops. 
 
 was very much injured by the cultivation. There can be 
 no question that with ordinary seasons he would have 
 made one hundred bales of cotton on the 65 acres. I am 
 fortihed in this view by the opinions of many good farmers 
 who saw the crop at various stages of its growth, Mr. 
 John Cobb, of Americus, Ga., a model farmer and a man 
 of sound judgment, said in my presence during the ses- 
 sion of the State Agricultural Society, that he thought 
 the crop was good for 100 bales or more. Mr. Cobb had 
 just seen the crop. 
 
 Captain T. F. ^Newell of Milledgeville, a large and suc- 
 cessful planter, said he never saw six acres of such cotton ; 
 that it was the perfection of the cotton plant. Duncan's 
 Mammoth Prolific seed were used on the six acres. He 
 commenced planting on the 23rd of April and finished 
 planting about the middle of May. 
 
 COTTGlSr IN THE CHECK. 
 
 BY FARISH FURMAN. 
 
 Cotton is a sun-plant and needs room for its roots; 
 when cramped to 12 or 15 inches it can not attain its per- 
 fect growth. 
 
 My aim is to put the plants in four-foot squares and 
 average 75 to 100 bolls to the plant. This will give me 
 a pound of seed cotton to the plant, or 3 bales to the acre. 
 How This is Bone. 
 
 The land (6), six acres, was first broken with a two- 
 horse Syracuse plow — the land so broken as to turn it 
 
 Foot NOTK.-This system will not do on poor land, and Mr. Furman did not advise 
 It except on sood laud or on land brought up aa his was, after four years fertilizing and 
 cultivation.— En. 
 
Cotton. "2\) 
 
 on edge, not turn it over from the bottom — then broad- 
 cast with six thousand (6,000) pounds of compost, and 
 this turned in with a turn shovel, then harrowed with a 
 big Thomas smoothing harrow, then laid off 4x4 with an 
 S-inch straight shovel and drilled one way with ''Buffalo 
 Bone Guano/' or ''Furman's Formula, ammoniated," 
 1,500 pounds to the acre. Listed on that, that is covered 
 by running furrow on eacli side with a scooter plow ; then 
 checked off by running a straight shovel across the fur- 
 rows, four feet between the furrows, just marking the 
 place to plant the seed at the intersection of the furrows 
 four feet apart each way. List then opened by driving 
 or "socking in" a two-inch bull tongue as deep as it could 
 go, so as to thoroughly mix the soil and the fertilizer, and 
 at the same time forming a fine bed for the rootlets. The 
 seed ten to fifteen (10 to 15) to the chock, then dropped 
 where the furrows meet, and lightly covered by raking 
 a little earth on with the hoe and pressed on with the foot 
 or flat side of the hoe. Soon after planting run a 12-inch 
 straight shovel through the middle both ivays. As soon as 
 the cotton gets up enough to show the best stalks, thin to 
 one or two stalks to the check hy hand. When the cotton 
 gets up pretty well, and the grass begins to come, use a 20 
 to 22-inch Dickson sweep. About the usual time for 
 plowing, run au R-inch straight shovel nt right angles 
 across the furrows made by the sweep, then apply 250 
 pounds "Buffalo Bone Guano," or "Furmnn's Formula, 
 ammoniated," dropped on both sides of the phmls \\\ this 
 furrow, iheu follow this at once with two furrows between 
 the rows w^here the fertilizer is applied with 20 or 22- 
 ineh Dickson sweep, splitting the middles between the 
 
32 SOUTHEKJM OkOPS. 
 
 ton until the 5tli of May. I put in 300 pounds of high- 
 grade fertilizer at planting time. On July 5th I bought 
 15 tons of best fertilizer 1 could get and 5 tons of nitrate 
 of soda. Mixed the nitrate of soda thoroughly with the 
 fertilizer and put hands strewing it along the middle of 
 the cotton rows scattering it as much as they could. These 
 men were followed by plows with large scrapes stirring 
 and mixing it in the soil. I did not complete this 100 
 acres until July 25th. As you see this gave it an appli- 
 cation of 400 pounds per acre. Then, this cotton was not 
 laid by until the 6th day of September, and you see how^ 
 green and well fruited it is. Come down here and I will 
 show you a couple of acres left without this second appli- 
 cation and you can see for yourself the result. It will 
 only make half the amount of the other. As best I can 
 figure it, this second application of fertilizer cost me 
 $5.00 per acre and will yield me a net profit of twenty dol- 
 lars per acre. This land we are now on was cleared in 
 1790. It was worn out when I bought it 7 years ago. 
 Of course I have put stable manure on it to help bring 
 it up to its present state of fertility. It cost me $35 per 
 acre and I'll clear enough on this crop on the 100' acres 
 to pay all cost of cultivation and the original cost of tlie 
 land." 
 
 After looking at this magnificent cotton with stalks six 
 feet high, loaded down with bolk, many of them con- 
 taining over 300 bolls per stalk, Mr. Fowler showed us 
 cotton planted after grain — planted on the 10th day of 
 June — that will easily make a bale per aero. The thing 
 that struck us most forcibly was how this giving his cotton 
 ample food made it grow bolls in clusters. This was 
 
Cotton. * 33 
 
 planted in the large-boiled variety, but the very limbs, put 
 out what we call 'Svater sprouts" that would bear from 
 ten to twelve bolls on that many inches of gi-owth as you 
 will see by a '^cut" given of one of them in this issue. 
 Wlicn you give all the food a plant can use, it is simply 
 wonderful the amount of fruit it will put on, and it will 
 hold it too, if the food supply does not .give out, and the 
 cultivation is not stopped. We can not impress these two 
 points as illustrated by Mr. Fowler's experience too 
 strongly. Any one can grow cotton as well as Mr. Fowler 
 who will follow his plan to the letter. It requires grit 
 and nerve to put out the manure and the work necessary 
 but the return follows as certainly as ^'night the day." 
 
 Many will say, but Mr. Fowler has plenty of money, 
 well, so he has, he made it, and he knows how to make 
 more. If you can not carry out his method on 100 acres 
 it will pay just as well — proportionately — carried out on 
 one acre and carrying it out on one acre Avill enable you 
 to increase your area from year to year. This is whnt 
 we want — progress, by using the best methods and exten(b 
 ing our operations as our means are increased. 
 
 There are some who dou])t tlie profit in a second appli- 
 cation of fertilizer, there are many who (loul)t tlio advisa- 
 bility of cultivating cotton until it begins to o])en, luit Mr. 
 Fowler's experience should settle these (]nestions forevei- ; 
 if not it should induce you to give both a fair trial. 
 
 You all know this suininer was a severe one ou cot Ion, 
 yet his never stopped growing or putting on its fruit. 
 If you will plow shallow you will never injure your eoltou, 
 but lielp it. In a real dry season use a dust-board oi' 
 piece of scantling instead of scrape^, but (M.ntinne to ])l(»w 
 3 
 
to 
 
 t32 SOUTHEKN Cfiors. 
 
 ton until the 5tli of May. I put in 300 pounds of high- 
 grade fertilizer at planting time. On July 5th I bought 
 15 tons of best fertilizer 1 could get and 5 tons of nitrate 
 of soda. Mixed the nitrate of soda thoroughly with the 
 fertilizer and put hands strewing it along the middle of 
 the cotton rows scattering it as much as they could. These 
 men were followed by plows with large scrapes stirring 
 and mixing it in the soil. I did not complete this 100 
 acres until July 25th. As you see this gave it an appli- 
 cation of 400 pounds per acre. Then, this cotton was not 
 laid by until the 6th day of September, and you see how 
 green and well fruited it is. Come down here and I will 
 show you a couple of acres left without this second appli- 
 cation and you can see for yourself the result. It will 
 only make half the amount of the other. As best I can 
 figure it, this second application of fertilizer cost me 
 $5.00 per acre and will yield me a net profit of twenty dol- 
 lars per acre. This land we are now on was cleared in 
 1790. It was worn out when I bought it 7 years ago. 
 Of course I have put stable manure on it to help bring 
 it up to its present state of fertility. It cost me $35 per 
 acre and I'll clear enough on this crop on the 100' acres 
 to pay all cost of cultivation and the original cost of the 
 land." 
 
 After looking at this magnificent cotton with stalks six 
 feet high, loaded down withxbolls, many of them con- 
 taining over 300 bolls per stalk, Mr. Fowler showed us 
 cotton planted after grain — planted on the IjOth day of 
 June — that will easily make a bale per acre. The thing 
 tliat struck us most forcibly was how this giving his cotton 
 ample food made it grow bolls in clusters. This was 
 
Cotton. • 33 
 
 planted in the large-boiled variety, but the very limbs ^put 
 out what we call 'Svater sprouts" that would bear from 
 ten to twelve bolls on that many inches of growth as you 
 will see by a ^^cut" given of one of them in this issue. 
 When you give all the food a plant can use, it is simply 
 wonderful the amount of fruit it will put on, and it will 
 hold it too, if the food supply does not .give out, and the 
 cultivation is not stopped. We can not impress these two 
 points as illustrated by Mr. Fowler's experience too 
 strongly. Any one can grow cotton as well as Mr. Fowler 
 who will follow his plan to the letter. It requires grit 
 and nerve to put out the manure and the work necessary 
 but the return follows as certainly as ^'niglit the day." 
 
 Many will say, but .Mr. Fowler has plenty of money, 
 well, so he has, he made it, and he knows how to make 
 more. If you can not carry out his method on 100 acres 
 it will pay just as well — proportionately — carried out on 
 one acre and carrvinsr it out on one acre will enable you 
 to increase your area from year to year. This is what 
 we want — progress, by using the best methods and extend- 
 ing our operations as our means are increased. 
 
 There are some who doubt the profit in a second aj^pli- 
 cation of fertilizer, there are many who doubt the advisa- 
 bility of cultivating cotton until it begins to o])en, but Mr. 
 Fowler's experience should settle these <|nestion.s forevei' ; 
 IF not it shonkl induce you to give both a fair trial. 
 
 You all know this summer was a sevei'e one on cotton, 
 yet his never stopped growing or ])ntting on its fi'nit. 
 If yon will pb)w shallow you Avill never injure yonr col Ion, 
 but help it. In a real dry season use a dust-board oi* 
 piece of scantling instead of scrape, but continue to ])low 
 
PC 
 
 o 
 
 I 
 
 P5 
 
 
 C 
 
 c 
 O 
 
36 Southern Ckops. 
 
 a,« long as tlu^ growing season. Mr. Fowler showed us 
 limbs around which he tied strings at last bloom, on Sep- 
 tember 15th and some had as many as three additional 
 grown bolls on them th(^ day we were there. 
 
 THE LARGEST AUTHENTIC YIELD OF COTTOiS[. 
 
 BY T. C. WARTHEN. 
 
 According to promise, I hereby append a brief and cor- 
 rect account of the preparing, manuring and cultivation 
 of my acre of cotton grown this season : 
 
 The soil is sandy with clay sub-soil. Has been in cul- 
 tivation 60 or 80 years I suppose. About half of the 
 acre was an ol<1 dunghill, the other half very poor before 
 manuring. The gnano I used was KettlewelPs A. A., or 
 PliospiiJito Peruvian, 1,400 pounds; raw pine straw from 
 tlie woods, GO ox-cart loads; green cottonseed, 60 bushels; 
 stable manure, well rotted, 400 bushels. 
 
 Th(! pine straw, cottonseed and stable manure I hauled 
 ont in January and strewed broadcast over the land, 
 then turned under with a two-horse plow, breaking eight 
 inches deep. Then witli a ^^16" scooter run in the two- 
 liorse furrow^, breaking from five to seven inches; in the 
 whole thirteen to fifteen inches deep. T then followed in 
 the scooter-furrow with the guano, or subsoil furrow, so 
 on, till completed. ]n Febrnarj, I repeated the breaking 
 in the same manner, leaving off manuring. In March, 
 lli(^ same again, breaking each time cross-wisQ, oi- in oj> 
 posite directions. In April, 1 harrowed the land twice, 
 to level the soil and destroy the young vegetation. Then 
 I checked off my rows three feet each way, witli a small 
 
Cotton. 37 
 
 bull-tongue plow, and on the 13tli day of May, I planted 
 my cottonseed in the hill, six or eight seed, dropped by 
 hand and covered with the foot. The seed when covered 
 being on a level. The seed were the ^'Cluster Cotton" va- 
 riety, I purchased them from David Dickson, Esq., Oxford 
 Station, Ga., to whom I must confess 1 am indebted for 
 my success to a certain extent. The seed, I am confident, 
 were half the battle. 
 
 The cotton was thinned to one stalk to the hill in Tunc, 
 with the exception of outside rows, in which T left tAvo 
 stalks. Then I plowed with 22-inch sweep, ^^Dickson's" 
 very shallow, one furrow to the row, just scraping the 
 earth enough to destroy the young weeds and grass; did 
 not use a hoe on it, in order to avoid skinning the cot- 
 ton ; in fact, had no use for any, as the cotton grew so 
 fast the shade thereof prevented all vegetation from grow- 
 ing underneath. 
 
 The land embraced one and one-fourth acres, and the 
 yield of seed cotton was 6,891 pounds; of lint, 2,332 
 pounds.* 
 
 now TO MAKE I^HREE BALES OF COTTON 
 UPOlSr A¥ ACRE. 
 
 Editor South krn Cttltjvator: 
 
 In an editorial on the first page ^)f your July number 
 on "Southern Georgia," you state a Mr. Somebody raised 
 24 bales of cotton on eight acres. What T ask for is the 
 
 * Note— This yield was made by Mr T. C. Wartben in competing for a prize offered by 
 the Georgia State Agricultural Society in 1873, 
 
38 SoUTilEKJN Ckoi'.s. 
 
 details. (1) What kin<l of land did he use? (2) How 
 did ho prepare it, and did ho falhhreak it? (3) When 
 did he ph^nt and what kind of seed did he use? (4) How 
 much fertilizer was used? Please give the formula. (5) 
 Give us the mode of cultivation, and how often, and state 
 about the seasons. 
 
 If you will give the information asked for and such 
 'other facts as mav be had it will make mighty good read- 
 ing in the Cultivator for your patrons. I could hardly 
 be called a novice in matters of this kind, for the reason 
 that for several years I have been a reader of the Culti- 
 vator, and am reading several good farm papers with most 
 all the bulletins of the State and United States. 
 
 This is not doubted, but a more lengthy report will be 
 very helpful to your many readers in my opinion. We 
 use some fertilizer here. I sell it myself, but we are be- 
 ginners. We have some trouble in putting out fertilizer 
 on deep, sandy land. Tt seems to sink with the heavy 
 rains. What is your practice in Georgia, and what is 
 your advice in the matter? We are rained out over here 
 in Arkansas. It rains incessantly, and is raining now. 
 We haven't had more than two or three days to the week 
 to plow this whole season. We were kept out two weeks 
 at one time, commencing June 21st and running up into 
 July. We have mud and grass to spare. 
 
 Yours respectfully, B. F. S. 
 
 Prescott, Ark. 
 
 In response to the above letter, we will describe the 
 conditions under which this large yield was made in two 
 different places, and endeavor to make the steps plain 
 
OOT'J'ON. • 39 
 
 enoiigli so any one who dei>ires can do likewise. We look 
 the trouble to go and see both parties and in the latter 
 instance to put our foot upon the soil that so far as we 
 know holds the record in cotton production. The facts 
 in the case referred to in South Georgia are these. The 
 cotton was raised on the land of Mr. D. P. Cugie of Ogle- 
 tliorpe, Ga. ; it was cultivated by Mr. R. ^\ Allen, and we 
 liave the facts from him. The piece contained nine acres 
 instead of eight acres as we were informed. Mr. Cugle 
 has a good many cattle, and penned them on this land at 
 night, and their droppings constituted the principal ma- 
 nure used, only 150 pounds of guano being put in the drill 
 when the cotton wds planted. The land was broken deeply 
 and the cotton planted in four-foot rows, and was chopped 
 and cultivated with scooter and scrape in the ordinary 
 way. It was plowed rapidly and soon grew up to where 
 it did not need any more work. The niue acres yielded 
 twenty-one bales, averaging 512 pounds each. 
 
 Withiu the city limits of Griffin, Ga., in Spalding 
 County, Mr. H. A. Burr has six acres that yielded eighteen 
 bales in 1904. It Avas cultivated on halves by Mr. H. C. 
 T\odgers. We went out to view this land, which is in 
 rotton this year, but owing to the hot wave which simply 
 cooked the forms upon it, the squares and yonng bolls 
 still hanging upon the stalks by hundreds, the yield will not 
 be more than a bale and a half to the acre. The stalks 
 were fine, six feet high, but the top three feet had no fruit 
 upon it. This land is fresh, the top soil is sandy, pebble 
 soil, wdth stiff, red clay subsoil, the ideal land for cotton. 
 This land was broadcasted with stable manure in the fall 
 and broken deep, with a two-horse plow. In the spring 
 
dO SoUTilERJN (hfOPS. 
 
 the rows were laid off four feet apart, and six hundred 
 pounds of "Day Break," a highly ammoniated guano, was 
 nsed in the drill. The cotton was planted abont the mid- 
 dle of April, of the "Big Boll" variety. When the cotton 
 came up it was sided and chopped in the ordinary way. Tt 
 was plowed every ten days with scooter and scrape. The 
 cotton A\'as lefl one stalk to abont every eighteen or twenty 
 inches. 
 
 We are convinced that to get tlie ninxiniuui yield you 
 must have it thick; the land must be wholly occupied 
 with cotton. We have seen several parties this year try- 
 ing seven or eight-foot rows. This is too wide. We are 
 confident four feet is best, both for corn and cotton. ^Now 
 three things stand out very clear to our minds in these 
 two instances; and they stand at the very foundation of 
 all successful farming. First, the lands ivere hrohen deep; 
 second, they ivere well manured and largely ivith cow and 
 li07'se mariure. AVe can never do the best farming without 
 more cattle to make more manure. Thirdly, they culti- 
 vated rapidly. Only rapid, shallow cultivation can give 
 us the maximum yield. This is the way to make money 
 raising cotton; and whenever you bring one or more acres* 
 up to this yield you have done a genuine service, — first 
 to yourself, for you will never be quite so contented witli 
 a low one; and second, to yotn' pocket, which will feel 
 the difference in the fall; third, to 3)'our family and com- 
 munity in setting them a good example ever to follow, and 
 fourth, to posterity, for to them you will leave some acres 
 more fertile than you found them, and upon which they. 
 
CoTTOW. 1 I 
 
 ill liiriij can receive a just return for all their labor ex- 
 pended upon such lands. 
 October, 1906. 
 
 A VISIT TO MK. FOWLEK'S PLA^ttaTION. 
 
 FROM THE DAILY MAIL. 
 
 One of the finest farms in Anderson County is that of 
 Mr. J. S. Fowler, and that, of course, means that Mr. 
 Fowler is one of the best farmers in the county. A rep- 
 resentative of ''The Daily Mail" spent one afternoon not 
 long ago riding over Mr. Fowder's big farm in company 
 with the proprietor, and some account of the trip and of 
 the information gathered, may be of interest to the farmer 
 readers of the paper and to the public^generally. 
 
 Mr. ]"^wler's specialty is cotton. He raises a great deal 
 of corn and forage, but cotton is his main crop. He is an 
 expert, but he is making experiments every year, and he 
 is constantly improving. ^^Cotton-growing is just in its 
 infancy,'^ said he, ^'The farmers of the South are just 
 learning how to grow it. Progressive men are now^ grow- 
 ing as much on one acre as they grew on five acres ten 
 years ago, and believe we have just commenced. There 
 is no telling how much a man can raise, by intelligent 
 farming." 
 
 Mr. Fowler has one field of two hundred acres Avhich, 
 conservative men say, will make 200 bales. Some parts 
 of it will make two bales to the acre, and some may make 
 three. All of it is fine cotton. Different parts of the 
 field were planted at different times, under different con- 
 ditions, and of different varieties of- seed, and Mr. Fow- 
 ler is watching all the experiments in an intelligent man- 
 
IL' Sotri'ii Kiv'X ( 'k-oi's. 
 
 iier. lie is able lo puiiit out in a remarkably intelligent 
 manner the relations between cause and effect. It is most 
 interesting to hear him talk. 
 
 ''I have learned two things about raising cotton," said 
 Air. Jj'owler, ''in the first place, deep plowing is the main 
 thing, and in the second place, fertilizers should be placed 
 on the ground broadcast, instead of in the drill. A mod- 
 erate amount of fertilizers placed broadcast on the ground 
 just before planting, followed by top dressings from time 
 to 'time while the crop is growing, is worth ten times as 
 much [IS the same amonnt of fertilizers placed in a bed un- 
 der the seed in the old-fashioned way. 
 
 'The theory of deep plowing is that it loosens the land. 
 The mellow laud will shod water in a rainy year, and it 
 will liold moistnre in a dry year. It will absorb the fer- 
 tilizing properties in the water and in the air better. And 
 deep plowing before planting makes the crop so much eas- 
 ier to cultivate. A man can work more land to the plow. 
 
 "And as to fertilizing. The fertilizer, whatever is 
 used, should be sown broadcast just l)eforo ]danliiig and 
 harrowed in lightly, and the cotton planted on a level. 
 r)irt should be Avorked to the cotton stalk, instead of away 
 from it. The cotton- stalk puts ont shoots or feeders, all 
 during the growing season. Where yon put all the fer- 
 tilizer under the seed, and then work the dirt away from 
 the stalk, these shoots or feeders are starved out. Only 
 a small proportion of the fertiliz(^R_gets to the stalk through 
 the main tap-root. On the other hand if you broadcast 
 the fertilizer you will work- it to the stalk all through the 
 growing season, as the stalk needs it, and you get the most 
 benefit. Then you can follow with additional fertilizer, 
 
1 
 
 while the crop is growing, and according to the seasons and 
 the needs of the plant. 
 
 '*Orie of my neighbors has a poor cotton crop, yet his 
 land is of the same equality as mine and he used as mnch 
 fertilizer as I did. The tronble is that he buried all his 
 fertilizer in a deep furrow, before planting, and the cot- 
 ton has not been able to get to it." 
 
 Mr. Fowler is a great beli(^ver in applying fertilizers 
 after planting, and while the crop is growing. He has 
 made a nund) "r of experiments, but his favoj^te fertilizer 
 for top dressing is a mixture of about equal parts of 
 jicid, cottonsei'd-mcal and nitrate of soda. The results 
 of such an application can be seen on a cotton crop within 
 a day's time, he says. Last year he applied a dressing 
 of this mixture on about half of one of his fine fields of 
 cotton. There; was a marvellous difference in the yichl 
 of that part of the field which received the fertilizing, 
 and that which had not. Mr. Fowler was satisfied , with 
 that, but this year, he says, there is just as great a differ- 
 ence in the field as there was last year. The fertilizer 
 applied to the growling cotton last July, is showing up on 
 this year's crop even better than it did on last year's crop. 
 
 Mr. Fowler's cotton crop of two years ago was ad- 
 mired by all who saw it, and was pronounced to be the. 
 finest cotton crop ever seen in this part of the State. The 
 greater part of this year's crop is even finer than that of 
 two years ago, in spite of the excessive rains and unfavor- 
 able conditions. 
 
 l\fr. Fowler has bought up a large plantation by buy- 
 ing land from time to time. Some of the land, when he 
 bought it, was w^orn out and was just about as poor land 
 
44 Southern Ckops. % ' 
 
 as was to be found in Anderson County. Witliin a few 
 years he has brought it up to a wonderfully high state of 
 cultivation. He was asked as to the cost of building up 
 and if the value of the crop was ever exceeded by the 
 fertilizing and work of a single year. '^ISlo, indeed," 
 was the reply. ^^The fertilizing will pay for itself every 
 year, many times over, if properly applied and if the land 
 is properly worked — that is, if intelligence is used. The 
 secret of buil<ling up land is to keep it shaded during the 
 summer, and to plow deep. The vegetation of a rank 
 cotton crop goes back into the soil, and is a splendid fer- 
 tilizer in itself. The rank cotton weed shades the land in 
 summer, and when the stalks, leaves and bolls are turned 
 under in the fall or spring it keeps the soil porous so that 
 ir readily assimilates manures and is easily cultivated. 
 Once you get the land to growing a crop that will shade it 
 in summer it will take care of itself. The rest will bo 
 easy." 
 
 Mr. Fowler has about 150 acres in corn this year, most 
 of it on creek and branch bottoms. He counted on making 
 8,000 or 9,000 bushels, but the heavy rains this year 
 washed his crop away, and he will not make more than 
 half the corn that he counted on. The upland corn is, 
 as a rule, better than that in the bottoms, which Avere re- 
 peatedly overflowed. But he will make tons 'and tons of 
 forage, enough to run. the plantation, and he has hay in 
 barns that is two years old. "-- ^ 
 
 Mr. Fowler does not go very heavily on oats or wheat. 
 He says he can make more money with the same land in 
 other crops. "One great trouble with wheat and oats," 
 he said, "is that harvest time comes on just as all the 
 
Cotton. 45 
 
 work possible is needed on the cotton and corn. A man 
 who has a great deal of cotton and a great deal of grain 
 is bound to neglect one or the other, and I had rather take 
 chances with the cotton." 
 
 Mr. Fowler has a pasture that ought to be seen by every 
 large land-owner in the country. He has 45 acres, w^ell 
 sodded in Bermuda grass, and it is as near perfection 
 as can be. He has demonstrated that Bermuda grass 
 can be successfully grown in this section, a fact w^hich 
 many people have doubted. .Vbout 20 acres of the pasture 
 is shaded, with scrub oaks and like growth, and yet the 
 grass is growing as luxuriantly in the shade as in the open 
 sun. All the horses and mules, cows, goats, sheep, etc., 
 of the plantation have the run of the pasture, and all are 
 in prime condition. Mr. Fowler says his pasture is the 
 most valuable land that he has, and this is easily believed 
 ])y those who have seen it. The pasture was sodded four 
 years ago, and with occasional plowings it will need no 
 more attention for years to come and will provide an 
 abundant grazing for many head of cattle for the greater 
 part of each j-ear. 
 
 And with all his success with cotton and corn, Mr. Fow- 
 ler says Anderson County should be a stock-raising sec- 
 tion. ^'We can do better with stock here than anything 
 else,'^ he said. "There is enough idle land in this county 
 to grow all the beef that South Carolina uses every year. 
 We can have just as fine grasses as can be found in any 
 of the stock-raising sections of the country, and we can 
 grow horses, mules or any cattle here just as cheaply and 
 as successfully as anywhere. All that we have to do is to 
 do it. Once get a Bermuda grass pasture started and it 
 
40 SOUTIEEEN CkOI'S. 
 
 is easil}' done, the cattle will take care of themselves, and 
 furnish free of cost manure to hiiild up the worn-ont farms. 
 When our people wake up to their possibilities there will 
 l)e a long ways greater development than we have seen in 
 the past few years. And this is coming before a great 
 while — ^I am sure of that.'' 
 
 A visit to My. Fowler's big farm is most interesting, 
 and instructive as well. One can learn a great deal in a 
 few years. Mr. Fowler knows a great deal about farming, 
 and is still trying to learn more. Hv experiments every 
 year, and puts the results of his experiments into practice, 
 for his own good and for the benefit of all who want t(^ 
 visit him and see what he has done. It will be well worth 
 anybody's while to visit his farm, and he will always take 
 jtleasure in showing visitors over the place. 
 
 C'o.MMKXT BY THE EoiTOR OV TIIESoUTnERX (,'*ULTIVAT01{ .' 
 
 We have seen Mr. J. S. Fowler's farm and know it to 
 Ix- fine, and that all contained in this article is true. Air. 
 Fowler, like all who have set themselves to understand 
 the laws of nature and to apply this knowledge to their 
 farm operations is making a splendid success of farming. 
 He is correct in his views of having cott(^n large enough to 
 shade (he land in summer; and we will also profit equally 
 when we begin to <how something to cover the land in win- 
 ter. We ai-e learning ami liave>i;mch yet to learn. South 
 ('ai-olina ha- sonii' \'ery line fai-mer;^, a.nd Mr. Fowler is 
 anionii' (his nnndx'i'. 
 
Cotton. 47 
 
 "THE WAV TO PREPARE YOVM COTTOA' FOP 
 MARKET.'' 
 
 We have lieard onr leaders and ablest speakers upon 
 tliis important subject; but it remained, for our Congress- 
 man, Hon. Lon Livingston, from I^ewton County, Georgia, 
 to give us the clearest and most concise presentation of this 
 vital subject in an address to the Farmers' Institute, held 
 in Covington, Ga. lie said in substance: 
 
 1. Gather it right. It is ruinous policy to rush our 
 cotton from the field to the gin. We lose from % to % 
 cent in grade ; then twenty bales gathered and packed down 
 in a cotton house would yield 21 bales in lint, by the lint 
 growing longer and the oil coming out of the seed into the 
 fiber. He illustrated this by the fact that a person's hair 
 grows after they are dead. He estimates we lose at 
 least $2.50 per bale in this hurrying our cotton to the gin. 
 As niir mills weave finer and fiuei' fal)rics, they want, and 
 will pay for a better grade of cotton. This point can not 
 be stressed too much. Do not rush your cotton either to 
 the gin or upon the market, delay both as long as you are 
 in position to do so. 
 
 2. See that it is put in a neat package by the ginner, 
 and keep it out of the weather. Xo farmer should receive 
 a bale from his ginner that is not ])oth neatly and securely 
 ] Kicked. We lose from 75 cents to $1.00 per bale here. 
 
 o. Ascerlaiu jusi as nearly as you can what the spin- 
 ners of the world will consume, and also wliat Avill be oiii- 
 ])robable yield. The law of supply and demand ought 
 to fix the price and would do so, if so many interventions 
 and go-betweens were not brought into ])lay, to prevent 
 
48 * SouTiiKKN Ckops. 
 
 its doing so. Do not trust this lo othors, l)ut read your 
 papers and learn for yourself. 
 
 4. Sell your cotton. as it is consumed — not all in three 
 months, but in twelve. TsTo middleman or millman is go- 
 ing to carry thin cotton for us, without insurance, storage, 
 interest upon their money and then a profit. We can do 
 it more cheaply than we can hire them to do it for us. 
 This costs us about $4.00 per bale. 
 
 5. Xever sell one bale or ten bales. Through your 
 clubs sell in 25, 50, 100 and 1,000 bale lots. Cotton 
 sold in this way always commands from \\ to % cent 
 more. It is just as improvidon! to sell by the bale as it 
 Avould be to buy sugar by the 10 cents worth. 
 
 6. I^ever be in a hurry to sell, when everybody (dsc is 
 selling; it is a good time to hold. When every one is hold- 
 ing, you can use judgment in selling, because there will 
 be a better demand. 
 
 7. Cut down your area half and produce twice the 
 amount per ac7'e. This makes it cost you much less to 
 produce it. 
 
 ft. G(^t better seed, as this also reduces IIk^ cost. 
 
 9. The baidxcrs and Inisiness men calculate to a 'Snill" 
 llicii- iiH'onic aiul oii(-go. Tf w(^ will guard all these leaks, 
 we can save at least $10.00 on every bale of cotton we 
 row. Sec what it will mean to the comfort and wealth 
 (►f the producers. \\'c waul to add l^fo. 10. We have seen 
 ihoiisands of aci-cs of c(tt(on in our Soutldand thai is as 
 fine as we ev(M- saw, and Ihousands the poorest. Why this 
 latter condilion? Tlie hick of work. They will say too 
 much rain, bnt we s;iy loo little work. Do not plant so 
 
 11 
 
Cotton. 49 
 
 iiinoli. Do not ]ilan1, more than yon can cnltivalo well. 
 ''J'is not a lack of ]al)or we are suffering from, it is over- 
 acreage in cotton and cultivated crops. Sow in grain, put 
 in grass. 
 
 The proper study of these ten questions will go far to- 
 wards settling "the making of our cotton crop." We be- 
 lieve in our Cotton Association and our Farmers' Union. 
 They are necessary, but do your own work and your own 
 thinking, do not turn these over to any one to be done for 
 you; theji act in concert. 
 
 The success of an army depends upon its soldiers, as 
 well as upon the general ; and the success of our organized 
 cotton movement must depend upon^the individual, his 
 intelligence and his work. Now let us tabulate just what 
 tjie individual can add to the value of his cotton or save to 
 liimself in marketing it. These figures are conservative 
 and show that we have it clearly within our poAver to in- 
 crease the value of our cotton to us $10.00 per bale. The 
 merchant figures to a cent, the banker to a mill, while 
 we by our. carelessness lose or thro^v away dollars. Here 
 we give you our figures : 
 
 1. One bale of cotton out of twenty from hurrying 
 
 to gin .5 per cent $2.50 
 
 2. One fourth of a cent per ])ound in damage to 
 
 staple 1.25 
 
 3. Selling by the bale instead of in 100 bale lots one 
 
 fourth per cent 1.25 
 
 4. Loss from improper baling and not covering 75 
 
 5. To insurance on stored cotton 6 months 10 cents 
 
 per hale . . , . 60 
 
 4 
 
50 SOTITHERN (IrOT'S, 
 
 6. Warehouse storage H uioiillis at 250. \)v.\' month. . 1.50 
 
 7. Interest on $50 per bale nioiitlis at 8 per cent. . . 2.00 
 
 $9.85 
 Or in round numbers, our cotton is subjected to a tax 
 of ten dollars per bale ere it reaches the spinner. Any 
 thinking man can see that our cotton has been subjected 
 to this legitimate tax by our carelessness and our middle- 
 men, to say nothing of the slice taken by the speculator. 
 If we will study the question and take advantage of those 
 suggestions we can save this money to our own pockets, 
 and if we can not save it all at once we should begin to 
 work at once to save all we can and continue alonir this 
 line of work until we could save it all. We are robbirig 
 no one to get our dues, but we will certainly continue to 
 lose until we change and improve our methods. 
 
CORN 
 
 No other argument for corn culture has such convincing 
 force as the spectacle of a successful corn grower's heavy 
 yield. Or if there is another argument as strong it is a 
 practical statement by a practical farmer of how he se- 
 cures a large yield. For our shortage in corn production 
 is due largely to two causes: lack of faith in our land to 
 produce paying crops on it and ignorance of the methods 
 by which these crops can be assured. 
 
 . The following articles should therefore stimulate and ii. 
 crease the production of corn among their readers. It is 
 worth noting that there are several points upon which all 
 the practical farmers who have contributed these papers 
 unite, and these we may safely conclude are the prime es- 
 sentials. 
 
 Without laying emphasis upon the order we may name 
 these as: 1st, deep and thorough preparation; 2nd, heavy 
 manuring and supplying sufficient plant food at earing 
 time; 3rd, thick planting; 4th, shallow cultivation; and 
 we may add, though it is not always brought out as clearly ; 
 5th, good seed. 
 
 Tf these conditions are complied with, the grower may 
 confidently expect a profitable yield. 
 
 THE WILLIAMSON CORN METHOD. 
 
 BY E. MCIVER WILLIAMSON. 
 
 Eor a number of years after I began to farm I followed 
 the old time method of putting -the fertilizer all under the 
 corn, planting on a level or higher, six by three feet, push- 
 
52 SouTTiEKN Crops. 
 
 ing the phui from tlic start and uiakiiig a big stalk, but 
 the ears were few and frequently small. I planted much 
 corn in the spring and bought much more corn the next 
 spring, until finally I was driven to the conclusion that 
 corn could not be made on uplands in this section, certainly 
 not by the old method, except at a loss. 
 
 I did not give up, however, for L knew that the farmer 
 who did not make his own corn never had succeeded, and 
 never would, so I began to experiment. First, I planted 
 lower, and the yield was better, but the stalk was still too 
 large, so I discontinued altogether the application of fer- 
 tilizer before planting, and knowing that all crops should 
 be fertilized at some time, I used mixed fertilizer as a 
 side application and applied the more soluble nitrate of 
 soda later, being guided in this by the excellent results 
 obtained from its use as a top-dressing for oats. Still 
 the yield, though regular, was not large, and the smallness 
 of the stock itself now suggested that they should be 
 planted thicker in the drill. This was done the next year 
 with results so satisfactory that T continued from year to 
 year to increase the number of stalks and the fertilizer, 
 with which to sustain them, also to apply nitrate of soda 
 at last plowing, and to lay by early, sowing peas broadcast. 
 This method steadily increased the yield, until year before 
 last (1904) wnth corn eleven inches apart in six-foot rows 
 and $11 worth of fertilizer to the acre, I made 84 bushels 
 average to the acre, several of n¥y best acres making as 
 much as 125 bushels. 
 
 Last year (1905) 1 follow^ed the same method', planting 
 the first week in April, 70 acres which had produced the 
 year before 1,000 pounds seed cotton per acre. This land 
 
Corn. 53 
 
 is sandy upland, somewhat rolling. Seasons were very 
 unfavorable, ovv^ing to the tremendous rains in May, and 
 the dry and extremely hot* weather later. From June 12 
 to July 12, the time when it most needed moisture, there 
 \vas only five-eighths of an inch of rainfall here ; yet with 
 $7.01, cost of fertilizer, my yield was 52 bushels per acre. 
 Hows were six feet and corn sixteen inches in drill. 
 
 With this method, on land that will ordinarily produce 
 1,000 pounds of seed cotton with 800 pounds of fertilizer, 
 50 bushels of corn per acre should be made by using 200 
 pounds of cottonseed-meal, 200 pounds of acid phosphate, 
 and 400 pounds of kainit mixed, or their equivalent in 
 other fertilizer, and 125 pounds of nitrate of soda, all to 
 be used as side application as directed below. 
 
 On land that will make a bale and one half of cotton 
 ])er acre when well fertilized, a hundred bushels of corn 
 should be produced by doubling the amount of fertilizer 
 above, except that 300 pounds of nitrate of soda should 
 be used. 
 
 In each case there should bo left on the land in corn- 
 stalks, peas, vines and roots, from $12 to $16 worth of 
 fertilizer material per acre, besides the great benefit to the 
 land from so large an amount of vegetable matter. The 
 place of this in the permanent improvement of land can 
 never be taken by commercial fertilizer, for it is absolutely 
 impossible to make lands rich as long as they are lacking 
 in vegetable matter. 
 
 Land should be thoroughly and deeply broken for corn, 
 and this is the time in a system of rotation to deepen the 
 soil. Cotton requires a more compact soil than corn, and 
 while a deep soil is essential to its best development, h 
 
54 SouTiiERiM Crops. 
 
 will iiol, produce as well on loose open land, while corn docs 
 best on land tlioronghly broken. A deep soil will not 
 onlj produce more heavily than a shallow soil with good 
 seasons, but it will stand more wet as well as more dry 
 weather. 
 
 In preparing for the corn crop, land should be broken 
 broadcast during the winter one-fourth deeper than it has 
 been plowed before, or if much vegetable matter is being 
 turned under,, it may be broken one-third deeper. 'J'his 
 is as much deepening as land will usually stand in one 
 year and produce well, though it may be continued each 
 year, so long as much dead vegetable matter is being turned 
 under. Tt may, how^evor, be svd^soiled to any depth by fol- 
 lowing in bottom (►f turn-plow furrow, provided no more 
 of the subsoil than lias been directed, is turned up. Break 
 with two-horse plow if possible, or better, with disc plow. 
 With the latter cotton-stalks or corn-stalks as large as Ave 
 ever make, can be turned under without having been 
 chopped, and in pea-vines it will not choke or drag. 
 
 Kever plow land when it is wet, if you expect ever to 
 have any use for It again. 
 
 Bed with turn-plow^ in six-foot roAvs, leaving five-inch 
 balk. When ready to plant, break 'his out with scooter, 
 following 111 bottom of this furroAV deep with Dixie plow, 
 wing taken off. TJidge then on this furrow Avith same plow, 
 still going deep. TJun corn planW on this ridge, drop])ing 
 one grain every five or six inches. "Plant early, as soon as 
 frost danger is past, say first seasonable spell affi;r Maich 
 15, in this section. "Especially is early planting neces- 
 sary on very rich lands where stalks can not otherAvise be 
 prevented from groAving too large. Give first Avorking 
 
Corn, 
 
 00 
 
 with harrow or any plow that will not cover the plant, 
 lor second working, use ten or twelve-inch sweep on both 
 sides of corn, which should now be about eight inches high. 
 Thin after this working. It is not necessary that the 
 plants should be left all the same distance apart, if the 
 right number remains to each yard of row. 
 
 Corn should not be worked again until the growth has 
 been so retarded, and the stalk so hardened that it will 
 never grow too large. This is the most difficult point in 
 the whole process. Experience and judgment are required 
 to know just how much the stalk should be stunted, and 
 plenty of nerve is required to hold back your corn when 
 your neighbors, who fertilized at planting time and culti- 
 vated rapidly, have corn twice the size of yours. (They 
 are having their fun now. Yours will come at harvest 
 time.) The richer the land the more necessary it is that 
 the stunting process should be thoroughly done. 
 
 When you are convinced that your corn has been suffi- 
 ciently humiliated, you may begin to make the ear. It 
 shoidd now be from twelve to eighteen inches high, and 
 look worse than you have ever had any corn to look before. 
 
 Put half your mixed fertilizer (this being the first used 
 at all) in the old sweep furrow on both sides of every other 
 middle, and cover by breaking out this middle with turn 
 plow. About on^ week later treat the other middle the? 
 same way. Within a few days side corn in first middle 
 with sixteen-inch sweep. Put all your nitrate of soda in 
 this furrow, if loss than 150 pounds. If more, use one- 
 half of it now. Cover with one furrow of turn-plow, then 
 sow peas in this middle broadcast at the rate of at least 
 one bushel to the acre, and finish breaking out. 
 
56 SoirTiii'MJX Ciioj's. 
 
 Ill a few days side eoni in ollior middle with same 
 sweep, put bjihmcc of nili-jitc of soda in lliis furrow if it 
 lias been divided, coxcr willi liini-plow, sow peas, and 
 l)veak oiil. This lavs l»y your croj) with a good bod and 
 ])lenty of dirt aioimd your stalk.- This should be from 
 dune 10 to '20, unless s(^ason is very late, and coi'ii should 
 be hardly buiu^hiui!; for tassel. 
 
 i^ay by early. Moi'e corn is ruined by late ))l(^win<i; 
 than by lack of |)lowiui;'. This is when the ear is hurt. 
 'J'wo good rains aflei- laying by should uuike vou a good 
 crop of coi'u, ami it will certainly make with much less 
 I'ain than if ])ushed and fertilized in the old way. 
 
 The stalks thus i-aised are \-ery small, and do not re- 
 (|uii-e anything like the moislure e\'en in propih'tion to 
 size, that is neeessary for large sai)i)y stalks. Tlu'y may, 
 therefore, be left much thicker in the row. This is no 
 new process. It has long been a cnslom to cut back vine^ 
 and trees in ordtM* to increase the yi(dd and quality of 
 fruit, and so long as you do not hold back your corn, it 
 w ill go, like mine so long w(Mit, all t<^ stalk. 
 
 Do not be discoui'aged by the looks of your corn during 
 (he process of cnltivjit iou. It will yitdd out of all propor- 
 tion to its ai)pearauce. Lai'ge stalks can not \\\:\ko large 
 yields, except with extremely favorable seasons, for they 
 can not stand lack of moisture. Karly a])plications of 
 mauui-e go to nndvc large stalks, whicl^ Vou do not want, and 
 the |)lant food is all thus used up before the ear, which you 
 do want, is made. Tall stalks not only will not produce 
 well themselves, but will not allow yon to make the pea- 
 vines, so necessary to the improvement of lanil. Oorii 
 
Corn. 57 
 
 raised by tliis ni(;thod slKuild never grow over seven and a 
 half feet high, and the ear should he near to the ground. 
 
 I consider the Hiial application of nitrate of soda an 
 essential point in this ear-making process. It should al- 
 ways be applied at last plowing and unmixed with other 
 fertilizers. 
 
 1 am satisfied with one ear to the stalk, unless a prolific 
 variety is planted, and leave a hundred stalks for every 
 laishel that I expect to make. 1 hnd the six-foot row eas- 
 iest to cultivate without injuring the corn. For fifty- 
 bushels to the acre, 1 leave it sixteen inches apart, for 
 seventy-five bushels to the acre twelve inches apart, and 
 for (me hundred bushels eight inches apart. Corn should 
 be planted from foui* to six inches below the level, jind 
 laid by from four to six inches above. No hoeing should 
 be necessary, and middles may be kept clean until time to 
 break out, by using harrow or by running one slioxcl fur- 
 row in center of middle and bedding on tliat, with ou« 
 or more rounds of turn-plow. 
 
 T would advise only a few acres tried Iw this method 
 tlie first year, ov until you are familiar with its applica- 
 tion. Especially is it hard, at first, f-o fully carry out 
 th(^ stunting ju'ocess, where a whole crop is involved, and 
 this is the absolutely essential part of tbe process. 
 
 This method 1 have applie<l or seen apj^lied success- 
 fidly, to all kinds of land in this section except wet lands 
 and moist bottoms, and 1 am confident it can be made of 
 great benefit, throughout the entire South. 
 
 Tn the middle West, where corn is so prolific and 
 |U'ofitable, and where, unfoi-tuujitely foi- us, so much of 
 ours has been produced, the stalk does not miturally grow 
 
58 Southern Ceops. 
 
 large. As Ave come South its size increases, at tlie expense 
 of the ear, until in Cuba and Mexico it is nearly all stalk 
 (witness Mexican varieties). 
 
 The purpose of this method is to eliminate this tendency 
 of corn to overgrowth at the expense of yield, in this 
 Southern climate. 
 
 By this method i have made my corn crop more profit- 
 able than my cotton crop, and my neighbors and friends 
 who have adopted it, have, without exception, derived 
 great benefit" therefrom. 
 
 Plant your own seed. I would not advise a change of 
 seed and method th" same year, as you will not then know 
 from which you have derived the beneht. 1 have used 
 three* varieties, and all have done well. 1 have never used 
 this method for late planting. In fact, I do not advise 
 the late planting of corn, unless it be necessary for cold 
 lowlands. 
 
 The increased cost of labor and the high price of all 
 material and land, are rapidly making farming unprofit- 
 able, except to those who are getting from one acre, what 
 they formerly got from two. We nmst make onr lands 
 richer by plowing deep, planting peas and other legumes, 
 manuring them with acid phosphate and potash, which 
 are relatively cheap, and returning to the soil the resultant 
 vegetable matter rich in humus and expensive nitrogen. 
 The needs of our soil are suclktliat the South can never 
 reap the full measure of prosperity Hhat should be here, 
 until this is done. 
 
 I give this metliod as a farmer to the farmers of the 
 South, trusting that thereby they may be benefited as I 
 have been. 
 
COEN. 59 
 
 ONE-ACRE CROP ANALSIS. 
 
 Nitro. Acid Potash. V 
 
 Phos. 
 
 2,800 pounds corn (grain) 51 20 11 
 
 500 pounds shucks. 5 2 7 
 
 400 pounds cobs 2 2 
 
 ^^i" taken from land 58 22 20 
 
 1,200 pounds corn-stalks 12 3 17 
 
 3,000 pounds peas, vines and roots 
 
 in corn ,. . . . 59 16 41 
 
 Entire crop contains 129 41 81 28.26 
 
 Taken from land "A" 58 22 20 12.03 
 
 Left for next crop 71 19 61 16.23 
 
 100 bushels oats and straw will re- 
 quire 78 31 48 
 
 1,500 pounds seed cotton an<l stalks 
 
 will require 64 17 56 
 
 50 bushels corn, cobs and shucks 
 
 will require 70 25 37 
 
 Darlington County, S. C. 
 
 THE LARGEST YIELD OF CORN AS MADE BY 
 Z. J. DRAKE, OF-MARLBORO COUNTY, S C. 
 
 The American Agriculturist offered a prize of $500 for 
 the largest yield of corn per acre. The highest in the 
 Eastern States was that of Mr. Alfred Rose of New York, 
 and the largest yield ever known was that of Mr. Z. J. 
 Drake of South Carolina, over 254 bushels per acre. We 
 give an account of Mr. Drake's yield and method of ma- 
 nuring and cultivation: 
 
60 SoUTilEKN CkOI'S. 
 
 jVir. Z. J. Drake of Marlboro County, S. C, made 254 
 bushels and 4U pounds per acre. The committee which 
 measured and certified to the yield consisted of Mr. J. 
 0. Campbell, a member of the Board of County Commis- 
 sioners, who represented The American Agriculturist ; 'Mx. 
 W. E. Kinney, an ex-member of the legislature; Mr. G. 
 M. S. Dunn, a local Baptist preacher; and Messrs. Jolui 
 \i. Keynolds and John W. Tart. Col. Knox Livingston, 
 who saw a part of the corn weighed, says that the grains 
 were the largest he ever beheld, but that the length of the 
 (H)b was not great. 
 
 Mr. J. C. Campbell says: ''The acre had been carefully 
 measured by our surveyor, Mr. W. B. Alford. The corn 
 was carefully weighed on tested scales and every effort 
 was apparently put forth to have the harvesting lumestly 
 done, and resulted in 254 bushels and 49 pounds. 
 
 The land was sandy and had been previously valued at 
 only $8 an acre. Thirty years ago the plantation was 
 christened '^Starvation Empire," and as late as 1887 the 
 prize acre itself produced only about five bushels of corn. 
 The fertilization in 1889 began in February and was con- 
 tinued several times during the making of the crop. The 
 total material used was 1,000 busheis of stable manure, 600 
 bushels of cottonseed, 866 pounds each of German kainit 
 and cottonseed-meal, 200 pounds acid phosphate, 166 
 pounds manipulated guano, 2BQ pounds animal bone, 400 
 pounds of nitrate of soda — the value of the stable manure 
 being $50 and the other fertilizers $170. 
 
 The seed planted was Drake's Improved Corn, a variety 
 of gourd seed raised by Mr. Drake. One bushel was 
 used. The planting was done Maivh 2nd, and on June 
 
COEN. 61 
 
 in til, posts }iii<l stakes had lo l>e put up aloii^^ tlie rows to 
 keep the corn from falling. The rows were alternately 
 about three and six feet apart, one stalk in a place. The 
 crop was harvested iVoveniber 25th. The total cost was 
 $264.42. The prodnct, 2:)4 l)nsliels and 49 ponnds, at 75 
 cents a bushel, was wortli $15)1.10. The fodder, one and a 
 half tons, was worth $15. Total, $206.16. But it is esti- 
 mated that the land is good for a hundred dollar crop for 
 several years to come, not considering the $1,000 prize the 
 crop of 1889 has unquestionably won. 
 
 Mr. Drake dug a well and made fnll preparations to 
 irrigate it, but the seasons were so fine that the w^ell was 
 not used at all. The corn was prevented from falling by 
 a framework of laths, wire and twine, which somewhat 
 resembled the butter bean frames that our mammas used 
 to make us make. 
 
 The appearance of the corn when green w^as like half a 
 dozen sugar-cane patches piled np on top of each other. 
 
 Mr. Drake built a frame scaffold in amphitheatre style, 
 so that curious multitudes could mount up and Ixdiold 254 
 bushels of corn c^rowino; on a sino'le acre. 
 
 The yield is a phenomenal one, and Capt. Drake is to 
 1)0 congratulated on securing the ])rize of $500 offered by 
 Tlie Anierican ArjrindturisI and $500 offered by th-' Shiti^ 
 Agricultural Society of South Carolina. 
 
 The following is the financial report made by Mr. Drake 
 as to his corn, showing the cost of production and the valne 
 of the product : 
 
 Interest on value of land at 6 per cent $ 1.50 
 
 Plowing 4.00 
 
 Harrowing 2.00 
 
62 Southern Cropf;. 
 
 Other labor preparing land 1.00 
 
 Value stable manure 50.00 
 
 Value of fertilizers or substances other than stable 
 
 manure applied 169.00 
 
 Cost of applying stable manure 2.00 
 
 Cost of applying other fertilizers 5.00 
 
 Cost of seed 1.00 
 
 Cost of cultivating 9.00 
 
 Other labor caring for crop 11.00 
 
 Cost of harvesting 8.00 
 
 Total cost of production $264.42 
 
 Value 254 bushels, 49.50 pounds of corn at 75 
 
 cents $191.16 
 
 Value 11/2 tons fodder at $10 per tou 15.00 
 
 Total value product $206.16 
 
 This showing makes the cost above the value of the prod- 
 uct, but does not take into account the value of the^ fer- 
 tilizing material left in the soil. With a proper allow- 
 ance for this it is believed the acre should be credited with 
 at least $50 profit for this year's wonderful crop. 
 
 TFIK noiIBLE T^OW SYSTEM OF PLANTTNG 
 COR]^[. 
 
 BY J. B. HUNNICUTT. 
 
 Having received many letters of inquiry, how to raise 
 corn on the intensive system, I have concluded to answer 
 through your columns, if you think the matter of suffi- 
 
OOKN. 63 
 
 (^ient interest to give it space. I know you arc; ready to 
 publish any plan which you think will help the farmers. 
 
 I plant double rows because 1 can not get stalks enough 
 on an acre by any other plan and still have ventilation. 
 
 1. Lay off rows six feet apart, subsoiling each row, 
 then put in compost pretty heavy, say 500 pounds per acre. 
 
 2. Bed on this, subsoil each furrow. 
 
 3. Lay off rows 18 inches apart, on either side of the 
 composted furrow and put 150 pounds per acre of good 
 standard guano or phosphate, just as for cotton, and drop 
 corn 18 to 24 inches apart in each row and cover lightly. 
 
 4. When the corn is well up run one furrow with a 
 ^•ery long narrow plow between the narrow rows and follow 
 with hoes. This completes first working. 
 
 5. Ten days later run the same plow in the same fur- 
 row again, and run a common 21/2-inch scooter around on 
 the other side of the corn and follow with hoes. This 
 completes second working. 
 
 6. Ten days later run around the inside rows with a 
 larger plow, throwing fresh earth to the corn, and in this 
 furrow put 500 pounds per acre of compost and plow out 
 middle with scrape or sweep, and follow with hoes. This 
 completes third working. 
 
 7. Ten days later take large shovel-plow and run a 
 good furrow in the middle of the Avide rows and pnt 150 
 pounds per acre of guano in this furrow and run around 
 that furrow with broad scrapes (so shallow as not to cut 
 many roots) until you get as near the corn as you wish. 
 This completes the fourth plowing, and lays the crop by 
 with a slight rise in the middle of the wide row, and a 
 slight depression toward each corn row. 
 
64 SoTTTriERN Oeops. 
 
 N^ow let us sec wliat we have done. The eoni lias been 
 ciiltivated with 14 furrows to six-feet rows, and three or 
 four hoeings, each very light, but very essential. And, 
 as to cost, we have cultivated much cheaper than the usual 
 plan requires. We have invested about $10 per acre in 
 fertilizing, and $4 in work, thus: 
 First manuring, 500 lbs. compost. .$2.50 
 Second manuring, 150 lbs. guano. . 2.50 
 Third manuring, 500 lbs. compost. 2.50 
 Fourth manuring, 150 lbs. guano. . 2.50 
 
 Total manuring $10.00 
 
 Labor in distributing manure $1.00 
 
 Labor in hoeing .75 
 
 Labor in plowing . 2.50 
 
 Total cost of labor per acre. . . 4.2-5 
 
 Total cost per acre $14.25 
 
 What return do we get for this heavy investment of $14 
 ])er acre — more, ]^erhaps, than the land was worth ? 
 AVith three dry summers, seven, nine and eleven weeks 
 drougth respectively, the writer gathered between forty 
 and fifty bushels of good heavy corn per acre. Take the 
 lowest figure, forty bushels per acre, and the cost will 
 be 35 cents pei- bushel. If you make fifty bushels, the cost, 
 \vill be only 28 cents. If the season should be favorable 
 and you make sixty bushels per acre, then the' cost is re- 
 duced to only 22Y2 cents. But this is not all. You have 
 a very heavy crop of fodder and your laud is d^ulded in 
 
Corn, 65 
 
 value; every acre thus treated is Avortli $^ to $L before, 
 and will continue so for years. 
 
 My experience is that this is the cheapest plan for 
 raising corn on upland, the best plan for manuring poor 
 hind, less liable to suffer from drouth and the only -way 
 to compete with Western corn. We must get out of the 
 old ruts or we can't keep up with the Western wagon. 
 
 All I ask of any man is to give this plan a trial before 
 condemning it. Do not let your prejudice against double- 
 rowed corn prevent you from filling your crib with the 
 cheapest corn you ever raised. Do not be afraid of every 
 new idea, but '^prove all things, and hold fast to that 
 Y^^hich is best." 
 
 "Cheap bread" must be the foundation of all real sub- 
 stantial prosperity i]i any and every agricultural com- 
 munity. 
 
 Turin, Ga., 1880. 
 
 THE ALDRICH SYSTEM FOE PLA:NTI]S^G CORTs^ 
 A:f^D COTTON. 
 
 BY AI.FEED ALDRTOH. 
 
 Believing that it will be of service to my fellow farm- 
 ers, I will report my system of cultivating corn and cot- 
 ton together on the same land, which system is now known 
 in this State as "The Aldrieh System." Lay off land, after 
 being well broken into rows four-feet wide. At the proper 
 time to plant corn, drill seed in rows 1 and 2 at the rate 
 of as many hundred hills per acre as you expect to gather 
 bushels of corn, from your experience with the land and 
 the fertilizers used on the crop. Leave rows 3 and 4 
 5 
 
(\0 South loirx ( 'j;oi's. 
 
 foi- col loll to be planted later. Plant rows 5 and (> in 
 corn, leaving 7 and 8 for cotton and so continue until the 
 field is all planted in corn. Then plant the rows that 
 were left in cotton, and cultivate as usual. By this sys- 
 tem you utilize all your land for corn, and yet have half 
 of it in cotton. In other words you double^ your corn crop 
 without diminishing your cotton crop. Where it has been 
 the custom to divide the land between the two crops, you 
 make more corn per acre than you ever made before, and 
 also more cotton and cheaper cotton, because the plowing 
 of the cotton is done when you are cleaning the corn mid- 
 dles. By this system, a horse can tend thirty-six acres 
 better, and keep it cleaner than he can thirty by the other 
 way. 
 
 Corn ceases to draw from the land after the first of 
 August, so the cotton has from the first of Angust till 
 frost to feed on donble the soil that it would have if all 
 the land w^ere in cotton, hence it makes a better late crop, 
 that is, more top crop. 
 
 The farmer who uses this system does not have to plant 
 oats. He must either sell corn or raise more stock to con- 
 sume the snr]^liis. 
 
 T am a small farmer, rnnning a one and a half-horse 
 farm. 1 feed four horses, six cows and a few pigs, and 
 from Octol)er to January, seven hnndred to one thousand 
 head of fowls, and it takes abou^^bushel of corn per day, 
 with unlimited range of rye, vetch and Bermuda grass 
 and burr clover to do it, but yet I have five hundred bushels 
 of prime corn for sale and on a part of the same land on 
 which that corn grew, T made a thousand pounds of seed 
 cotton per acre, 
 
Corn. 67 
 
 The biiahel of corn per day above mentioned is for the 
 fowls. From January to April the fowls rapidly dimin- 
 ished in number by sales, till l)y May there were not more 
 than iwenty-five or thirty hens and two or three cocks, but 
 the horses and cows are a fixed (piantity. My system 
 shows up splendidly in a drouth. 
 
 Last season we had too much rain from May till the 
 12th of July, after which it turned dry and hot with 
 plenty of wind until the night of the 30th of July, but I 
 made a full crop of corn and my cotton shed less than that 
 of any of my neighbors, many of whom did not make a 
 thousand pounds of seed cotton per acre where all the land 
 was in cotton. 
 
 By this system, cotton becomes indeed a surplus crop. 
 You will have corn enough to sell to pay operating ex- 
 penses. 
 
 Comment by the Editoe : 
 
 Mr. Aldrich suggests a great change in our system of 
 farming. He proposes to grow two full crops upon the 
 land at the same time. He claims that this can be done 
 successfully without either crop interfering materially 
 with the other. 
 
 His experience seems to make hi^^ claim good. 
 
 Growing corn and cotton together is no new idea. Ft 
 was very commonly practiced during the war in the sixties. 
 
 We then crossed the cotton rows every twelve or sixteen 
 feet and planted corn right in the cotton rows. Many 
 claimed then that very little if any damago resulted to the 
 cotton crop. And fhe corn was large and heavy and al- 
 most or quite a full yield, 
 
68 vSoiJTiiERN Crops. 
 
 Now AJr. Aldricli proposes to do the same thing, with 
 a slight uio(lifi(^ation of the plan of planting. He claims 
 that as the corn matures earlier than the cotton and ceases 
 to draw upon the soil for water or food, that the only way 
 in which the corn interferes is, in making the cotton a little 
 later in fruiting. 
 
 This is often no damage to the cotton. We all know 
 that a good August crop of bolls makes the best yield of 
 cotton in most of the South. A July crop is not often a 
 full one. 
 
 The question is one of great importance and certainly 
 worthy of a trial by every farmer. 
 
 His plan gives us two rows of corn every sixteen feet. 
 But he does not make the rows eight feet a])nrt; he has 
 twelve feet and four feet. Kow^ by crowding the corn in 
 these rows we can get a full crop of stalks on the land. 
 
 The point to be settled by experiment is, how far we 
 can safely carry this crowding. 
 
 The same is true of the cotton. 
 
 l^ow if we will take another step and cut the (^u-n for 
 shredding, there will be no more interference with cotton. 
 After that, not only will the roots have all the soil to feed 
 from, but the sunshine and atmosphere will have full room 
 to get in all their work. 
 
 There will certainly be a great savino- of labor and a 
 Tnore perfect utilization of all fbirtilizers. 
 
 July 15, 1904. ' 
 
Corn. 69 
 
 REMARKABLE CROP OF CORN. 
 
 BY A. J. TINDAL. 
 
 Commissioner Watson has received from Prof. Tiios. 
 Sha^^•, the crop and grain expert, a report of the national 
 corn contest in which this State took part, resulting in one 
 of the principal prizes being won by A. J. Tindal, of Clar- 
 endon County. The report is a valuable one inasmuch, as 
 it advertises South Carolina extensively, comiiig as it does 
 from an expert and also gives much valuable information 
 to those who desire to follow Mr. Tindal's methods in 
 planting corn to obtain the best results. Commissioner 
 Watson said yesterday that he was particularly gratified 
 at Mr. Tindal winning the prize because he was a gradu- 
 ate of Clemson College and it proved to the world thai 
 the State had an institution teaching scientific farming. 
 The report in full is as follows : 
 
 "The acre of corn grown by Mr. Tindal produced a re- 
 markable yield. It made him the winner of a $100 prize 
 (not including State prizes). The corn was grown on land 
 possessed of a cash value of $30 per acre. The soil, rather 
 low and naturally wet, has humus in its composition, at 
 least to a considerable extent, is chocolate in color, and is 
 underlaid at a depth of about two feet by mixed gravel 
 and pipe clay of a non-receptive character. 
 
 "The soil was naturally enriched by washings from the 
 surrounding soil and had also been highly fertilized during 
 the three previous years. It had in it open and some 
 branch drains that were covered. In 1903, 600 pounds of 
 gnano with a composition of 8.-8.-4., gave a return of 
 1,827 of seed cotton. In 1904, 600 pounds of 4.-8.-4. 
 
70 Southern Crops. 
 
 guano and 60 poniids of nitrate of soda gave 13'2 bushels 
 of corn and 9 bushels of cuwpeas. In 1905, 600 pounds 
 of guano, loo pounds of nitrate of soda and 30 pounds of 
 nitrate of potash gave a yield of 3,912 pounds of seed 
 cotton. 
 
 PLANTING THE CORN. 
 
 ^'On April 5, 1900, the ground was plowed to the depth 
 of 14 inches and the same day was cross-plowed and sub- 
 soiled to the depth uf 20 inches, using a ten-inch turning 
 plow, and the subsoil plow run in every furrow was home- 
 made. Immediately after, the same day, a spring-tooth 
 harrow was run over the acre to the depth of three inches 
 and also a smoothing harrows On April 16 it was simi- 
 larly harrowed and the harrow was at once followed by 
 smoothing harrow. On May 7 it was harrowed in pre- 
 cisely the same way as on April 16. 
 
 "The fertilizer applied was as follows: 600 pounds of 
 complete special guano containing 4 per cent, ammonia, 
 8 per ('(^nt. phosphoric acid and 4 per cent, potash ; 500 
 pounds of cottonseed-meal with a composition of 7.1, % 
 and 1 ; 500 lbs. of Peruvian guano with a composition of 
 8-8-5 and 2 ; and 400 pounds of nitrate of soda with 18 
 per cent, of ammonia. The first three fertilizers were 
 applied in a furrow on May 7th, at the time of the plant- 
 ing of the corn, and the fourth was given as a top-dressing 
 on June 15th. One man, with i^ile and plow, opened the 
 furrows and three men applied the ^es^ing by hand. The 
 cost of the fertilizer before application was $32.45 for 
 the acre. 
 
 "The variety planted was the Marlboro Prolific, grown 
 l)y the owner, who in 1900 introrluced the variety into 
 
Corn. 71 
 
 the ueighborhood. The seed was planted in rows that 
 were made with the shovel. The kernels were buried 
 three inches deep in a well-prepared soil and one inch 
 apart in the line of the row. The rows were 33 inches 
 distant and 28 quarts of seed were used, the germination 
 of which was considered perfect. The weather was dry 
 until June 10th and w^as then overwet. 
 
 FINANCIAL STATEMENT. 
 
 ''Expenditures were: 
 
 Interest on land at 6 per cent • $ 1.80 
 
 Cost of plowing 5.00 
 
 Cost of harrowing 1.00 
 
 Other labor in preparing land 1.00 
 
 Cost of fertilizers 32.45 
 
 Cost of applying fertilizers 1.00 
 
 Cost of seed .50 
 
 Cost of cultivating 2,50 
 
 Cost of other work 1.50 
 
 Cost of harvesting 9.80 
 
 Total cost $ 56.65 
 
 ^'Eeceipts Avere: 
 
 182 bushels corn at $2 $364.00 
 
 3 tons stover at $6 18.00 
 
 4,100 pounds fodder at $20 per ton 41.00 
 
 Total receipts $423.00 
 
 :N"et profit $366.45 
 
 THE CARE OF THE CORN. 
 
 "On May 16th a weeder was run over the corn to a 
 depth of two inches. It w^as cultivated. May 2 2d and 
 
7 '2 Soirj'iiERN Crops. 
 
 June 2d, with lO-incli s\veeps running to the depth of 
 about one inch. On May 30th the crop was thinned by 
 hand to thc^ distance of four to six inches between the 
 plants and weeds were removed. One day with three men 
 was occupied in the hand work. 
 
 harvp:stjng the ckop. 
 
 ''On August 27th tlie tops were cut off and the fodder 
 .stripped from tlio nar down. On November 30th the crop 
 was harvested by plucking the ears. The same day the 
 stubs of the stalks were- cut by hand and shredded. The 
 yield of the coru was 182 bushels giving an average of 8G 
 pei' cent, corn to cob. 
 
 COMMENTS ON CROP. 
 
 ''The profit of $300.45 seems large, indeed, from one 
 acre of land, but it will be noticed that in reaching it the 
 entire crop is valued at $2 per bushel on the assumption 
 that it will all make good seed. For that purpose 48 
 bushels had been sold when the manual was filled out in 
 the autumn of 1900. The fodder, which, 1 understand, 
 means the tops and leaves, is valued at $20 per ton. 
 
 "'J'o a Northern man this seems a very large valuation. 
 Ijut suppose the entire crop is valued at 50 cents per 
 bushel for feeding and the straw and fodder together at 
 $5 per ton. These would be worth the figures named in 
 any part of the United States; the net profit from the 
 acre would still be $44.45, or con^derably more than the 
 land is worth. In my judgment the State of South Caro- 
 lina should give Mr. Tindal a medal for what he 'has done. 
 TTis achievement is simply wonderful and the lessons from 
 it are many. They include the following: 
 

 
74 
 
 S<nri'm<;({N ( 'icoi-s. 
 
 **IIc li:ih l.r(.ii;'lil inlo l>.*i(| ivlicf llic w i:,J(.iii of kci 
 
 plllj! 
 
 I;iii(l III ;i liii^li sl;ilf <.!' fn-l ili/;il loii, ;is m I IK),"., I!)()| :iii(i 
 !!)():» Ii." -<.l oond i-cliinis IV..III lii-li rcflili/,:ili..ii. 
 
 "lie lins (IciiK.iisI ruled llic -iv:il \iiliic of <l(v|» ;iii(| llior 
 <nii;li ciiIMn;!! inn in Sdiillicrn soils when |)i'c|>;ii-iii^- llicni, 
 iiiul «»| |nilvrri/,iii^ rnicK hdnrc |>l;iiiliiiL:; 
 
 "llr li;is shown l,li;il, ;i rainier iniisl not l»r ;ilV;ii(l In 
 pill on ;i lilllc Inird l;d)oi- wlirii i;ro\\ i n_i;- ('i-o|>s will he Ixmic 
 iilcd l.y il. 
 
 ''il<' liiis im.'kIc il c'lcnr llial lo ol)l.:iin iiiiixiiniiin yields of 
 corn llic shiiid niiisl. no| he iJiin oi- i i'r('i;nl;ir. 1 1 is rrop 
 was L'l-own more closely llnin corn is nsniilly i;ro\vii, but, 
 ol course, on some soils il iiiav lie necessary lo |daiil sonio- 
 wlial more dislaiH. 
 
 "lie lias shown thai in llie Soiilli a raniier may appiv 
 ferlili/er ihal cosis him more lliaii his land is worth, aixi 
 vet make ;i o'<><><l return for {\\i' investment. 
 
 "lie has dcmoiisl.raled that a Soiitlu'in larmei" may 
 make en«»rnioiis prolils from i^rowini;- seed corn. 
 
 "Mnally he has sh(»\\n that in these Ihiilcd Slates wo 
 arc oidy in the A 11 (* of possihle prodiiclion cd' i^raiiis." 
 
 'IMiis rc(Mird is more noteworthy Ihan hrakc's, lor il 
 has always heen iimlerstood that (\a|)l. Drake expended 
 ii»<»r(^ in ohtainini;- his yn'ld than he recened in pi-ices. 
 
 ( ManMidon ( ^>llllt \', S. ( '. 
 
 vAijir: OK F(vi>i)KirfN"/riii<: soim 
 
 Prof. vShaw irj a separate arlide has ihe roll('>wiii<;- to say : 
 
 ''Ho fc^atnn* of tlie reports of the contestants for prizes 
 
 in Ihe oi-;iin i^'rowcrs' contesj has surprised meniore than 
 
Corn. 75 
 
 llic3 liigii value piil upon corn loddcr l)y cuuLestants living 
 in the Soutli. Mr. A. J. Tindal, for instance, of Olarendon 
 (Jounty, S. C, has liis cut down to the ears and lh(i fod(h;r 
 stripped olf. The weiglil thus (jhtained from an aere, pre- 
 sumahly cured, was 4,100 pounds. 'I'his he vahuul in his 
 report at $20 per ton. The; corn fodder, presunnd)!^ the 
 lower part of the stalk, was shr(^d<led. Three tons were^-ob- 
 tained and this was valued at $0 per ton. These facts 
 s|)(»nk loudly jis to the estimate of the value i)nt upon corn 
 rod<l<M" in tlic Soiitli and in Ihc corn hclt, wlicire millions 
 of acres go back ev(iry year to earth ungathered. It would 
 seem scarcely ])0ssihle that such a difference could exist 
 in the same country. 
 
 ''Thai millions and millions of acres of tliis produce 
 should go to waste every year in the United States must 
 ap[)eai' strange to the foreigner. That so much should be 
 \\aste(l is indeed a stigma upon our agriculture, but it is 
 a stigma (hat yields its gi'ound very sh)wly. One acre of 
 corn sLov(ir pi*o])erly cured and fed is worth as much on 
 lh(^ average as onc^ acre of timothy hay. The food thus 
 grown on 1,(10(1,000 acres of corn in the stover is worth as 
 much as tiie food grown on 1,000,000 acres of timothy 
 liay. 'I'hc waste of 1,000,000 acres of corn fodder is 
 lIuM-cforc equal to the waste of 1,000,000 acres of timo- 
 lliy hay. 
 
 ^^Ft may be answered that live stock get some of the 
 foddei- while grazing in llie fields. Tliey do, but more of 
 il they do not get, and all of wlial llicy gel is itnpaircd in 
 <|uali(y." 
 
70 S(>U'J'J1J<JKN (Jkui's. 
 
 TiiE VALUE OF SiillEDDING COUiN. 
 
 (),)5()0 Pounds of Corn and 6,000 Pounds o\' Stovkk 
 Pek Acre. 
 
 by w. l. i'eek. 
 
 Now that it is almost a certainty that we are to reduce 
 the acreage and fertilizers of this year's cotton crop, in 
 fact, we are compelled to do it, or become absolute slaves 
 t(» the cotton gamblers, and become too poor to skin, with 
 our carcases petrified in poverty, our children servants to 
 the money-changers and speculators who manipulate the 
 price of our cotton, the finest money and commercial crop 
 grown ill llie world, to the enrichment of all but the South 
 -now as a prudent people we must hide ourselves, let the 
 fools go on, and be destroyed. 
 
 Why should one ask "JIow are we to hide ourselves in 
 this land where everything can he produced that furnishes 
 food and raiment for man and beast?'' 
 
 N'ot a single atom that adds to our life, pleasure, com- 
 fort, or happiness, but can be produced in this Southland, 
 
 Last July, when that grand man, and lamented friend 
 and brother of Southern agriculturists, J. B. Hunnicutt, 
 [I man who has done more in one year for Southern farmers 
 than the State Agricultural College has done in forty, was 
 visit int>- me, I promised to givft^he Cui/nvATOR the re- 
 sult of two special acres on my farm, one in corn, the other 
 in sugar-cane. 
 
 When the corn was good ripe it was cut with a har- 
 vester, shocked r^OO stalks to the shock. 
 
Corn. 77 
 
 It stood about ol2;hty clays in the shocks during- summer 
 and early fall, and when dry and hauled, weighed 12,600 
 pounds. Thou shredded with the followino; result: 
 
 Net corn on cob 6,300 lbs. 
 
 Net stover 6,000 lbs. 
 
 The acre produced bread enough to feed a man and 
 wife twelve months, and corn and stover sutficicuit to 
 feed two mules twelve months. 
 
 Now let some people say what they may about shred- 
 ding corn. It is the most profitable of all work done on 
 my farm. 
 
 Conyers, Georgia. 
 
 TIIK (^()I:N-STALK QIIESMMOjN. 
 
 BY J. B. iriJNNIClJTT. 
 
 Have you settled it? If so, on which side do you stand. 
 As a farmer, you must raise cornstalks. You can not 
 raise corn without them. So they cost you nothing to 
 raise. They are strictly a by-product of growing corn. 
 Now then, having these stalks, what will you do with them ? 
 They have a value. They are worth something to you. 
 Flow much they are worth depends upon how you dispose 
 (»f them. The old way was, and is, to pull off the fodder 
 <ind leave the stalk to rot in the field or to be burned next 
 spring. This is a very losing way to use them. Tt costs 
 as much to save the fodder as it is worth ; very often more. 
 Why then do we pull fodder ? Before we learned to grow 
 hay for fodder for horses and mules, we needed the fod- 
 der as a rough food. 
 
78 ' Southern Ckoi's. 
 
 wi-: know better now. 
 But we have learned that the entire stalk is o-ooJ for 
 
 o 
 
 hay. We have also learned that the blades are net^ded 
 to help the grain fill out. That we can not pull the fodder 
 without making the grain lighter. The minute you take 
 off the blades the corn ceases to fill. Hence more is lost 
 in the weight of the gi'aiii than the fodder weighs if the 
 fodder is picked a little green, as is often the case. 
 
 We have learned that the entire stalk is good for hay. 
 rf properly prepared stock will eat it freely and do as 
 well as upon any other hay. We have learned that it is 
 as cheap if not cheaper to cut and shred the stalks as 
 to harvest the corn in the old way. We say we have 
 learned these things. They are no longer doubtfnl, so 
 many experiments have been made and such success has 
 attended them that we may safely say they are practically 
 settled. We do not mean to say that every one has suc- 
 ceeded. Many have failed to be pleased at first, but there 
 has always been some sufficient reason. The shredding 
 was not properly done or the corn was damp or some such 
 trouble. Cattle have been a little slow to take hold freely 
 in some cases. Generally this was because the work had 
 not been properly done somewhere. Shredded cornstalks, 
 when well made have proven about equal to other hav. 
 
 THE vA4:.rE. 
 
 The stover about equals in value the grain. That is, if 
 you get twenty bushels of corn you get a ton of. hay. The 
 hay will sell in the market for as much as the corn. IN^ow 
 is it good business to throw away one-half you make ? We 
 think not. If vou have made $100 worth of corn, you 
 
so SouTHjmN Crops. 
 
 have $100 worth of stalks. It is not a question of whether 
 you should make these stalks. Yon were compelled to 
 make them to get the corn. The real question is what will 
 you do with them now that jou have made them? Will 
 you use them or will you lose them? The wise man will 
 use theni^ the foolish man will lose them. If you are run- 
 ning a two-horse farm, you should plant at least twenty 
 acres in corn and make at least twenty tons of stover, worth 
 $300. This, added to tlie income of your year's work, 
 will make quite a difference in the year's business. So if 
 you are a good business man, you will save what you have 
 made. 
 
 Do not wait until the last day to settle this question, 
 but settle it now and begin to make your arrangements 
 in time. Shredders are not expensive. But if you do not 
 feel able to invest in one alone, join with your neighbor 
 and get one. Or see that some one in your community 
 has one to travel around and shred just as they travel and 
 thresh grain. 
 
 WHEN TO CUT THE CORN. 
 
 Wait imtil the fodder is well yellowed, a week later than 
 you would to pull the fodder. Then shock from 100 t(^ 
 400 stalks in a shock and tie them firmly so as to resist 
 windstorms. To do this get a piece of 2x3 scantling about 
 12 feet long. Put two legs abaut 3% to 4 feet long on 
 one end. Kest the other end on the ground. Three feet 
 from the upper end })ore an inch and a quarter auger hole. 
 Make a pin four feet long to go through this. Set your 
 horse where you wish the clock, put in the pin and place 
 the corn iu the four anc:les. Get on the horse and have a 
 
Corn. 81 
 
 plow-line with a ring tied to one end ,and throw this 
 around the corn and put the rope through the ring and 
 draw tight. Then with a piece of twine tie the corn 
 firmly. Get down, pull out your pin, take your horse 
 hy the upper end and go to the next place you Avish a 
 shock. We have written often all of these directions, but 
 we have many thousands of new subscribers and many 
 of the old ones did not catch on last year. So we write 
 them again. 
 
 The shredder will take the ears off and shuck them and 
 cut the stalks into fine hay. Some of the more expensive 
 machines will shell the corn and sack it. 
 
 WORK FOR YOUR OWN INTEREST. 
 
 Do not let your old habits or your prejudices or your 
 laziness prevent you from saving your cornstalks. You 
 would not think of throwing your cottonseed away. Your 
 cornstalks are worth much more than your cottonseed. 
 Save them, shred them, feed them to your cattle, sell the 
 cattle and make money all around. When it takes all of 
 your cotton to pay your debts your cornstalks will give 
 vou monev to huv the comforts of life. 
 
(;k()\vin(j \viip;a'i\ 
 
 J{V W. I'. VVALKIOJt. 
 
 I hiivc Itccii asked \>y a mniihci" of fai'iiicrs as to my 
 iiiaimn- of sovviiiii,' wlical, and llicy lliink it is lii<^li timo 
 \i)V (lie answer. M)' ciisloin is lo follow ('<Htoi» willi wheal 
 and llie lirsl tliin^' to he (h>ne is l<> dra^- oil I he lind)s 
 and hnrrs wilh a harrow or i\\".\^ with Uvo or ihi'ee 
 harhe<l wires sl.relehed across it. Yon arc; now vvaidy l,o 
 |)h>w np vonr stalks with a eoinnion seoot<n- plow. After 
 this has heen aeeoniplislied you stai't ai'oiind the licdd mark- 
 ing (dl' lainis al)out (light i'v.ot apart Uy 1x3 follovvod hy gntino 
 and wheal s(!ed. 
 
 My form n la for vvhcsat is one linndre<l pounds of cottoii- 
 s(!{!d rrif^al lo iwo of I he v(!i'y host iieid phosphato that (;an be 
 had, well iiii,\e(| ill ;i wa^on IxmI and applied on the land 
 ln'(>adeast ahoiit r>0() poninls pei' acre. To secure a, pru'fecl; 
 si and (d' wheat it is necessary lo follow the, i;-ua.no after 
 appli<^d lo llie soil wilh a harrow so as lo mix in with the 
 soil as the (rotlonseed meal will kill wheal when it comes 
 in coiila<'l wilh il w hi le <;(U'niinatinL»". 
 
 iVly s(um1 is always s(decled from my very best wlieat by 
 ihe WHO of a (lliappcdl fan. Afler the s(dection of ihe seed 
 l,Hke Vi ponnd of hhuv^lone, [)u1veiM/c w(dl, pnl inio one 
 •gallon of hoiliiio- waler and poni- (»\'ev a hnshel of wheal 
 an<l stir I ill ex'cry i^raiti is wcM. 
 
 Then slir in as mncli slack lime while hot as will a<l- 
 liere lo each i^'rain. 
 
 Tli(^ above wards <dT all disease n-ei-ms and i^ives vitality 
 lo Ihe plaid while yonni;-. 
 
VV 1 1 10 AT. 83 
 
 Land thul will yield 1,000 pounds of col Ion per acre I 
 consider well seeded with two buylicds pw acre broadcast; 
 have used two jind one-half bushels per acre. 
 
 l*low in i^i'ain willi Ihiinnn plow, lour iind ouc-linit 
 incluis Lurncid, ^ood de|)tli, linishing in cenlei' of the field. 
 Drag sonusthing over to smooth off for hai'vesting machine. 
 Jt has IxHiii (piite a while sinc(^ I have planted any of 
 my b(ist liind, too. 
 
 To grow .')() I)ushel8 per acre it is more Lliiin lik(dy to 
 lodge at matui'ity if there is much rjiin and wind. 1 have 
 made as high as 50 huslujls (d' wheat on an acre. To secure 
 this I put on stable maiiure, eollonsecul and my rei'(ili/<!r 
 as mentione(l and sowed two and one-luilf bu ' Is of wlieat. 
 
 I will giv(; the readei- an idea of what I hrv(^ done this 
 year on my No. 2 ]i\^\^\. I made an average of 18 bushels 
 of wheat ])VA' acre that is worth $1.00 per l)ushel ( ii llfty 
 acres. 
 
 One, and oiHi-hall lor»s oi" sti'jiw pei* acre I ha I is worth 
 $8 per ton. Orn^ and one-lialf tons of peavine hay lliat 
 is worth $1 1.00 pei* Ion, making a gi-oss value of $11). 00 pry 
 «cre. ( ^ost (d' wheal s(^ed p(^r acr(^ $1.00 and (;ost of gnano 
 $5.50 per acre. 
 
 It took .'100 days' work to ])repare a?id take cani of the 
 dilfereiil pi-cnhicls from shirt to finisfi, oi- six days' work 
 ])er acre. At 75 cents per (hay the work cost $4.50 per 
 acre. 
 
 Take (he tola! cost <d" $1)'..50 per acre fi'oni (he gross 
 value $19.00 per acre, leaves $,'55.50 pei- aci-e net, an 
 earning of nearly $(*. a (hiy foi- work. I have had net re- 
 turns from some of my hesi lands in (he ahoN'c products 
 
84 SouTKEBJsr Ckops. 
 
 of $100 per acre and net earning from a laborer of $15.00 
 per day for work. 
 
 Tlie lifty acres will be a cotton crop for three mules in 
 1907 and will produce 45 bales of cotton an average year, 
 fertilizers used will be four of acid phosphate to one of 
 cottonseed-meal, about 400 pounds per acre. 1 will men- 
 tion some of the l)enehts from sowing wheat, or some of the 
 profits that will in^sult from resting lands. 
 
 1. Your farm will grow more valuable year after year. 
 
 2. A hired tenant working for half the crop will be 
 more than glad to give you all the cottonseed to work 
 fuvored lands. 
 
 3. On vv('i '-favored lands we need not be in a rush to 
 sell or trade our twenty-year-old mules, because they will 
 cultivate av. 1 makc^ more than we can gather in a season. 
 
 4. Vv> have iio excuse for plowing lands wet with 
 twenty acres in cultivation for one mule. 
 
 5. With plenty of stalk and stubble we can take care 
 of the rain-fall with but few hillside ditches. 
 
 6. Rich soil, nitrogen in the atmosphere, rains and 
 time of planting will produce stalk, stubble and shade, 
 making a grand store-house for plaut-food in time of need, 
 with good preparation and fine cultivation. 
 
 8. I hiivo placed an investment of $18.50 per acre 
 on fifty acres of land: what will i( pny me lh(^ first year, 
 11M)Y, and how long will i( conliiiuc to |)ay me using the 
 sjiiiic amoiinl of f(M*filizei' with ;i slight change in the 
 iiirimoniii thereafter'^ 
 
 9. Some of the ticres will pay back $13.50 at 10 cents 
 jier pound for cotton the first yeai*. Of course the richer 
 
Wheat. 8!S 
 
 land Clin not make such a gain in return values, but it costs 
 as much to work a poor acre as it does a good one. 
 
 10. By upholding every proposition I have laid down, 
 I do not see why all farmers can't have some valued re- 
 turns for any number of years by making like investments. 
 
 Then the disposition to move to a more fertile country 
 would bo removed. 
 
 Spalding Oounty, Ga. 
 
 SOWIN^CJ WllFA^r. 
 
 BY J. B. HUNNICUTT. 
 
 'I'his is an important crop and should be put in good 
 style. Wheat is a biennial plant. To get its full devel- 
 opment it needs the fall of one year for root development 
 and the spring of the next year for grain development. 
 The latter is dependent upon the former. Tf there Jias 
 been a good root development -then we may expect a good 
 grain crop. But if from any cause the roots have been 
 prevented from making full and strong growth then the 
 grain crop is more or less damaged. 
 
 THE BOOT BET). 
 
 Wheat will send its roots down four and a half to five 
 feet into the soil, in search of water and food, if the soil 
 is in such condition that they can get through. But wheat 
 roots are not able to penetrate very hard soil. Tf there 
 is a hard-pan under the soil, -the roots will not be able to 
 get through this and will turn aside and run on top of this 
 hard-pan. Tn this condition we force a deep-rooted plant 
 to become a shallow-rooted plant. This should never be 
 done as it in-jures the full (lovelopinent of root growth 
 
86 SoUTHEHiN ( 'koi's. 
 
 ;ind cuts .short the grain crop in many ways. Just when 
 the wheat needs most food it can not get it. The water 
 supply is also cut short. Hence the plant is made feeble 
 and liable to injury from rust and other sources. 
 
 The preparation of land for sowing wheat should be 
 made as early in the fall as ])ossible. Better still if it 
 i> (lone in the summer. The hard-pan should be broken. 
 Tt will often be nocessiiry to nse subsoil plows to do this. 
 But it is very important that it be done. 
 
 MAKING THE SOIL FINE. 
 
 The plant f(jod is not soluble unless the soil is line. 
 Hence every means should bo used to get it fine. As soon 
 as it is broken the harrow should follow. The cutaway, 
 the Acme, the drag and smoothing harrow are all needed 
 for this work. One harrowing is good but two harrow- 
 in gs are better and five or six are still better. 
 
 There is a prevailing opinion that wheat grows off bet- 
 ter on shallow soil. This' is a great mistake with some 
 foundation. 
 
 At this season of the year we may make the soil so 
 loose that capillary action will be more or less destroyed. 
 If this is done the w^heat will not grow well. The little 
 tiny spongioles and hair-like feeding roots will not find 
 sufficient food or water. To prevent this a heavy roller 
 should be used to firm the loose soil. There is a vast 
 difference between compact hard-pan, made from press- 
 ing wet clay, and a firm soil hiade by pressing together 
 the fine particles of a dry, pulverised soil. Tn such a 
 soil the wheat readily finds food and water. When you 
 have thus made a good dust bed, you are ready to sow 
 wheat. 
 
Wheat. 87 
 
 sowing the wheat. 
 
 Select goodj sound, clean seed. Wash or scald or soak 
 the seed in a solution of bluestone to destroy smut 
 spores, etc. Then sow with a grain drill or by hand broad- 
 cast just as you prefer. There is less danger of winter kill- 
 ing by freezes if sown in drills and the drills left (►pen 
 below the surface. The seed should not be covered more 
 til an two inches. One and a half is better. 
 
 The time for sowing varies somewhat. But in the 
 larger ])art of the South, October is the best time. The 
 longer time you can give the roots to develop will be that 
 much advantage. September would be the time but for 
 the Hessian fly. Wheat sown in October has been found 
 to have double ■ the root development over that sown in 
 corresponding time in November. Late sowing may some- 
 times succeed but is not the rule. JSTono of the premium 
 ero])s were ever made from December sowing. Sow good 
 seed and sow early. 
 
 :M AX r K I \ ( r AXD FEKTTT.IZING-. 
 
 The ])roper time to put on all lot or stable manures is 
 when breaking the land. You get them well worked in 
 preparing the soil. 
 
 The previous crop has a good deal to do with making 
 good wheat crops. Cowpeas, clover and cotton are good 
 crops to precede wheat. Ammonia from vegetable sources 
 seems to suit wheat best. Either stable manure, if well 
 ^^^orked in, or cottonseed meal is very good. The greatest 
 possible quantities of vegetable matter help. Tf commer- 
 cial fertilizers are used, they should be put in with the seed 
 or the last harrowing before seeding. Phos])hates with a 
 
88 Sou 111 |';kin ( 'k'ors. 
 
 good per cent. (»f potash pay ])OKt. Aimiiuiiiu can he sup- 
 plied as a top-dressing enrly in ihc s|)ring. This is better 
 than using them in the fall. 
 
 A liberal use of manure pays. From four to ten hun- 
 (licil pounds ferliliz(U's inny W) used. 
 
 rilK PROKAin.E ]il<:SULTS. 
 
 Whcjit propei'ly sown should yield IVoni 15 to liO hushc^ls 
 per aere. l^lvcM-y faruu^r should sow a Fair crop of wheat, 
 it does not cost much. llome-iuade llour is pui'er and 
 health iei' ami cheaper, 'i'lie land is improved. Peas 
 should follow the wheat. 
 
 If you do not wish lo keep it foi- bread, you can cut 
 il foi' hay. it makes as i^ood fov<] as yon can use am] as 
 clieap. (/lit just in the dongh stage, stock eat straw 
 and grain and fatten on it whih^ hard at work. It is a 
 ^i-eat mislakc^ for farmers to buy flour. 
 
 VViiKAT 11 AY. 
 
 BY R. W. MILAM. 
 
 1 hav(^ grown and cnt wheal for hay foi- the last ten 
 years, and Inive never found or saved. a crop that gave 
 more satisfactory results. T am a farmer with twenty 
 years' experience. Wheat is the easiest raised, and most 
 economical crop a Southern farmer can prodnce. Tt 
 grows at a time when nothing else is growing. "From May 
 5th to 20th it caw be nu->wed and saved foi- hay, cut in 
 milk and dongh stages. Tt is the least trouble of any 
 crop to cnt, cure and save and has more food value than 
 any other hay, and stock relish it and eat it clean. Will 
 
Wheat. 89 
 
 nul, colic or scour stock or cattle. We use it quite exten- 
 sively in this s(3ction since its value has been discovered. 
 Another advantni^e is that it enables ns to grow two crops 
 each year on the same land. The land where it is grown 
 can be fitted by June 1st for the succeeding crop. When 
 grown for market it has proven very profitiiblcj as it comes 
 at a time when hay is scarce, a month ahead of oals. 
 Many nieu will say oats are profitable, bnt when they try 
 the tw(,) crops side l)y side they will decide in favor of 
 wheat, because it is a sure crop, benefits the land, conu's 
 a month earlier, and no trouble to cure. If oats get wet 
 I hey will mould; wheat will not. Stock eat the wheat up 
 clean; not so with oats. Try it for yourself: ''seeing is 
 believing." '. 
 
 1 follow my wheat with peas and corn broadcast, one 
 ])eck each per acre. Crab-grass comes along with the corn 
 and peas, which adds to the value of hay. We produce 
 here from one to two tons of wheat hay per acre, and 
 about the same of corn and peavine hay, and when baled 
 it sells readily at fifteen to twenty dollars per ton. There 
 is never a day but T sell to some one hay of my own rais- 
 ing. Land that will thresh ten bushels of wheat will mab^ 
 one to one and a half tons of wheat hay per acre. Our 
 farmers in this section are^ fast turning their attention 
 to hay and grain, so that there has not been a car of hay 
 shipped to this community in more than five years. Prior 
 to that time vast quantities of 'N'orthern hay were shipped 
 here annually. We have an excellent hay and grass-pro- 
 ducing section, as almost any grass does well. We have 
 great advantage over the sections north of us, as they have 
 to save about all their forage crops in July. Last year F 
 
90 South EixN ( 'uops. 
 
 started my mowing machine on the 5th of May, cutting 
 wheat and the different grasses grown here — viz. : wheat, 
 oats, Bermuda, crowfoot, German millet, the vetches, crab- 
 grass, peas and corn and sorghum — every week until frost, 
 and found a home market for all. Our lands are advanc- 
 ing in value and our stock shows an improved condition 
 over former years. If all our Southern farmers will 
 make and save a sufficiency of home supplies and just a 
 little to sell, and not devote Ihoir time and energies all to 
 one crop, our Sunny South will come to the front, our 
 young men will not leave the farms, and our agricultural 
 problem will be solved. 
 Troupe County, Ga. 
 
SOWING OATS. 
 
 BY J. B. HUNNICUTT. 
 
 There is a disposition to neglect or leave off sowing 
 fall oats. The excessive cold spells of the past few win- 
 ters have made many decide that the risk is too great ; but 
 Ave think this is a wrong conclusion. Fall sown oats are 
 much heavier than spring. When they escape injni'y 
 from freezing the yield is much greater. We think it 
 ])ays to take the risk. Recent experience shows that Avhen 
 sown in open fnrrows they are not liable to be killed. By 
 open fnrrows Ave mean if a drill is used the covering tools 
 shonld be taken off. Enough soil Avill fall in the furrow 
 to cover nearly all the oats deep enough to make them 
 come up. The rains will soon come in and cover them 
 deeper. But if you do not have a drill, you can lay off 
 rows from 14 to 16 inches Avith a small scooter, then soav 
 the seed broadcast and run a Aveeder or fine-toothed har- 
 row across these furrows. This Avill leave nearly all the 
 oats in the furrows. 
 
 The lars'e tAvo-horse drills or the one-horse seed and fer- 
 es 
 
 tilizer distributor combined can be used. Or the oats 
 can be soAvn broadcast and covered Avith a good harrow or 
 small turner about tAvo inches deep. We have had fine 
 success in this Avay. We have only lost our seed once in 
 nine crops. In either case the ground should be broken 
 very deep. Oats groAV very vigorously and yield heaA^y 
 crops. Hence they need plenty of food and Avater. Deep 
 soil helps to provide both. 
 
Oi3 ' S<M!'rn r;i:i\ ( 'kmh's. 
 
 MANURING. 
 
 We do not know any crop that pays a larger profit or 
 a surer profit for heavy manuring. Any and all kinds of 
 farm waste can be used to advantage upon this crop. Hav- 
 ing a long time to decompose, vegetable matter may be 
 freely used. Fertilizers pay well on oats used in the 
 fall when sowing and as a top-dressing in the spring. 
 Stable manure is best of all but when this is not conven- 
 ient any and all kinds may be used. It is best to use 
 potash and acid in the fall and nitrates in the spring. 
 Land well prepared and manured can easily be made to 
 yield 100 bushels per acre. 
 
 Oat straw is as good :is most hay and the oats cut just 
 in fho. full dough stage make the very best of all the hay 
 feeds. They coutnin about nil the recpiisites for food for 
 horses when plowing in hot weather and for cows in the 
 dairy. Southern farmers have not learned to estimate the 
 full value of good heavy fall oats. Horses and mules will 
 live longer and be healthier and stronger when fed on oats 
 than when fed on corn. 
 
 WHEN AND WTTAT TO SOW. 
 
 There is as much difference between spring and fall oats 
 as between spring and fall wheat. Fall oats should be 
 sown early so as to give them p^lenty of time to grow large 
 and deep roots. When this is clone they will be hard to 
 kill. The rools will bo deep and plentiful and the tops 
 will be so advmuM^d tbat they will protect the 'roots and 
 buds from freezing. Oats sowi] in the first half of Octo- 
 ber rarely if ever get killed. This means in Atlanta, 
 
Oats. 93 
 
 j\I ontgomer J, Jackson and on west. In l^ortli Carolina 
 and Tennessee and Missouri, September would be better. 
 
 As to the varieties, it is hard to say. The same oats 
 are kno^vn by so many local names that it is confusing. 
 But any good rust-proof fall oat may be so improved by 
 a few years careful selection and handling, that it will 
 become almost proof against winter killing. Oats can be 
 trained to the liabit of resisting cold. Selecting and im- 
 proving the seed is a very important matter. This should 
 be done in this way: 
 
 Select as many as you may wish for seed. Go over 
 this part of the field just as they begin to change color 
 and with a pair of scissors or sharp knife cut off all heads 
 that are not of the right variety or otherwise objectionable. 
 These can be caught in the left hand and carried in a 
 sack hung on the shoulder and thus kept for food. Then 
 let this plant stand until the oats are thoroughly ripe. 
 This is very important. The choicest variety of winter 
 oats can soon be ruined by cutting before ripe. This is 
 the trouble with Texas rust-proof oat seed. 
 
 When threshed run the seed through hand fan-mill and 
 get out all the small defective grains. Seed saved in this 
 way will remain pure and improve from year to year. 
 The red rust-proof are larger and heavier than the black. 
 
 Be sure to sow fall oats. If they should get killed 
 your work has not ])een lost, only the seed, and the benefit 
 to the land will far ovei'-balance that. 
 
U-l: SouTJiEKw Chops. 
 
 now TO GKOW 0AT8— HOW TO MAKE BIG 
 
 CKOPS AND AT THE SAME TIME 
 
 MAKE THEM PKOFITABLY. 
 
 BY GEO. O KELLY. 
 
 In the first pi; ice, the best of seed is absolutely neces- 
 sary, it would be a waste of time and money expended 
 to try to make an extraordinarily big yield of oats with 
 poor seed. Begin with choice seed, of a good variety and 
 try to improve your seed. I have been more successfid 
 with the Appier than any other variety of oats. 
 
 How to prepare the land. I find that it is not neces- 
 sary to break land very deep for oats, as we have all the 
 moisture during the winter months that we need. Yet it 
 should be broken reasonably deep. About seven or eight 
 inches, with a two-horse or disc plow, is deep enough, turn- 
 ing all vegetation under. If there is much vegetation, 
 and the land breaks up in ciods, it should be run over with 
 a cutaway harrow, otherwise n smoothiug liarrow will be 
 sufficient. 
 
 The next thing is how to fertilize. Oats are heavy feed- 
 ei-s and should be fed well. Trying to economize in the 
 nse of fertilizer is like trying to feed two hogs on what 
 one ought to have. The result would he poor in either 
 case. Oats should not only be-liberally fertilized, but 
 should liavc iuimediate access to a fertilizer, containing 
 (bo tlirec^ essential elements of plant food in the correct 
 proportion. A good fertilizer ju'diciously used, is by far 
 liie cheapest labor in the South. By so doing, we are en- 
 abled to more I ban double Ihe yield of most any cro]) al a 
 mere trifle of ex|)enditure, when compared to the high 
 
Oats. 95 
 
 price of labor of the present day. By all meaus do your 
 own mixing as none of the so-called complete fertilizers 
 on the market are rich enough in nitrogen and potash. 
 There would be just as much sense in prescribing the same 
 medicine fur every disease of the human race as there is 
 in using a fertilizer made by the same formula for every 
 plant that grows. Let your formula be fixed suitably for 
 the land you are going to sow ; that is if you are going to 
 sow land that will yield one bale of cotton per acre, mix 
 200 pounds 16 per cent, acid phosphate, 300 pounds cot- 
 tonseed-meal and 50 pounds muriate of potash. On land 
 that will not yield more than 250 or 300 pounds of lint, 
 it would be well enough to use the following formula: 
 .200 pounds 16 per cent, acid phosphate, 400 pounds cot- 
 tonseed-meal and 50 pounds uniriate of potash, i^ow as 
 to how much to use, never think of using less than 500 
 pounds per acre. 'No doubt it would pay well to use 
 1,000 pounds per acre, as by a liberal use of fertilizer 
 your oats would not only make a better crop, but would 
 be enabled to stand the winter months better. 
 
 I have never found it necessary to use a top-dressing 
 of nitrate of soda when they were properly fertilized at 
 time of sowing. 
 
 Of course, I sow in the open furrow, which is too well 
 known to be described. I find that by this method we 
 liave not only a guarantee against killing by winter freezes, 
 but the yield will be much greater. This T know bv re- 
 ])eated experience. I have ti-ied every way I ever heard 
 of and find the open furrow by far the best method, even 
 if 1 knew they would not be killed by cold weather. One 
 reason for using this method, is that it is a guarantee 
 
96 Southern Crops. 
 
 against drciitli. In the year of 1904, I had oats sown 
 in the open furrow. AA^c had a drouth that year, which 
 lasted from the lirst of April until harvest time. My 
 yield was fifty bushels per acre of as fine oats as you ever 
 saw. This was on red stiff land that would not make 
 more than 300 pounds of lint cotton per acre. 
 
 It is strange why people will pay $1.00 per bushel for 
 Western corn, when they can grow oats for less than 25 
 cents per bushel. My oats cost me about 18 cents per 
 bushel this year not considering the crop of hay that I 
 will make after harvesting them. I made an average of 
 88 bushels per acre this year. I think I had some that 
 would have made 100 bushels per acre. It is true that 
 this crop was made on fine land; but rotation of crops, 
 and deep plowing, together wdth a liberal use of commer- 
 cial fertilizers is what has brought it up to its present high 
 state of cultivation, as T have never used any stable or 
 barnyard manure on it. This being true, why not sow 
 oats, then follow with peas, make your land rich and 
 quit worrying with so much cotton. This would do more 
 towards adjusting the price of cotton than anything under 
 the sun. 
 
 There are but few people ^^'ho really know the true value 
 of an agricultural paper. I dxO not know just how much 
 T have been benefited by readin^^it, but 1 do know^ that 
 it has enabled me to build up one of the poorest farms in 
 Clarke County, pay for it and live at the same 'time. 
 
 Clarke Countv, Ga. 
 
Oats. 
 OAT CKOP FOE 1908. 
 
 BY THOS. G. SCOTT. 
 
 Oct. 27, preparing land (45 acres) 15 
 
 acres drilled without breaking) . . . .$ 33.25 
 
 Oct. 27, seed (120 bu. at 75c.) 90.00 
 
 Oct. 27, planting seed 11.25 
 
 Oct. 27, fertilizers 147.00 
 
 May 20, harvesting and shocking .... 18.40 
 
 June 1, hauling and threshing 60.00 
 
 Aug. 16, hauling to market 10.00 
 
 Aug. 16, sacks • 30.00 
 
 Aug. 16, rent of land (at $2.50 per acre) 112.50 
 Aug. 16, use of tools and machines. . . . 25.00 
 
 $537.40 
 Aug. 16, to balance 914.01 
 
 Aug. 16, by 1,940 bu. at 65i/ic . 1,355.41 
 
 Aug. 16, by 12 tons straw at $8 per ton 96.00 
 
 Aug. 1 $1,451.41 $1,451.41 
 
 Comment by the Editor: 
 
 Mr. Thomas G. Scott, of Monroe County, Ga., gives his 
 oat account herewith, thinking it might be of interest to 
 (jur readers. He has folh)wed this with peas and sorghum 
 and handles with modern machinery. 
 
 Mr. Scott is a man of action and of few words. He 
 gets down to results. Off of 45 acres in oats he has 
 $914.01 clear and his peavine and sorghmn hay still to 
 7 
 
98 Southern Crops. 
 
 come on; this is twenty dollars per acre; this beats 
 cotton. On accoiiiil of doing snch farming Mr. Sootl de- 
 clined a $1,200 job, to remain on his farm. He is now 
 ranking among the l)Ost farmers in Georgia — different 
 from so many who (|uit farming to take a $600 job in 
 town or on the railroad. Mr. Scott's pathway has not 
 been all smooth and easy. He has had to struggle for 
 his success. But who ever attains any high degree of 
 merit, without long-continued and manful effort? There 
 is a reward for all good effort expended upon the farm — 
 and how much more glorious to. see soil responding to skill 
 and judgment, animals responsive to a breeder's care, 
 crops improving with each year of seed selection, a king- 
 dom upbuilded by one's own genius — instead of being 
 another's tool, or the mere accumulation of dollars and 
 cents. Mr. Scott has a high ambition as a farmer. He 
 has a higher conception of our calling than a great many. 
 He wants to see what our Southei-n soil can be made to 
 yield, and is striving to put better methods into operation 
 on his farm, than our people are accustomed to. We wish 
 him the success he deserves; this he is likely to win. 
 Such grit and such intelligence as he is displaying can 
 not fail. 
 
 SOWTT^O FALL OATS. THE OTHGTN OF I^HF 
 OPET^ FIIRROAV MF/niOl). 
 
 T^Y O. V. HUNN'IOII TT. 
 
 It is now the season for us to begin our plans foi- sow- 
 ing our grain crop. We want to see the larg(vst grain 
 crop tlie South has ever sown aiul w(^ want to see it put 
 
Oats. 99 
 
 in and manured better than any former crop. We do not 
 say sow such a hirge number of acres, but we do want 
 every Southern farmer to sow both wheat, and oats; we 
 can grow both successfully; it only requires two things, 
 put in your grain right and put on the manure, sow from 
 one to ten acres in each, according to the extent of your 
 farm operations. Plan to make from 20 to 40 bushels of 
 wheat per acre and from 50 to 100 bushels of oats. Your 
 neighbors are doing it, why can't you? 
 
 THE OPEN FUKKOW METHOD. 
 
 The man who originated the opeu furrow method of 
 sowing oats, conferred a great blessing upon our South- 
 land, and we are diie him a lasting debt of gratitude. It 
 was only this summer, while attending a Farmers' Insti- 
 tute, at Marietta, in Cobb County, that we learned the 
 name of the originator of this method and its true history ; 
 this man is named J. S. Goodwin, of Cobb County^ and 
 was one of llie members of the famous Lost Mountain 
 I^'ariners' Club, which did much in fostering better agri- 
 cultural methods in Cobb County. Mr. Goodwin noticed 
 that oats left in a depression would often come through 
 the winter, while all upon a level surface would be killed ; 
 so in 1870, he tried his first oats sown down in a furrow 
 and left in this condition; proving successful, he reported 
 the matter to our Agricultural Commissioner, Henderson, 
 and by him it was given to our Experimental Station. 
 Foi- the benefit of any who may not understand this 
 method, it consists in ridging the land up, say in 12 to IG- 
 inch ridges, and <1 rilling your oats down in the bottom of 
 Ihis furrow, and leaving the land in this condition; enough 
 
100 • Southern Ciiors. 
 
 dirt falling behind the drill to cover the oats. While 
 over at Clemson College and conversing with Mr. J. C. 
 TTarriSj one of South Carolina's successful planters, he 
 told ns of a new way to sow oats. He says he likes to 
 sow his oats with his own hands, and does not desire to 
 do so much walking over the plowed land carrying the 
 grain, so has his land ridged up and rides his horse, 
 holding his basket of oats in front of his saddle, and sows 
 his oats. He said he had sowed as much as 20 acres in one 
 day in this way. He always puts a cover over his horse's 
 ears to keep any oats from falling into them. He runs a 
 weeder over the field, the way the rows are laid oif, this 
 covers the oats, causes them nearly all to fall into the bot- 
 tom of the furrow, and still leaves his land ridged enough 
 to prevent the oats from being killed out by winter freez- 
 ing. The Cole, Carmichael and Gantt Distributors will 
 be found to do excellent work iu sowing oats in the open 
 furrow method. 
 
HAY. 
 
 BY G. F., HUNNICUTT. 
 
 The hay crop is as old as agriculture itself. Bards 
 have sung of it, and the novelists have written about ''the 
 delightful odor of the new-mown hay." From pole to 
 ])ole it is grown, and saved to feed the farm animnls. 
 Yet it seems that here in our Southland, where the nat- 
 ural home of the hay crop should be, we have never fully 
 awakened to its value as a crop, or to the possibilities of 
 our soil in raising it, with our long season. We have been 
 blinded by our one crop, cotton, and have become so nar- 
 row in our farm operations that the majority of our til- 
 lers of the soil are no longer farmers, but merely cotton- 
 growers, and do not really know how to raise and handler 
 effectively the great hay crop or any other which would 
 be of so much value to us. We have lost the art of pro- 
 ducing our food, so ardently have we follow^ed the pro- 
 duction of cotton, as if we could live by ''clothing alone.'' 
 But some are waking up, and all must awaken, until we 
 Southern farmers become self-sustaining. 
 
 We take genuine pleasure in presenting to our read- 
 ers this, our "Hay Special," for many reasons. First, 
 we know the farmers are rousing from their long "Kip 
 Van Winkle slumber," and we want to assist them in 
 every way possible to gain information, as to the best 
 way to raise other crops besides cotton. Millions of 
 tons of hay are annually shipped into the South, that we 
 can more cheaply raise, anrl save this enormous drain 
 upon our money, Onr (ii\fih, receivorl from onr cotton 
 
102 Soil Til I'llv'N ( 'iCOI'S. 
 
 Ix'iK^fils IIS hill lilllo, l)OCaiis(^ w(^ liiivci lo s(ui<I il. jiwny for 
 ( r«)[)s wo can readily produce jil lionie. Secondly, wo 
 iinhifiilly lIl<o (Jio luiy crop. From llio first,, finely piil- 
 x'crizod soil jiiid snioolli siirfiico rc;i<ly lo rc^ceive tho seed, 
 ;;!! llir<>iii;li IIm' i^cniiiiiMl iii^- of tnillioiis of ((Midor shoots 
 Ihiil s(Mid llicir smjill *rrvi)u s])cars out from the rich soil to 
 ('jit(di llic t!;l<wy of (ho r<dV('sliino' dews jind llie inornin<]j 
 siiiisliiti(\ ii|) llir<>iii;ii IIk^ ^rovvlh of i;reei)sw;ii'(l, imlil it 
 is ready lo he "hiid low," hy IIk^ niiisic of tlie niower as 
 if cuts its way ihroiii;li llie siiceiile!i( sprigs and lays t-liem 
 inio a smooth swath, to di-y nml lo exludo its fresh, svve<'t 
 (mIoi- iijxin lh,(^ ;iir, ;is if lo wlu^t Ihe iippetitea of tho yory 
 animals vvhos(^ hun^(M' it is to a|)peaso. Then into wind- 
 rows, and (rocks; thenc(5 into harns to hv, fcul, or int,o tho 
 haling press to ho shipped for rnarlcet ; in every stage it 
 hiis its inlcM'osI and awalvons a i*(\sponsive chord in our 
 iijitiire! 'l'hos(^ who wish, may continne to worship the 
 cotton patcli, bnt give iis the broad, green lijiy Hcdds and 
 Ihe iiK^adows — the horses, the cattle and the hogs! For it 
 ljik(>s these to const itnte what we call farming. 
 
 When we think of h My- fields, we reciill (lio hoMiitifnl 
 lines of Whitlier, — 
 
 *'Mund Miillei-, on a snnnner's day, 
 Raked tlu^ meadow sweet with hiiy. 
 Beneath her broad hat glowed the wojilth 
 Of simple beanty and rnatiq health/' 
 
 And onr fnncy catches a glimpse of some boaijtifnl scene 
 as pictnred hy the genina of immortal Blirna, as he sings, — 
 
 "TTow lofty, sweet Aflon, thy neighboring hills, 
 h^:ir mark(M| with the conrsi^ of clonr windini»- rills; 
 
May. io;; 
 
 How plensiint tliy himka and i;i'0('n vnllciyH Inflow, 
 Wlicrc rank in tlio niondows tho iKiy grasses ^row." 
 
 Thus while \v(^ live we want to grow grass for our stock, 
 and graces for our character of sterling worth, and as 
 we ripen for elcrnity Jind coiru^ (o the time when we mnst 
 fall asleep and silently nnd i>('ii(ly he tneked nnder [lie 
 greensward, of our old Molher Nntnrc^, let ns IVud that we 
 can hefittingly n^poal what slioidd ('onstitiitt^ a snitahh' 
 epitaph for- (^v(U"y trn(! I i INm" of IIk^ soil, — 
 
 '^'I'ho grass renewed shall .yearly wave, 
 OW our bodies l.ying in the silent gravis; 
 While our souls released from onr toil and slrifc^ 
 Shall wandei- through gi"(UMi valh^ys hy llie river of 
 life." 
 
Koi.'AliK (Jia)l'S. 
 
 I!V M Am-: W. JOII NSON. 
 
 l^'(H*jii]:;<' scciiis ((> he llic cry now, what imisl I plant, 
 ill ordci- h> make siii'c of lillin<>,- my barns and slic-ds 
 with '^ronglinciss," so llial my work slock and caMlc will 
 not snlTcr foi- lliis necessary feed wlien winter's cliillv 
 Idasis sel in ai;ain. iMnsI I j)lanl, for past nrai;'e or plant 
 for lia V '^ Tlie wise man will pi-ej)are lor holli. Pastures 
 are all inipoi'tant, bnl. of what xalne wci-e tliey during that 
 nii|)r(^(redenl('d wealliei' that pre\ailed dni-ing ihc early part 
 (A' Fcbruai-y last'^ Who does not reni(5nd)ei' what a sioge 
 il was to lake care <d' the cattle (hiring that period, and' 
 what ail enormous (piantitv (d' hay it, re(piire(l In i'rcd Ihoni 
 iiJitil tb(3 Hiin showed his genial i'iwv again, and the ground 
 beciiimo dry enough to liiru them out. Oiu^ thing is cor- 
 lain, we -.wv blessed with sinrli a catalogue^ of liay and for- 
 ages ])lanls that no one iwva\ fail to secur(^ that vvbicdi hv, 
 may nnpiire. I^^or summer, Berimnbi grass is the best for 
 IIk^ cotton Stales, as no ainonnt of dr\' or wet weather can 
 injure it, and now that seed of good germinating quality 
 is on tlu; market, the labor and ('osl of obtjiining pasture 
 <d' this rich and tenacious grass is gri^atly lesseiuul.. For 
 winter pastnrc^ no one grass by itself slhuild he do- 
 pend(Ml on, hut ralher use sevei^al varicMJes mixed, which 
 will give a riclier ("(hhI and be niord^as^ting. For instance, 
 orcluird, re(l toj), timothy, red clover, white clover, burr 
 clover, alfalfa and Les|)edeza, all sown together on tlu^ 
 sauKi hnni, would make a pasture of the richest qual- 
 ity and far siijjerior to any one <d* them sown alone. The 
 
F()i:A(iK Cicoi'S. 10:» 
 
 jibovo vari(;ties coiisiitulo llic most rcliMblc of llic |)(M'(Miiii;il 
 grasses for tliis section. Any land that will make g'ood 
 grain crops will make good grass crops if not too light or 
 sandy. Grasses like heavy or tenacious soils. There are 
 however, exceptions, as for instance, Johnson and Bermuda 
 will grow well on light and sandy soils and also on all 
 other soils. Johnson grass, for those who are not afraid 
 of its cnci'oacliing hahits, will yield nior(i rich hay per 
 acre than any known variety. 
 
 There is not very nnich preparation needed foi* gi-ass- 
 sowing. The land shonld he fim^ly ])nlveriz(!d, though 
 not necessarily deeply hroken. Then sow the seeds and 
 cover very liglitly l)y dragging a trec^-toj) hrusli over it, or 
 what is better, roll it firmly. 
 
 Sorghum is one of the best heavy fijragc plants w(^ have. 
 Tt does not matter what variety, one is as good as another. 
 Some varieties grow a larger stalk than others. When the 
 large stalked varieties are used plant thicker and yon will 
 get a small stalk and much taller, and hence the yield per 
 acre will b(^ greater than with the small-stalked varieties. 
 Early amber is small stalked, early orange and red top are 
 large stalked. Sorghum is generally planted in drills three 
 feet apart. Three or four bushels broadcasted on an acre 
 and covered Avith customary harrow or bull tongue, to be 
 cut with mowing-machine will make the gi-andest forage 
 crop imaginable. Gray soils make the sweetest sorghum. 
 Fresh, lot manure is not good for it; land enriched the 
 previous year is best, otherwise use commercial fertilizers. 
 Cut when the seed are in milk state. 
 
 Teosinte is a wonderful forage plant. Tt is semi-tropi- 
 cal, will not matui'c seed here, so have to depend on irn- 
 
106 South EKN Ckops. 
 
 ported seed and a few that are grown in Florida. It will 
 not grow until warm weather prevails, therefore must not 
 be planted before the 15th of April. Two pounds will 
 plant an acre. Plant similar to corn, a little closer, say 
 four or five seeds every two feet. It stools out wonder- 
 fully, and will grow 12 to 18 feet tall and yield 50 to 75 
 tons forage per acre, rich and nutritious. Will grow on 
 any rich soil. 
 
 Millet, maize and Kaffir corn are other well-known for- 
 age plants. Milo maize requires rich soil, grows very 
 tall, stools amazingly, and will yield 40 to 50 tons green 
 forage per acre, which when cured is a rich ''roughness.'' 
 Kaffir corn is to be handled different from any other forage 
 plant. When the head comes out on top, similar to sor- 
 ghum, and reaches the dough state, cut it off and spread 
 under shelter to dry. This can be used as feed for stock, 
 o]- fowls. After this, new seed heads come out from the 
 joints along the stalk, and when these are in the milk state 
 cut the whole plant and shock up to cure. Chop this up, 
 and when feeding it give corn and fodder properly mixed. 
 
 Cowpeas are well-known to the Southern farmer, and 
 he will plant every bushel he can get without any persua- 
 sion. Besides making the best of hay they materially im- 
 prove the soil. • A summer crop of cowpeas followed by a 
 fall-sown crop of crimson clover, will enrich land faster 
 and cheaper than any other process, and without cost, as 
 the hay from each crop will more than cover the outlay. 
 However, if both crops are permitted to fall and decay 
 on the land the enrichment will be faster. 
 
 Indian corn drilled at the rate of three bushels per 
 acre in rows three feet apart, cut when fnlly tasseled out, 
 
Forage Crops. 107 
 
 makes a very heavy yield of good forage, and while not 
 as nutritious as sorghum, yet it is a good distender. 
 
 Wheat makes a most excellent hay. Sow one and a 
 half bushels per acre, cut when quite green, say when 
 grains are in milk, and cure for winter use. Also feed 
 green to work-stock. 
 
 Beardless barley, a new candidate, is quite a desirable 
 acquisition, and is making friends fast. This is not a 
 winter plant, but must be sown in February. It is of rapid 
 growth, rushing up to head soon after frosts are over, and 
 as green feed or cut in the milk stage and cured for hay it 
 is superb. It is off the ground in time for many other 
 crops. It is especially good for horses and mules. 
 
 Alfalfa (lucerne) should be planted in every garden 
 and on every farm, as it is doubtless the richest of all 
 hay crops, and is good for fowls, hogs, cattle, horses and 
 all beasts of the field. So much has been written recently 
 about this plant that it is not necessary for more than a 
 mere mention of it here. Uncle Sam will furnish the bugs 
 necessary to make it grow anywhere. So none need hesi- 
 tate to plant it now. Inoculate the soil with Secretary 
 Wilson's microbes, and success is secured. 
 
 The thoughtful and thrifty housekeeper prepares many 
 tempting side-dishes to work along with the regular courses, 
 and so may the wide-awake farmer put in many side crops 
 to help fill in when winter's long nights and stormy days 
 are upon us. The most important of these side crops are 
 soja beans, peanuts, or goobers, chufas, carrots, mangold- 
 wurzels, Dhourra corn, sunflowers, artichokes, upland corn, 
 millet, squashes, melons and pumpkins. 
 
 Atlanta, Ga., April, 1905. 
 
lOS S(HrriiKK-N Ckops. 
 
 BERMUDA, PEAVINES AND SORGHUM. 
 
 BY CLAUDE TUCK. 
 
 You reciuest my experience with hay. That is a sub- 
 ject to which I am giving my best attention, thongh my 
 experience has been short. I've had success v^^ith hay every 
 year since IVe been farming. The past two years I have 
 lost not over one hundred pounds. 1 sold in 1903, $865 
 worth of Bermuda, and in 1904, over $1,000 worth of 
 Bermuda and pea and corn hay. 
 
 Had you published the paper read at Hopkinsville by 
 Mr. Dallas, of LaGrange, — which I thought was the finest 
 agricultural article I had ever heard — you would have my 
 ideas about hay in general, though we differ in some partiv^- 
 ulars. He believes no sorghum should be sown with peas, 
 and that speckled peas were the best for hay. I have never 
 sown on any other but \)oov laiul. I sow Unknov^ni peas, or 
 any variety that makes vine with a tall, juicy cane. Richer 
 the land the thicker should be the cane, to prevent its 
 growing too large. I shall some time try speckled peas 
 and early amber planted early on rich land. 
 
 The best plau T have tried for economy of time and 
 good preparation is to break land with two-horse turner, 
 which gets in more groimd with same horse-pow^r than 
 disk; though if had tiuie would use disk, drag a level over, 
 and drill peas and corn mixed in a ^Superior) wheat drill. 
 Have never succeeded in covering all seed any other way. 
 
 I intend planting eighty acres (that grew corn and 
 peas last year), in peas an<l cane in May. My plan was 
 to have oats on this land, but a large cotton crop prevented 
 sowing but fifteen acres, and tliey are about all killf^d, T 
 
Bermuda, Peavines and Sorghum. 109 
 
 do not like to cut hay of any kind when dew is on. When 
 peas are ripe we start mower and rake right behind. I 
 have now under shelter enough pine pegs thirty inches 
 long saved from last year to cure sixty-five acres of poor- 
 land hay. Four pegs are driven up two feet apart in a 
 square; a fork of hay is put on each peg so as to cover 
 space at top. Then pile on till hay is about head high, 
 cap over w^ell, rake down smooth, and pull from under- 
 neath so that it now touches the ground. Pegs are driven 
 after raking in convenient piles. If piles are too large, 
 hay will mold on north side ; while if they are reasonably 
 small the sun will dry through after heavy rains, and I 
 believe will not mold if mixed with cane, but wall without 
 cane. Richer the land, tliicker the cane. 
 
 This hay should not be baled too soon. Last fall I 
 baled mine in field rather late. Bales weighed about a 
 hundred pounds. Used a heavy ^N'ancy Hanks press, made 
 at Dalton, Ga. Hay brought 80 cents a hundred as fast 
 as baled. Could sell any quantity for five or ten cents 
 more now. Timothy gets way back when peavine and 
 cane comes to town. 
 
 One point T am anxious about. That is whether in press-- 
 ing the juice out of cane will it not cause hay to mold in 
 center of bales if kept several months, and whether hay 
 is injured if juice causes it to mold? If the farmers of 
 the South were alive to the fact that millions of dollars 
 wortli of hay was shipped into Georgia each year — fouj* 
 millions I believe in 1903 — and how cheaply it can bo 
 raised, to say nothing of the benefit to these old red hills 
 of Georgia, the cotton problem would be materially solved. 
 But so long as the land of this great Southland remains in 
 
110 Southern Crops. 
 
 the hands of unthrifty tenants, only cotton can and will 
 be raised. Just so long, and longer still, will it pay the 
 thrifty farmer who doesn't mind hitting a lick in season 
 to raise cane and peas. 
 
 My father has always told me that nothing paid on bot- 
 tom land like Bermuda. I now have thirty acres of creek 
 and branch bottoms in Bermuda. Hope to double that 
 amount in five years. Bermuda grows best on a bottom 
 about three feet above level of water, when water gets 
 above that, swamp-grass and buUrush takes the place of 
 Bermuda and when lower, broomsage. I sow oats in 
 spring after freezes to kill sage and give Bermuda roots 
 a deeper hold. Don't know how long before it will need 
 to me done again. 
 
 Mr. Dallas, of LaGrange, has a clover which he sows 
 on Bermuda lands that serves a double purpose of taking 
 place of crop of wee;ls that get in the way of Bermuda, 
 while it also sends its roots deep, loosening up soil and 
 storing nitrogen f<^r Bermuda roots. I have ten acres in 
 red top clover that I think serves same purpose. I get 
 a good cutting off this in May, while weeding other parts 
 of meadow. I intend sowing Mr. Dallas's clover over 
 other part of meadow in fall, — sowing seed over on top 
 of ground without preparation. 
 
 We cut meadow three times^ year, in May, June, and 
 September. No grass should get old and hard. Never 
 like to cut hay with dew on. My best results, have been 
 ha<l by slnrting mower about eight in morning, running 
 till one, keeping close watch and raking the. minuter it is 
 cured and housing the same day before dew falls. If a 
 cloud comes up on green hay T never rake it. You don't 
 
Beemuda, Peavines and Sorghum. Ill 
 
 want rain to catch it in windrows, for if rain continues 
 S(;veral days it is sure to ruin. Or if put in piles very 
 green and continues wet long will ruin. 1 have had hay 
 caught unraked and rain to continue several days. As 
 soon as top of hay was dry, rakes were started to putting- 
 hay in windrows, so that bottom hay could get to air and 
 sunshine. It will dry very rapidly, and should be piled 
 and housed immediately. If a rain is likely to come any 
 minute on wilted hay, it is a good plan to put in sharp, 
 well-rounded piles, and scatter same as soon as sun appears, 
 and dew is off. 
 
 Bermuda should not be baled less than a month after 
 housing. Handled sooner will cause it to heat. My Ber- 
 muda sells easily for a dollar a ton, less than timothy 
 No. 1. 
 
 Hope to see the day when Georgia will control her own 
 hay market. We can beat the weather man curing hay if 
 we will. 
 
 Athens, Ga., April 14, 1905. 
 
 PEA VINE HAY AS A MONEY CKOP. 
 
 BY B. F. HANCOCK. 
 
 I start out by saying I can make more money on pea- 
 vine hay than I can on cotton, that is, counting expenses. 
 
 In the summer of 1905 I turned eight acres of wheat 
 stubble that only made twenty-eight bushels of wheat with 
 two hundred pounds of guano per acre. Then di'illed in 
 one bushel of speckled peas and one hundred pounds of 
 guano per acre with a Hoosier grain drill, then run over 
 tlie ground with a drag and made it perfectly smooth. 
 
112 Southern Crops. 
 
 That year 1 cut and sold in bulk $109.80 worth of hay off 
 of the eight acres. Then followed it in wheat again ; made 
 ninety bushels; put in peas as before and made $175.00 
 worth on the same ground. 
 
 I am very careful to kill all the grass and weeds where 
 sowing my peas, so that the grass and peas will not come 
 up together and be ready to cut at the same time. 
 
 I let at least three-fourths of the pods get ripe before 
 cutting. Do not cut more at one time than you can care 
 for. I cut after the dew is off; rake before night; leave 
 in windrows till the next evening then haul to the barn or 
 stack. I haul my hay to market from the field, for which 
 I get $20.00 per ton. 
 
 I would advise our farmers to plant less corn and cot- 
 ton, prepare it better and make more. Sow your thin land 
 in peas. Land that wall not make more than five or six 
 hundred pounds seed cotton with two hundred pounds of 
 guano per acre, will make from one to one and a half tons 
 of peavine hay per acre. 
 
 One man with a team can turn, drill, cut and house one 
 acre in two days with only a boy to help him load. 
 
 I commenced sowing aboitt the first of May and contin- 
 ued until July the 10th ; sow four or five acres every time 
 it rains, don't lose any time out of your crop and your 
 hay is not all ready at the sanl^ time. I cut and fill my 
 barn, then sell the rest; by doing so T have fat stock nnd a 
 nice bank account before I commence to sell cotton. 
 
 Sow sorghum or German millet on rich or bottom land ; 
 peas will grow too large a stalk ; it will be too hard and 
 woody and stock won't eat it. Peas in the Soutli are as 
 clover and timothy in the T^orth and West. 
 
Grass. 113 
 
 ^ So let our fariiKM's be about their business; don't sit 
 around the country stores and whittle on goods boxes. 
 AVhen it is too wet to work in your crop, sow peas and the 
 more peas the better for your land, stock, wife and chil- 
 dren. Don't fail to sow because pens are high — when 
 they are high is the time to have some to sell. 
 Clayton County, Ga., April 9, 1907. 
 
 GKASS CULTIVATION^— A FARMERS' INSTI- 
 TUTE LECTURE. 
 
 BY G. M. CLARK. 
 
 I am here to talk about grass culture, not that I can 
 tell you much that I have not told to you or others hereto- 
 fore, except that I can confirm my previous theory about 
 the cultivation of grass as a money-maker without the aid 
 of yard or coarse manures for one more year. I am here 
 to talk about some of the things that we feel sure of, also 
 some facts that have been found through scientific research. 
 It is an age of progress. There are many conditions that 
 we have to accept as facts which we know little of, in fact, 
 life is so short that it is impossible for us to learn very 
 much. Scientific men tell us that when the earth was 
 formed its original surface was rock, that with time and 
 the action of the elements the surface has softened, that 
 vegetation has sprung up and with it came the animal crea- 
 tion, one of which is mankind. 
 
 'Now, ladies and gentlemen, w^e know that some of this 
 is true ; Ave also know that many facts have been found 
 through the aid of these scientific gentlemen. I can well 
 remember the first telegraph line run. I thought it a 
 8 
 
114 RotiTHKRN Crops. 
 
 limiilni<i; hiil soon foiiiid it a fact; sixty yc^ars later \wv, iiiut 
 the earth a network of wires and wireless telegraphy 
 system, also electric railways aiul a host of other improve- 
 ments, all of which has been bronght about by the aid of 
 science, })nt I am not here to talk about all creation, I am 
 simply here to tell you a few facts that a farmer boy has 
 found while working upon an abandoned New England 
 farm, in grass culture. One of the important things found 
 is we can make money on the farm. Sixty years ago this 
 spring, 1 sowed a field to oats and timothy, used three 
 bushels of oats to the acre and three pecks of timothy, and 
 when the oats were cut the timothy all died. In Sep- 
 tember I seeded it again to timothy and rye, rye was all 
 right ; twenty-two months later cut a poor stand of timothy ; 
 now I get a good stand of grass in ten months. My next 
 experience was in turning sod over flat, September 1st, 
 then harrow and seed to timothy, tried that several times, 
 found the new grass came up all right, but in the spring 
 old grass came up and killed all the new^ grass out; also 
 found that old sod caused a premature drought. I will 
 now tell you how to. make money in grass culture and also 
 how to make money on the farm. (Higher cultivation is 
 the watchword.) For eighteen y(\ai's or more T have been 
 experimenting on many different kinds of grasses. My 
 first fear was that no commercial compound that was in the 
 market could produce the favorable,' continuous results of 
 our yard or coarse manures, that no commercial fertilizers 
 would continue to produce a continuously large crop. My 
 fear had been strengthened by the use of Peruvian guano 
 and other fish compounds in years gone by. While that 
 kind of fertilizer may be of service, my experiments in 
 
Grass. 115 
 
 oiii- soil h'dvv, ])rove(I flioiii to bo a fiuluro, with ilio old 
 style of cultivation, as well as all other compounds tlnit 
 J had then tried. But later I found that by the use of 
 bone, potash and nitrate of soda, or their equivalent, with 
 the new method or by the aid of intense cultivation T 
 could maintain a continuous high crop standard and T am 
 here to tell you of another year of my continued success. 
 
 This year's crop is fully up to any previous year and 
 you must bear in mind my field to start with, was one of 
 the poorest of the poor, the surface was half-covered with 
 rocks, with a filling composed of ferns, white birch bushes, 
 hardback, juniper bushes, sumachs and a large variety of 
 other foul vegetation. Then to complete the compound, 
 all was covered with a dense covering of moss. It can be 
 truthfully said of that sixteen-acre field that it was a rock- 
 bound, moss-bound, brush-bound abandoned 'New England 
 farm. I have a section now left to show. I know of no 
 poorer farm. When the rocks were removed the surface, 
 in sections, was composed of clay gravel, hard-pan, gravel 
 hard-pan with a slight amount of loam, and gravel with a 
 little loam. 
 
 The clay gravel hard-pan and clay hard-pan holds water 
 well. The balance, about two-thirds of the field, the water 
 sup]^ly is poor. T refer to the subsoil water which on 
 that and all similar land can not be supplied except by in- 
 tense cultivation. * 
 
 To commence with, I had to remove at least a thousand 
 tons of rocks to the acre before I could commence to plow. 
 The cost of removing these rocks and bushes from the six- 
 teen-acre field was $4,750. One corner of this field is 
 125 feet higher than the other. This sixteen-acre field, 
 
1 1(1 
 
 Soiirii i';i{iN ( 'icor 
 
 |»n(»r, hillside, idcky .-iiid Imsliy did iiol. ))|-<mIuc(!, jo shirl. 
 willi, two liiiiidrcd pninids (d" V(',i;('ljd>lc siibsUuicc; of ovcry 
 kind In tho ncic [H'.v yvuv. 'idiis yciii' 1 H^ jicrc^H of llio 
 sjimc field ])i'odn(r('(l 175,(100 ixmiihIk of woli-driod liny, 
 inon> (linii S7 Ions. A I $15.00 pn- j(m, (wliicli is below 
 llio pr(\s(MH, pi'icH^ of liay in lliiil, section ) il, would being 
 <>V(m: $ I, -')()(). 'I'lie, \\i\y eosi me jil IIk^ biii'n less lluiii $5 
 |»er l(Mi, ninkiiig nel pndil o\' $S00.00 or $75.00 \\v{ pi-olil, 
 per jic,i-(^ above nil eosls. Willi llies<i fiiels in Iinnd wbo will 
 say (Jial we cjin no! niake money riUMuing'^ Tlie jirsl, cost 
 of clnni'ing Ibis land, as before slalxMJ, was $1,750. 
 'riial, money lias all been paid back willi lai'^(^ iideresl long 
 ago. I bavc given yon all one (d" my grass circulars and 
 a copy of tbis lecture. Wbal I w isb to do is lo sj)i'ea<I 
 Ibis iTifornndion as far and wide as possible, foi- 1 am sure 
 with inlense cullivalioii an<I care llial wc can double the 
 l>rodnct of tlu; soil, so tlint we can make iiioTiey on Ihe farm. 
 Any one wbo will send me a two cent stamp can gel this 
 k!io\\le(lg(\ I will now give yon ihe results of Ibis year's 
 el'op : 
 
 b^rom my 11 '/x-JHM'o Held, wbicb is all I bave down to 
 grass Ibis year, Ihe lii'st crop yield was l'J(),17*^ ])onnds, 
 (he aocoiul crop, 55, (JT)!) pounds; lolal for the yeai* on IIk^ 
 1 1 Vs «cros, I75,S2I? pounds, over 7',V'i tons to lh(>. acre in 
 lb(^ two ero])s. The %-aer(»- f^d, in (iftecMi y(>ai-s at one 
 seeding, 'J50,(;50 pounds. I tblnl; the yi(dd iii(»sl reinark- 
 ;ible, ihe lifhMMiMi year aflci- s(>eding, over 1 1 Ions of w(dl- 
 di'i(Ml hay. Please uo( ice I hat Ibis yviw \\\vvo were in 
 I he I wo crops over I I Ions. 
 
 One word on lh(> mailer of drying my hay. The lii'st 
 crop (his \v:\v had an :i\'erag(> <d' Ibree full <lays good sun- 
 
Okass. 117 
 
 sliino, tlu; second c.vo\) lind (iiglit dnyH without rain, live 
 (d" llioni bright sunshine, was well tcMidcjd and spread, and 
 lu^aped up evcu'y nighl. This is my method of drying hay. 
 
 In conelusion, hidic^s and gentlemen, I would say that 
 if I wei'(i (o talk lo you a week about my expcu'imcMital work 
 eoncerning grass culture and the tools to assist in its f)ro- 
 duction the story would only begin to be told. Yon may 
 III ink that all of these experiments have Ihk'u attended 
 with success but J want to t(dl you that V(U'y f(uv of them 
 luive. It has bcien a rough iwid rugged pathway, lilh'd 
 with l)i-(^ak(;rs nil along the liru;. 
 
 1 have tried :ill lli(^ dilVercmt kinds of grass(!s that 1 
 could liu<l, singly and (•()nd)iu(Ml, with nniny of IIk^ din'ei*(Mit 
 kinds t<>g(ith(!r, and have finjilly adoptful two kinds, timothy 
 !ind voi] top, !is I have found lluit they work best togetluu' 
 ;ind would pro(lu(u> about a ton and m hnlf more hay to the 
 iicre. The i-esidls hiiv(! been li(u-(!tofor(^ giverj. As to the 
 luachines (o produc^t; Ihe rf^sults I have; k(;[)t a large- force 
 of paltei'u lunkei-s nt work for more than 30 yc^ars making 
 improves] ea»"th stirring rruichines. The circulars which 
 I have just given yon show the final resnlts. .fust a few 
 machines of the thousands that 1 have perfected have been 
 iido|)ted. I liave thus far found only a few mncliines that 
 I ]\:\V(\ or could ;id(»|)t lo produce; intf^nse (Miltivation (cheap- 
 ly. Pl(\ise bear in mind what must be o})tained to get the 
 liirgest nisnlts. Thus far T have only described my own 
 (•ondition for the reason that the field to start with was 
 :d)out :is poverty stricken as any. It cost $300 per acre 
 lr> commence, that is not the case with the average farm. 
 
 Once more and T luive done, Ihere is somefhifig in this 
 intense cultivation ; In my mc^thod, with it many a farmer 
 
118 SouTHEKN Crops. 
 
 can start with his hrst crop and commence to make money. 
 AMiy not get out of the old rut, take a small section of 
 land, give it the higher cultivation and care and commence 
 making the farm pay? Why not? This is all 1 care to 
 say in relation to this subject at present. You may think 
 (»f many other things that you would like to inquire about, 
 for that reason if you desire to ask any questions I am 
 now ready to give you the fullest information possible in 
 relation to this subject. 
 lligganum. Conn. 
 
 CRAB-GRASS HAY. 
 
 BY W. L. WILLIAMSON. 
 
 Of all the plagues sent on the Southern States, undoubt- 
 edly crab-grass holds the first place, l^egro slavery, the 
 Civil War and yellow fever all put together does not equal 
 the curse of it. It adds two cents per pound to the cost 
 of the cotton crop and deducts twenty-five per cent, from 
 the total yield of cotton. It robs the land of plant food 
 as no other crop does. It is actual poison to some other 
 crops whicli may contend with it for a living from the 
 land, such as alfalfa. It is ever present, ever ready, al- 
 ways aggressive, never yielding without a hard struggle. 
 It is ten times harder to destroy than Bermuda grass and 
 does a thousand times the damage. It should be fought 
 systematically and persistently. The national gpvernment 
 should be induced to organize a fight for its extermination. 
 
 While fighting tins pest we should use it to our advan- 
 tage when it is possible to do so. Sometimes, in spite 
 of efforts to keep it down, it comes on and makes a good 
 
SOKGHUM. 119 
 
 yield of hay. If cut in time and properly cured the hay 
 is of excellent quality. But if allowed to stand too long 
 it not oi;ly ripens seed to infest the land again, but the hay 
 Is of little value. 
 
 Crab-grass should be mowed just as the first blooms ap- 
 pear. If a few days longer is given there will enough 
 seed ripen and drop to keep the land seeded and the qual- 
 ity of hay will not be so good. ^N'early all crab-grass hay 
 is made from over-ripe grass and is of inferior quality. 
 
 Curing crab-grass hay requires close attention. It 
 should be a bright green^color and possess a sweet aromatic 
 odor. Bleached, sunburned hay is wcrrthless. Crab-grass 
 needs close attention in curing. Sometimes when the cut- 
 ting is light and the sun shines hot the rake should follow 
 immediately after the mower, and curing should be don(; 
 in the windrow. The windrow will probably need turn- 
 ing a time or two. The thing to do is to cure it in the 
 shade, but cure it. Don't go to the other extreme and put 
 it into the barn uncured. When the cutting is heavy, al- 
 low it to sun for a short time and use a tedder or fork to 
 turn it. As soon as the hay is in condition put into cock 
 or windrow and finish curing there. 
 
 When ready for the barn it should be dry, a bright green 
 color and smell good enough to cat. 
 
 CDinmerce, Ga. 
 
 UTILIZING OF SOKGHUM FOR HAY AND 
 FODDER. 
 
 BY A. M. SOULE. 
 
 Of all the problems that confront the Southern farmer, 
 one of the most serious is how to secure an adequate sup- 
 
120 8()[rTiiEiiN Ciioi's. 
 
 ply of liiiy 111, ii in()(](!ral,(! cohI. In inany S(icl,loMS whore 
 red cJovor and tirriotliy (loiii-isli nnd hliie grass is in- 
 (ligeriouH to tli(3 soil this (luostioii is of minor concern, but 
 !i I'Um- Jill, the area where tame grasses flourish is quite snuill, 
 so thill, l,lie lijiy question is one of widespread inten^st and 
 gen(!rnl (;on(;(;rii. The anion iil of hay prod need in a given 
 territory measnnis its stock-ean-ying ca})ac>ity and hence 
 (h't(',i-min(!s to a large (]egi'(!(; Ihe eharaet,er of ('rops that 
 hi.'iy he grown successfully. It also d(!t('rmin(!,s whcither 
 •A I'otation of crops is possihlc ;ind to wluit (^xlcnt soil fer- 
 tility may b(i eonserved. 
 
 Is it Jiny \vond(!i-, nndcM* thesci conditions, tlnil the hay 
 <pi(;stion should assume such miissiv(5 proportions in rela- 
 tion to tlie present, and future agricultural pros|)erity of 
 The Sout,h. 
 
 The one, gre;U, d(dl(!i((ney on llu^ iivernge Southern f.-irm 
 is the lack of hay for wint(!i- juid sumtrier feeding, and this 
 stateuKiiit, hns a genend application, Tn almost any town 
 or city on a, nuirk(!t diiy fiirmers iriay \h' s(ien carrying 
 fi'om one to several hales of hay home with them, for whicli 
 they hjiv(^ p;iid from .$15.00 to $20.00 ji t,on. Sometimes 
 this is timothy or mixed luiy, (HU'.asionally Ft,' is clovcir and 
 <piit(! frc(]uent,ly shredded stover. 
 
 Why does this y)ractice prevail? Is it because of the 
 superior merit of timo1,hy hay? No; for the Intter is 
 not rich in f(^ed-nuti"ients. A ton of t^imothy hay (rontains 
 17*)() pounds of dry imitler, 1)7. P> f)oiinds of digc^fjtible pro- 
 tein, 874.4 pounds of cnrbohydrates and 28.0 ])onnds of 
 fat. Tlu^ nnt.i-itive I'atio Is vc^ry wide, being 1:1(1.2. A 
 ton of (rorn stover conlains 1 100 pruinds <>f di-y matter, Im- 
 pounds of digestible protein, (MS pounds of carl)oliy<lrales 
 
n 
 
 ow 
 
 SoR(niuM. 121 
 
 and 14 poinuis of fat. From this it appears that two tons 
 of shredded stovor would o(iiial a ton of timothy liay i 
 feeding value. Y(;t the latter can be; produced at a 1 
 cost in hirger quantity and saves th(} enormous sums now 
 [)aid out for timothy and mix(Ml hay l)y Southern fai'uiors. 
 'V\i() explanation of the condition of aifairs depicted is not 
 hnrd to iind. The truth and th(^ whole truth is that tin; 
 sidjject of hay-making has h(!C!n grievously neglected. 
 Why? Ijccause the substitutes that can be; used with suc- 
 (•(iss to replace hay from the tame grasses are not fully 
 nppreciated. Somehow or other timolhy hay lias an im- 
 aginary feeding value in the minds of farnuu's, g(MH!rjilly 
 speaking, which it (h)es not possess. 
 
 As a busin(!ss pro|)osition, the importance uwA nccc^ssity 
 of good hay in abundance made at a mo<hira((i cost hns not 
 hc(!ii recognized. May some of tin; trutlis brought to light 
 iu this discussion be fruitful and bring forth results of 
 value along hay-making lines. Without hay, horses and 
 mules caTi not be (jconomienll y fe(l ; enough stock (^an not 
 he inaint;iiii(Ml to supply the wnste fronn the farm; rota- 
 lions, as already pointed out, must cease, and when that 
 misfortune overtakes the farm the mortgage and impover- 
 isluid fields soon follow in its wake. 
 
 Good readc^r, ikwcm* forget lh;it grjiss Jitid liiiy 'ai'(\ fiiu<la- 
 uiental to the development of a rational syst(un of cultiva- 
 lion. Grass and hay mean soil preservjition through tin? 
 destruction of gullies Jind surface ei-osion. It means iIk^ 
 deepening of tlie soil so lluit fMrmiug on the svd^soil Is 
 no longer necessary, and when this result is achi(!V(^d Ihe 
 Mgricultural rejuvenation of the Soutli will be in sight. 
 Spread the gospel of grnss and h;iy, for It is like honey 
 
122 SoifT (n<:RN C^rors. 
 
 (Ii'oppiiii;' h'oiii (lie IkhicvcoiiiIk II iiiciuis ii^i'iciilt iirni 
 sjilval.ioM- swift and sun;. 
 
 All tliat |)ro(!C(les lias Uccn said by way of <ligreasion and 
 lliorc'fore, seems unpardonable. Bnt the matter referred 
 to is of sncb general and vital conccM-n to onr a<;i"i(Miltnr(^ 
 that th(! digression can hardly be called inappropriate, un- 
 der the cii'cnmstaiiecs. It is not the purpose of this ])aper 
 to deal with tlu^ general subject of grasses and clovors and 
 IIkmi- general adaptability to our sovcn-al soils and cliniales, 
 but rather t,o call specific attention to one plant which 
 can be and is to a certain extent iitilizcnl with success for 
 flay and fndd(»i-. The ])lant r(d"ei'r(Ml to is fione other than 
 couinioii (wei-y-dav sorghum, so well and so unfav'orably 
 known to oui- stockmen. 1 use the word '^mfavoi'ably" 
 advisedly, for if its value were more generally recognized 
 sundy it would be uliliz(»d to a greater extent. 8orghum 
 as hay and fodder bears a peculiar relation to tlu^ South. 
 It is the foui'th arm of Soutlu^rn agriculture. As 1 see 
 it, OUI- crops run as follows: First, cotton; second, corn; 
 third, tobacco; fourth, sorghum. However, as stock hus- 
 bandry, of necessity and by i'(*ason of future* cH'onomic con- 
 ditions, will outrank them all, sorghum should oc(*upy a 
 higher ])ositioii than the (^stinuite calls for. This will 
 surely follow^ as oui- stock interests gi-ow. 
 
 Let us now |)r<)C(nMl to consiVler sorghum as a hay and 
 forage plant in gi'eatcu- detail, and so hec(^]ne familiar witli 
 some of those (]U}iliti(*s which rf^couiiiuMid it foi; favorable 
 consideration at the hands of th(^ farmer. Unfortunately, 
 s<>rghum has not been studi(Ml as carefully by the Southern 
 stations as It sluvuld have* bi^en, and the widter has tlius 
 far faih^d to liiid anv authentic analvs(\s (utluu' of the cured 
 
SoRQHu.\r. 123 
 
 liay or fodder. I'lie only iuforiuation available is an 
 analysis of the green fodder and of silage made from it. 
 The analyses of the greert fodder corn and sorglium are 
 remarkably close, so that it is fair to infer that one has 
 ;d)out the same fe(»ding value as the other. Good sorghum 
 liay or fodder shouUi be superior to corn stover in feeding 
 value because of the relatively large amount of grain con- 
 tained in the seed heads. Now, if sorghum hay only ap- 
 proximates corn stover in digestibility, wliich is certainly 
 not giving it a high rating, two tons of it would equal a ton 
 of tiinothy in feeding value. The yield of timothy under 
 favorable conditions would be a ton and a half per acr(3. 
 Sorghum as hay or fodder will, under conditions of soil 
 and climate (hat would destroy timothy, yield from thi-ee 
 to six tons of cured food. Instances are on record whei'o 
 seven to ten tons of cured hay have been harvested from 
 an acre of ordinary red clay land, not remarkable for fer- 
 tility and cultivated in an indifferent manner. Thus the 
 farmer having stock to maintain can secure with compara- 
 tive ease, at least twice as much nutriment from an acre 
 of land in sorghum as he would obtain were the land in 
 timothy. 
 
 As already explained, the fodder is virtually equal to 
 corn in feeding value, and yields of 15 to 20 tons for silo- 
 ing purposes may be counted on. For silage, when prop- 
 erly handled sorghum has no superior, and practical ex- 
 perience would indicate that it can be fed to beef and dairv 
 cattle with as great success as the best corn silage. The 
 writer has seen the sorghum fodder obtained from an aero 
 fed with a grain ration limited to four poujids per head 
 per day to four head of 800 pound beef cattle for more 
 
124 Southern Crops. 
 
 tlian 150 days. The cattle gained d'li'ing- this perio<l ilO:? 
 pounds, or 173 pounds apiece. The sorghum was eaten 
 with great relish because of its sweetness and succulence. 
 In this instance, it was grown in drills two feet apart, cut 
 and bound with the corn harvester, and cured in the field 
 in large shocks. On many a farm the few cattle and 
 horses kept are allowed to wander at will through the bleak 
 and barren fields seeking food when five or ten acres of 
 the hundreds scratched over and cultivated would have 
 provided them with the best of food in abundance at a 
 cost, when properly managed, not exceeding $2.50 per ton. 
 What farmer can afford to pay $15.00 a ton for hay when 
 he can grow such a magnificent substitute at home at so 
 moderate a cost? 
 
 These facts testify to the value of sorghum when utilized 
 either green or dry, and show that it adds wonderfully to 
 the stock carrying capacity of a given area of land. The 
 hay or fodder is useful for feeding to almost every class 
 of stock raised on the farm. When properly made and 
 cnred as hay, the stalks are fine and leafy and being suc- 
 culent, sweet, and low in crude fibre, the stalks are eaten 
 up clean as well as the leaves. In the condition described, 
 the hay is well suited to horses and mules, and will cause 
 I hem to fatten quickly. Sorghum is accused of making the 
 coat long and rough, and there ap^ar^ to be some foimda- 
 tion to the charge. If a small amount of bran, linseed 
 or cowpea hay be fed with it the difficulty will be overcome. 
 
 Sorghum is relished by sheep and calves, but l)eing a 
 corbohydrate food, it should not constitute the sole ration, 
 as is often the case. These who use it in this way will 
 
Sorghum. I'/JT) 
 
 not find it as satisfactory as wlioii fc<l willi a bettor u\\- 
 derstanding of its limitations. 
 
 As to the best metbods of feeding, o])inions differ. It 
 should at least be fed where it can be kept dry after re- 
 moval from the rick. A rack with slats in front would be 
 very convenient and saves what would otherwise be a great 
 waste of food. It is doubtful if it would pay to cut the 
 fodder up, and certainly not the hay. The best results 
 will follow when limited quantities are placed in the racks 
 every day, so as to keep the hay bright and clean and in 
 the most palatable condition. A handful of salt sprinkled 
 over it will prove appetizing. There is no difficulty in 
 getting animals to eat sorghum hay of good quality, for it 
 should have a greenish brown color, attractive to the eye 
 and it is so soft and pliable, yet withal possessed of such a 
 delightful aroma and sweet succulence as to make it a 
 most desirable morsel to the palate of the farmyard inhabi- 
 tant. 
 
 What other qualities can sorghum possess that have been 
 overlooked? It will grow on land too poor to raise grass 
 or hay, as the term is generally understood. This does not 
 mean that it will be proper to grow it on the same land 
 year after year ; far from it. In that case it would prove 
 •too exhausting to the soil. Placed in a rotation of three 
 to five years, the latter term preferred, it can be reli(^d 
 upon to provide the necessary provender without injury 
 to the land. The draft made by timothy on the fertilizing 
 constituents of the land is very heavy, but the yield being 
 comparatively small, it takes it much longer to remove a 
 given amount of plant food from the land than a single 
 crop of sorghum. Hence timothy is not regarded as hard 
 
1 2r> R<M! riiioKN Okops. 
 
 (Ml tJic soil. Tlic li'iK^ l);isis of (^oinpni-isnii, liowcvor, is 
 foil lid l»y (lct(M-iiiiiiiiio- ilic iota] drjifl on ilio soil ns coiii- 
 (tjircd with llio fcfuliiig mitricnts y)rodn(;(!d. On lliis basis, 
 sor^l'iiim is not harclor on tlio land tlmn other farm crops. 
 'I'hus one; of the fiinioiis ii reunion ts against it is exploded. 
 Sorglnirn is ;i li;ir(|y |)|;in(. For when dry weather comes it 
 does not wilher away and die, bnt bides its time, and wben 
 tli(^ rain comes it driid<s <]eeply and yields bountifnlly. 
 Not so with corn, for if the I'iiin is willdield ?_! lioni-s at 
 Ijisseliiii;' ;ind silkiiii;' lime the yield nniy b(; redue(;d 
 one-lndf. 
 
 Sorglinni is well ad;if)l(Ml for nrowiiii;- on old sedge fields 
 :ind on lands nnsiiitc*! for its more dc^lieate cousin, corn. 
 1'bns it (uiables the farmcM" to ntili/e and bring into rotn- 
 lion areas not in the; best con<lilion lo commence with. 
 KiidcM- these ci I'cnmstnnces, I he yield mny not b(^ birge, 
 bnt liow much hotter to h;iv(^ the hiirns and sheds full of 
 nttractive liny tlnin hav(^ nothing at all? The other ex- 
 cellent (jn;ilities of this plant have been dwelt on at some 
 h'liglh |)r('\ ionsly, ;ind so necul not he i-epe;ite<l here. 
 
 How shjill sorghniii ho cnltivated foi" luiy? Plow llic 
 h'ind deeply, in i]\(\ fiill, if possible, 8n})soil it nt lens), 
 once in lhr(>e yen i-s if I he chiy is vei'v henvy. Tn the 
 spring sow (he sorghnm nl llie I'nie of one nnd n hnlf to 
 two bnshels per nci-(\ An ordiiva^i-y grnin <lrill will nnsw(^r 
 nnd is bellei" ihnn hr(Kid<'nsl ing lo lli(*' mind <d* Ihe wril(U", 
 ns Ihe s('(m1 is more exctdy dislrihnled nnd nnilV)rmly cov- 
 ered. 
 
 Aft(M- ihe sorghnm is well np, if weeds |»rov(^ ti'onble- 
 some or should a crnsi foi-m, rnn ovcv the hind with j> 
 weeder. II will iio( hm-l llu^ soriihimi, hiil will i^ive il n 
 
SoRiaiiiM. 127 
 
 stnrl. 1 )() Jiol, sccmI (oo curly. Ahoiil, Iwo (»r IIii'cm', \v(M»ks 
 aff.or corn is flu; bcsl time, tlioiiii^Ii seeding!,' nuiy bo doiio Jis 
 late as 'Tuly, depending on the locality. 
 
 When the heads begin to shoot, cnt for hay. Good 
 weather is essential. Use the tedder freely to tnrn the 
 stalks over before v;dving up. "Rake and eoek according 
 to judgment and hanl to the barn when thoroughly cnnMl. 
 Little difficulty will be experienced in handling the hay 
 it the stand is thick enough to insure fine stalks which 
 will dry out (juickly. 
 
 Sorghum can be ricked in the field with great success, 
 as it turns water much better than is generally supposed. 
 In bad weather hay caps can be used to advantage tor cov- 
 ering the small cocks as they are put up. 
 
 Sorghum may be grown as foddoi* in di'ills from tw(» 
 to three feet wide, and while the handling is diiferent the 
 fodder answers every purf)Ose of the hay. Seed at the 
 rate of eight to twelve y)ounds per acre, and most of the 
 cultivation may be d(»ne wilh the weedei-, after whieli 
 the two-horse corn cultivator can be used. When the seed 
 heads are ripening cut by hand or with the corn harvester 
 and place in hirge shocks securely tied to cure, arid haul 
 late in the season to ihc; vicinity of tlie barn oi- feeding lot. 
 Fodder has one serious disadvantage in that it can not 
 be piled in mows, but must be stood on end, and thus oc- 
 cupies a lot of room. It is so sappy, however, that its pal- 
 atability is unsurpassed, and in fact, il coTrd)ines many of 
 the most desirable qualities of sibige in lli(> form of fodder. 
 
 Why should the Southern farmer want hay undei* these 
 conditions? Why should our live stock be so often neg- 
 
128 South icKN (.fjoi's. 
 
 lected during tlie winter season, and prove a source of loss 
 and annoyance to the owner when they should be a source 
 of joy and profit? Why are our farmers buying hay at 
 $15.00 a ton when they can grow sorghum in abundance 
 ou a few acres of land without ultimate injury to it ? 
 These are questions for serious consideration. They af- 
 ford food for thought and reflection. Do we understand 
 that saving and not making wealth is our greatest prob- 
 lem ? Sorghum is not a panacea for all our ills — not by any 
 means, but it can and ought to be a stay and comfort, a 
 source of saving and profitable investment. It can be used 
 in a dozen different ways to assist in the material devel- 
 opment of stock farming, soil reclamation and the general 
 development of our agricultural interests. The remedies 
 for ills we suifer will not of necessity be discovered as a 
 result of some profound, scientific investigation, but rather 
 from a studious examination and utilization of things 
 which are within our reach, but which for some unknown 
 reason have never been appr.eciated. 
 Virginia Experiment Station. 
 
 PLA:NrT COWPEAS. 
 
 BY G. F. HUNNTCTTTT. 
 
 We often tnlk of our natural advautagos, and yet these 
 very best "gifts of the gods" are the very ones most ig- 
 uored and least appreciated. We do not fully -apprecif^te 
 health until its blessings are gone. Pure water and air 
 are taken as a matter of no consequence, until the fearful 
 results of their being polluted come upon us. Heaven has 
 indeed been geuerous to the South. All men speak elo- 
 
COWPEAS. 129 
 
 qiiently of our ''great monopoly cotton" and it is indeed 
 a wondrons money-maker. Yet we have but recently seen 
 our whole people groan under this very monopoly; and 
 on account of receiving only half pay for its production, 
 many of our farmers driven either into bankruptcy or to 
 the cities. Then cotton, on account of the clean culture 
 necessary to its production, is an exhaustive crop to our 
 soil. In consequence, many a Southern hill, that should 
 be robed in verdure, is now seamed with gullies and mil- 
 lions of galled spots are left as a blot upon our landscape, to 
 tell the tale. That portion of our Southland that still re- 
 sponds to culture, is taxed more than a tithe to pay the 
 enormous fertilizer bills we are annually forced to make, 
 that we may enjoy growing our "monopoly." This is all 
 our work, — it was never Heaven's plan. Nature, in her 
 kindness, would have foretold such results, had her children 
 been attentive to her teachings. She gave us a twdn mo- 
 nopoly, and intended that the wondrous, easy-growing, 
 nitrogen-gathering, soil-restoring, animal-feeding legume — 
 the cowpea, should receive equally the attention devoted 
 to cotton. It was her plan that the cowpea should pro- 
 duce the fertility necessary to the best production of her 
 sister, cotton. For over one hundred years, Ave have known 
 something of the value of the cowp'^a, but we were too 
 busy in our active pursuit of the fleecy staple, to give the 
 cowpea the consideration it deserved, and which would 
 have resulted in an untold blessing to our soil and to our- 
 selves. Like the children of Israel, we have srone astray 
 after false gods ; we preferred to listen to the oily talks 
 of the cotton speculator and guano dealer, who were laying 
 heavy tribute upon the labor of our hands, rather than to 
 
COWPEAS. 131 
 
 the ''still small voice" of Nature, who would have wooed us 
 to the ways of wisdom and independence. Farmers, wake 
 up and go to doing. The cowpea is the easiest crop to grow 
 that you can plant and one of the very best. The pea is 
 fine food for man and all your farm animals. The vines 
 make one of the very finest hays for all your stock; and 
 the vines and the roots form one of the very finest and the 
 cheapest fertilizers you can return to your soil. Our ad- 
 vice is to grow peas ; feed your stock with the peas and 
 vines and return the manure to your soil. We figure it in 
 this way, one ton of peavine hay fed to cattle is worth, as 
 food and manure, at least fifteen dollars. A farmer should 
 w^ant all in any product which he raises that there is in 
 it for him and hence should feed his peavines. But if 
 he does not care to keep so many cattle, the peavines and 
 roots, after the peas are gathered for reseeding, are worth 
 seven and a half dollars per ton, as manure to the land, 
 w^hen plowed under. While it is better to have the fifteen 
 dollars, it is worse than folly to lose the seven and a half. 
 Any farmer can grow a ton of peavines cheaper than he 
 can buy a 200-pound sack of guano. We meet men every 
 day, who tell us how they can tell to the very row, in their 
 growing crops, where their peas were planted last year. 
 We know labor is scarce, but this is all the greater reason 
 for planting peas, so as to increase the yield of cotton 
 and corn, upon the land you do cultivate. So, whatever 
 the nature or extent of your farm operations, plant peas. 
 The peas themselves are as salable as cotton. Every 
 good-sized farm should have a pea thresher; and twenty- 
 five or fiftv extra bushels of peas, over your demands for 
 hom'^ sowing-, will brins: more than that manv dollars to 
 
132 Southern Ckops. 
 
 l)iiy some needed huuseliold goods or your family a new 
 suit around. If you are a stock-farmer, plant peas — if 
 }ou are a cotton-farmer, plant peas — if you are a fruit- 
 groiver, plant peas — if you are a trucker, plant peas — if, 
 finally, you are in sympathy with the best interest of the 
 Soutli and have any regard for the fertility of your soil, 
 plant peas. This is a common ground, where we all can 
 and should meet, and as the cowpea can be planted any- 
 li !K' from the first of May to the first of August, we call 
 upon all to remember to plant as many peas as possible — 
 so.v them after your grain; put them in your corn; plant 
 them between your trees ; sow them in your melon patches, 
 and ])lant them on every available space you can find t.) 
 put them upon. Then will our soil b(^ improved, our stock 
 l)etter fed, our fertilizer bills reduced mu\ we will be much 
 better off in every respect. 
 
 CRIMSON CLOVER. 
 
 BY W. L. WILLIAMSON. 
 
 It is pretty g"iierally iniderstood that the various clovers, 
 including alfalfa, will not succee;! in tli" Southern States, 
 and repeated failun^s of nearly all those who have sov/ed 
 these crops are pointed to as good evidence that they can 
 not be made to groAv successfully here. 
 
 But in spite of the general failrtre, th^ro is occasionally 
 a farm or a field that the clovers grow on. 'No very sat- 
 isfactory explanation has heretofore be<'n given for these 
 exceptions. 
 
 It is true that we have heard much of the theory of soil 
 inoculation with the peculiar bacteria that is necessary to 
 
Crimson Glover. 133 
 
 these plants, but somehow we have not come fully to un- 
 derstand about this and when the '^culture" method of 
 inoculation has been tried and has failed the whole thing 
 has been discredited and clover growing given up again. 
 
 It has also been claimed that lime is absolutely neces- 
 sary for the thrifty growth of all clovers and especially 
 alfalfa. This fallacy has been the means of fastening the 
 idea on the minds of Southern farmers that these crops will 
 not grow here and so they are abandoned, numy times even 
 when partially successful. 
 
 I have been noticing the work of a neighbor for several 
 years, who has persisted in sowing the common red clover. 
 When a sowing would fail he has gone at it again and 
 again with the result that his perseverance has been re- 
 warded, and he now grows as good clover as is grown any- 
 where on certain fields without any danger of failure. 
 His clover not only lives out its allotted two years, bnt so 
 responsive to this plant has his land become that when 
 the clover is allowed to make a crop of seed the field is re- 
 seeded and a first-class stand of volunteer clover is the re- 
 sult, whereas with most land it is difiicnlt to get a catch 
 on well prepared seed-bed. 
 
 Another neighbor has had alfalfa growing in his garden 
 for 35 years. This was sown along the borders as an or- 
 namental plant and therefore there were only a few of 
 the plants in the garden, but they have been there all of 
 the 35 years. T dug one plant out of the ground two 
 years ago, the main root of which was as large as a man's 
 wrist. 
 
 Two years ago a section of land jnst outside of this 
 garden" and slightly lower than the garden was sown to 
 
134 SOUTIIERN CltOPii. 
 
 alfalfa, with the result that it has been a complete success 
 from the start. Five cuttings were taken off of it last year 
 and no doubt but this can be repeated this year and for 
 many succeeding years. 
 
 One year ago an additional section of the same land 
 was seeded and it is as complete a success as was the older 
 seeding. 
 
 Pretty much the same story might be told of a chance 
 stalk of melilotus that came up in the yard of the writer 
 about fifteen years ago. From this chance stalk there has 
 spread from year to year a volunteer crop of melilotus 
 until quite a little area of the backyard has some of this 
 plant growing on it all the time. Nothing has ever been 
 done either to encourage or to destroy it. It has been 
 allowed to take care of itself. 
 
 The drainage from the yard passes over this bod of 
 melilotus and is conducted by an open ditch around the 
 lower side of the peach orchard out to the public road. 
 Once or twice a year this ditch is opened out, the settlings 
 being thrown with a swinging motion of the shovel and 
 spread over some fifteen feet of land on lower side of 
 ditch. Once in a while the ditch has been allowed to stop 
 up at a bend, with the result that it overflowed when it 
 rained and the water spread over a section just below 
 that portion of the ditch. 
 
 Last spring (1907) T sowed about half an acre along 
 this ditch in melilotus seed, with tbe result that for a 
 fifteen-foot strip along by the side of the ditch and for all 
 of the overflowed section the melilotus came up a jumping 
 and has been hooming ever since. On th^ balance of this 
 half-acre only a few plants survived the summer and they 
 
Ceimson Clover. 135 
 
 were yellow and sickly throughout the year. This year, 
 however, they are looking more vigorous. 
 
 But what has all this to do with crimson clover \ Simply 
 this: It confirms my experience with an eight-acre field 
 that I have been sowing in crimson clover for the past 
 three years. Three years ago only a small section of the 
 field was sown, which was so nearly a failure that nothing 
 was done with it. One year ago last fall the entire eight 
 acres was sown again to this clover but so little confidence 
 did we have in it that we were afraid to risk losing the use 
 of the land, so we sowed grain with it thinking to at least 
 make expenses from the grain. The result was that not- 
 v/ithstanding the handicap of grain, that portion of the 
 field that had been sown in clover the previous year, made 
 a fairly good crop, while the grain completely crowded 
 out the clover on much of the field and nowhere did the 
 clover amount to much except on the section sown in clover 
 the previous year. 
 
 The past fall the entire eight acres was again sown in 
 clover without the handicap of a grain crop and with 
 astonishing results. On that portion of the field where 
 two crops of clover had growm the crop was enormous. On 
 the remainder of the field it ^vas easy for a stranger to 
 point out every place where no clover had ever grown 
 before. The line between the land that had previously 
 grown a crop and that which had not was the difference 
 between a straggling, sickly growth that could not be 
 mowed, and a magnificent crop making fully two tons 
 cured hay per acre. 
 
 The sowing as a whole has been a complete success and 
 has given us, including about two acres that made no hay 
 
136 SouTHEiiN Crops. 
 
 worth speaking of, an average of fully two tons cured hay 
 per acre. 
 
 It is, perhaps, too early yet to shout Eureka, but these 
 observations seem to confirm the hope that clover can be 
 made to grow in the South to a profitable degree and es- 
 pecially does this apply to crimson clover. 
 
 My belief now is that inoculation is absolutely necessary 
 to success, but it is doubtful if artificial ^'cultures'' will 
 sufiice to give complete success at the first trial on any but 
 highly manured land, and this manure should be stable 
 manure, not chemical. 
 
 Inoculation seems to come about in two or three years 
 naturally if the land is sown in clover, so that at the end 
 of that time no trouble is met with in getting any of the 
 legumes to thrive to a profitable extent. My own expe- 
 rience has shown me that this is true of hairy vetch, melilo- 
 tus and crimson clover. My neighbors' experience proves 
 the same thing for common red clover and alfalfa. 
 
 I make no effort to explain how these plants inoculate 
 the land on which they grow, with bacteria that is neces- 
 sary to the growth of the same crops on the same land 
 in succeeding years, but with present lights before me 
 I have no hesitation in recommending that these legumi- 
 nous crops, and especially crimson clover, be sown in a 
 small way by all farmers. No great success need be 
 looked for the first year, but seed are cheap, and as the 
 crop is out of the way early in May, a crop of cowpeas 
 or other quick maturing crops may be grown on the land 
 and come off in time to reseed the land in September, 
 when the clover may be expected to pay. After that time 
 
Alfalfa. 137 
 
 it is likely that no more trouble will be met with so far 
 as inoculation is concerned. 
 
 It wdll not pay, of course, to sow clover on poor land, 
 even if it is inoculated; but with good land and a fair 
 stock of patience and perseverance there is hope for much 
 easier money than can be made growing cotton. 
 
 Banks County. 
 
 GKOWING ALFALFA m SOUTH CAKOLINA. 
 
 BY W. D. GAEEISON. 
 
 Having been a constant reader of your valuable paper 
 for some time, I desire to submit in a brief and practical 
 way, my experience in growing alfalfa hay for the past 
 two years. 
 
 Preparation of soil: The essential feature in growing 
 alfalfa is to have a thoroughly prepared seed-bed. This 
 may be done by broadcasting cowpeas on the land a few 
 months before alfalfa is planted. The cowpeas, owing to 
 its quick growth, Avill soon shade the land and prevent na- 
 tive grasses and w^eeds from growing. Alfalfa requires 
 humus and a deep soil. 
 
 The land should be prepared by deep and thorough plow- 
 ing to enable the roots to penetrate the soil. 
 
 The land should be well pulverized by harrowing before 
 the seed are. sown. Whatever treatment the land is given 
 in preparation for this crop it should be such as to afford 
 a deep, mellow seed-bed, as free as possible from crab-grass 
 and weeds. 
 
 Commercial fertilizers may bo applied by harrowing in 
 at the time the land is being pulverized previous to seed- 
 
138 SoUTliEltW CuOi'S. 
 
 ilig. It would not \h\ a(lvis;il>l(3 to iisi; barnyard miimiro 
 oil land pi'ovious to s(;odin^' nlLnlfa. Wliilo the. ni;inur(! 
 would improve the pliysic^al condition of IIk; soil, it would 
 aid tho w(K)ds in cliokiuii,- out tlio nlfnHa. I>arnyard ma- 
 nnro may l)o nppliod llic lliii-d \i\'av ;ind in v/dvAi yoar after- 
 wjii'ds, l)('caus(! thci'o will I hen he h'ss <liin^(!i* of lli<; alfnlfa 
 l)oin<»; cJiokod out by woods. 
 
 S(>wino- jji(» s(M'd: ii;ivini;' |)ut (lie sood-bcd in I bo vvvy 
 b(!st possible eondition, tbc nHjilfa seed sbould be sown 
 ill drills, 14 to 18 inclies a|)ai"t, tlie lii-sl week in October. 
 Alfjilfa sown bi-oadcjist will certaiidy prove !i complelc^ 
 fiiiliire in tbis loenlily. TlKU'e uvc. two I'ensons wliy nl- 
 f'nll";! sbould bo plaiile(I in October: i^'irst, b) enable Ibe 
 j)bmt lo wilbshind tlu^ following winter; second, lo (Mnd)le 
 il lo escape Ibe int(;nse niidsunnnei* lient ;ind <lroni;bl. 
 'J'Ik^ innount of seed sbould be 'JO lo JT* pounds per aci"(\ 
 Tile stand must be tbick enou_i;-b lo (Miai)l(^ Ibe crop lo 
 willistand tlio weeds tbat would otberwis(3 tnk(^ possession 
 of Ibe bnnl. After seedini;-, llie bind sbould be rolled, in 
 order lliat tbe iilfjilfji nniy come u|) iinifornily. 
 
 Cultivation: Cull ivnl ion is oik^ <d' llu^ essenli.-il fea- 
 tures of ^rowinc^ alfnlfii. Unless jilfnlfn is ciiltiv;il(Ml wilb 
 absoliile lborouii;biiess Ibe lirsl yenr it is useless lo mI tempt 
 to p;row this ]dniil wbere tbe lan<l is infested witli erab- 
 prnss and w(>eds. Tbis cullivatiou may ho done with a 
 small sorapo for Ibe Hrsl two yenrs. Tbe Ibird year nnd 
 afterwards tlie cull i\';il ion in.'iy be doiu^ witb ;i disc-bnrrow 
 drawn by two borse=^. S(M Ibe barrow to run just deep 
 enouii'll to deslroy Ibe w(H^ds nnd eiiltivnte tbe alfnlfn. 
 
 ll:irv(>slin,ii-: Alf;ilf;i b;iy wIhmi rnt nt tbe pro]ier time 
 nnd w(dl cur(^d, lins n fcvd inn; \.'ilne suj^erior to nnv forn£i;e 
 
o 
 r/j 
 
 o 
 
 (^ 
 
140 Southern Crops. 
 
 crop grown in the South. The harvesting season for this 
 locality is from the middle of April until October. It 
 should be cut for hay as soon as it comes into bloom, and 
 if allowed to stand until full bloom the leaves will drop off. 
 Feeding Value: Alfalfa hay can be fed profitably to 
 all kinds of farm stock. My practical experience feeding 
 this crop both green and dry for the past two years, has 
 been entirely satisfactory, and I can safely recommend 
 this plant to be relished by all kinds of farm stock. Last 
 year I cut 6V2 tons of dry hay per acre, valued at $20.00 
 per ton — $130.00. Why not reduce your cotton acreage, 
 and plant a few acres of this valuable hay crop ? 
 
 EESULTS. 
 
 Date of planting, 1901 Yield per acre. 
 
 Date of harvesting. Green Dry 
 
 April IS, 1st cutting 14,705,6 3,464.3 
 
 May 17, 2n(l cutting .12,301.8 2,969.4 
 
 June U, 3rd cutting 9,191.0 2,403.8 
 
 July 17, 4th cutting 6,363.0 1,838.2 
 
 August 30, nth cutting 4,524.8 1,414.0 
 
 October 3, 6th cutting 3,110.8 818.4 
 
 Total for season 50,197.0 12,938.1. 
 
 Date of Planting, 1904. ^^ ^ • 
 
 Date of harvesting. 
 
 April 18, 1st cutting 9,089.6 2,152.8 
 
 May 17, 2n(l cutting 10,285.6 2,571.4 
 
 June 15, 3rd cutting 6,697.6 2,212.6 
 
 July 17, 4th cutting 5,980.0 1,315.6 
 
Alfalfa. 141 
 
 August 30, 5tli cutting 2,393.0 897.0 
 
 October 3, 6th cutting 1,135.2 478.1 
 
 Total for season 35,580.0 9,627.8 
 
 Complete fertilizer, 600 pounds per acre. 
 John's Island, S. C. 
 
 ALFALFA IN OLD VIRGHsTIA. 
 
 BY JOSEPH E. WING iu Breeders Gazette. 
 There came one day to us an order for 80 bushels of 
 alfalfa seed to be sent to one man in King George Co., 
 Va. This has never been known as an alfalfa growing 
 country and this order rather astonished us. We feared 
 there might be some mistake, or if not, that the man 
 who ordered it might not understand alfalfa growing very 
 well and might be sowing a crop of grievous disappoint- 
 ment, most costly and disheartening. So we felt inclined 
 to reason with the man, to say : ^'Hold on, go slow ; make 
 it 8 bushels, not 80." But when we inquired into it we 
 were more astonished than ever. The man actually knew 
 vxhat he was about; he had already sown about 150 acres, 
 nnd was going about it in the best manner. So we sent 
 the seed. A few days later the man himself came to see 
 us and to study how alfalfa thrives on Woodland Farm. 
 He spent a day with us and whether he learned aught I 
 do not know, but of him I learned much. This man Avith 
 huge faith and energy is J. F. Jack, Los Angeles Co., 
 Cal. He is a man of large affairs out there. One day 
 out in that country he began thinking of the East, wonder- 
 ing why advantages were not greater there than in Cali^ 
 
142 SOUTIIEKN Ckoi's. 
 
 fornia, where one is near to great markets like New York 
 and Washington and Philadelpliia, where freights are low 
 and labor cheap and irrigation comes from the clouds and 
 costs nothing for purchase or maintenance. The more he 
 thought of it the more it seemed to him there must be a 
 great undiscovered land dow^n this way somewhere, wdiere 
 a man could make a fortune, and have fun doing it. Mr. 
 Jack is a natural born creator of things. He loves to do 
 things for the fun of doing them, and while a very busy 
 man be found time to run down East to see if he could 
 find this Eldorado. He settled down in Virginia for a 
 month or two and explored. Plenty of lands he saw that 
 would answer, so he thought, but at last he located in 
 King George County on two old estates, Bell Grove and 
 Walsingham, and bought them. On the Walsingham place, 
 President Madison was born, though that might not hap- 
 pen again, of course. He got about 1,500 acres. 
 
 The land Avhen he took it was in rather poor condition, 
 corn would yi(^ld about twenty bushels to the acre. 
 The pastures wore co\'ered wdth briers and broomsedge. 
 The land is a sort of chocolate clay, some of it sandy 
 loam. He was on the Pappahannock River. The usual 
 crops in that region are wheat and corn, with a little to- 
 bacco. The people he found intelligent, many of them 
 educated, courteous and kindly. Eirst, before he took 
 hold, he went up to Washington and there in the Depart- 
 ment of Agriculture he found two young raen — V. C. 
 Piper and M. Schmitz. To them he mildly announced 
 that he washed to sow a little alfalfa in Virginia and 
 would be glad of advice. "And about how much do you 
 propose sowing?" they asked. "T wish to sow 400 acres" 
 
Alfalfa. 143 
 
 was his reply. An explosion followed, remonstrances, 
 protests. ^^My dear Mr. Jack, think what you will do! 
 Your failure will be so colossal that you will put back 
 the cause of alfalfa growing in Virginia for twenty 
 years !" "Yet you say that I can grow it if I go about it 
 right ?" "Certainly, but to grow alfalfa in eastern Vir- 
 ginia you must lime the soil and work humus to it and fer- 
 tilize it and inoculate the land ; all these things are essen- 
 tial." "Thesa things I am willing to do," replied Mr. 
 Jack. "But consider the amount of lime you will need." 
 "I am considering it. Where can we best get it ?" 
 
 When Mr. Piper and Mr. Schmitz realized that Mr. 
 Jack meant business, and was not afraid of doing the 
 thing right, they rolled up their sleeves and got busy help- 
 ing him. His first order for lime I think was for 400 
 tons. He has not yet solved the lime question to his 
 satisfaction — that is, the source of supply; it yet costs 
 more than it ought, but he has made a good beginning. 
 Here is about his programme. He plants crimson clover 
 in his corn at time of last cultivation. This grows finely 
 iind he turns it under and plants cowpeas some time after 
 it. In some fields he has planted cowpeas alone. As yet he 
 has not fertilized either the peas or the crimson clover — 
 the one defect in his system that I can point out. The 
 peas are plowed under in late July and intense cultivation 
 given the ground. He plows 10 inches deep, which is 
 doubtless the deepest plowing that land ever received. 
 Then he puts on lime, a ton of freshly-slaked lime to the 
 acre, and after the lime 400 pounds of bone-meal with 
 about 53 per cent, of potash in it to the acre. Then 30 
 
144 Southern Ckops. 
 
 pounds of alfalfa seed, and soil from another alfalfa field 
 for inoculation. 
 
 This was done in August. Sometimes he has used ground 
 limestone unburned. lie has seen no material difference 
 in results between the burned and the unburned lime. He 
 gets clean, rich, splendid stands of alfalfa. To see if- he 
 really needed the lime and the fertilizer he left a strip 
 through a field with no lime, and another strip running at 
 right angles with no fertilizer. AVhere he put lime with- 
 out fertilizer he got a good stand of not very thrifty alfalfa. 
 Where he put fertilizer without lime he got a very poor 
 Htand. Where these strips intersected and neither lime nor 
 fertilizer was put he got little or nothing. The expense of 
 Iho liming, fertilization and seeding has been only about 
 $15 per acre. He has secured as return about a ton to the 
 cutting of alfalfa on each acre, cutting four or five times 
 in a year. Mr. Jack feels that he has probably not used 
 enough lime, but that its rather high cost at present makes 
 it wise to use as little as will suffice, and he expects to lime 
 again in a year or two. He is also prepared to fertilize 
 every year, if need be. 
 
 ^'Coming from California, of course the fertilization of 
 the land is a new thing to me, Mr. AVing, but I look at it 
 that it will be cheaper than buying water in California, 
 and so the Virginia fields have really no disadvantage in 
 that way. I am keenly alive to your suggestion that suffi- 
 cient lime will make alfalfa able to subdue crab-grass and 
 weeds, and think with you that it is cheaper in the long 
 run to put money into limo than into cultivation to sub- 
 due weeds and grasses. T mean to sell the hay, perhaps in 
 Baltimore or in Philadelphia, I shall proceed steadily 
 
Alfalfa. 145 
 
 to sow more and more land to alfalfa till I have in about 
 1,000 acres. 1 go about this thing as I would any man- 
 ufacturing enterj^rise. I get expert advice, and rely upon 
 it. When I learn what mj soil needs to make it grow 
 alfalfa, I supply that. No doubt manure would help 
 greatly, but I can not get the manure at a living price, so 
 i grow^ cowpeas and crimson clover and turn them under. 
 I had 400 acres of crimson clover this year, and it was a 
 ii:ost lovely sight. I am doing this thiug on purely busi- 
 ness principles. Why, you yourself, Mr. Wing, are in 
 large measure responsible for what I have done, for I have 
 studied carefully every word of yours that I could find, 
 ?nd thus far you have not misled me. 'Now, if it is good 
 business sense to lime and till and manure and fertilize 
 one acre, why is it not better business sense to lime and 
 till and manure and fertilize 1,000 acres, growing alfalfa 
 in a large way, economizing superintendence, using the 
 best tools, economizing freights and all that? Where is 
 the weak place in my logic?" 
 
 I asked as to the market. Philadelphia and Baltimore 
 use all the alfalfa hay they can get, the prices good, so 
 that he hopes to net $15 at the plantation. There dairy- 
 men and teamsters find alfalfa their cheap'^st and best 
 forage even at large prices and of course, if he so chose, 
 he could develop a great dairv there on his own place. As 
 I conned over this great work of Mr. Jack's the thought 
 constantly came uppermost in my head : ^^Why, after all, 
 does he do this thing ? Own that it is fun, own that it will 
 on rich him, Tie is already a very wealthy man, he has all 
 that he can do in California ; he has a lovely home in a 
 beautiful town. Why then take all this added care and 
 10 
 
14C SouriiKKN Crops. 
 
 distraction ii))()ii liimsclf '^" So jil Insl I vcnhircd holdly 
 to ask liirn: ''Mr. Jack \vJ\ \\w, wliy do you do tliis." 
 
 ''Well, Mr. Wing, one's niotivcs nvv usually a bit mixed, 
 iitc llicy not? In part it is IIk; liabit one gets of doing 
 tilings. I( scfsnuHl s<> good ji cluincc! lo dovcloj) soinctliing, 
 just as OIK! d(^V('lo|)s a gold mine in Nc^viula or a now val- 
 ley by irrigation in ( lalifoi'uiji. 'VUvvo was an inipationco 
 lliat no on(! elso would do tlie work, and tben wlu^n I had 
 looke(| inlo old Virginia tli(!i'e were the negk^ctod old 
 llelds ('idling lo me lo eome to lliein. I wished, Mr. Wing, 
 lliiil 1 niiglit do my piii't towjird lilling men's minds^ with 
 n(;w hopes, ik^v ilenls, nf!W jisj)ir;ilio!is ; llius they would 
 revive within them new ener'gies, and maybe Vii'ginia once 
 mor(^ might awnken (o new ;ind very vital life agnin. I like 
 th(! Virginia people so much, niul sec^ ip them su(tli possibil- 
 ilicis, if only tlu^y can awaken and st(!p out into this mod- 
 ern, twentieth century life of ours. No, T confess T would 
 not have; touched it ;il all hnd 1 not ho|)ed to lielj) tlie land 
 and its peoples (irsl, of nil. Ihil, now that 1 am in the work, 
 i llnd it. great, fun, and the i'e(leni|>t ion (d" those old fudds 
 is not, half so diflicult as I had teai-eil it might be. I am 
 dreaming all sorts of di'eains of what some day, when T 
 have laid a pi'opcu" foundation in those <dd fhdds, laid it 
 with lime, I will do on those |)lantat ions. I won't t(dl my 
 dreams yet, but some day, if i lix'e, and lime an^l fertilizer 
 and alfalfa seed co!dinu(» to work tludr magic, some day 
 once more the old ])lantatIons shall be beauty spots, 
 ad(u-ned with suitable buildings, adorneil with ti'ces; and 
 with my neighbors up and down the river also alive to 
 
Kay Making and Curing. 147 
 
 their possibilities, rebuilding tlieir own farms and making 
 lulens there, with wide fields of glorious alfalfa, redolent 
 of bloom; then won't you come and visit me there?" 
 
 ITAY MAKING AND CURING. 
 
 BY CLAUDE TUCK. 
 
 '^'ou ask that I write you of niaking and curing hay. 
 What 1 really know of hay 1 have learned in the last five 
 years. Have planted peas and cane for hay only four 
 }(>ars. Have some creek and branch bottom land well 
 sodded ill Bermuda, about half of which grows clover. 
 Clover spreads ov(ir large areas every year. 
 
 In the spring of 1000, by advice of Mr. A. T. Dallas, of 
 LaGrange, Ga., several acres up-stream were seeded in 
 white English vetch (Vitia Sativa). Next winter in burn- 
 ing off stubble niucli of the vetch was destroyed. However, 
 l(>ts of it can be seen coming out now. Shall always cnit 
 last cro]) late (as I did last year), and not have to burn 
 before spring. All meadows should be cut in May to get 
 rid of weeds. Not many weeds will come where clover 
 and vetch grows. So a good crop of these can be cut in- 
 stead of weeds, as they ripen at this time. 
 
 Vetch or clover serves a four-fold purpose. Weeds are 
 gotten rid of, and instead a crop of hay is made; and be- 
 ing legumes, they gather nitrogen from air and store in 
 soil for Bermuda roots to feed upon, and fourthly, heing 
 deep rooters, loosen soil for Bermuda roots to follow. Ber- 
 muda roots tend to come to surface when ground is allowed 
 to become compact, which further causes Bermuda to be 
 crowded out by broomsedge. This can be remediccl liy 
 
148 Southern Crops. 
 
 putting in spring oats every few years. But planting 
 vetch is much more desirable. Do not think land much 
 more than three feet above water would be as profitable in 
 Bermuda, on account of sedge, as would be in oats followed 
 by peas and cane. 
 
 My meadows have creek on one side and branch on 
 other, and streams so regulated as to keep channels about 
 three to four feet deep, that is, three to four feet 
 from water surface to land surface produce from two to 
 three tons per acre vetch and Bermuda yearly. Cut 
 vetch in May as soon as ripe. Cut Bermuda in July 
 and September. Land less than three feet above water 
 level is likely to be taken by bullrush. A barn sufficient 
 to hold a year's growth should be built at meadow. Time 
 in harvesting is as precious as hay. It is poor business 
 to rake hay before it cures, or to let go over night unraked, 
 and yet it is too dangerous to leave at night in windrows 
 because rain will more easily soak and spoil it. Do not 
 rake till thoroughly cured, then put in house immediately. 
 Never let sun burn up grass. If night catches uncured, 
 put in small, sharp, rounded piles about five feet high. 
 If not sufficiently cured by noon next day, scatter with 
 forks and it will cure in a very short while. Vetch is 
 much harder to cure than Bermuda. All hny should be 
 so raked as to be classed when loading from piles and car- 
 ried to separate rooms. Buyers of hay, as well as of cct- 
 ton, like to class hay bad if a bad handful is found in a 
 load. Would not pack Bermuda less than three weeks af- 
 ter housing. 
 
Hay Making and Cueing. 149 
 
 peavine and sorghum hay. 
 
 Wishing to improve some very thin upland that lies ^velI, 
 have gotten into line of raising peavine and cane hay. 
 Had ninety-five acres in this crop last year, from which 
 eighty tons of dry-cured hay was saved ; ten acres of which 
 was a high and dry bottom that made a ton and half per 
 acre. Intend planting one hundred and six acres this 
 year. This land is now growing seventy acres in oats, 
 six in wheat and thirty lying idle. Hope to plant the 
 idle land before oats and wheat are cut. As soon as cot- 
 ton and corn are planted will commence removing rocks 
 and cleaning this land thoroughly of all trash before srart- 
 ing plows. Last year I turned land with two-horse ])iows 
 and smoothed land with drag made of four two-l^y -eights 
 ten feet long nailed together like weatherboards. Put in 
 peas and cane with drill. Then ran smoother over again 
 to fix land for mower and rake, and make yjeas sprout 
 quickly. 
 
 ]N'ever plant peas except when ground has plenty moip- 
 ture. Will try turning with double and triple disc plows 
 this season, the land now growing grain, which was turned 
 with double disc last fall. Hope land will be loose enough. 
 The main point in using large turners is to get rid of all 
 grass and weeds. 
 
 I plant Unknown or Red Ripper peas, mixed w^ith 
 Orange cane, four to one ; set drill at one bushel on each 
 side. If Whippoorwills are sown Early Amber cane should 
 be used. These must be cut in August or first of September, 
 which is rainy season — pretty risky to handle in large 
 quantities ; others come on after equinov. Our success 
 
150 Southern Okops. .| 
 
 at saving this hay is due to a method my father read in a 
 little paper published by Mr. Hull of the University of 
 Georgia, a few years ago. This is a simpler method and 
 not costly. It really reduces expense of handling hay at 
 that season of year. But if understood should revolution- 
 ize the whole country. Everybody knows that something 
 must be done to reclaim our worn-out lands and everybody 
 knows that the cowpea can do it. But very few can raise 
 the cowpea at profit. The method is to drive three or four 
 pine sticks about size of stove wood, thirty inches long 
 firmly in ground — four sticks in square or three in triangle 
 according to size of pile. Will use some pegs next season 
 that were used last four years. Small piles are bes^. 
 I^sed last season three pegs driven about two and a half 
 foei apart — according to amount of hay — in equilateral 
 ti'i angle. 
 
 Start rake only when hay is dry of dew and rain. Can 
 rako directly behind mower, but find it handles easier to 
 keep a day behind mower. 
 
 Kake hay in windrows, "then with rake draw in semi-cir- 
 cles to avoid tangling— enough hay for a pile. Drive pegs 
 (within semi-circles), firmly in ground. Keep in mind 
 while raking to avoid low places for piles. Two m^a 
 should work at each pile, one on each side, so as to keep 
 ] ile balanced and hay crossed, which prevents pile from 
 tilting. Fill in center between pegs, putting hay on 
 ground, but let no hav straddle pegs. Always ke^p outside 
 of pegs in sight. When piled to top of pegs, spread out 
 over pegs and gradually come to a point at top. Keep loose 
 hay raked off, leavinp- all ends hanging downward. Pile 
 about five feet high in shape of cone ; should a peg or pile 
 
Hay Making and Curing. 151 
 
 tilt, water will enter and hay will rot. Too large piles 
 will not drv out quick enough to avoid moulding. If weeds 
 or grass are in pile, whole pile will likely rot. 
 
 I hauled eight tons from field to barn December 20, 
 packed in February and sold for twenty dollars per ton. 
 This was cut and piled in -October. 
 
 Peas should be allowed to grow as long as possible to 
 enrich land. Would start mower when pods were well 
 turned and leaves nearly ripe. By this method leaves are 
 saved also. The riper the hay is, the easier to handle. 
 The object of putting cane with peas is to hold up vines, 
 making them easier to mow and handle, and to ventilate 
 piles. Would not pack hay containing large cane ; neither 
 would pack any less than two months after cutting. Like 
 to delay packing as long as possible. My plan of diver- 
 sifying is to follow Marlboro corn with oats and wheat. 
 Planting after grain peas and cane same year. As soon 
 as peas and cane are gotten off land, turn in fall for cot- 
 ton. Follow cotton Avith corn again. Thus a three-year 
 rotation which in a few years will make as much profit on 
 cotton as had the whole acreage been kept in cotton, leaving 
 corn, oats, wheat and .hay besides. I intend to work this 
 plan whether cotton sells for seven or seventeen cents. 
 
 In your reference to my hay business in former edition 
 of Cultivator you overstated the amount of hay sold of 
 1906 crop. The correct amount is twenty-one hundred 
 and ninety dollars; of 1907 crop hope to sell $2,700 aftei 
 feeding tw^enty-one head of stock. 
 
 Clarke County, Ga. 
 
152 SouTiiEJiN Crops. 
 
 WIlKA'r AND VICrCJII MAY. 
 
 BY G. 1*'. JllJNJNKJirrT. 
 
 In i-(!ji(liii^' llic, (Jiii/i"i VA'i'oit this \vinl(!i', I wiis ^hid to 
 sec so many IcdtcrH of iiKjniry about vvinl(3r paHturcs and 
 foodHiun's for cnlilc. It certainly makes ^Tcatly ngiiinst 
 llic ii|)|)(';iriinc(' of our Soiitliorn fni-ins (o S(!C3 lli<di- hai'i-cji 
 lo(>k llii-oii<i,h winlcr. 'I'Ihm'c is not a vc^stige to \h\ i^cow on 
 llic m;ijoi'iiy of farms, ol:' jinytliing gn^cn. I wisli all 
 who a I'd inl('i"('Ht(Ml in grasses or stock would s('(; Pi'<d". 
 K'liodcs' ii(dd of oats and winter v(^t('li, and crimson clover 
 al the Stat(! N(»rnud School. P>oth the Ix^auty and llie 
 ciioianous amount of food Ik; will gc^t will a])|)(!al to any 
 ol)s(U'V(u". 1I(^ will get three or four tons per acre, and then 
 will plant tin; land in soi-ghum jind |)eas and get perhaps 
 moi-(^ Uh)(], all from a jtoor, rod hillside. The vetch was 
 s(twii with the oals. 1 1 needs oats or wheat to hold it up. 
 1 am going to sow mine in wheat this winlei'. Oats get 
 kille(l (Hit so much wilh us. P.rof. A. Tvhodes would have 
 made even iiKU'e hut for llic fact thai his oals W(U'(^ thinned 
 out hy I Ik; winter. We have seen pretty fields of lucerne 
 and grain, hut I his held wilh first Imlf of green oats and 
 hlue vetch, and olhei- half in rich re(l erimson clover was 
 IIk; prettiest sighl I cvci- saw, wIku-c iilility and feed wei'o 
 Ihe ohjects ])hinted for. Five acres planted ihus and fol- 
 lowed hy pc^as and sorghum on i-icli land would yi<'hl 
 enough to feed twenty head of callle and five head of 
 horses the year round, ami make ihe farmer feel raised 
 leu degr(>(>s in his own eslinialion, and make his family 
 think more <d' him and he a great ohject lesson lo all his 
 ncighhora. 
 
Wheat and Vetch Hay. 153 
 
 Hairj vetch is a winter growth. It should be sown in 
 September. Can be sown with wheat or oats for haj. It 
 does well alone except that it needs something to hold it 
 up, as the stem is very slender. The English vetch grows 
 taller and makes a larger yield of hay with wheat or oats. 
 
 The hairy vetch does well if sown on Bermuda ; it makes 
 a perpetual pasture. Twelve to fifteen pounds per acre 
 are enough seed. Vetch does not come again from tlie 
 roots, but if let grow^ for hay plenty of seed will mature 
 and fall out to reseed the groimd from year to year. If 
 pastured, stock should be taken off first of May. Seed 
 enough will then ripen to reseed for another crop. Vetch 
 dies down about the first of June. If sown with Bermuda 
 it makes a perpetual pasture, as stated above. The vetch 
 is growing in winter when the Bermuda is resting, and 
 resting in summer when the Bermuda is growing. These* 
 crops seem to manure each other. The Bermuda furnishes 
 just the food the vetch needs and thp vetch what the Ber- 
 muda needs. Both grow from year to year, and at the 
 same time greatly improve th^ soil. Vetch will only come 
 in the early fall and hence is no trouble to get rid of. 
 Sometimes it is rather slow to get a good start first year, 
 but after that growls well. 
 
 THE VETCHES. 
 VICIA SATIVA AT^D VICIA VILLOSA. 
 
 BY JAMES T. CtARDTNEK. 
 
 The number of questions ask^d me, and inquiries made 
 in the agricultural journals recently about the vetches, 
 
154 Southern Ckops. 
 
 show a lively and commendable interest among the farmers 
 of the Sonth, in these valuable forage plants. As there 
 never has been to my knowledge any article on this subject 
 of a satisfactory nature, I will give in part my experience 
 as a grower and dealer in this Imj. If this will be of 
 benefit to even a few, I will not regret the time taken to 
 write it. 
 
 The Moore farm (Augusta, Ga.) of which I am man- 
 ager, was the pioneer in introducing vetch 25 years or 
 more ago, and ever since then has continued to groAV it, 
 making a specialty of vetch hay, selling every year thou- 
 
 nds of bales. This industry with a modest beginning 
 of a few acres has grown no .v to several thousand acres on 
 ihe grass farms around Augusta, both in Georgia and 
 South Carolina. Our farmers are now recognizing tlio 
 great improvement in the soil after a few crops of vetch, 
 to say nothing of the profit over other grasses in the crop 
 when made into firs'-(^lass hny, since usually the price paid 
 :'or vetch hay is from $2.00 to $4.00 per ton more than 
 the Johnson grass, and other native hays. 
 
 There are 42 known and classified varieties of vetch, but 
 for our purpose only three need be considered, namely: 
 Vicia angustifolia, locally called our Augusta native vetch, 
 Vicia Sativa, known sometimes as English and sometimes 
 as winter vetch, and Vicia villosa, known as hairy or sand 
 vetch. It is impossible, however, to obtain by purchase 
 commercially, the seed of angustifolia, and as a vetch it is 
 fast losing out in competition with the heavier yielding 
 (by two or three times) and more profitable sativa ; we 
 therefore, need not consider it. 
 
Wheat and Vetch Hay. 155 
 
 Vicia sativa is imported (as is also vicia villosa) bv tliG 
 United States seed trade from Russia, from which coun- 
 try we obtain our best seed. The States of Oregon and 
 Washington, in the United States are extensive growers 
 of sativa for both hay and seed purposes, but the high 
 trans-continental freight rates keep this nothwestern seed 
 wholly out of the Southern and Eastern markets. This 
 northwestern-States vetch, too, is largely mixed with 
 wheat, Avhich can not be separated from the vetch by the 
 fan mills. The hay produced from the vetches in thes3 
 two northwestern States ranks high as a forage for all ani- 
 mals. 
 
 V» hile most of our legumes are summer legumes, vetchet^ 
 on the contrary are winter legumes. This gives them spe- 
 cial value. Vetch legumes adding nitrogen to the soil in 
 proportion to the crop grown and as per congenial 
 location, add immensely to its permanent fertility, and be- 
 ing harvested early enough in the spring to follow with 
 cow^peas, two crops of legumes can be grown on the same 
 land in the twelve months. The vetch and peas, I know, 
 will be of more benefit to our soil than is a crop of clover 
 grown on the ground for the same length of time in the 
 North. In fact, if all conditions are favorable the tonnage 
 of hay from the vetch and peavine crops will greatly ex- 
 ceed the clover; besides, the feeding value is greater — in- 
 deed the net amount in dollars and cents Avill total more 
 by half to two-thirds than the two clover crops. It is a 
 common saying with us that if you make your land rich 
 enough for a maximum crop of vetch, the vetch will keep 
 it permanently rich enough for everything else. 
 
156 ■ Southern Crops. 
 
 The soil best suited to its growth is one well drained. A 
 loamy one is, of course, best though. Soil with some clay 
 is preferred to an excess of sand. Sandy soils have pro- 
 duced vetch well. Land that will make the best pea crops 
 w^ill also make vetch, though the first crop with one inocu- 
 lation will not be nearly so much as the second crop. As 
 a fertilizer we use 300 pounds per acre of 10 by 4 phos- 
 phate and potash as top-dresser in March. 
 
 On the Moore farm we plant 45 pounds of vicia sativa 
 with 2 quarts of recleaned oats per acre — the latter to help 
 hold the former up ; putting both in with disc grain drill 
 after first going over the land two ways with disc harrow — 
 and more if on hard sod fields, getting in the seeds about 
 one inch deep. For the vicia villosa we use 25 pounds of 
 seed per acre and two quarts of oats. After the seeding 
 is all over, a careful man on horseback sows two quarts of 
 late crimson clover (put cotton in the horse's ears to keep 
 seeds out). If the seasons are favorable this crop in April 
 and early May will be the most beautiful one ever seen, 
 with its wealth of purple, pink and crimson blooms, and 
 its many shades of green. It is truly a delight to the eye, 
 standing up from throe to four feet high — many of the 
 stalks of the villosa F have found by measure to be nine 
 feet long. The average of our fields is one ton per acre, 
 though many will make twice that amount. The hay of 
 the vicia sativa as a rule is preferred to villosa, for the 
 reason that it dons not grow in such tangled masses, and 
 it is therefore easier to cure. The average farmer, there- 
 fore, from sativa will make a better grade of hay. The 
 sativa seed, too, is about half as costly. Some growers 
 here plant 75 or 100 bushels sativa and no villosa. I 
 
Wheat and Vetch Hay. 157 
 
 would advise, however, planting both varieties if grown 
 tor hay, as the villosa ripens two weeks later than sativa, 
 giving time to save one crop before the other is ripe. Bo»h 
 the vetches tiller or stool, the villosa running from 5 to 
 12 per seed and the sativa perhaps from 3 or 4 to 6. 
 
 Our Augusta vetch fields are however, by no means all 
 planted with oat and clover mixture, the majority of the 
 growers, in fact, sowing alone in about the same quanti- 
 ties as above, depending on the native grasses, such as 
 Canary, Johnson and Bermuda, to fill up all the vacant 
 spaces. 
 
 The villosa I regard as slightly hardier, Avithstanding 
 cold perhaps year in and year out in all latitudes, some- 
 what better than the sativa. It is a much slower grower 
 to start with, but after the warm days of March, it makes 
 rapid strides and soon overtakes the more steady and pro- 
 gressive sativa. 
 
 The time of planting in this latitude is from September 
 to December for tlie sativa — villosa seeding may continue 
 two weeks longer. We try, however, to finish our planting 
 by I^ovember 1st. 
 
 Great care should be used in buying seed in these days of 
 universal adulteration. Old seed that have' lost their 
 power of germination can be bought for a song and when 
 washed and cleaned and mixed with the fresh seed, none 
 but th^ foxy manipulator could toll it })y looking at them. 
 Buy of some one who is alert and on to these tricks of 
 the trade, who is reliable morally and financially, and you 
 will get the best that can be had. 
 
 As a siloing or freshly green cnt crop, both the sativa 
 and villosa are used about Angusta by the dairymen. My 
 
15$ Southern C 
 
 OUTHERN UROPS. 
 
 observation is that as regards dairy cows, nothing changes 
 milk and butter on farms in this vicinity more quickly 
 both as regards quality and quantity of milk, than the 
 combination crops as used here by our dairymen ; from a 
 poor flow of washed out watery milk, the vetch will give 
 it a rich yellow cream and solid good tasting milk. For 
 'sows with spring pigs it is equally good; you can see the 
 little fellows actually grow. 
 
 Some dairymen plant per acre 1 bushel of beardless 
 barley, and y^ brshel of one of the vetches, and one 
 bushel of rye ; some decrease these amounts. If planted 
 quite early in the fall, the beardless barley part of the 
 crop can be cut within 60 or 80 days from planting. Then 
 in early spring the rye and vetch are cut together and 
 this cutting can be follow^ed by two or three similar cut- 
 tings later in the season. If this combination, however, 
 is sown late in the winter the throe forage crops can be 
 cut all at the same time. Vetches too, will do well sown 
 either with beardless barley alone or with rye. The 
 vetches and especially the villosa furnish a wealth of 
 blooms in the spring. During the vetch season bees will 
 deposit about Augusta two or three times the amount of 
 honey that they will at other seasons. The honey is white 
 rnd of especially good flavor. \ 
 
 As to vetch hay's feeding valuepwe all know the value of 
 wheat bran as a feed; now, the analysis of vetch is prac- 
 tically the same, as it is very rich in protein. 
 
 Referring to an earlier part of this letter, let me add 
 that late crimson clover should always be sown on hard 
 ground ; unlike any other plant of my acquaintance il 
 prefers to make its own bed and likes that bed hard. 
 
160 Southern Crops. 
 
 In the northwest sativa is pastured in large amounts 
 by cattle from mid-winter till spring; and then it is al- 
 lowed to grow out for hay cutting. It is also cut green 
 when a foot high, and therefore successively cut till ripen- 
 ing time. 
 
 Sativa and villosa do not reseed themselves here when 
 cut for hay — the pods not being sufficiently ripe to shat- 
 ter the seeds to the ground in the hay cutting. Seeds 
 however, when ripening on the plants and falling to the 
 ground will re-seed the ground for another year. In all of 
 Augusta territory there is now growing wild, and increas- 
 ing in amount each year (by re-seeding) just as in Japan 
 clover, some half dozen or more varieties of vetches. 
 
 The greatest mistake that the Southern farmer makes 
 in his management of the soil is, when he allows his soil 
 to remain bare of crops throughout the winter, and lets 
 the rain wash through the soil and rob it of fertility, 
 which under the general conditions of relying on commer- 
 cial elements to restore, makes it bad, yea, very bad busi- 
 ness, unprofitable in the extreme ; when by using a winter 
 crop of small grain with the vetch mixed with it, he would 
 not only save the fertility already there, but with the vetch 
 he could so increase the fertility, as far as nitrogen is 
 concerned, that he could grow btimper crops without buy- 
 ing an ounce from the fertilizer company, and at the 
 same time be adding the much needed humus to the soil. 
 
 I think that the votcli plant is destined to become the 
 savior of our long mismanaged soils, and that ultimately 
 it will make the soils of our Sunny Southland become as 
 fertile and productive as any on earth. 
 
Wheat and Vetch Hay. 161 
 
 Assording to experiment station reports the nitrogen 
 left and stored in the soil for future crops is greater even 
 from the vetches than from the cowpea. 
 
 A good series of crops two of them being legumes, and 
 all Avithin the twelve-month is to plant early in Septem- 
 ber vetch and beardless barley together, graze or cut the 
 barley in the winter, cut the vetch, say in April, and then 
 plant down cowpeas for summer hay cutting. The added 
 value to any soil of these two legumes with or without bar- 
 ley should be in the one year, $6.00 or $8.00 per acre. 
 
 Richmond County, Ga. 
 
 U 
 
HOW TO GROW PEANUTS— THEIE VALUE AS A 
 
 FOOD. 
 
 BY J. L. REYNOLDS. 
 
 To commence, a sandy loam, neither too dry or sandy, 
 but light and porous, makes the best marketable peanuts ; 
 first, because it is nearer the natural color of the peanut 
 shells and th^ trade prefers a pretty, light-colored peanut ; 
 of course most any land that will grow corn will grow pea- 
 nuts. Keep your land in a friable condition and a suffi- 
 ciency of lime in the soil. The yield is greater in clay 
 soils, but the stain can not be eradicated and therefore they 
 sell from one-half to one cent a pound less than the pretty 
 peanut grown in lighter lands. If the land or soil is not 
 naturally calcareous, it must be limed in order to make the 
 plant fruit properly and for its mechanical effects upon 
 the soil. Potash and phosphoric acid are equally as neces- 
 sary, using kainit as a basis of potash and fine ground 
 phosphatic slag for the phosphoric acid. It is best to put 
 in the lime and other fertilizers early in the season; now 
 is a good time — of course you can distribute when planting 
 or afterwards but with less favorable results. Be sure 
 to finely comminute by burning the lime before applying. 
 Thoroughly burnt oyster shells, common limestone or marl 
 will answer the puprose of the planter — generally 25 to 
 80 bushels lime or 90 to 140 bushels marl are, safe, but 
 on thin land I would not advise using more ; a safer plan 
 is to make several applications of it. Manure compost, 
 woods, earth, etc., are fine and by continued applications 
 you can increase the lime or marl provided your land has 
 
Peanuts. 163 
 
 enough vegetable matter to subdne its caustic effects. Most 
 of the peanut soil is deficient in humus and beginners 
 must be careful and use small quantities of lime until 
 they have supplied the deficient matter. 
 
 Fertilizers for peanuts: cottonseed-meal 300 lbs., cot- 
 ton-hull ashes 130 lbs., or acid phos. 80 lbs., cottonseed- 
 meal 300 lbs., kainit 240 lbs., or barnyard manure 4,000 
 lbs., cottonseed-meal 150 lbs., kainit 100 lbs., acid phos. 50 
 lbs. ; or odorless phos. (phosphatic slag), 120 lbs., cotton- 
 seed-meal, 300 lbs., kainit 240 lbs. Do not plant the 
 same soil twice, or not more than twice, as after two years 
 the vines will shed their leaves before maturity and the 
 forage or hay part of the crop is lost. You can change 
 from peanuts to corn and vice versa each alternate season. 
 AVhen the land is properly fertilized it will increase in 
 production annually, but otherwise and especially if con- 
 tinued in peanuts year after year will rapidly deteriorate. 
 I would suggest cowpeas or soja beans, peanuts, sweet 
 potatoes, et cetera. Sow rye or oats after peanuts, then 
 cowpeas after the oats. Continue to fertilize each crop 
 until it no longer responds profitably to fertilizers. 
 
 Break up land with ordinary turn plow as early in 
 spring as land can be worked or gets into condition, then 
 use a harrow and smoothing board or roller so as to leave 
 a level surface. Get out all roots, stones and cornstalk 
 roots. Four to six inches is deep enough to plow. Lay 
 off rows three feet apart and from twelve to fifteen inches 
 in. drill. I plant one seed to hill but many plant two. 
 Cover 11/2 to 2 inches deep, a hoo or your foot is the best 
 to cover them with, but I use a planter, or drop by hand 
 
164 Southern Crops. 
 
 and cover with a double-foot plow. The season to plant 
 i>s after the last killing frost up to July 1. 
 
 The cultivation depends upon the land. If it is prop- 
 erly harrowed and thoroughly porous and free from all 
 weeds little cultivation is necessary; but keep clean — do 
 not allow any grass to grow in them. Use cultivator or 
 plow at the proper time and avoid th^ expensive hoeing. 
 Two Aveeks after planting go over the field vith a small 
 turn plow, throwing the soil over the hills or drills, or 
 where the seed are covered throwing the second furrow 
 over them and then put on a board a day or so later and 
 knock off the top of this ridge. This will kill your first crop 
 of grass with little, if any, injury to the plants, or if 
 preferable, bar off the soil from the vines, as some farmers 
 bar off cotton before chopping, then in a few days send the 
 harrow and hoes through the field leveling the ridge in the 
 balk and scraping off the narrow ridge between the plants, 
 as in cotton culture; after this, use a double shovel about 
 every ten days to two weeks, first running plow deep, then 
 shallow, imtil ^^laid by." Do not disturb the runners, get 
 farther and farther away from them. Once you let them 
 get grassy you are in a terrible fix. You should get from 
 50 to 100 bushels per acre. Two bushels nuts in pod will 
 plant one acre. Shelling them is a difficult job and very 
 tiresome, but the yield will be twice as good on shelled 
 against unshelled and the chances much better for securing 
 a stand ; reject all but good plump sound kernels. The 
 Spanish peanut has a small kernel of the finest quality and 
 is in greater demand by confectioners and is worth several 
 cents per pound more than other sholled stock. The varie- 
 ties are respectively the Virginia, running ar).d bunch j the 
 
Peanuts. 165 
 
 Tennessee and Georgia, white and red ; the North Carolina 
 and the Spanish. Of all peanuts the Spanish is best for 
 any and all purposes. Comparison of the nutritive value 
 of the 12 leading and principal foods : 
 
 Nutritive units Cost per 1,000 
 per lb. units in cts. 
 
 Skim milk 98.2 10.4 
 
 Skim milk cheese 870.0 11.0 
 
 Full milk 145.5 11.5 
 
 Bacon 1257.7 15.5 
 
 Butter 1186.3 20.4 
 
 Veal 525.9 22.2 
 
 Beef 530.9 26.0 
 
 Peas '.*. 778.6 4.2 
 
 Rye flour 603.6 6.0 
 
 Eice 534.6 10.0 
 
 Peanut meal 1425.0 3.0 
 
 This table was made by Prof. Koenig, based on the price 
 in Germany, but for our purpose they show the same 
 relative value. Prom this table it will be readily seen 
 that peaaut meal is not only the most nutritious, but by 
 far the cheapest of this whole list of 12 foods. 
 
 Aiken County, S. C. 
 
HOW TO PLANT AND CULTIVATE SWEET 
 POTATOES. 
 
 BY J. L. SIMS. 
 
 At your request I will tell you how I prepare for, plant 
 and cultivate sweet potatoes. I am not an expert at any- 
 thing, but am reasonably successful in some things. Hop- 
 ing I have disabused your mind of the idea that I 
 am going to tell how to raise more potatoes than other peo- 
 ple, or do it cheaper than other people, I will proceed to 
 just give facts as I do them, and suppose other people do 
 the same way or similarly. 
 
 The first thing for me in the spring of the year is to 
 select my plot of land that I want to plant and break it up 
 as deep as I can with a one-horse plow, though a two-horse 
 plow would be better. Then I select a place for my pota- 
 toes, dig the bed out about ten or twelve inches deep and 
 four feet wide, some twenty-five or thirty feet long, and 
 fill that with stable manure, then tramp with my feet all 
 over and put on a layer of good rich dirt and let it lie a 
 week or ten days ; then I select my seed potatoes. I plant 
 pumpkin yams or the Patisaw (not much difference). I 
 want the small potatoes, from the size of my thumb to 
 the size of my wrist. I most always bed from twelve to 
 fifteen bushels to plant two or three acres, so T. can get 
 slips enough for early planting. After the 12th or 15th 
 of March, I bed, spreading them out just so they touch ; 
 then I cover with some surface dirt T get out of the woods, 
 if I don't have something of the kind in the garden, just 
 so it won't bake on the potatoes. The slips will be up in 
 
Sweet Potatoes. 167 
 
 April and I get my ground planted out and finished in 
 May. I break my land again in April, run off my rows 
 3 1/2 feet and run them out with a turn plow with two 
 furrows as deep as we can get them ; then we haul manure 
 and put in every row; then take the guano distributor and 
 put down my guano with the manure about 600 pounds 
 to 1,200 pounds per acre. The better the ground, the 
 more manure and guano I use, and I then take my cul- 
 tivator and straddle the manure and wait for my slips. 
 When the slips and the weather are right, I take my turn- 
 plow and throw two furrows on the manure and stick in 
 my slips in fresh-plowed land, and if we have a season in 
 the ground they will live. I put the slips in from 12 to 
 15 inches in the row and when they begin to grow a little, 
 I hoe them, then run through the rows with a sweep or 
 cultivator and wait a few days. The vines begin to cross 
 the row and I hoe them and turn the vines and bed them 
 up with my turn-plow. I prefer a high, round bed. They 
 do the rest. In the fall I dig and market them and try 
 to keep the money, for the potato won't keep for me. I 
 wish they would, so I will step down and let the other 
 fellow tell how to keep them. 
 Fulton Coimty, Ga. 
 
 KEEPING SWEET POTATOES. 
 
 BY JAS. B. HUNNIOUTT. 
 
 The Cultivator has for years insisted upon digging 
 potatoes before frost, but we find that very many farmers 
 have not heeded our advice. From force of habit and 
 
168 Southern Crops. 
 
 from failure to think, they have given all their energy 
 tr> saving the cotton crop and neglected the potatoes. 
 
 The cotton could v^^ait without any serious injury. In 
 fact, it helps cotton to remain open a short while before 
 picking. The lint gets full grown and is longer and better. 
 
 But from carelessness or from habit, a very large part 
 of the potato crop is left in the field or- patch, until the 
 frost comes. Then we get in a great hurry to dig the 
 potatoes. The hurry comes too late. 
 
 But we started to say a few ,words about the saving of 
 the potatoes after digging. They should have been dug 
 in the lovely weather we have had, as soon as they ma- 
 tured. It is always better to house them in dry weather. 
 By housing them we do not mean to say that a house is 
 necessary, but it is safe and convenient. The potatoes will 
 keep just as well in banks or hills in the field, as far as 
 rotting is concerned. But thieves are often as bad as 
 rotting, or worse. 
 
 A SIMPLE PROCESS. 
 
 To keep potatoes from rotting they should be handled 
 with care so as to avoid, as far as possible, bruising them. 
 All cut or bruised tubers should be sorted out and used 
 or fed to cattle and hogs. There -is a large percentage of 
 water in potatoes when first dug. Much of this will dry 
 out or evaporate in a few weeks. We should always so 
 arrange to permit this to be done as rapidly as possible. 
 Great heat will be developed while this is going on. Hence, 
 we should arrange for this heat to escape, carrying off 
 the water in steam or vapor. If this is done and potatoes 
 
Sweet Potatoes. 169 
 
 cool off before a severe freeze, there will rarely be any 
 rotting. 
 
 The hills, or bins, or houses should be left open at the 
 top while this sweating continues. As soon as this is over 
 they should be closed and the potatoes kept warm the rest 
 of the winter. To accomplish this end a thousand devices 
 have been adopted and recommended, most of them silly 
 and useless. Help them to cool off and keep them dry and 
 warm. These are the essential points in keeping pota- 
 toes. We knew a farmer who always dug his potatoes 
 on the 20th of October unless it was Sunday. He never 
 lost any from rotting. Sometimes he hilled them and 
 sometimes he put them in houses. We do not value this 
 crop as we ought. We have noticed in our travels many 
 potato patches in cotton fields. The farmer would have 
 been much better off if he had planted cotton patches in 
 his potato fields. 
 
 The sweet potato crop is a money maker if the crop is 
 properly handled. It is economy to build a good potato 
 house and keep it ready from season to season. We lose 
 by temporizing. We would make by doing more perma- 
 nent work on our farms. 
 
 October Cultivator^ 1903. 
 
 HOW TO KEEP SWEET POTATOES. 
 
 BY E. T. M. 
 
 I notice in your issue of August 15th, a request for 
 the best method of housing sweet potatoes, and note that 
 the plan you give is the old one — very good, by the way, 
 but not near so satisfactory as a method I have followed 
 
170 Southern Crops. 
 
 for six or seven years past, and in that time have lost no 
 potatoes. A Mr. Brabham, of Bamberg, S. C, was the 
 originator, and the farmer who tries it once will never re 
 turn to the old plan. I have tried storing the potatoes, 
 both wet and dry, and they kept perfectly either way, the 
 loss at no time exceeding 2 per cent. 
 
 Dig one or more pits of sufficient size to hold your ci'op 
 — a convenient one being 3x6x4 feet deep — care being 
 taken not to go deep enough to reach the water level, it 
 being essential that the pit should be dry in all seasons. 
 Dig tubers at the usual time, just before or after vines 
 have been killed by frost, and store them by pouring in 
 en the naked earth. Fill to within six inches of the top 
 and make a covering that will shed the rain. To do this 
 place boards around the pit having the plank on the 
 north side 12 inches higher to give it the proper slope 
 for throwing water. Earth can be banked up around 
 these boards to keep out the cold wind. The covering 
 should be water-proof and after very cold weather sets 
 in a little straw or old sacks thrown on top of the pota- 
 toes, will be all that is necessary to protect them. The 
 earth, being a good absorbent, will take off the moisture 
 from the potatoes and the cover, not being air-tight, also 
 assists in dispelling the dampness.. The potatoes being 
 below the level of the ground, will not be subject to varia- 
 tions of temperature, and will keep without 'sprouting or 
 rotting until June or Tuly. A pit such as this can be dug 
 under a shed or under a house that is sufficiently high 
 from the ground. My pit last year was under my kitchen, 
 covered by an old door resting flat upon it, and the pota- 
 toes kept perfectly without even the protection of straw, 
 
Sweet Potatoes. 171 
 
 and were convenient to get at. Let your readers store 
 part of their crop by your plan and part by this, and they 
 will never again return to the old method. 
 Sumter County, S. C, Aug. 28, 1908. 
 
 HOW TO KEEP SWEET POTATOES. 
 
 BY J. A. J. 
 
 I notice in your issue of the 15th of June an inquiry 
 made of how to keep sweet potatoes until spring, and 
 thought I would give you my plan of how to keep them 
 from one digging time to another. 
 
 Dig when ripe or matured, frost or no frost, house them 
 in a good house made for that purpose with dirt floor, 
 put dirt around house to keep any water from entering in. 
 Dig potatoes, if possible, when ground is dry. Pile them 
 up in the house nicely, and then get dry sand and pour all 
 over the potatoes, until every vacant place is filled with 
 sand. If very cold spells come, throw over the top of 
 pile some old dry cloths (old quilts are 'best) and then 
 when it turns warm remove them. Kepeat this every cold 
 spell. 
 
 I have been housing my potatoes this way for about 18 
 years, and have them from one digging time to another. 
 The same sand will do for years but has to be recruited 
 occasionally. 
 
 Banks County, Ga. 
 
172 Southern Crops. 
 
 TO KEEP SWEET POTATOES. 
 
 ];V G. \V. THOMPSON. 
 
 I would like to give the readers of your valuable papei* 
 my plan of keeping potatoes. 
 
 I have a place in one corner of my garden. I always 
 keep a shelter to cover them. When I dig them, I pile 
 them up under the shelter, the seed in one bank and the 
 ones to eat in another. I first set up cornstalks around 
 them, breaking off the tops so they will not be too long, 
 then I throw some fine straw over them; then cover with 
 dirt several inches deep. Do not leave any air-hole at all. 
 In extreme cold weather I throw some more dirt on them 
 to keep them from freezing. I always cover them right up 
 as soon as I get through digging. 
 
 I keep them every year until the new crop comes in, 
 and have not seen a peck of rotten ones in ten years, un- 
 less it should leak on them. 
 
 I hope a number of your readers who have been losing 
 their potatoes will try my plan and let me hear through 
 your paper how they succeed. I think the secret is in 
 keeping the air excluded. I am always careful to cover 
 them well when I get them out. 
 
 Cultivator, 1903. 
 
THE CULTUKE OF CANTALOUPES. 
 
 BY BEADLEY HANCOCK. 
 
 I have grown the Rocky Ford melons successfully for 
 several years in this way: I plant on good, rich hill land, 
 n voiding low creek flats or bottom. For a very early start 
 I use the tomato hot bed, after taking off the tomato plants, 
 planting the melon seed about March 10 in this latitude. 
 After w^orking over the top of the hot bed thoroughly, 
 smoothing down and firming the soil, I then put on the dirt 
 bands, which are made for the purpose by most of the 
 fruit-box factories and are like the bottomless rim of a 
 strawberry guard, only they are about four inches square. 
 These dirt bands should be wet before you put them in 
 ])lace to prevent breaking. Commencing near the end of 
 tlio bed, place the bands in straight rows across the bed, 
 having all the band-folds on the sade-side. After placing 
 two rows across the bed get a plank six feet long, place it 
 close alongside the last row of bands, press them gently 
 but firmly against the other row, so they will fit close and 
 leaves no waste space. When you have all of the bands in 
 place, bank dirt up compactly against the last row to hold 
 all the rows firmly in their places. The dirt bands being 
 properly placed in the bed, procure some rich soil from the 
 woods — the kind of soil the old darkies call "made dirt" — 
 i. e. soil that has washed down and lodged in. some fence 
 corner and consists of leaf mold, sand, etc., and fill the 
 bands with this to within one-half inch of top, well packed. 
 Take a dibble — a wooden one — with a four-square leve] 
 
174 Southern Ceops. 
 
 point, stick the pointed end in the centre of each band, ma- 
 king a hole about one inch deep for the seed. I make it a 
 practice to take each individual seed between my thumb 
 and forefinger and every seed that feels soft or flabby, I 
 throw away, using only plump, firm seed, planting three 
 seeds in each band. 
 
 Basing your work on your planting 250 hills in the field 
 each day, plant only 250 bands the first day, 250 the next 
 day and so on, taking as many days to sow your seed in 
 the bed as it will require days to set the plants in field. 
 It is my custom to sprinkle — not soak — the seed just be- 
 fore I cover them, so there will be moisture to insure their 
 prompt sprouting. I prefer sash to canvas to cover the 
 bed, for I have found light very necessary to the proper 
 growth of the melon plant. If too dark the plant will run 
 up rapidly and spindling and be very brittle. If you have 
 no glass and are compelled to use canvas, do not fail to 
 give the bed all the air and sunshine possible. I have a 
 good thermometer in my beds and endeavor to keep the 
 temperature ta 85 degrees in daytime and about 65 degrees 
 at night. Watch closely for the little striped beetles as 
 soon as your plants are well up, and when you first see 
 them at once dust the plants with wood ashes or air-slaked 
 lime thoroughly. The danger from insects is practically 
 over when the plants have formed two' leaves, in size about 
 that of a half-dollar coin, and by this time the plants are 
 ready to be placed in the field. If the .roots of a melon 
 plant are injured it means certain death to the plant and 
 at this stage of the proceeding I w^et the dirt in the bands 
 so it will be well saturated. Move bands, dirt and all to 
 the field, set down on the hills already prepared, remove the 
 
Canialoupes. 175 
 
 bands, press the loose field dirt close to the block of dirt 
 and the plants will grow right off without wilting. Very 
 often I again dust the plants at planting time to avoid any 
 possible danger from bugs. Keep a good lookout for any 
 appearance of damping-off fungus while the plants are in 
 the bed. Free ventilation and watering carefully, and 
 keeping the heat up during cloudy days, will tend to keep 
 this in check. I also use one ounce of potassium sulphide 
 to three gallons of water as a spray to keep this fungus 
 in check. In preparing the ground for these melons, after 
 plowing deeply and thoroughly the fall previous, after har- 
 rowing I take a double team and two-horse plow and mark 
 the field deeply in straight rows five feet apart each way so 
 that at crossing of the furrows there will be deep checks ; 
 with a load of manure driven astride one row put two 
 shovelfuls in each check where a hill is to be made, doing 
 three row^s at a time. 
 
 If you have a large field skip one row after manuring 
 ten rows, then manure tw^enty row^s and skip one row, and 
 thus across the field. The object of this is, it saves ma- 
 nure and the vacant rows can be used to drive your w^agon 
 along in distributing empty picking baskets to the hands 
 and for receiving full baskets from the pickers. By this 
 way a picker has only to cross a fifty-foot space to deliver 
 his full basket to the wagon and receive an empty basket. 
 
 When your field is all manured, take a two-horse plow 
 and cover the manure checks with two furrows each way, 
 forming square hills, then plow between the hills with a 
 one-horse cultivator. I always prefer to do this work the 
 fall before. I have more time then to do the work care- 
 fully and properly, and should the spring prove a wet one, 
 
176 Southern Crops. 
 
 or dry, the hills already prepared the fall before will be 
 in a good condition for work and setting the plants. The 
 day before I am ready to set the plants, I take a double 
 team and five-tooth cultivator and drive astride the rows of 
 hills. I weight the cultivator so that it will go deep and 
 tear down the hills. When ready to set the plants in the 
 hills I take the cultivator and drive the other way on as 
 many rows as I intend setting that day. While one crew 
 of hands are removing the plants from the bed and bring- 
 ing them to the field I have another crew with shovels pul- 
 verizing the soil in the hills, making it fine for the recep- 
 tion of the plants. After the plants are set do not on any 
 account disturb or injure the roots in any way, nor allow 
 any grass or weeds to grow in the hills. When the vines 
 begin running, carefully turn them aside, drawing fine dirt 
 up around the hill to smother any young grass that may be 
 starting. It is my custom to keep the Planet Jr. cultiva- 
 tors and float drag going over the field twice a week until 
 the vines are running too much to make such work safe. 
 I have never found that T have worked a melon field too 
 much. 
 
 A melon is exactly in the proper condition for 
 shipment when the stem slightly parts from the melon, 
 leaving no traces of stem tissue thereon, nor any portion 
 of the melon left on the stem, which always happf^ns when 
 the melon is pulled too green. At the proper picking 
 stage too, a peculiar gray appearance is on both skin and 
 netting. This feature is readily recognized when one be- 
 comes accustomed to pickings, one early in the morning 
 and again late in the afternoon. The shipping season us- 
 ually lasts about forty days and the average yield is about 
 
Cantaloupes. 177 
 
 400 bushels per acre with 1,742 hills to the acre when 
 planted five feet apart. Some growers prefer the half 
 bushel Climax basket, and in many of the melon-growing 
 sections this is the package in common use, but I prefer 
 the one-third bushel handle Climax with slat cover. I in- 
 tend, however, to make up a melon crate of my own inven- 
 tion to use in future, having tried this on a small scale 
 and found it carried the melons better, made a much more 
 attractive display in market, packed in the car more satis- 
 factorily and cost less than the baskets, for I make them up 
 myself during rainy, winter days instead of cussing and 
 discussing "the political situation" at Uncle Lisha's shop. 
 The melons should be very carefully assorted before pack- 
 ing, having all the melons of the same ripeness as near 
 as possible, discarding all cracked, over-ripe, or ill-shaped 
 melons. It is always best in a melon growing community 
 for the growers to form a shipping association. There is 
 much to be gained by this. Apart from your supplies of 
 every kind being purchased at wholesale prices, your prod- 
 ucts will be eagerly sought for by the buyers if properly 
 grown and packed as they should be, and good prices ob- 
 tained. If the editor wishes I will give in detail the 
 modus operandi of one of the best conducted and most 
 successful associations in America, in some future article. 
 Alabama, March 21, 1908. 
 
 CULTIVATION OF ^^ROCKY FORD" 
 CANTALOUPES. 
 
 BY H. L. TROTT. 
 
 For best results, cantaloupes require a light, quick, 
 warm soil in order to germinate the seed quickly, and to 
 12 
 
lYS SouTiiEKN Crops. 
 
 enable the young plants to secure a good foothold in the 
 soil, so that they may live and grow should dry weather 
 overtake them. Newly cleared land, if well drained and 
 friable, makes ideal melon land, because of the humus in 
 the soil, and its freedom from grass. Thorough prepara- 
 tion is necessary, whether the land be new or old. In 
 clearing land for the purpose, all brush and small trees 
 should be grubbed out and the large trees sawed so close 
 to the ground that disk and spring tooth cultivators can 
 be run over them. 
 
 After the land has been thoroughly plowed and cross- 
 plowed, it should be laid off in rows as far apart as the 
 melons are to be planted — on level land six feet will be 
 sufficient, but on rolling land seven feet will prevent in- 
 jury to the vines. By bedding upon these row^s, cutting 
 up the beds with disc harrows, and dragging out the loose 
 roots with spring tooth harrows the ground can be put 
 into good shape for planting. Old land is better fall- 
 plowed and left rough through the winter, in order to 
 destroy insects and weeds. Early in the spring it can be 
 thrown into beds and the soil Avell pulverized. 
 
 Shortly before planting time, a middle burster is run 
 flown in middle of the beds and a fertilizer containing 7 
 per cent, phosphoric acid, 4 per cent, nitrogen, and 8 ]'>er 
 cent, potash, is drilled into them at the rate of 800 pounds 
 to the acre. Prof. Starnes' formula 3:7:8 is to be recom- 
 mended for the fertilizer. This must be thoroughly mixed 
 with the soil. The furrow is then filled and ridged with 
 a disc cultivator. As soon as danger from frost is past, 
 drag off the tops of the ridges and plant six to eight Eocky 
 Ford cantaloupe seeds three-quarters of an inch deep, in 
 
Cantaloupes. 179 
 
 hills two feet apart in the row. Let the seed come from 
 Colorado, and do not use acclimated seed from home- 
 grown melons, as this will produce fruit too large for the 
 standard crate, which contains forty-five cantaloupes of 
 standard size. Old seed is better than new, so long as it 
 has not lost its germinating power. 
 
 For extra early cantaloupes, the seeds are planted in 
 receptacles made of small splint baskets packed closely 
 together in a cold frame and filled with compost topped 
 with sand. When the plants have developed several rough 
 leaves they are transplanted into the field. The young 
 plants should be kept growing and free from weeds by 
 hoeing or cultivating about once a week until the vines 
 cover most of the ground. Two-horse spring-tooth culti- 
 vators can be used while the plants are small, the hoe be- 
 ing used between the plants in the row. After the plants 
 have three or four rough leaves, thin them to one in a hill 
 and also fill skips with plants taken out. When vines are 
 about eighteen inches long, pinch off the 'ends to force out 
 the lateral growth, which bears the fruit. Train the vines 
 along the row^ so that more of the ground can be cultivated. 
 A vine-turner attached to the cultivator will prevent the 
 destruction of many vines. 
 
 In a favorable season, the first cantaloupes will ripen 
 in about ninety days, but frequently it will require two or 
 three weeks longer. Cantaloupes for shipment must be 
 picked before they lose their green color, but not before 
 they have developed the flavor of the ripe fruit. At the 
 proper stage the netting is very prominent, the stem is par- 
 tially dried out, and a Rocky Ford will usually have a 
 slight crack where it joins the stem. ^N^ever tear the melon 
 
180 Southern Crops. 
 
 from the stem, for when this is necessary it is too green. 
 It will slip from the stem when ready to be picked. All 
 fruit that sets too late to mature should be removed, in 
 order to strengthen that which is left on the vines. 
 
 Injury from diseases, such as blight, and from insects, 
 is prevented as far as possible by spraying. Experiment 
 has shown, however, that too frequent and too early spray- 
 ing retards the crop. For the first spraying, if done early, 
 use a weak Bordeaux mixture. Copper sulphate 3 pounds, 
 fresh stonp lime, 6 pounds, and water, 50 gallons, will be 
 safe. Later the 4-4-50 formula may be used. To each 
 50 gallons of Bordeaux mixture, add 4V2 ounces Paris 
 green to destroy striped bugs, flea beetles, and other in- 
 sects. For lice, spray with a solution of one-half pound 
 whale oil soap to every gallon of water. Tobacco dust or 
 nir slaked lime tinged with Paris green will kill the striped 
 bug while the plants are very young. 
 
 In a good season, large profits can be made in canta- 
 loupes, but it will take forty to fifty acres to enable one to 
 ship profitably in carload lots. These will net in the 
 neio-hborhood of one thousand dollars a car, if the fruit 
 is of good quality and well packed, as much depends on the 
 packing. 
 
WATERMELONS. 
 
 BY FEED G. MOUGIION. 
 
 Of the many examples of successful farming that have 
 come under oar observation this year, none has impressed 
 us so strongly as that of Fred G. Moughon, of Walton 
 County, Georgia; for we know what a tendency human 
 nature has of disparaging the success of others by saying, 
 "Oh! If I had So-and-So's advantages, I could succeed 
 also." Mr. Moughon started out a few years ago with 
 no advantage except energy and an eagerness to learn 
 better methods. Listen to this fctory in his own words, 
 \\hich several reliable men told us was in no way over- 
 drawn. He said: "I started out several years ago with 
 an aged mother and father to support, and nothing in the 
 world but the fruit of my own labor. My first year I 
 plowed a steer and bought him on a credit; but I worked 
 hard and made enough to come out, and the next year 
 bought a mule. Soon I was able to buy me two mules 
 rnd rent a two-horse farm. About this time I married, 
 and told my, wife, if she would wait and help me work, I 
 \A0uld build her a white pigeon house after awhile, mean- 
 ing us a home. Two years ago I was able to buy us a hun- 
 dred acres of land paying twenty dollars an acre for it. 
 1 could get forty for it now. Last week we moved into 
 our new honie, which I have just had erected at a cost of 
 sixteen hundred dollars, and my wife and I are about as 
 happy over it as people ever get to be. I make good crops, 
 and as an example, will tell you of my watermelons. I 
 sold one load here this morning, in a lump, for ten d'Hlars. 
 
1^52 SoUTlIEKN OllOPS. 
 
 I make several hundred dollars every year from my mel- 
 ons. 1 have a contract to furnish one dealer with GO 
 pounds of my melon seed at $1.00 per pound. 1 can go 
 now and gather over one hundred melons that will average 
 from hfty to sixty pounds; and 1 learned how to raise 
 them from your father's article in the Cultivator. I dy- 
 namite my lioles. I first lay off my rows ten feet with 
 two-horse plow, throwing dirt each way. Then check 
 it eight feet other way. Take shovel and throw out loose 
 dirt at each hill ; and with a crowbar I make a hole down 
 in the clay from 2% to 3 feet, and put in one-third of a 
 stick of dynamite and touch her off. Then I mix som.e 
 soil and manure over this loosened dirt, and make my hill, 
 and plant my seed, and I never fail to make fifty and 
 sixty-pound melons." When Mr. Moughon had finished 
 this narrative, I knew the secret of his success, viz., ''that 
 he was not a hearer of the word only, but a doer of the 
 word." 
 
 Of the many who read the article on dynamiting holes 
 for watermelon hills, we expect he was the only one who 
 had the nerve to give it fair trial ; the others simply passed 
 it by as something too bookish to be practical. It thrills 
 onr heart as nothing else can, to thus see some practical 
 man who can grasp and successfully embody the most ad- 
 vanced thought on his line of work. Work is grand and 
 thought is glorious, and from the union of the two can 
 only come the highest achievement in any line ; and when- 
 ever we find a farmer who has been quickened into better 
 endeavor by the flasli of this thonght-spark, we sincerely 
 return thanks to Heaven, and take on new heart. If it 
 be that such an one conies up from tlie walks of the lowly, 
 
184 Southern Crops. 
 
 it only rejoices us the more ; for nothing should gladden us 
 more than to see humanity on the upward move. 
 October Cultivatok, 1905. 
 
 GROWING WATERMELONS. 
 
 BY W. B. RODDENBERRY. 
 
 We never can forget the first time we met Mr. Roddcn- 
 berry, it was at the Cane Growers' Association, at Mont- 
 gomery, Ala. Dr. II. W. Wiley, of the Department at 
 Washington, had just finished a very clear and forcible 
 address; then the Chairman announced that he would be 
 followed by farmer W. B. Roddenberry, of Cairo, Ga. 
 When he had finished his address it thrilled our very soul 
 with joy and pride, that here was a farmer who could 
 measure arms and brains with any of them. Ever since 
 that time we have looked forward to the day, when we could 
 visit him at his home and see just how he operated his 
 farm. We went down on July 10 ; we can not describe his 
 many acres of cane, corn and cotton; but will say they 
 were all fine. We saw 150' acres in a body of corn that 
 will yield 80 bushels or more. Mr. Roddenberry has sev- 
 eral thousand rcres, numy cattle and head of hogs. He 
 runs thirteen plows on his home-place, and has an over- 
 seer, who has a fine sadrlle-horse, which he mounts and 
 rides all day, keeping up with the plow- and hoe-hands. 
 Of course, he could not make the eminent success he do'^^, 
 without system and much labor; but one of the thin^rs 
 that impresses you most is his full equipment of machin- 
 ery. Two-horso plows, two-horse wheel cultivators, and 
 
Melons. 185 
 
 every conceivable implement, such as plows, harrows, reap- 
 ers, harvesters, etc. 
 
 We must content ourselves with giving one example of 
 just how Mr. Roddenberry makes his force and knowledge 
 felt, as to financial results. We give you a cut of his fine 
 Avatermelon field. We asked him how it was he grew 
 them so fine ; so much larger than his neighbors, ^^Did you 
 double or treble the amount of the fertilizer?" He re- 
 plied, ^'No, I only used 600 pounds per acre; just what my 
 neighbors used. You see, I simply carried out the law 
 of nature, which is, — you must secure a strong vigorous 
 vine, before you can grow a large melon. When it rained 
 so much and the vines began to run out and put on small 
 melons my neighbors quit working theirs ; but I kept throw- 
 ing up my vines and plowing them, even though they thre.v 
 off the young melons, until I had plow^ed them three 
 more times. When they had secured the proper growth, 
 1 laid them by. The result is, I am averaging 48-pound 
 melons by the car load. Have averaged over $150 net per 
 car, and will get nearly a car load per acre ; jdoubling my 
 neighbors in yield, and doubling them in price." This is 
 \\hat Ave call success, — knowledge and good work put into 
 operation and resulting in a complete success. 
 
 GROWITsTG WATERMELOI^S FOR PROFIT. 
 
 BY R. J. VENABLE. 
 
 I am a successful melon grower so will give my method 
 of raising them. I select a sandy piece of land, and as 
 early as it is possible plow it deep and well, and for my 
 early melons check it off in eight feet checks with a shovel, 
 
186 SouTiiEKN Crops. 
 
 throw out the dirt and in each hill placo a half peck of 
 good stable' manure; cover this and to each hill apply a 
 quart of cottonseed-rneal, mixing it well with the soil 
 This should be done several weeks before you plant. Use 
 the melon that your market demands and plant each patch 
 of the same kind. They will sell much better if uniform 
 in color and size. In planting put nine or ten seed in a 
 hill. It is easier to thin out than to replant. As soon as 
 they come up loosen the soil around the plants or th^ wind 
 will cause them to bruise and take ^'shank rot." Keep 
 them well plowed and harrowed until vines begin to run, 
 then lay them by clean and level. Do not try to turn the 
 vines about to plow them. 
 
 This method will give ripe melons by July 4. In June, 
 I plant the same way for a late crop but make the check 
 ten feet each way. This crop begins bearing in Septem- 
 ber when the main crop is over and prices are so much 
 better, that it is very profitable. I haul from two to six 
 miles to market and retail most of them. 
 
 Once I get a customer he stands by me, as T keep the 
 (piality up to the mark. I m^ke a specialty of selling to 
 ladies and always give them a good melon and they know 
 they can depend on me. I hav^ found it pays best to raise 
 melons you can sell for five and ten cents. I raise some 
 very large ones, but the demand for the, big ones is limited. 
 I took the prize for best watermelon last year at our ^^TTar- 
 vest Fair." Good seed, sandy land, thorough cultivation 
 and stable manure and cottonseed-meal will bring melons. 
 If bugs bother, I dust snuff on the leaves and around the 
 plant and I thin to two in a hill. 
 
 Mclver sugar melon is a choice melon and T plant largely 
 
Melons. 187 
 
 cf it, but for main crop I use a long black melon similar to 
 ''Florida Favorite" that can be made to weigh as much as 
 90 pounds. 
 
 I save njy own seed from choicest specimens and think 
 home-grown seed the best if proper care is taken to select 
 good stock to save seed from. 
 
 Jacinto, Ark. 
 
 THE FAMILY MELOJST PATCH. 
 
 BY H. T. COOK. 
 
 The family melon patch, preferably on an eastern ex- 
 posure, should be not less than one-half acre planted early, 
 another planted in May and the last in June. This amount 
 ought to furnish enough for a family and its immediate 
 friends, and a surplus sufficient to pay for expenses of 
 cultivation, besides the culls which make the piggies have 
 a lively scramble. 
 
 For a one-horse farmer, the best preparation, where the 
 subsoil is hard clay, is to break up land and lay it off ten 
 feet each way and dig holes at the intersection about a 
 foot and a half Avide and deep. Fill with the best soil, 
 well mixed with stable manure and raise it slightly above 
 the level. Secure the very best seed and use them liber- 
 ally in each hill. 
 
 A saving of ten per cent, in seed often means the loss 
 of ten dollars in harvest time. 
 
 When the plants are in sight keep the crust broken. 
 The melon is ninety-eight per cent, water and the duo- hol^s 
 beneath each hill are intended to store up the water for use 
 in hot weather and the keeping the crust broken is to 
 
188 Southern Crops. 
 
 prevent evaporation and a condition of the surface not 
 favorable for plant growth. Visit the patch every day and 
 look out for insect enemies. Put a pinch of nitrate of soda 
 around each hill and as soon as the striped bug begins to 
 Slick the life out of the tender leaves, sprinkle them with 
 "bug death" and repeat the dose after rains, winds or a 
 new arrival of insect immigrants. Thin out to four stalks, 
 and go over the patch two or three times a week, prepared 
 to replant or administ(;r the antidote. As the insects are 
 vanquished, thin out to two and finally to one. The 
 first four weeks is the crisis in the melon patch. Give it 
 Ihf proper care and protection in these weeks and tli''ii tli^' 
 attention may Ix; reduced on a level with that given to 
 corn or cotton. A neighbor of mine planted a well-pre- 
 pared melon patch and both plowed and hoed it well. At 
 gathering time, his question was, "IIow is it your melons 
 are more forward and Ix^tter than ininc^?" The reply was, 
 ''I gave my melons when they were young, the same at- 
 tention which you gave to your colts when they arrived. 
 Tlic ])i\])y melo!i has to l)e looked after with even more 
 fissiduity than a colt." 
 
 The remainder of the ciiltivjiiion is mostly plowing and 
 hoeing. A row of ])e''s or goobers in the middle at the 
 last plowing may serve jis fin anchor or as a shade to the 
 ripening dainties. The variety for the family u.se should 
 bo ;i thin rind, sweet variety. The time is past when any 
 find every variety can be sold to ndvfintfige in competition 
 with the best. The razor-back melon, when hauled to 
 market, has to stand around and wait for a purchaser and 
 fee the improved varieties going like hot cakes. 
 
 The latest melons have other enemies, which require 
 
Melons. 189 
 
 spraying to preserve the vines ; but in the rush of work on 
 the farm they are liable to be neglected. The greater skill 
 required to raise them is requited by a higher remunera- 
 tion in prices. 
 
 Every family should have a melon patch. Fruit and 
 berry crops depend largely on weather conditions; but 
 Providence has put the melon crop almost entirely under 
 the control of the skillful planter. Provide a good sup])lv 
 for your children and visitors every year, and when you 
 are gone, they will remember how thoughtful and provi- 
 dent you were and imitate your example. 
 
 Greenville County, S. C. 
 
GROWING IRISH POTATOES. 
 
 BY JAS. B. IIUNNICUTT. 
 
 This crop has been known and grown so long that it 
 seems like it would be useless to say anything more about 
 it; but the present price of even common eating potatoes 
 is so high, that it shows conclusively that enough has not 
 yet been said. The price continues to go up while the 
 supply continues to go down. This settles the question 
 that not enough potatoes are put in the ground. 
 
 Potatoes are perhaps the easiest crop to grow that a 
 Southern farmer can try. But right in the face of that 
 fact we are now shipping large quantities of them from the 
 North and West. This can be stopped and should be 
 stopped at once. All that is needed is to go to planting 
 Irish potatoes at the earliest day you can get your land 
 ready. They will grow planted any time from now until 
 August. 
 
 At the risk of seeming to repeat we will give minute di- 
 rections how to plant and cultivate them. 
 
 Break the land deep and harrow it until the soil is very 
 fine. This- is more important for the Irish potato crop 
 than almost any other. They can uot be worked right 
 around the vines after they begin to grow without injury 
 to the tubers. Hence it is very important to get the soil 
 as fine as possible before planting. Another reason why 
 this should be done is because the tubers will grow so much 
 larger if the soil is fine. 
 
 Lay off the row^s three feet apart with some plow that 
 will make a good, deep furrow. Cut the potatoes to iwo 
 
Irish Potatoes. 191 
 
 or three eyes. Dry them with land plaster, or ashes or 
 dust — anything that will absorb the sap on cut surface. 
 This is very important if you wish to get a good stand. 
 This prevents the water or the soil from rotting the pieces. 
 1 his should be done two or three days before planting, a 
 week will not hurt. 
 
 Drop the pieces one foot apart, put in some rotting straw 
 cr trash of almost any kind, so as to prevent the bed from 
 baking. Cow^ manure is the best, but stable manure will 
 do. If you have neither and must use fertilizers, then it 
 is good to use the best per cent, of potash. They do not 
 need much nitrogen. This makes large vines at the ex- 
 pense of the potato crop. 
 
 Cover them moderately deep. . Just before they come 
 up, run over the rows with a weeder or some light harrov;, 
 so as to break the crust and kill any weeds that may be 
 sprouting. This w^orking is very important. It hastens 
 the growth of the crop as well as helps to get a perfect 
 stand. As soon as they are well up, plow out the middles 
 good and deep. Your crop is now w^ell-nigh made. All 
 that needs to be done is to keep the crust broken by an 
 occasional harrowing. Far ahead of other crops they will 
 be bringing in money just at a time when you most need 
 it to help yovi cultivate the other crops. 
 
 The best variety to plant will differ somewhat according 
 to locality and market. There are several standard varie- 
 ties w^hich may be relied upon almost anywhere, such as 
 Early Eose, Peerless, and Beauty of Hebron. Many of 
 the new ones are worth trying. Your seedsmen can gener- 
 ally advise you. 
 
 And this reminds us that we wash to call attention em- 
 
192 Southern Ckops. 
 
 phatically to the folly of the custom of buying our seed 
 every year. This is entirely wrong. We can save better 
 seed than we can buy. We have tested this personally. For 
 seventeen years we grew our potatoes from seed of our own 
 saving. They not only did not run down, but they actu- 
 ally improved from year to year. Again we know it to 
 be a fact that very many of the so-called Eastern seed 
 which we buy were raised here in the South and kept over 
 the winter in a cellar, or shipped up ITorth, rebranded 
 and shipped back here and sold to the Southern buyer at 
 a high figure to satisfy his ignorance. 
 
 EARLY IRISH POTATOES. 
 
 BY MARK EIEGEL. 
 
 For the early crop, we select, if possible, a light, sandy 
 loam that will not produce less than a bale of cotton* to the 
 acre. We like to have it turned in early winter with a 
 two-horse plow and. follow in the furrow and lift the sub- 
 soil with a subsoil-plow or a four-inch scooter on a single 
 plow. By doing this, we are able to hold the winter rains, 
 as our potatoes suffer almost every year by drought, when 
 not irrigated. 
 
 At planting time we run a cutaw^ay harrow over the land 
 to thoroughly pulverize, and lay off rows with a shovel- 
 plow, three feet apart and four to five inches deep. 
 
 For fertilizers we use the following: 
 
 Acid phosphate 14 per cent 1000 lbs. 
 
 Cottonseed-meal 000 lbs. 
 
 Nitrate of soda 200 lbs. 
 
 Muriate of potash 200 lbs. 
 
Irish Potatoes. 193 
 
 Use 1,000 to 1,500 pounds per acre before planting, 
 thoroughly mixing in the furrow with a scooter-plow or 
 a cultivator set close. Mix thoroughly. This is impor- 
 tant, as most cases of burning or injury to the seed can 
 be attributed, not so much to the amount of fertilizer used, 
 as to lack of thorough mixing. 
 
 If the land is lacking in humus (vegetable matter) and 
 was not in cowpeas the previous summer, we sometimes 
 give the land a fair dressing of stable manure (15 two- 
 horse loads per acre), which we thoroughly cut away into 
 the top soil before breaking, which tends to pulverize all 
 lumps, and the soil is more thoroughly pulverized than 
 by breaking. 
 
 If the soil is fairly well supplied with humus we would 
 rather dispense with the stable manure, as it tends to en- 
 courage the scab fungus. Do not use cottonseed, as they 
 do not become available soon enough for the potatoes. 
 
 We plant nothing but the "Red Triifmph" as it is the 
 best extra early we have ever tried. By getting healthy, 
 plump seed, free from scab, we have had so little of this 
 disease as to not pay to treat them. 
 
 Cut seed pieces to two eyes, and drop twelve inches apart 
 in rows. Cover with two furrows, leaving a slight ridge 
 over the rows. When the seeds are sprouted and nearly 
 out, run a smoothing harrow cross-ways over the rows, 
 which will all but level down the ridge. As the plants are 
 showing along the rows, go over them with the weeder, 
 taking two rows at a time. The after-cultivation should 
 be often, but shallow, using a Planet, Jr., or other cultiva- 
 tor with sweeps, ^ever let a crust form, thus conserving 
 all moisture possible. 
 13 
 
194 SouTHEEN Crops. 
 
 We plant last week in February, up to the middle of 
 March and begin digging by the time they are the size of 
 good-sized hen eggs. In the absence of a potato digger, 
 we run a shovel-plow under the row, which gets them about 
 all out. We have had no experience in shipping, as we 
 raise entirely for our home market. 
 
 For the Colorado potato beetle, which every one has 
 learned to dread, we use Paris green and slaked lime, two 
 pounds of the green to one bushel of lime, mixing thor- 
 oughly. We find a Leggett's dry powder duster very good 
 for putting this on, and if done early in the morning, when 
 the leaves are damp, sticks well and is effective. 
 
 For the grower who has but a small area, the dust can 
 be put on by placing it in a coarse- woven gunny-sack and 
 shaking over the row, which can be done almost as fas' -is 
 you can walk* 
 
 Hand-picking is probably the safest plan for the home 
 garden. 
 
 Spalding County, Ga. 
 
 SECOND CHOP IRISH POTATOES. 
 
 BY W. C. CROOK. 
 
 I have grown the second crop of Irish potatoes quite 
 extensively for a number of years. For five years I have 
 made this crop somewhat of a specialty and find I am 
 able to realize a net profit of $125 to $160 per acre from 
 this crop. Two years ago I made some experiments that 
 may prove interesting and beneficial to those who are grow- 
 ing and contemplating growing this crop. 
 
 The year preceding the potato crop I planted three acres 
 
Ieish Potatoes. 195 
 
 to corn on this land and I sowed one acre in cowpeas; at 
 last plowing of corn sowing 1% bushels per acre. On 
 one acre I sowed one bushel of cowpeas and 12 pounds 
 crimson clover at last plowing of corn. On acre ~Ro. 3 
 1 did not sow anything. In spring preceding the potato 
 crop the entire field was broken and subsoiled and given a 
 top dressing of barnyard manure — 20 two-horse loads per 
 acre. Acre IN'o. 1 and also acre I^o. 2 was sown again 
 to cow^peas, IV2 bushels on each acre; acre IsTo. 3 was again 
 left naked. In latter part of July the entire field was 
 again broken and harrowed until in fine condition to re- 
 ceive the seed. The seed planted was our home improved, 
 acclimated, Red Triumph. I have found from several 
 test experiments that home-grown seed where they are 
 carefully improved will outyield imported seed of the 
 J ame variety. The seed were selected from hills that were 
 free from all disease ; also from hills that bore the largest 
 yield of uniform marketable tubers. Those used for seed 
 were cut into and bedded in a shady place in damp sand. 
 This sand was kept damp by daily watering. In nine 
 days I had a fine lot of seed just beginning to form sprouts. 
 These w^ere cut to one and two eyes and dropped ten inches 
 apart in drills, having drills thirty inches apart. 
 
 In laying oif drills I used a long bull-tongue shovel and 
 ran twice in same furrow, thus getting the seed well into 
 the moist soil. I lay off a few rows at one time and keep 
 well up w^ith covering, finding the latter very essential as 
 the hot August sun avouM greatly injure the tender growl- 
 ing sprouts; when through planting- I harrow the sur- 
 face level and cover furrow ^ve inches with leaves and 
 straw. I find I am able to do this in less time than I can 
 
196 Southern Ceops. 
 
 cultivate the entire time. I am also able to get from 
 twenty-five to sixty bushels more potatoes per acre by the 
 iiiulch. I have also found mulch-grown seed to give a 
 larger yield than those grown by cultivating. I find the 
 crops that follow on land that was mulched give a larger 
 yield than those grown by cultivating. 
 
 On acre No. 1 that was sown to covvpeas at last working 
 of corn and followed with cowpeas in spring I made 146 
 bushels of the second crop. On acre 'No. 2 that was sown 
 to cowpeas and crimson clover at lasi working of C07*n 
 and followed with cowpeas in spring I got 166 bushels. 
 On acre No. 3, that did not receive anything at last work- 
 ing of corn, and w-as not sown to cowpeas in spring I only 
 got 101 bushels. Potatoes that grew on acres ISTos. 1 and 
 2 were also much smoother and more uniform than those 
 that grew on acre No. 3. Besides the sowing of peas and 
 clover the land was of same nature and received the same 
 amount of manure as well as the same preparation and 
 mulching. I have also found subsoiling to give a decided 
 increase in yield over same nature of land not subsoiled. 
 If any information on the above crop is desired I will 
 answer any query that any reader of this paper cares to 
 submit. Perhaps in the future I will toll how T spray, 
 harvest and market the crop. 
 
 Tennessee. 
 
GKOWING EARLY TOMATOES. 
 
 BY O. L. CAKMICHAEL. 
 
 PEEPAEiNa Your Hot Bed. 
 
 The first requisite to growing early tomatoes success- 
 fully, is to get early, stocky plants. To secure these it is 
 necessary to have a hot bed. This need not be expensive, 
 the only cost being some glass sash. My plan is to dig 
 out a trench 18 inches deep, six feet wide and the length 
 in proportion to the number of plants desired. In the 
 bottom of this trench put four inches of stable manure, 
 waste from an oil mill, or any coarse litter. The ob- 
 ject is two-fold: Eirst, drainage, and' second, to set 
 up fermentation so as to produce heat. I rely upon my 
 glass to give the heat necessary, however. Then put en 
 four inches of rich woods earth, rake and smooth nicely. 
 
 Planting The Seed. 
 
 There are several varieties of early tomatoes. Choose 
 the variety you like and lay off your rows four inches wide 
 across the bed and about one inch deep. Drill your seed 
 evenly but not too thick. ^N'ow take the back of your rake 
 and smooth the surface down nicely, pressing the rake 
 well so as to firm the earth around the seed. This will 
 cover them about half an inch in depth. The soil should 
 be dampened so as to be in good moist condition. Before 
 planting cover them with glass and watch them from day 
 to day until they germinate. Whether they will need any 
 moisture will depend upon the heat of the sunshine. This 
 should be done in January and much care given in cold 
 
198 Southern Crops. 
 
 nights lest they get nipped. Have some old (piilts, 
 ■sacks or straw to cover against cold spells. • 
 
 Transplanting. 
 The last of February or first of March your plants will 
 begin to grow to such a height that to secure stocky plants, 
 you will have to transplant them. Fix a bed pretty much 
 as you did your hot bed, only put four inches of good rich 
 dirt and cover with three inches of sand. The frame over 
 this transplanting bed should be covered with common 
 sheeting until they are well rooted, then uncover each day 
 when sun is shining warm. You can thin out in your 
 hot bed, leaving plants about same distance as placed in 
 the cold frame. This wdll give you fine plants for the 
 open. 
 
 Preparing Your Patch and Putting Out in the Open. 
 
 Where you wish to have your patch, the land should be 
 v\ell broken; then take a Dixie Boy or Good Farmer and 
 lay off your rows four feet wide, going twice in the same 
 furrow, ^ow take your guano distributor, with plow off 
 so as not to put fertilizer any deeper in soil and apply 
 from 1,000 to 1,500 ponnds of fertilizer per acre. You 
 want a very high grade and exceptionally high in potash. 
 I prefer a 9-5-7 goods. Then take a Planet, Jr., culti- 
 vator with all the hoes du it, but drawn close in, and run 
 along this furrow. This will make a low list, clean the 
 row and pulverize the dirt. 
 
 About the first of April with ns ;n'd with yo^i as early 
 as you can risk them being nipped by the frost, put out 
 your plants. T always water them liberally, putting a 
 pint to the plant. This is a better plan than to wait Qn a 
 
Tomatoes. 199 
 
 wet spell. Set your plants four feet in the drill. Be 
 sure to set them deep. A tomato plant should always, be 
 set from ^2 to 2/3 of its length in the soil. This is very 
 essential to vigorous stocky vines, well set with fruit. 
 This not only causes them to bear more abundantly, but 
 also to come on much earlier. Anyone carrying out this 
 plan can expect a yield of from 200 to 300 bushels per 
 acre, and to put his tomatoes upon the market from two 
 to three weeks earlier than his neighbors. 
 Fulton County, Ga. 
 
 GROWING TOMATOES. 
 
 BY CHARLES DECKNEK. 
 
 To grow tomatoes successfully whether for home or for 
 the market, the most important consideration is the selec- 
 tion of suitable soil. It has been said that tomatoes will 
 grow on almost any kind of soil. This was true until 
 some twenty years ago, when the tomato was attacked by 
 blight, but now unless your soil is free of blight germs, 
 it is impossible to grow a good crop. The only way you 
 can prevent this blight is by planting on different plots 
 each year. E'o land should be planted in tomatoes where 
 they have been grown within the past four or five years. 
 When this blight question has been settled, the next thing 
 to be considered is the nature and quality of the soil. A 
 light and rather open, or what we call loamy soil, is prefer- 
 able, especially for an early crop. It should have a south- 
 ern or southeastern exposure, and should be well drained. 
 !N^ext in order is the fertilizing. ^NTever use stable manure 
 for tomatoes ; it causes too much growth of vine and makes 
 
200 Southern Crops. 
 
 them rot too badly. We prefer a fertilizer in the propor- 
 tion of 5-6-7 ; that is to say, 5 per cent, of ammonia, 6 
 per cent, phosphate acid, and 7 per cent, potash. This, 
 however, is not an infallible guide, as we must take into 
 consideration what elements of fertility the soil already 
 contains. Tomatoes require a considerable amount of 
 potash to give color and flavor and to cause them to be 
 free from rot. Muriate of potash destroys the flavor some- 
 Avhat, so that sulphate of potash is preferable. You should 
 be careful not to get too much ammonia or nitrogen. If 
 soil already contains an ample supply, it should be left out 
 of the fertilizer. I have found it a good idea to plant to- 
 matoes on corn land, or after some crop that uses consider- 
 able amount of nitrogen. 
 
 I need not say much about the preparation of the soil, 
 more than to say that the tomato delights in a deep and 
 Avell pulverized soil, as it is very susceptible to drouth. 
 You want the roots to go down and to have every facility 
 for obtaining both moisture and food. In the ISTorthern 
 slates there is but one crop grown, the vines bearing until 
 killed by frost. With us in the South it is different ; the 
 hot sun kills the early planting and we must have a second 
 crop for fall use. 
 
 Method of Planting. 
 
 For early tomatoes plant seed iu hi>tbed about tlio mid- 
 dle of February, and as soon as they get three or four 
 inches high, they are planted into cold frames giving them 
 three to four inches space each way. They are kept here 
 until about the tenth to the fifteenth of April, when they 
 are finally set in the field. I like rows three to four feet 
 
Tomatoes. 201 
 
 apart, and set plants from two to three feet in the drill. 
 I use from five to six hundred pounds of fertilizer and 
 prefer to use it broadcast. In setting out plants care 
 should be taken to set them in a hole. This answers a 
 double purpose. Frost will not kill them so badly if you 
 have a light one, and then cut-worms will not attack them 
 so badly. We want the top of the plant about even with 
 the level of the soil. 
 
 I plant the second crop in June, using a hill-dropper, 
 and then thin out. Owing to the usual dry and hot 
 weather, this is the best way to secure a stand. If you 
 want to transplant, the latter part of July or first of 
 August is the time to secure best yields. If you expect 
 a frost, pull your tomato vines, or gather the tomatoes and 
 they will ripen for a month longer. 
 
 As to varieties, I like the "Earlianna," the "Early 
 Pink," the "Stone," and "Redfield Beauty." If I were 
 confined to one variety, I would take the "Stone." The 
 "Redfield Beauty" is my favorite for a late tomato. 
 
 The enemies of the tomato are the blight and the worm. 
 The worm soon disappears and but little or nothing can 
 be done unless you can destroy the moth that lays the eggs. 
 The Bordeaux mixture is recommended for blight. This I 
 tried for nearly three years by dipping my plant root and 
 branch into the solution before setting out. For two years 
 I had no blight, and I thought I had the remedy, but the 
 third year the blight injured my entire crop. 
 
 I might add that for the home garden, the best results 
 are obtained by staking and pruning the vines, but for the 
 market gardener this is too expensive and requires too 
 much labor. 
 
 Fulton County, Ga. 
 
202 Southern Ckoi's. 
 
 TOMATOES. ' ^ 
 
 BY FRED WACHS. 
 
 As we have given the tomato a large part of our atten- 
 tion as truckers, I will give you the method of growing 
 large crops on small acreage. 
 
 In the first place you must have the ground well pre- 
 pared. Before plowing we give a liberal top dressing of 
 well rotted stable manure, and plow this under. Plow 
 six to eight inches deep, as early as the weather will per- 
 mit. This may be left in the rough ready to set plants. 
 
 To secure the plants, get good seed of some variety that 
 gives general satisfaction, for main crops we use Living- 
 ston's Stone ; we find this the best of any we have tried, be- 
 ing medium uniform size, good color (attractive), smooth 
 and solid, and bear well. The seed is planted in hot bed 
 about six to seven weeks before we expect to set them out ; 
 if they grow too rank before being ready to set out in the 
 patch, we set them out in cold frame about three inches 
 apart each way; this makes plants stocky and stronger. 
 
 When ready to set plants in the patch previously plowed, 
 we harrow and drag until reasonably fine. Then make 
 furrows with a small one-horse plow, or hand plow, fur- 
 rows about 31/2 feet apart. (We get these as straight as 
 we possibly can.) Plants are now set twenty to twenty- 
 four inches apart in these furrows, by scraping a handful 
 of earth around the roots and stem and firming down gent- 
 ly, and the furrows are filled with a hoe or hand plow. In 
 a day or two the plot is looked over (taking one row at a 
 time) and any plants that have failed to start properly, or 
 have been destroyed are to be replaced at once. We usu- 
 
Tomatoes. 203 
 
 ally grow three or four times as many plants as we expect 
 to set out, so as to be sure to have enough. A stake is now 
 set beside each plant (these stakes we get ready during 
 the winter, when other work is light, and store away 
 ready for use). Any kind of pole about four feet long 
 and about two or two and one-half inches in diameter will 
 ilo. The stake should be driven firmly in the ground and 
 <;iand about three feet above the gi-ound level. The plant 
 is tied up to this stake as soon as it shows any inclination 
 to topple, and is kept up off the ground. For tying up, a 
 piece of soft cloth is torn into strips about one-half inch 
 or wider. Take one, wrap around the stake and tie a 
 knot, then tie a loose loop around the stem of the plant ; 
 don't tie too close ; give the stem of the plant room to grow, 
 and as they grow keep them tied up. In the meantime 
 don't forget to cultivate. Begin cultivating as soon as the 
 plants stand up, stir the ground at least once a week. 
 Don't wait for the weeds and grass to show. Keep them 
 out of sight by frequent cultivation. * We use a fine tootli 
 one-horse cultivator and find this the best all-round tool 
 for the garden where a horse can be used. As the plants 
 are tied up, they will not interfere with cultivation even 
 when very large. 
 
 When the. plant begins to bloom, cultivation must not be 
 fo close to the plants, and not so deep as to disturb the 
 roots. 
 
 One acre of tomatoes grown in this way will yield as 
 much fruit as two acres or more, as ordinarily grown. 
 When the vine is left lying on the ground many tomatoes 
 rot and fail to ripen evenly on account of contact with 
 the earth. With the vines up off the ground, the crop is 
 
204 Southern Ckops. 
 
 much easier to gather. The fruit is up where it is read- 
 ily seen and easy to get at. A trial of this method of 
 staking the plants will convince any one that the extra 
 trouble is well paid for. In a patch of an acre or more 
 we find it best to leave out every fifth row, or leave the 
 distance between the fifth and sixth row about five feet to 
 admit of the passage of a sled drawn by a horse. The 
 fruit is gathered into boxes holding about a bushel, and 
 put on the sled, the pickers going between two rows on 
 either side of the sled row. 
 Indiana, March, 1908. 
 
onio:n"s. 
 
 BY T. C. NYE. 
 
 There were 105 carloads of Bermuda onions shipped 
 from here last season, the product from 110 acres; each car 
 averaged in weight about 21,000 lbs. Our settlement here 
 with 90 acres planted, made an average of 24,000 lbs. per 
 acre. My part of that 90 acres was 13 acres and I got 
 456,000 pounds, an average of 35,000 pounds per acre. 
 My crop brought f. o. b. here $7,550, $1,300 of which 
 could be deducted for expenses, leaving $6,250 clear for five 
 months' time. !N'ow I believe in growing on one acre as 
 much as some growers require two acres for. The actual 
 cost of irrigation to grow^ that 13 acres was fifteen dollars 
 per acre from date of transplanting until maturity. There 
 \\ere some acres out of the thirteen that made an average 
 of 40,000 pounds and the lowest yield of any acre was 
 24,500 pounds. All of the ground except the one acre 
 liad been well fertilized in the last three years, but when 
 the onion crop came off the land Avas plowed and harrowed 
 and what needed fertilization got it all right at the rate of 
 ro foris per acre, costing $2.25 per ton. This amount ii 
 sufficient for three years, but it would not pay to put 
 another crop on as soon as the onion crop comes off; that 
 might do near a large city where any variety of garden 
 truck can be marketed in large quantities. Such crops as 
 we could gTOw here in the summer when three times the 
 irrigation is necessary would not do at all. The system 
 that T follow is to plow and harrow the land and not allow 
 grass and weeds to grow on it at all. Should it rain after 
 
206 Southern Crops. 
 
 being plowed, why just plow and harrow it again, and so 
 on after every rain. This is the best plan to keep down 
 grass and weeds. There is a piece of land on my place 
 160 feet by 500, about two acres, which had become foul 
 with Johnson grass for 40 feet the long way, so I con- 
 cluded that the Johnson grass must come out. So we ir- 
 rigated it first, then with two-mule team we sent our hill- 
 fiide pony plow to the beam, then T had six hands who 
 worked over that furrow, the team awaiting, and every 
 root was taken out and put into baskets and then the team 
 laid another furrow on the first one, until we went over 
 the whole piece. It took eight days for myself and six men, 
 to get it out and in a week or so what was missed sprouted 
 and we went over it again, and now after three years it 
 is perfectly clear. The onion crop after that working 
 was 60,000 pounds, without using any fertilizer at all for 
 the first crop, but since then it has been well fertilizofl. 
 N^ow it was very hard to account for such a crop, but* when 
 I remembered a little story that I read when a boy about 
 an old farmer who had a poor farm and a lot of lazy boys 
 and when he was on his death-bed he called them to his 
 bedside and said, ^'Boys, if you will dig up the farm you 
 will find gold." So, they went to work digging, expecting 
 to find an iron pot every little way, filled, with gold. 
 They dug up the farm and while they failed to find any 
 p-old buried, thoy plnut^^r! the field and then they found the 
 gold iium the guud crops. Then my 60,000-pound crop 
 of onions was easily accounted for. It was the thorough 
 breaking and deep tillage the land got that produced the 
 gold, $1,200 was what the 60,000 pounds of onions sold 
 
OxioNs. 207 
 
 for. So Johnson grass after all sometimes proves a bless- 
 ing in disguise. 
 
 The Cultivatok's advice to plow deep is splendid. It 
 is more than half the battle. Catulla, which is just G5 
 miles north of here on the I. & G. N. railway, had a crop 
 of a little over 1,600 pounds average per acre on 110 
 acres last season, still they claim to be the most expe- 
 rienced and successful onion growers in Texas. Besides 
 onions we grow cabbage, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, 
 beets and turnips, also Tokay and Muscat grapes, a few 
 hogs, alfalfa and sorghum to feed our teams on, and last 
 but not least, strawberries. They are now in bloom and we 
 will have them on Thanksgiving Day. The young onion 
 plants are now on my place about four inches high and 
 will bo ready to transplant by first of December. 
 
 Texas. 
 
 HOW MR. NYE GKOWS 0:N^I0NS IIST TEXAS. 
 
 Last year I gave you a short account of that season's 
 onion crop and now that I have completed another, and 
 thinking perhaps the story may be of interest to the many 
 readers of your valuable paper who read the other story, 
 I shall proceed to give it to you. I had in this time seven 
 acres, just the same as last year, and the yield complete 
 is 258,100 pounds, an average of 36,781 pounds per acre, 
 the average last year was 21,000 per acre, this time the 
 increase of the average per acre is 15,871 pounds per 
 acre. Below I give the yield of each piece : 
 
208 " SOUTHEKN CeOPS. 
 
 Two and 9/10 acres were fertilized in 1901 112,228 
 
 In 1899 19,600 
 
 Two acres were fertilized in 1899 82,572 
 
 One-half acre fertilized in 1899 19,600 
 
 Half an acre, no fertilizer at all, but new land . . 18,400 
 40,000 square feet, no fertilizer at all, but new land 25,300 
 
 258,100 
 
 The last piece was planted with sets November 8th ; all 
 of the balance were from seed planted October 1st, and 
 transplanted between December 2nd and 17th. The 2 and 
 9-10-acre tract had 160 tons of manure put on it last year 
 that came out of some feed lots where several thousand 
 steers had been fed on cotton meal and hulls alone and the 
 160 tons cost, upon the ground, $225, but it is good for 
 three years. I will send you a sample that was grown on the 
 two acres that produced the 82,572 pounds. They were 
 planted in rows 14 inches apart and S^^ inches apart in 
 the drill. After you sample them please state what you 
 think of them for size and quality. The crop was con- 
 tracted for on the 8th of February at 2 cents f. o. b. and 
 has all been delivered. T consider the Cultivator the best 
 farm journal that is published in the South. Fertiliza- 
 tion combined with irrigation can be made to work won- 
 ders in this corner of the United States. The sample is 
 of the crystal wax Bermuda variety. I am 58 years old 
 to-day, and wish tlio farming fraternity success. 
 
 Texas. 
 
THE SPRING CABBAGE CROP. 
 
 BY C. L. WILLOUGHBY. 
 
 With the exception of the Irish potato, there is not 
 another vegetable so universally grown and esteemed as 
 the cabbage. 
 
 It is found on the tables of all classes from the poorest 
 to the richest, and furnishes one of the cheapest sources of 
 nutriment for the laborer, either fresh or in kraut. In the 
 more Northern States, it is grown in immense quantities, 
 the grower being able to get a fair profit if he receives 
 from six to ten dollars per ton. 
 
 There are a great many people in the lower South who 
 do hot think that cabbage will head for them. 
 
 That it does not head as readily as it does farther north 
 is true, for the coUard is the result of growing cabbage 
 in an adverse climate. In fact, if cabbage is allowed to 
 seed in south Georgia or Florida, for some years the dis- 
 position to head will become less and less until eventually 
 you will have a collard. 
 
 If only Northern-grown cabbage seed be used, planted 
 early on deep, rich moist land the influence of an uncon- 
 genial climate will be overcome. 
 
 And now a word about seed : don't try to save by buy- 
 ing cheap seed. With a crop worth anywhere from $200 
 to $600 per acre it is foolishness to try to save at the out- 
 side from two to three dollars in buying cheap seed, which 
 might mean the price of success or failure. Buy only 
 from reliable houses, and buy the best. In. middle Geor- 
 gia, for the spring crop start seeds in open ground by the 
 14 
 
210 Southern Crops. 
 
 first to middle of October, for all medium early varieties ; 
 for the extra early varieties, such as Early Express, etc., 
 this is too early, as quite a large per cent, will go to seed 
 in spring. For these, start under glass in mild hot bed or 
 greenhouse during December. 
 
 We have found that it pays to transplant all our cab- 
 bage plants to cold frames, both those started in the open 
 in October, as well as those started in the greenhouse in 
 December. The transplanting and beds cost something 
 but much is gained in stocky, fully developed healthy 
 plants as well as some days in earliness. 
 
 As to varieties I prefer a selected strain of the Old Flat 
 Dutch, which makes heads of just about the right size with 
 few outside leaves. 
 
 For extra early, plant Jersey Wakefield, and Extra 
 Early Express, plant in the field from the first of Feb- 
 ruary to the last of March for middle Georgia. The land 
 should be manured, plowed and harrowed down ready for 
 planting in early winter, preferably before Christmas, as 
 January, and early February frequently are so wet as to 
 delay the preparation too late to get the crop in when 
 wanted. That cabbage requires deep rich soil is hardly 
 necessary to say. From twenty to thirty two-horse loads 
 of stable manure and 2,000 to 4,000 pounds commercial 
 fertilizer per acre being frequently used with profit ; the sta- 
 ble manure plowed under with turn-plow, the fertilizer 
 broadcasted and worked in the surface soil with cultiva- 
 tor or similar tool. Tf you can follow a cowpea crop, so 
 much the better. 
 
 There is scarcely a farm or vegetable crop that draws 
 near the amount of fertilizing materials from the soil that 
 
Cabbage. 211 
 
 a cabbage crop does, an average crop draws the following 
 amount of fertilizing materials from one acre : nitrogen 213 
 pounds, phosphoric acid 125 pounds, potash 514 pounds. 
 
 For comparison, we give the number of pounds drawn 
 liy an average crop of cotton from one acre; nitrogen 110 
 pounds, phosphoric acid 32 pounds, potash 35 pounds. 
 
 The reader will at once notice the immense amount of 
 potash required by the cabbage crop ; over fourteen times 
 the amount required by cotton. 
 
 We use the following fertilizer: acid phosphate 400 
 pounds, muriate of potash 100 pounds, cottonseed-meal 
 400 pounds. Use 2,000 to 4,000 pounds per acre to be 
 supplemented by 400 pounds of nitrate of soda applied 
 iritor-culturally, one and three v^^eeks after planting in the 
 field. 
 
 Distance apart to plant will depend upon two factors, 
 viz. : fertility and moisture. Fertility can be supplied, 
 l)ut very few are fixed for irrigating. We plant 10 by 20 
 inches as we can supply all moisture needed. Where no 
 irrigation can be had, and on upland, more distance must 
 be given, as much as 18 by 36 inches or more. 
 
 When planted 16 by 20 inches, 19,602 plants are re- 
 quired per acre, at 18 by 36 inches, the usual distance, 
 9,680 plants will be required. 
 
 Where well manured, and irrigated if not planted close, 
 the heads grow too large, — small to medium heads are 
 much more salable ; say three to six pounds each, selling at 
 five to ten cents, go off much more readily than ten-pound 
 heads at twenty-five to thirty cents each. Then in close 
 planting the plants soon get together, shading the ground, 
 
Cabbage. 213 
 
 preventing evaporation and baking of the soil, also less 
 waste of material in spraying or dusting for insects. 
 
 But where this close planting is practiced remember that 
 when two or three times the usual number of plants arc 
 set per acre that a proportionately large amount of manure 
 and fertilizer will be required. 
 
 We cultivate every six to eight days with Planet Jr., 
 12-tooth cultivator, running very shallow as few crops are 
 as easily ruined by disturbing the roots as the cabbage 
 crops. 
 
 Do not grow cabbage on the same land oftener than once 
 in four or five years, as insects and diseases will increase 
 to the extent of making the crop no longer profitable. To 
 those who will not heed this flu; experience will come dear. 
 The early cabbage crop will come off in time to grow a 
 heavy crop of late vegetables, Irish potatoes,, beans or cel- 
 ery. That Georgia ought io raise more cabbage, and keep 
 money at home, now sent to other States, is evident. 
 
 We will treat of insects, and diseases of cabbage, and 
 methods of controlling them in a future article. 
 
 Spalding County, Ga. 
 
 now TO GEOW FALL CABBAGE. 
 
 BY TOM E. ZACHARY. 
 
 The first thing in the cultivation of cabbage is the seed- 
 bed. The best plan is to burn a bnisli pile (on upland), 
 of hardwood, dig up tlu^, gronnd four inches deep, and rake 
 all roots and clods out. Sow your seed and rake them in, 
 then press the ground with a board jnst enough to settle 
 the dirt to the seed. Cover the bed with leafless brush,, 
 enough to half shade the bed, and ,-prinkle the ground 
 
214 SouTHEKN Crops. 
 
 every evening (if the ground is dry) until the seed come 
 up. Don't put heating fertilizers in your seed-bed. When 
 the plants get a good start remove the brush gradually un- 
 til it is all off. Let the late cabbage stand in the seed-bed 
 until the leaves begin to shed off, and transplant late. Au- 
 gust is a good month in which to set out late plants. Pre- 
 pare your ground two or three weeks before you want to 
 set out, and set plants in the ground up to the first leaf. 
 Work your cabbage often — deep at first and when they be- 
 gin to head, stop work with the plow. Don't set your 
 plants out in the mud ; before a rain is the best time. To 
 poison the cabbage worm and potato bug, use Paris green 
 in a snuff box with a cloth tied over the end, and apply 
 the poison about sundown. The rain will wash the poison 
 off, therefore there is not much risk in using the Paris 
 green. 
 
 We recommend the following mixture as a preventive 
 for the harlequin or Lincoln bug: Take, say one quart 
 of soot from the chimney or stove, add one tablespoonful 
 of kerosene oil, the same amount of spirits turpentine, one- 
 fourth pound of gunpowder, the same of sulphur and one- 
 half ounce saltpetre. Sprinkle on through a fine sifter 
 while the dew is on. Catch every bug in sight ; place him 
 between your thumb and finger, and gently press him until 
 you feel him pop. Persist in this plan, and the bugs will 
 soon disappear. 
 
 To preserve cabbage through winter: Make a trench 
 with a long handle shovel ; put in the cabbage after taking 
 off most of the loose leaves ; set cabbage in close together ; 
 cover first row with dirt which you throw out in opening 
 a trench for the next row. Put your cabbage on the cold- 
 
Cabbage. 215 
 
 est ground you have, and cover them with pine brush. 
 Turn them down with head on the ground; put on a little 
 straw and cover nearly up with dirt is a good way. 
 
 P. S. — In your last issue of th^ Cultivator in answer 
 to a question in regard to sowing late cabbage seed you 
 suggest to sow them in a damp place. We agree with you, 
 in so far as getting the seeds up is concerned, but alas ! 
 when you change the plants from the low, damp ground 
 (and perhaps shady location into the common high, thirsty 
 gardens in the cotton belt, the change is not favorable to 
 the growth of the plant. And oftener than otherwise, the 
 plant will sicken and die for the lack of its accustomed 
 moisture. We think the seeds should be sown on about 
 the same class of land that it is intended for the cabbage 
 to grow upon. And if there is not enough rain to bring 
 the seeds up the seed-bed can be sprinkled every evening 
 for a few days and thus make the seeds come up. 
 
 I^orth Carolina. 
 
THE GEORGIA COLLARD. 
 
 BY J. c. mcauliff:k. 
 
 There is hardly a Georgian who likes vegetables, but 
 who places a high estimation on the Georgia collard. It 
 reaches its perfection in midwinter when nearly all other 
 vegetables are on the decline and there is bnt little to tickle 
 the palate of the vegetarian. Yet there are only a few 
 people who know the wonderful possibilities of this great 
 crop. It is too late now to plant them, but in many sec- 
 tions of the State the growth can be increased between now 
 and the coming freezing weather. Even after winter 
 comes they can be preserved in excellent style with only a 
 little labor. 
 
 If the plants have not attained a large growth an appli- 
 cation of nitrate of soda or some fertilizer rich in nitrogen 
 and easily available will produce extra size. This growth 
 will be tender and make the plant appear as "a thing of 
 beauty and a joy forever." 
 
 After the cold weather is over and the plants have ceased 
 growing they can be dug up and placed close together and 
 bleached, making them more tender. In doing this the 
 plants should be taken up by the roots and set in a furrow 
 and the earth packed around them. Then they can be 
 covered over with pine brush, burlap, or most anything 
 to keep out the sunshine and cold weather, and they will be- 
 come white and tender and make a dish fit for kings. 
 
 The greater part of the collard seed used in the world 
 are grown in Georgia. One house, with whose proprietor 
 I am intimately acquainted, sold enough collard seed to 
 
Cabbage. 217 
 
 one California house to plant 20,000 acres in collards and 
 ;ui the seed were grown in south Georgia. In that section 
 immense areas are grown and fed to stock as the plants 
 reach prodigious size and supply much feed, especially 
 good for sheep. 
 
 In the last two or three years there has been a scarcity 
 of good seed due to the fact that the labor required in 
 growing them has been attracted to the cotton fields. It 
 is in fact a hard matter to obtain growers for good seed in 
 any line and prices for pure goods are far above the com- 
 mon average. 
 
 Columbia County, Georgia. 
 
THE VALUE OF ROOT CROPS AS A FOOD FOR 
 
 STOCK 
 
 BY G. F. HUNNICUTT. 
 
 Of all the sections that we know of, the Southern or Cot- 
 ton Belt appreciates least the root crops as a food for 
 their stock. Here, where they are so easily grown, and 
 can be grown as a second crop, we should expect just the 
 opposite. The main reason lies in our lack of interest 
 in the raising of live stock, and of any careful study of 
 bow we might feed them to the most advantage upon home- 
 grown food. We have an idea because turnips and beets 
 are 85 per cent, water that they are comparatively worth- 
 less as a food, especially when it comes to fattening hogs 
 or cattle. The true science of feeding lies in mixing food 
 stuff, so as to make a better balanced ration, l^ow it has 
 been determined by actual experiments that a bushel of 
 corn will give 40 per cent, more gain when fed to hogs 
 in connection with a bushel of turnips, than when fed 
 alone. The turnips supply what the corn lacks and makes 
 the corn give up almost double its former nutrition. This 
 will make two and a half bushels of turnips equivalent to 
 a bushel of corn. Putting corn at $1.00 per bushel would 
 make the turnips worth 40 cents. Now you can grow two 
 and one-half bushels of turnips much cheaper than you 
 can a bushel of corn. The truth is simply this : All your 
 concentrated foods, such as corn, wheat bran, cottonseed- 
 meal and shorts are getting so high that any thrifty farmer 
 must learn to make them go farther by supplementing 
 them with anything he can grow that will enable him to get 
 
Root Crops. 219 
 
 more feeding value out of them. Every farmer should 
 have one to five acres in turnips and the same in sugar 
 beets. These crops come on during the w^inter, and give 
 that succulent food necessary for ready digestion and 
 easy assimilation. They are put here by Providence to 
 take the place of summ'er grass during winter feeding. 
 They should be the small farmer's silo, and will repay any- 
 one's attention many fold. 
 
 The South is now badly in need of progressive leaders 
 among our actual farmers who are doing things and not 
 spinning theories. We want the growers of Southern crops 
 to start out with higher ideals and along better lines of 
 farm production and you can not do better than to learn 
 to grow every crop that makes food and enables us to keep 
 profitably more animals upon our farms. For this pur- 
 pose you can not do better than to grow an ample supply 
 of rutabagas and mangold- wurtzel beets. 
 
 DWARF ESSEX RAPE. 
 
 BY G. F. HUNNICUTT.. 
 
 Our farmers are becoming more and more interested in 
 something green for winter feed. Especially is this true 
 with all those who are becoming interested in raising 
 hogs and chickens. As a winter hog pasture or as a green 
 food for chickens, you can not get anything to excel the 
 Dwarf Essex rape. It should be sown broadcast or in 
 drills, as you prefer, during August and September; cold 
 weather does not kill it. Then during December, January 
 and February, you can cut the leaves to feed your hogs 
 and chickens, or you can turn them in to graze upon the 
 
220 Southern Crops. 
 
 plots as you desire. It is also good for cattle and sheep. 
 People of ten cook it and nse as a salad. Some even claim 
 that it is fully equal to our Georgia collard or turnip salad. 
 We think it inferior, however, but it will answer for a 
 salad all right. The beauty about rape is that it grows 
 on our land during the winter at a time when so much 
 of our land is unoccupied, and when our stock will so 
 much relish something green. Our farmers certainly need 
 to learn more of these winter crops and get into the habit 
 of growing more of them. Our land and our farmers 
 have too much rest during winter for any high degree of 
 thrift. 
 
 BEETS. 
 
 BY G. F. IIUNNIOUTT. 
 
 The beet seed is a peculiar seed, and needs the soil in 
 proper condition to gc^rminate well. All soil should be 
 rolled or in some M^ay firmed around the beet seed to se- 
 cure a good stand. The beet is another voracious feeder. 
 You can hardly use too much manure upon your beet rows. 
 Henderson says he would put about 75 tons per acre on 
 his beet land. The belt rows should be about two feet 
 apart, and the beets left about six or seven inches in the 
 drill. In thinning the beets out, the young slips can be 
 used for salad or you can transplant them. The trans- 
 planted beets will make the earliest and best shaped roots. 
 The beet can be grown in early spring and also in the 
 fall. The beet is a splendid food for the milk cow 
 and plenty should be grown and any surplus fed to the 
 milk cows or to the hogs. 
 
HOW TO GROW TURNIPS. 
 
 BY r. E. H. 
 
 As I promised you some time ago, I give you my ex- 
 perience in raising turnips. The way that I make a be- 
 ginning is first to sow in August with rye the patch that I 
 wish to cultivate in turnips the next year. Then in the 
 spring after the rye is harvested I turn said patch with a 
 No. 13 plow, Oliver chilled if possible; then run a smootli- 
 i]ig harrow over it till level. Then in two weeks haul out 
 lot manure and stable manure and scatter broadcast over 
 it, and plow with ordinary plow. I make a rule to 
 plow my patch over every time I plow my crop, up to th^ 
 first of August. I have never failed to get a stand of 
 turnips when ground is prepared in this way. Then when 
 it is prepared in the above manner I sow the seed the last 
 of July or first of August broadcast over the ground thus 
 prepared. Then I harrow the seod in thoroughly with a 
 side-harrow. I had one-quarter acre in last year that was 
 prepared in this manner and I sold twelve dollars' worth 
 and had plenty left to feed cows and hogs on. I have 
 a half acre prepared in the aforesaid manner and I expect 
 to sell fifty dollars' worth this fall. I am a renter and 
 have lived on the same landlord's land for twelve yejirs. 
 Some five years ago, I sent to the soedmen for turnip, seed 
 to sow and divi'^ed the seed with my landlord and he, know- 
 ing I was successful in raising turnips, requested me to 
 sow his patch that he had prepared after his own fashion. 
 I scattered the seed for him, then I scattered the seed on 
 
222 Southern Ckops. 
 
 my own, the same day. The result was that he did not 
 get a turnip while mine were successful. So you can see 
 that to be sure of a crop, the land must be cultivated right 
 before the seed are sown. If any of the readers doubt 
 this, there is a way that I can convince them. Readers, 
 commence in time for next year if you are fond of turnips. 
 Liberty, S. C. 
 
 HOW TO RAISE AISTD KEEP RUTABAGAS. 
 
 T. F. HARLESS. 
 
 As there have been so many in the community asking 
 for advice about raising and keeping rutabagas I have de- 
 cided to give my experience to the public. 
 
 1. I sowed oats to very good bottom land, which were 
 cut about first of June, then I turned land deep with 
 two-horse plow and harrowed with disc harrow; then as 
 soon as weeds came up I ran a tooth harrow over it. I 
 then opened a good furrow, put in light coat of stable ma- 
 nure, then mixed dirt and manure with guano distributor, 
 putting about 100 pounds of guano, 8-2-2 goods, then bed- 
 ded with two-horse plow, then dragged bed with two-horse 
 tooth harrow. Then I opened b^d \^ith guano distributor, 
 putting about 100 pounds of 8-2-2 goods. The seed were 
 then sown in this furrow and covered with tooth harrow. 
 The seed were sown about 15th of July. They were hoed 
 and plowed twice. I dragged dirt high around part and 
 left the others flat but the turnips were not affected by 
 this at all. This patch contained about one-fourth of an 
 acre; water backed up over about one-third of this and 
 damaged it badly, which left about one-sixth of an acre to 
 
KooT Chops. 223 
 
 make 711/2 bushels, weighing from three to ten pounds 
 each. I sold retail, 2 cents per pound; wholesale, 11/2- 
 So we see one-sixth of an acre which water did not over- 
 flow made 71% bushels, which would be 429 bushels per 
 acre after raising a good crop of oats, f gathered turnips 
 before first freeze, cut tops off, fed them to cows, put the 
 turnips in open log house, put straw under them and over 
 them. They are as sound and look as well now as they 
 (lid when gathered, that is, the few that haven't been used 
 or sold. They make excellent cow and hog feed. 
 
ASPARAGUS. 
 
 C. C. HULSART. 
 
 The culture of^ asparagus has been carried on here since 
 before my memory. Forty years ago a piece of asparagus 
 of two acres was quite a novelty and the grass produced 
 quite a contrast to what is produced to-day. In the early 
 plantings of this crop most anything that was asparagus 
 was considered good enough to plant and when once planted 
 it was considered a lifelong crop, most farmers expecting 
 to cut it twenty or more years. At that time and later, 
 quantity was the prime consideration. - As time passed and 
 wide-awake growers became aware that larger and better 
 grass was demanded by our city trade, distinct varieties 
 that would yield a uniform product were planted. Among 
 the first I remember was the Conover's Colossal. This 
 was the leading variety here for years, and was only driven 
 out by the appearance of the rust. This disease attacked 
 this variety very energetically, hence more rust-resistant 
 varieties were introduced. Several w^ere tried, but the one 
 that stood the test and has been more extensively planted 
 than any other is Palmetto. iTp-to the present time there 
 are more acres of this variety in cultivation by far than 
 all others combined. At the present time quite a few 
 growers are planting Giant Argenteuil, a French variety. 
 Not enough is known yet to say whether it will be largely 
 planted or not. 
 
 One of the first requisites to successful asparagus grow- 
 ing is proper seed from Avhich to grow your plants. My 
 advice is get this seed from a good grower or gather it 
 
ASPAEAGUS. 225 
 
 yourself from the best bed you can find, never buy aspara- 
 gus seed from seed houses. This is practical experience. 
 The writer got bit on the first bed he ever set; it had not 
 one crown true to name. Think of the loss a grower sus- 
 tains in planting such seed. I repeat, be sure of your seed. 
 If one intends purchasing plants to set his bed, then buy 
 only from those whom you know have obtained their seed 
 as advised above. We see advertised every spring ^ ^strong 
 two-year-old plants" at an advance in price over one-year- 
 .old, and I am sorry to say many buy these two-year-old 
 plants hoping to gain time thereby. This is a serious er- 
 ror. Theoretically the larger and stronger the plant the 
 sooner and more vigorous the crop; practically this is not 
 so, for the following reason : When a plant remains in the 
 seed-bed the second summer it proceeds to establish a good 
 root system and goes into winter quarters the second fall 
 with several well-developed eyes ready to go to work when 
 spring comes. Now w^e dig this plant and in so doing 
 must of necessity mutilate a great quantity of those long 
 fleshy roots ; these roots had stored in them a great quan- 
 ity of plant-food. This was necessary to send up good 
 strong shoots from all those well-developed eyes. Had 
 the plant been left where it was all would have been well, 
 but we have cut it badly. What is the result ? We have 
 several well-developed eyes; they must grow and we have 
 the root system half cut off. The result is there is not 
 support enough from the roots to feed so many shoots from 
 one crown. We have an over-balanced plant that never 
 does as well as a one-year-old plant. Some one may say 
 he has seen one-year-old roots just as large as most two- 
 year-olds. So have I, but I have yet to see so many roots 
 15 
 
226 Southern Crops. 
 
 attached or more than one or two fully developed eyes, 
 while two-year-old roots will have from five to seven fairly 
 developed eyes. 
 
 Some time ago in discussing the soil question with an 
 old asparagus grower, he remarked that no one who knew 
 his business would think of setting it on anything else 
 but sand. While this man has grown grass much longer 
 than I, still I differ with that remark. My observation is 
 that a good deep loam that is loose and mellow, free from 
 stones, holds moisture fairly well, with no hard clayey or 
 bakey knolls, is an ideal soil to plant this crop on. 
 
 We never plant in the fall. All asparagus beds are set 
 as soon as soil can be worked in the spring. The plants 
 should be dug as soon as frost is out and ground settled, be- 
 cause shoots will soon start and if left too long will be over 
 ground, then in handling many will be broken ; this com- 
 pels the plant to force another bud, a duty that takes time 
 and energy. Another reason for not setting in the fall is 
 that the young plants may freeze during the winter. I 
 have seen them do so when left in the seed row and where 
 too much exposed to severe cold. Such plants are worth- 
 less. 
 
 In preparing to plant an asparagus bed, it should be 
 the thought of the planter at least a year ahead, or two is 
 better, to plant such crops as can be kept clean and free 
 from all weeds. The field should be thoroughly manured 
 once or twice before crowns are set. This loosens the soil 
 and adds considerable humus. When ready to prepare 
 soil for setting, open furrows 51/2 or six feet apart as deep 
 as a two-horse plow will do it by going twice in each fur- 
 
ASPAEAGMTS. 22Y 
 
 row throwing the soil both ways. A good plan is to make 
 a back furrow between where each row is to be, then run 
 out dead furrow straight to set plants in. 
 IN'ew Jersey. 
 
CELERY CULTURE. 
 
 BY MARK EIEGEL. 
 
 Celery is a crop but little cultivated in Georgia. In 
 fact, there is a large per cent, of our people who have 
 never tasted it. Our common celery is found growing in 
 most parts of Europe and in America, in swampy places 
 and especially near the sea. The wild plant has a bitter- 
 ish, acrid taste and almost poisonous qualities. By cultiva- 
 tion it has become changed, having an agreeable, sweetish 
 and aromatic taste, while the leaf stalks when blanched are 
 white, very brittle and of good size. The blanched stalks 
 are used as a salad to flavor soups served with meats, and 
 as a general relish. The name of Kalamazoo is always 
 thought of when celery is mentioned, as it was there first 
 grown as a special crop, where even ten years ago there 
 was said to be 1,700 acres in this crop, and land that did 
 not earn taxes before was worth from $200 to $500 per 
 acre. The growing of the crop is gradually spreading so 
 that celery is being grown profitably in various other places. 
 Florida is beginning to grow considerable of it. 
 
 In a cultivated state it obtains its greatest perfection 
 where we nearest come to supplying the conditions where 
 it thrives naturally. These are first, a deep, mucky, rich 
 soil, full of decaying vegetable matter; second, plenty of 
 moisture ; third, not too high a temperature. As the sea- 
 son is advancing and the sowing of celery seed at hand, I 
 will treat of beds, seed-sowing, varieties and minor details, 
 and more at length in next issue on soils, fertilizers, and 
 general field management. 
 
Celery. 229 
 
 First. Seed-bed. If you intend to raise a considerable 
 amount it will pay you to make a % shade out in the open 
 by planting 4x4 posts in the ground with a framework of 
 2x4 rails" covered with 1x3 strips laid three inches apart, 
 all high enough to work under. Where only a few plants 
 are wanted, a small bed in a partially shaded place in the 
 woods or on the north side of the barn or other buildings 
 would suffice. In locating your bed, try and have it near 
 a good supply of water, as it will save lots of hard work. 
 Ours is just below the irrigating ditch. If the soil in 
 your bed is very sandy, better haul in some good rich clay 
 loam, mixing considerable fine manure with it. Rake in 
 the top soil one bushel ashes to each square rod of surface, 
 rake fine and level with a straight edge. I sometimes sow 
 the seed broadcast, but prefer to sow in shallow drills one- 
 fourth inch deep and six inches apart, wuth occasional Avide 
 spaces through which to pass over in watering, etc. Firm 
 the bed with the back of a spade and give a good wetting. 
 Spread coarse gunny-sacks over the bed to hold the mois- 
 ture. If long-continued rains should come, these should 
 be taken off, but replaced before drying out. In 14 to 18 
 days the young plants will begin to show. The sacks can 
 then be taken off permanently. E'ever let the soil get dry 
 while the plants are young, or you will lose them. Like- 
 wise don't go off fishing or to the seashore for two or three 
 weeks with your celery ii3^ the hands of some ignorant la- 
 borer, and come home expecting your celery in fine shape, 
 as it requires close personal attention from the start to 
 finish to make celery a profitable crop. Seed should be 
 sown in this latitude (Middle Georgia) from April 1st to 
 May 15th. I have sown them June 1st and made good 
 
230 SOUTHEKN CKors. 
 
 celery, but this is rather late for sowing. For this south- 
 ern part of the State, seed may be sown as late as July 
 15th. I plant but two varieties — Giant Paschal and Gol- 
 den Self -blanching. The latter is the best variety for the 
 amateur, as it grows quickly, is easily blanched and of 
 first-class quality. We have had some trouble with hollow 
 stalks. The Maryland Experiment Station has shown that 
 French-grown seed is superior to American-grown, due to 
 greater care in seed selection. Until our growers take this 
 care it will pay to use the French-grown seed. One of the 
 worst enemies of celery is what is known as early blight. 
 It commences with small grayish spots at first, becoming 
 brown, which keep enlarging until it kills the leaves and fi- 
 nally the plant. We always prepare to spray our beds, 
 which we do as soon as the plants are two weeks old, at 
 intervals of six to eight days, as this disease can be pre- 
 vented, but not cured. We use Bordeaux mixture, com- 
 mencing with 2-8-50 strength and increasing gradually to 
 4-5-50 as the plants get older and more hardy. 
 
 It is always a great temptation for the novice in celery 
 culture to want to plant in the field direct from the seed- 
 bed. It is almost impossible to make good celery in this 
 way, as it must be transplanted iiito i^ows six to eight inches 
 apart, and three or four inches in the rows, to get good 
 stocky plants with a good root system, as the plants in the 
 seed-bed tend to make a tap-root Avith few side fibres. In 
 transplanting, these are broken off and numerous rootlets 
 and fibres take their place. 
 
 If our plants either in the seed or transplanting bed do 
 not grow as fast as we would like, we give them nitrate of 
 soda by dissolving a pinch in each can of water put on. 
 
Celeey. 231 
 
 Do not sow the dry nitrate over the beds, as I have seen 
 plants killed in this way. If you have paid good atten- 
 tion to your celery you ought to have by August 15th to 
 September 1st, nice stocky plants five to six inches high 
 ready to go in the field. 
 
 It is almost useless to plant them out earlier than this 
 as the hot sun will burn them up. 
 
 I^ext, have you any land suitable for it? If not, you 
 had as well not plant for market at least, as the cost would 
 be too great to prepare land to meet the requirements of 
 celery. 
 
 Fv.r home use a few rows in the garden may be grown 
 on the north side of the fence if moist, and deep, and near 
 a good supply of water when needed. 
 
 For field culture I know of no place so good as creek 
 bottoms when not liable to overflow, or sandy. 
 
 If you have no crop on the land it is not too early to 
 begin to prepare it by plowing in a good coating of stable 
 manure; 25 to 50 two-horse loads per acre is none too much. 
 
 Break land with two or three mules not less than twelve 
 inches deep, cutaway or otherwise ; work it every ten days 
 or two weeks until about July 15th, when the rows 
 will want to be laid off four feet apart for Golden Self- 
 blanching, and five feet for Giant Paschal, using a lister 
 or any plow that will throw the dirt back in the drills, 
 mixing thoroughly with scooter plow or Planet Jr., culti- 
 vator set close. 
 
 Acid phosphate, 500 pounds. 
 
 Cottonseed-meal, 100 pounds. 
 
 titrate of soda, 300 pounds. 
 
 Muriate of potash, 100 pounds. 
 
232 SouTHEKN Crops. 
 
 Use 1,000 pounds to 2,000 pounds per acre, and put it 
 in the ground at least a week or ten days before planting. 
 
 The furrows after mixing should be four or five inches 
 below the surface, as in planting down this way the soil is 
 moist and cooler, and requires much less work in hilling 
 as the dirt does not have to be raked so high. Put the 
 plants six inches apart in the rows, and if it is very hot 
 weather better shade them for a day or two. 
 
 The first cultivating is all done by hand, using a nar- 
 row onion hoe with blade about three inches wide. As 
 soon as the plants are twelve inches in height we give them 
 a shaping up. 
 
 This requires two men to work to an advantage, one to 
 gather up the leaves and stalks, and the other to pull the 
 dirt up to them to get the plants started up straight; as 
 they grow the soil will have to be raked to them from time 
 to time to keep the stalks white, as we find that when the 
 nights get frosty, and growth slackens up, that it is difficult 
 to blanch after once becoming green from exposure to the 
 sunlight. Your celery will need covering about !N^ovem- 
 ber 1st, as the heavy frost at this time, and light freezes 
 shortly after will injure it so. We prepare for this by put- 
 ting up a number of stacks of ^amp hay, sedge or wheat 
 straw which should be placed over the tops of the rows 
 three or four inches deep. Covered in this way it will 
 keep and continue to grow until January 1st, and will be 
 found to be blanched clear out to the ends of the stalks. 
 
 It should not be left in the ground much later than the 
 first of January as we are apt to get a freeze that will 
 ruin it. , w. 
 
 In harvesting, it saves time to throw a furrow away 
 
Celery. 233 
 
 from each side with a single plow, then it can be gotten 
 out easily. Wash clean, removing all dead or diseased 
 leaves or stems, and tie in bunches of one dozen stalks and 
 pack in crates lined with paper. 
 
 'No packing will be needed for nearby markets for there 
 is where the Georgia grower will sell his celery, as it would 
 not pay to ship E'orth, where it would come in competition 
 with Kalamazoo and various other places. 
 
 Can we grow celery of good size and flavor in Georgia ? 
 Most assuredly, yes. We have grown as fine as you would 
 want, and brought the top price on the market. 
 
 By having strong plants, selecting suitable soil, and ir- 
 rigation there is no reason why Georgia should not raise all 
 the celery she uses, besides supplying other markets. 
 
 For those who have never grown it, I would say com- 
 mence in a small w-ay, a few rows in the home garden, 
 and gradually increase your area as you learn more of its 
 habits. 
 
 Spalding County, Ga. 
 
 GKOWmG CELERY FOR MARKET. 
 
 BY BRADLEY HANCOCK^ JR. 
 
 For several years, I have found the growing of celery 
 for market very easily and profitably done in the follow^- 
 ing manner. In this latitude it is best to grow celery as 
 the second or third crop on the land for that season. Land 
 that has been heavily manured for the preceding crops, 
 with much of the fertility remaining in the soil is the best 
 land, by far, for celery. This does not mean that the land 
 should not be manured liberally again, after the preceding 
 
234 Southern Crops. 
 
 crop has been removed, for it requires the strongest and 
 richest of land for the proper growth of celery. In the 
 famous Michigan celery growing district, one will find 
 black muck land varying in depth from four to ten feet, 
 the growers there heap additional manure upon it by the 
 ton, and find it profitable, too. At any time in the month 
 of September, in the South, is early enough to plant celery. 
 
 Sometimes the early Irish potato crops or onion crops are 
 harvested and the land broadcasted to cowpeas. Mow the 
 cowpeas for hay in August and turn over the stubble in 
 preparation for planting celery. To raise the plants it is 
 necessary to prepare a bed of ri-ch, moist soil, as favorable 
 in character as is possible to procure. Use large quanti- 
 ties of manure made as fine as possible by repeated chop- 
 ping and raking. Mark out shallow rows across the bed, 
 and sow the seed thinly. Do not cover more than you 
 can do by beating the bed over with the back of a shovel. 
 The sowing of the bed need not be done earlier than during 
 the month of May. As soon as you have sown the bed,*- 
 and properly packed it (firmed the soil) cover it with old 
 jute or burlap sacks. The object in this is to keep the 
 surface of the bed moist, prevent evaporation, and permit 
 the seed to germinate properly. As soon as the seeds be- 
 gin to sprout the covers should be lifted (held up by sticks, 
 twine or wires), which will give enough light to harden 
 the young plants, yet protect them from the hot sunlight. 
 
 To properly and safely carry the plants through the hot 
 summer it is best to place posts at sufficient height to easily 
 work under, and cover the bed with laths nailed an inch 
 apart and secured to the posts. When the young plants 
 are two inches high, they should be shifted into another 
 
Celery. 235 
 
 bed and placed about two inches apart each way. This 
 will cause them to grow stocky and form a mass of good 
 roots, to enable them to be transplanted to the final bed 
 safely. 
 
 Celery plants, under the foregoing conditions, will nat- 
 urally make rank growth. Consequently the tops should 
 be sheared twice before they are transplanted for the last 
 time. One very valuable factor in the profitable growth 
 of celery is the procuring of good, fresh seed. Celery 
 seed, like parsnip, carrot, etc., loses its vitality very soon 
 and is practically of no use *if it is carried over into the 
 second year. It is necessary, then, that the seed be pur- 
 chased as early as possible in the season, and from a relia- 
 ble seed house that will furnish seed from selected stock 
 and true to name. In the celery-growing districts of Mich- 
 igan, the plan of planting, owing to climatic differences, 
 is quite different from the course to be pursued in the 
 South. 
 
 In the l^orth, the growers must lift their crops in early 
 fall and store in cellars. It is planted in rows three and 
 one-half feet apart and cultivated by horse. Under the 
 circumstances, we of the South are prevented by climatic 
 conditions from competing with the I^orthern growers in 
 producing blanched celery in summer. Our Southern 
 climate is too hot in the summer and usually too dry ; cel- 
 ery requiring a cool, moist climate. Really the celery 
 grown on the deep, mucky lands of Michigan is far infer- 
 ior to that grown in the South in the cooler months of the 
 year, though it is very showy and attractive in appearance. 
 In the South it is not necessary to lift the crop, conse- 
 quently it should be grown in such a way that it can be 
 
236 Southern Crops. 
 
 earthed up most economically. During some of the win- 
 ters we exj^jerience in the South, it is very difficult to keep 
 it from constant winter growth and going to seed. There- 
 fore it is best to set the plants in beds, as it is less expen- 
 sive to bank up a bed, than to earth up the same number 
 of plants in the single row system ; then by this process of 
 bedding, the plants will continue nearly dormant, a condi- 
 tion which Ave particularly desire. Their dormant condi- 
 tion can better be secured when the plants are in a wide, 
 flat-topped bed, than in single rows. Make the beds of 
 any suitable length and five feet wide with an eight-foot 
 space between the beds to supply the earth for banking. 
 These beds are always made upon the surface of the 
 ground, never sunken. The rows are one foot apart, run- 
 ning crosswise of the beds eleven plants to the row, six 
 inches apart in the row, as is used in many other crops 
 v/hen being bedded. A planting board is necessary here. 
 This consists of a common board, six feet long, twelve 
 inches wide and one inch thick. The ends of this board 
 must be exactly square, notched on each edge, beginning 
 six inches from each end, and six inches apart. Stretch 
 a line along the edge of the bed, lay the planting board 
 exactly perpendicular to the line and set a plant at each 
 notch of the board, then move the board so the notch will 
 exactly line up with the plant just set, taking care to keep 
 it exactly square with the line at the end. Continue this 
 process until the entire bed is planted. Always stand with 
 your feet on the board when planting, thus avoiding tramp- 
 ling the bed. 
 
 Planted in this way it will require about 37,000' planst 
 for an acre. It is always best, in selecting land for celery, 
 
Celery. 237 
 
 to choose low, black lands, where it can be easily and 
 cheaply irrigated in a dry season, if necessary, for, as 
 stated before, the celery crops require plenty of moisture. 
 At no time Avhile the process of cultivation is going on, 
 should the work be done while the plants are wet with dew 
 or rain, for if one does, the plants will surely suffer from 
 rust yellow. Often celery leaves will show an inclination 
 to droop and spread flat on the ground ; this must be pre 
 vented by drawing enough soil around the plant to hold 
 the leaves erect. This is usually done about the first week 
 in October and only enough soil should be drawn around 
 the plants to accomplish this result, for the final banking 
 up should not be attempted by any means until the month 
 of December in this latitude. If done before this time 
 one may confidently expect to have hollow, low grade, rusty 
 celery. That is plenty early, any way. For it is during 
 the Christmas holidays and the two months following that 
 the demand for this product is at its best. 
 
 In making the first banking up of celery, it is custo- 
 mary w^ith the best growers here in the South to use two 
 soft twine strings about fifteen feet long, with a stout, 
 pointed peg tied at each end. Drive a peg in the ground 
 opposite the end of a celery row and about a foot away. 
 Take one turn of the twine about each plant in the row 
 so as to hold the leaves in an upright position and close 
 the performaiiCe by drawing the other peg in the soil op- 
 posite the other end. Continue this process with all of 
 the rows in ilie bed. The fine earth from the vacant spaces 
 between the beds should now be used to pack firmly by 
 hand around each plant, using only enough earth to hold 
 them firmly in position. Unwrap the strings and use them 
 
238 Southern" Ceops. 
 
 in the same way on two more rows and continue. In this 
 manner the bed is finished. This must be done when the 
 celery is entirely dry, and it is very important that the 
 earth be kept out of the heart of the plant. When the 
 last banking up for the bleaching process is begun be sure 
 to build up the outside of the bed at least six inches wider 
 than the rows are long, for it is necessary that the five-foot 
 bed should be enclosed with a bank of soil not less than 
 six feet wide. Continue adding soil from time to time as 
 the tops grow upward and just about the beginning of the 
 Christmas holidays cover over entirely with earth, finish- 
 ing with a complete final covering of marsh grass or forest 
 leaves to keep out frost. It is well to remember in buying 
 seed or plants that the dwarf varieties almost universally 
 used by Northern growers are not suited for the Southern 
 localities. I have found Sandringham, Golden Head and 
 Paschal to do well in the South. 
 
 Environment makes a difference in the growth of nearly 
 everything, so it is well to test in a small way at first, the 
 varieties, and find what is best suited to your particular 
 locality. A number of the expert celery growers around 
 Kalamazoo make a specialty of growing young celery plants 
 for the Southern trade and the plants they grow in the 
 moist, cool soil of Michigan have proved entirely satisfac- 
 tory here. Like everything in the plant life celery has its 
 enemies. In some localities the celery blight is very 
 troublesome and destructive. This is sometimes called 
 "leaf spot of the celery" and is liable to make its appear- 
 ance at any time, usually after the plants are set in the 
 open field. 
 
 In the earliest stages of this fungus grayish spots form 
 
Celery. 239 
 
 upon the leaves, dianging to scorched appearance a few 
 days later ; conditions being favorable for the development 
 of this disease, it will soon spread over the entire plant, 
 making the growth look as if it had been drenched in hot 
 water. The inner leaves — the heart — will continue throw- 
 ing up new leaves, but if the plant has become badly dis- 
 eased, it will never recover sufficiently to produce a mar- 
 ketable product. When this disease appears it is too late to 
 destroy it, for the main injury has been done long before 
 the existence of the disease was noticed. This fungus 
 usually appears during or soon after "a spell" of sultry op- 
 pressive weather, when the air is full of damp and the 
 nights are hot. A clear sky with bright sunshine, followed 
 by cool nights, prevent and control this "leaf spot." Of 
 course the plants must be kept in a vigorous and growing 
 condition at all times, but this is particularly necessary 
 during unfavorable weather periods, thus being enabled to 
 better withstand the attack of disease. The hardier, green 
 varieties of celery suffer much less from diseases than the 
 self-blanching kinds. Under certain conditions spraying 
 with Bordeaux mixture and ammoniacal solution of cop- 
 per, applied at intervals of ten to twelve days, will do 
 much good, "The heart rot" of celery is rarely found in 
 trenches, but occurs mostly where the celery has had too 
 copious watering, wetting the tops of the celery after it 
 has been stored in poorly ventilated cellars. The insect 
 enemies of the celery are, so far, easily controlled by sim- 
 ple means. Grasshoppers often prove very troublesome 
 early in the season, particularly so if the celery is planted 
 near a meadow. I have found a flock of turkeys the best 
 remedy for the grasshoppers. Take the flock into the field, 
 
240 Southern Ceops. 
 
 pick off a few ''hoppers" in plain view of the turkeys and 
 give the insects to the turkeys to eat. It is surprising how 
 quick the fowls will "catch on/' and likewise astonishing 
 how many hoppers they eat in a day. The turkeys only 
 need one lesson. Wheat-bran mixed with molasses, water 
 and enough Paris green to color the mass greenish in ap- 
 pearance is also a good thing to scatter in the field, where 
 no poultry of any kind is allowed to run. 
 
 ''The leaf tick" is another bug that becomes troublesome 
 at times, not only because it spins a web tying the leaves 
 together, but destroys the foliage by eating it. Fortu- 
 nately there are not many of these insects yet, and careful 
 hand-picking will do away with those the turkeys may miss. 
 In a celery crop that has been neglected and too many 
 weeds allowed to grow, in or near the celery, "the tarnished 
 plant bug" often makes trouble a plenty. This pest is 
 very small when young; of a yellowish green color, chang- 
 ing to a dull yellow brown when fully matured. The pre- 
 vention is, do not allow any trash to accumulate or lie 
 around where the insects can hide, and keep the celery well- 
 worked out and entirely free from Aveeds and grass. The 
 celery caterpillar is possibly the most troublesome of the 
 insects mentioned. It feeds greedily upon the leaves of 
 the plant, but is easily detected owing to its size and pe- 
 culiar color markings, which are : yellow with transverse 
 bands of black, which make it readily seen against the 
 background of the green foliage. "The febr^ caterpillar" 
 is smaller than its congener, but equally as striking in ap- 
 pearance. Fortunately neither of the two appear in great 
 numbers, and all that the turkeys fail to pre-empt can be 
 hand-picked. When preparing celery for market, taken 
 
Celery. 241 
 
 direct from rows where grown, it is only necessary to cut 
 off the root just below the surface of the ground, using 
 a sharp, stiff knife. Take off the outside leaves, trim the 
 root smoothly and evenly, pack in boxes and load on wagon 
 to be carried to the washing house. If blanch-boards have 
 been used 'they must not be removed until necessary, nor 
 should the trimmed celery be permitted to lie in the wind 
 or i&un at all. I always use a wagon canvas to cover the 
 boxes of celery from the time each root is trimmed and 
 placed in the box until it reaches the washing-room. In 
 ppeparation for marketing celery from trenches the work is 
 about the same as when taken from the rows except that 
 the soil is already loose and the roots can be taken out 
 more easily. Arriving at the washing-room, the celery is 
 placed upon a rack of wooden slats over a large trough, a 
 good spray of clear, cold water is then turned upon it until 
 any soil adhering to it is entirely removed. Allow it then 
 to drain thoroughly and tie in bunches of twelve plants. 
 It is customary to have three grades of celery. The first 
 grade calls for six dozen in a box, the second for eight 
 dr nine dozen per box. The crate in general use by Flor- 
 ida celery growers is 11x20x24 inches, the one used by 
 California growers is 24x24x20 inches, when celery is 
 shipped "in the rough" — this means that the celery is 
 lifted from the soil, a few of the outer leaves jerked off, 
 the roots trimmed roughly and tied in bunches of 12 or 
 14 with a cheap grade of coarse twine. I have never 
 learned that shipping anything "in the rough" is profita- 
 ble. I use crates that are practically air-tight, either li- 
 ning the crates with oil paper before the bunches are put in 
 or wrapping each bunch separately. The biggest check 
 16 
 
242 SouTHEBiq" Crops. 
 
 comes when everything you ship is nice and clean, attrac- 
 tive in appearance, and properly packed. Before the cel- 
 ery is packed, it should be thoroughly dry and during the 
 entire handling it must be kept as cool as possible. The 
 whole outlay for tools, 5,000 feet of lumber for each acre, 
 boxes, etc., should not exceed $200 per acre. The annual 
 expense of growing an acre of celery, including fertilizers, 
 seed, labor, wear and tear of equipment, should not exceed 
 $250, if the soil is suited for the work, and located near 
 a good market or shipping point ; 1,500 dozen is a fair es- 
 timate for one acre and this will easily bring 25 cents per 
 dozen at the lowest average, yielding a gross return of $375 
 per acre, with a net return of $125 for profit. 
 Alabama. 
 
HOW TO GROW AND SHIP LETTUCE. 
 
 BY MISS MARY ABAKK. 
 
 The gardeners are preparing the ground for their fall 
 crops of onions and lettuce. The fall Irish potatoes were 
 planted in August two weeks ago and are up nicely. Let- 
 tuce is the crop that is claiming the attention of the gar- 
 deners this week. The ground must be well prepared and 
 fertilized. In this section where there is a sandy loam un- 
 derlaid with clay deep plowing is found the best. After 
 the ground has been plowed it is well to go over it with a 
 disc until there is not a clod left and the earth pulverized. 
 Then the best gardener scatters broadcast two carloads to 
 the acre of stable manure that has been well rotted. To this 
 is added further 3,000 pounds of high-grade fertilizer to 
 the acre. It is well for every section of the country to use 
 the kind of fertilizer that is best suited to the soil. The 
 United States Government has a force of men at work 
 whose business it is to analyze the soils in different States 
 and localities and recommend the kind of fertilizers that 
 will produce the best results. 
 
 In this section it is useless to plant lettuce for the fall 
 crop earlier than September 1, and even then it must be a 
 season that is given to frequent rains that keep the ground 
 moist. When it is dry for weeks at a time it is of little 
 use to plant the seed. When the season is favorable the 
 lettuce will be ready for market in 65 or 70 days. The 
 best varieties for shipping are the Big Boston and Passion, 
 both head lettuce, and the Grand Rapids, a leaf lettuce. 
 The head lettuce will not head when the season is dry 
 
244 Southern Ckops. 
 
 and hot but will run up to seed, rather than head. The 
 same is true in the late spring. 
 
 For the early fall heading the Tennis Ball and the Small 
 Boston are considered the best varieties. 
 
 Mr. Inglis says that in 1902, when there was a cool fall, 
 he planted lettuce in beds and transplanted and had an 
 exceptionally fine crop. In 1893 and 1894 the falls were 
 dry and hot and he planted both in drills and in beds but 
 failed to get a profitable stand either way. He also found 
 that lettuce sown later than the last of December fails to 
 head owing to the heat in the spring. Mr. Inglis advises 
 to sow both in beds and in drills. If it is dry, the plants 
 can not be successfully transplanted, but if in drills the 
 plants may be thinned out without injury. 
 
 A pest in this country is a small, black or brown ant, 
 that will carry off the seed almost as fast as they are sown 
 some seasons. When the seeds are planted in beds a good 
 way to do is to soak the seeds over night and in the morn- 
 ing spread them out between damp cloths and keep covered 
 and damp until the seeds begin to sprout and then plant 
 them carefully in beds. The ants do not trouble them 
 then. But the sprouted seed can not be sown with the 
 drill. Some recommend the sowing of grits at the same 
 time the lettuce is sown, but not in the drill with the seed. 
 Then the ants feast on the grits and carry off the little 
 grains instead of the seed. 
 
 The planting and cultivation of lettuce may be summed 
 up briefly: Plow well and pulverize the soil; fertilize 
 broadcast heavily ; sow with a seed drill twelve inches be- 
 tw^een the rows and when they have from four to six leaves 
 thin out the head to twelve and the leaf varieties to six 
 
Lettuce. 245 
 
 inches apart ; cultivate frequently with a hand cultivator 
 and when half grown a side dressing of nitrate of soda may 
 be given and often produces excellent results. 
 
 It is also important that the lettuce should be well mar- 
 keted. In the first place, it must be fully matured before 
 cutting, whether leaf or head lettuce. In E'ew Orleans 
 the truck growers cut the lettuce and load it into wagons 
 in the field and haul it dry to the shippers, where it is 
 packed in barrels, dry. Here the heads are carefully put 
 in baskets and taken to the packing-house in the field, where 
 all the yellow leaves are removed and the heads washed 
 and drained and then packed closely in hampers. The 
 head lettuce is packed with the heads down and when 
 the hamper is half full a piece of ice four or five inches 
 square is put in. The leaf lettuce must be laid on its side 
 and iced the same as the head lettuce. The hampers must 
 be full without pressing too much, but the packer must be 
 sure that the package is full when it reaches market, 
 otherwise it will sell for a slack-packed and will not bring 
 so much. 
 
 Hancock Co., Miss. 
 
 The End. 
 
For Southern Farmers 
 
 ''Agriculture for the Common Schools'' 
 
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 "Dickson's System of Intensive Farming" 
 
 By David Dickson 
 
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