Newspapers / The Sandhill Citizen (Southern … / Sept. 22, 1933, edition 1 / Page 1
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THE FARM, ORCHARD AND GARDEN PAPER OF THE SANDHILLS Volume XXX. Southern Pines, N. C., September, 22, 1933. No. 52 FALL FERTILIZATION OF PEACH TREES By C. F. Williams vOept. of Horticulture, N. C. State J College) No one will question the statement that one of the greatest needs of the Sandhills section is soil improvement to make the soil more retentive of moisture and fertilizer. All will agree too that the best method is the use of winter cover crops to be turned un der in the spring before they compete with the trees for moisture. Greater tonnage of cover crop can be economi cally produced by the judicious use of commercial fertilizer—a complete fertilizer in late September before sowing and a top dressing with ni trate about March first to increase spring growth. Such a cover crop sys tem has already been suggested by the Department of Horticulture, N. C. State Colloge. However, the grower also wishes to know how this will af fect his trees. The Department of Horticulture has conducted fertilizer experiments on peaches in the Sandhill from which data on this problem are now avail able. The time of the fall application isYate enough so that it will not force growth in the trees. Potash and phos phate do not leach out of the soil even in the Sandhills so that it should make no difference to the tree what time of the year they are applied to the soil. The cover crop, regardless (Please turn to page 6) ONE OR TWO MORE YEARS OF COTTON REDUCTION It is the belief of good authorities that another, and probably two, years of acreage reduction of cotton will be necessary to the consumption <of surplus cotton. Of even greater importance is the selection of crops to be grown during this period of ad justment and apportionment of land to crops other than cotton; and to tobacco also on a smaller degree— smaller because the acreage in to bacco for the several years just pass ed has averaged around 1 to 20 acres in cotton and there is no apparent cir cumstance or combination of circum stances indicating that this acreage ratio will undergo any gre^.t chrnge other than continued obstinancy in continuing over-production of one or both of these crops. In deciding upon the crops that will give the highest future or present benefit and financial return, first consideration must be given the needs and deficiencies of individual farms in the immediate past and at the (Plww turn to jmfo 6) Typical Winter Appearance of Field Under Strip Crop Farming Strip cropping consists of planting strips of densely growing or fibrous-rooted crops between strips of clean-tilled crops, along the contours of erosive slopes. At present strip cropping is being practiced largely on slopes where it is proposed to carry on summer terracing following the re moval of grain or other midseason crops grown on the strips. Strip crops preserve terrace lines previously surveyed until such time as it may be found possible to construct the terraces. Strip crops reduce run-off and erosion, and they increase the pene tration of rain water into the soil. They also reduce losses due to wind erosion. Strip cropping is easily done at slight expense. Under certain conditions, especially where the land is gently slop ing or where the rainfall is light, strip cropping may be substituted for terracing. Strif) Growing to Prevent Soil Erosion (Extracts from Leaflet No. 85 U. S. Dept, of Agriculture) Wherever land has sufficient slope for rain water to flow over its unprotected surface, soil is being washed away and the land impoverished. It has been estimated that not less than 126,000, 000,000 pounds of plant-food material, and the soil that contians it, are being removed every year by erosion from the fields and pastures of the United States. While this loss is enormous, it is by no means the only damage being done by run-off rain water. Over large areas sheet erosion is gradually removing the surface soil, leaving exposed,the relatively infertile subsoil which is often of such a stiff and compact nature that it is very difficult to culti vate, and which absorbs water more slowly and loses it more quickly in dry weather than the mellow topsoil now gone. Gullies rapidly form, making the use of farm machinery difficult and rendering much land practically worthless. The enormous cost of soil erosion is discussed in detail in United States Department of Agriculture Circular No. 33. Methods of Preventing Erosion Are Available Fortunately there are practical methods available to every farmer for checking, to a large extent at least, the damage being done by the run-off of rain water. The most generally used meth od of preventing these losses is by the use of terraces. The con struction and maintenance of such terraces has been described in Farmers’ Bulletins 1386 and 1669, United States Department of Agriculture. Many farmers have already taken advantage of this method of protecting their land, and the practice is spreading rapidly. For various reasons, however, thousands of farmers are (Please turn to page five) STATE FAIR, RALEIGH OCTOBER NINTH North Carolina’s State Fair will j open in Raleigh on Monday, October I 9, and continue throughout the week. The new secretary-manager is Nor man Y. Chambliss, well known for his ability as an organizer and suc cessful Fair man. There will be many attractive fea tures of which the public will be told from time to time in the daily and weekly papers, on bill-boards and win dow placards. The larger attendance in the history of the Fair is expected. There will be a larger array of free attractions and better horse-racing than ever before. Transportation companies will offer special rates to Raleigh. Although the Fair this year has been underwritten, it still is under the supervision of the State Board of Agriculture. Remember the date of the opening, October 9. North Carolina State Fair is the “graduate school” of the “Live-At Home” Colloge of Tarhelia and for the farm family for the enjoyment of a very satisfying life. Farm operating styles are changing rapidly and the styles for the years 1934 and 35 will 'be on exhibit in Raleigh October 9 14, inclusive. Meet us at the N. C. State Fair and join us in the three E’s—Entertainment, Enjoyment and Education. SAVE SWEET POTATO SEED AT DIGGING TIME There are few crops that vary so widely in size and shape as the sweet potato. It is unfortunate that this variation is within the variety. If you will dig 25 or 50 hills, keeping the po tatoes from each hill separate, you will probably find in the lot some vines producing one or more jumbos some medium, and some very small size potatoes, others producing all medium size, and others all small po tatoes. The shape of the products of different vines vary widely also. These variations are found even in varie ties that are unmixed with other va rieties. The sweet potato as grown as a farm crop is propagated by division —by growing a part of another plant and not by sexually modified seeds as is the case with a majority of our farm crops like cotton, corn, snail grain, peas, beans, etc. Consequently, careful selection for a few years will greatly improve the good character end quality of the sweet potato. They do not mix as corn does. Seed potatoes should be dug before the crop is harvested. The time to be (Please turn to page 7)
The Sandhill Citizen (Southern Pines, N.C.)
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Sept. 22, 1933, edition 1
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