Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / Feb. 6, 1915, edition 1 / Page 5
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tturday, February 6, 1915 Labor-saving! Article No. 6 on ''Diversificatioq and Independence in 1915!" By G. H. ALFORD i foi importance of.. lie farmer, ,.j.At1c increases Ivin?- form imolements have US inc eald the earning capacity reatly increascQ i r Before la. . f the individual vine implements came general- -or-saving i p . , , arms tn -into use it requncu ; " one townfamily-now one farm eds two famines m luwii. The inefficiency of our agriculture Irg ly due to the lack of the ijse . : . B ;mn1pments. An analy- FaD?r: ,r? different states tows a much. smaller use of power n Southern farms man iuauua ons of the country, and consequent r less use of labor-saving farm rni lements and a correspondingly lower . arning capacity of the farmers, housands of our farmers sweat with ie grain cradle and bend their backs nd callous their hands with primitive and tools, while they could achieve mch greater results with much less ibor by the use ofUabor-saving farm nplements. ' ; .: I shall not attempt to name .the mst important tool for the Southern , irmer, as no man can state just hat farm implements each farmer." in?- Kiit let me ur?e everv ' . l ! . . v 4.1t n 4 4-r a inner iu give mum uiuugui iy ui nestion of how he can utilize farm nplements to lift him above the rou- y 4 4 4 4 ne ot endless drudgery, increase ic prni'nnrc rtipanpn Viic nrrirliirtinn mserve his energy and health, and' ve him an ormortunitv to eniov life. 11 i rf It is our purpose here to call atten- on to several inexpensive imple- lents that should be in use on every inn in hp CMrn "R1 ' " , lie Stalk Cutter a Humus Saver PHERE are still some people who f pile up and burn the cotton and rn stalks. This is absolutely inex isable, as the soil badly needs the. pus and the-stalks can easily be 1 ,ULU pieces ana turned un r. Of course, the stalks sjiould be t and plowed under in winter n at they will decav before nta m. However, if it is impossible to W the land before earlv crf. flks should be cut into short pieces i i good stalk cutter as soon after cr0P is gathered as possible. Cut m th,s way, they will rot' more - f yeail f throughout ing: v"w "vi;b in me aenea hbruary i3Growlng ftnk -Saving Soil February pes This Tear an1 Smoke- quickly and. can be' turned under to furnish humus, the. thing most needed in the average soiL ' v. . The Disk Harrow Is the Enemy N of Clods SPHERE was a time when the few X farmers who owned disk harrows used them to prepare new ; land and to destroy 'clods ; but intensive meth ods of farming have brought to light many new uses for the disk harrow. It xan be used as a stalk cutter, as an implement for preparing the seed bed on sandy land, for preparing the seed bed after breaking on all kinds of land, and then used to cultivate the crop, , A sharp disk "does; a fine fob of cut ting cotton a5d corn stalks when they are dry. It is the best-possible imple ment to use in preparing a cotton stalk . -v ..... - . . . v subsoil, thus stopping the rise of water ; (3) to produce a soil iriulch on dry land so that after a week or 10 days it can be easily plowed, the moisture bythat time having accu mulated below the mulch and soften ed up the land ; (4) to form a mulch of fine dirt which fills up the spaces usually left between the -furrowed sliae and the ground bejneath, thus making the foundation a fine, com pact seed bed. In the spring we are . all in a rush to get our crops planted. Our plow teams are overworked and even the best farmers often fail to thoroughly prepare their land. It is much bet ter, to take time by the forelock and disk the land then break it deep dur ing the fall and winter. The plow s'tock are rested and. the weither is cool. When the last land has been broken during the fall and winter, and fori some time prior to planting time, I ? I - it? Few Implements Have a Greater All round Value Than the Section Harrow and corn stalk field for the plow. Of course, it is best to use the stalk cut ter first, but after the stalk cutter has been used to cut the stalks into pieces, the sharp disks do a. fine job of cuttinig the stalks into small pieces, level the ridges and form, a fine soil mulch. The gangs should be set close and run lengthwise over the rows to cut the stalks into very short pieces and pulverize the top of the soil and get the land ready for the plow. The disk may be used on unplowed land for the following purposes (1) prepare mellow land for grain and other, crops, where deep plowing is . seldom necessary ; (2) to cut and mix barnyard manure, grass and trash so that, when turned under the surface soil will not be separated from the the. cotton seed bed can be quickly and easily made by arranging the disk harrow for an inthrow and by adjust ing the inner ends of the gangs higher than the outer. With the harrow so arranged a man and two good animals can make much better seed beds and do. the work more quickly than sev eral men in the old-fashioned way. . Cotton' and other crops come up quicker, grow off faster, and begin' bearing sooner on a well settled, firm seed bed; cpnsequently it is not wise to plant on freshly plowed land. When the beds have been made by the use of the turning plow for some time before planting' time it is usual ly necessary to remake them and de stroy the . little grass and weeds by properly adjusting Jhe disk harrow. (5) 113 - If the land is flat broken and com . pacted by heavy rains,, the disk bar--row is a most effective tool for the preparation of the seed bed. When the ground has been plowed for "some time and is covered with, grass and weeds, the disk harrow will ucanuy mc weeas ana maKe a most excellent seed bed for all kinds of crops. The soil that is in clods when you plant cotton, -corn and other crops will seldom be of use during the season unless you pulverize the clods. When the land is broken up into clods, by all means follow the plow with the disk harrow and thus de stroy the clods while moist. The disk, harrow pulverizes the soil thoroughly and as each round is lapped no ridges of any consequence will be left. Your - field may be cloddy and weedy, but a double disking with a disk harrow or a single disking with a double disk harrow will make a perfect seed bed of it. In the prepa ration of land no tool can be used to better advantage than the disk har row. It has special advantages over smoothing harrows in ground with loose trash or growing weeds, be cause the disks cut through the trash instead of dragging it along. How the Manure Spreader Pays Its Way BARNYARD manure is an important fertilizer and should be carefully saved and used. It represents fertil itywhich is drawn from the soil and must be returned to it if productive ness is to be maintained. It adds piam iuuu to xne son, acis upon.ine soil in such a manner as to render the plant food more available, increases the much needed supply of humus, makes the soil warmer, enables the soil to receive and retain more water, improves soil ventilation, aids in the development of bacteria, and helps to reduce the washing of soil to the minimum. If we realized fully the value of manure as a producer of crops and enhancer of fertility, we certainly would not waste it as we do, and then set about to remedy the consequences of our wastefulness by paying hard earned money for com-' plete commercial fertilizer. Many of us apply fertilizer of which we know little into soils of which we know less. We all know that we can rap idly increase the producing capacity of land by yearly applications of carefully saved manure. Yet in the face of this the great majority of us go on from year to year wasting ma nure and buying commercial fertilizers. To get the full value of manure.it must be carefully saved and applied to he land with a manure spreader. Many farmers make heaps in' -the fields as the manure is unloaded. Much nitrogen usually escapes into the air in the form of ammonia, and when the piles are rained on the soil under them is often too rich for some (Concluded on page "30, this issue)
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 6, 1915, edition 1
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