2
Thursday, August 16, 1906.
SUCCESS IN COTTON FARMING.
The Four Essentials Discussed by a Highly Successful Cotton Grower
Cultivation, Seed Selection and Soil Management.
There are four things that are ab
solutely essential to the successful
growth of cotton, viz:
(1) Proper climatic conditions.
(2) A fertile soil.
(3) Good seed.
(4) . Manhood.
The South's Climatic Advantages:
The cotton plant being a native of
a, warm climate, -will not grow very
well. further north than the fortieth
. . . -A 1.111J J M .11.
south than the twentieth parallel.
And there are other things also to
be considered along this line, the
topographical conditions, and the
very fact that our. topographical, con
ditions are the most favorable on
earth makes our climatic conditions
the most favorable also, for, when a
kind Providence placed a great Ap
plachian range of mountains on one
side of our cotton fields and a gulf
on the other, the die was cast. The
one cuts 0ff the cold winds from the
northwest; the other gives us a soft
.and balmy atmosphere.
' Soil Fertility and Crop notation.
Soil fertility is dependent upon na
tural conditions and upon soil man
agement, and may be defined as "the
ability of a soil to produce in re
sponse to a given amount of assis
tance rendered it in the form of cul
tivation." In order for a soil to be
fertile there are five things that are
absolutely necessary, to-wit: A
plentiful supply of vegetable matter,
nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash and
moisture. Without the moisture the.
most plentiful supply of plant food
will fail to produce a orop. There;
must be sufficient moisture to con
vey it to and through the plant
The cheapest way to oDtam a plen
tiful supply of vegetable matter is
to grow it upon the soil by a proper
system of rotation with leguminous
plants, to-wit: by the two year sys
tem as: (1) corn and peas one
year, and (2) cotton next, or the
three year plan of (1) corn and peas
one year followed (2) by small, grain
and the ground sown to peas after
grain is cut, and (3) this followed
by eotton. Either plan is good, and
by the latter plan the pea vines may
be cut for hay and fed to cattle and
the manure -returned to soil. "By all'
means sell nothing off the farm that
has any manurial value in it with
out returning something the equival
ent. It is suicidal, you cannot grow
cotton upon the intensive system
with an empoverished soil."
Of course the cow pea not only
furnishes a large quantity of vege
table matter but great quantities of
nitrogen as well, thereby lessening
the fertilizer bill; and a dollar saved
is a dollar made. The phosphoric
acid and potash must of necessity be
bought, but if we can grow our nitro
gen at little cost, the fertilizer bill
will be reduced one half.
How to Prepare Stubble Land for
Cotton.
Take that indispensable tool, the
disk harrow, and cut land thorough
ly. Sometime in November or De
cember, and any time during the
winter when the soil is not too wet,
break deep with a two-horse plow.
There is a brand new plantation just
below the old one that has never
seen the light of day. It may be
obtained free of cost, so stick your
'plow in and find it. Turji it up and
aerate it and fill it full of vegetable
matter, and you have past the first
mile post to success. Harrow all
cloddy places and lay off your rows
perfectly straight where possible,
and of even width, and apply in' the
drill just before planting from 680
to 1,000 pounds of the following
mixture:
Cotton seed meal, 600 pounds.
Acid phosphate, 750 pounds.
Kainit, 250 pounds.
If a sufficient quantity of good lot
manure, say ten wagon loads per
acre, has been applied either broad
cast or in the drill (broadcast pre
ferred) you can dispense with cotton
seed meal. The width of the rows
depends upon the strength of the
land and the kind of cotton, as for
instance, dwarf cotton, like King's
Improved, can be grown much closer
than large varieties like Russell Big
Boll.
.... , How to Select Your Seed.
Always remember that good seed
has a great deal to do with the out
put of a crop. According to the
great law of nature, like begets like,
and the survival is always to the
fittest. It is a law that is just as
infallible in its workings as the law
of gravity. If we plant poor seed,
however fertile our land may be, we
may -expect no great turn out. As
the seed is, just so will the plant be.
This way of taking cotton seed pro
misculouslay from a pile without any
regard from whence they came, has
done as much as any one thing you
can mention to stick the Southern
farmer into the quag mire of pov
erty. You cannot grow cotton upon
the intensive system without giving
the proper attention to the selection
of seed.
Remember always to select plant
ing seed from as near the center of
the stalk as possible, and in order to
improve your cotton you ought to go
over the field in the fall and select
from individual stalks, planting
what is thus obtained, off to itself
and then select from individual
stalks of this. By this plan you will
soon have a strain of cotton as near
perfection as can be grown.
How to Cultivate.
Plant cotton straight and nice and
as soon as it cracks the row so as to
be seen from one end of the row to
the other, use weeder crosswise or
harrow with a V harrow with the
two center teeth removed and the
harrow closed till the two hindmost
teeth are just fourteen inches apart.
Let horse and plowman both walk
on top of cotton and harrow both,
sides at one going. There will be
enough left for a stand and all young
grass will be entirely destroyed for
the present. .
Chop and side as soon as the cot
ton is all up. The first siding may
be done with a double shovel culti
vator with small shovels, remove cen
ter teeth, strMdle the cotton and
you can side a whole row at one
time. You can use two horses, or one
horse will do by fastening a crooked
rod to left side of cultivator. There
will be very little side draft if hitch
ed properly.
Chop from twelve to thirty-six
inches apart according to strength of
land and variety of cotton; if the lat
ter distance two stalks to the hill will
produce more cotton than-one, as I
have found by actual test. Culti
vate often and lightly and success is
yours.
And Last, But Not Least Manhood.
Now I have come to the most im
portant of all, that is: "Manhood."
By this I mean an enlightened and
cultivated mind backed by energy,
vim, Industry and perseverence.
Every farmer should try to enlighten
his own mind and the minds of his
family. Knowledge is power!
Knowledge is wealth! For where
war, pestilence and famine have
slain their thousands, ignorance has
slain its ten of thousands. Cotton
cannot be grown upon, the intensive
system of ignorance. There can be no
real success in cotton farming with
out intelligence and organization.
S. H. HOBBS.
Sampson Co., N. C.
SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THE
OPEN FURROW METHOD OF
SOWING OATS.
I. What is It?
Messrs. Editors: The "Method"
consists in sowing the oats in the
bottom of a furrow. When oats are
sowed broadcast arid plowed under
the surface of the land is practically
smooth and the oats will be exposed
to freezes and cold winds. If sowed
with the large grain drills, the rows
are close - together and the furrows
very shallow so that the land is soon
almost perfectly level.
In order to get sufficient furrow
the oats must be sowed in rows 14 to
1 8 inches apart, . thus providing a
furrow 6 to 8 inches wide and 3 to
4 inches deep..
II. TO What Extent Has This Me
thod Been Used?
The Open Furrow plan of sowing
was first brought to the writer's at
tention about five years ago. ft was
then being practiced with great suc
cess by a few leading farmers. This
method has been constantly recom
mended by Director Redding of the
Georgia Experiment Station. In
deed, I think the plan was discover
ed or originated by him.
Thousands of farmers are now
sowing oats in the open furrow and
the unanimous verdict is that they
get a better yield and a safer crop
than by any other method.
in. -Are Special Machines Neces
sary?
You can use cotton planters or
guano distributors of certain makes
and get fair results.. These, ma
chines do not usually carry a shovel
plow large enough to make the re
quired furrow, and if you want to
use some guano it requires two trips
to each furrow. Another objection
to planters and distributors for this
purpose is that you cannot guage
the quantity with accuracy.
It is wise to get a , machine for
the purpose. Such a machin? will
be fitted with the right kind of plow,
it will have a double hopper and will
distribute guano and oats at the
same time, and it will have guages
that will accurately regulate the
quantity of guano and oats.
Perhaps the best machine for this
purpose is made in this State and is
advertised in this paper. It is very
cheap, durable, and efficient.
IV.. What is the Use of the Open
Furrow?
Oats in the bottom of a furrow
being below the surface are Dro-
tected from cold rains. The sell in
the bottom of a furrow will not freeze
so hard and deep as the tops of the
ridges or a level surface. The oats
are not "spewed up" so much, if any.
If pulled up by the freeze the pro
cess of thawing will cause the soil
to roll to the bottom of furrow and
thus reset the oats. The gradual
filling in of the furrow acts as a
mulch, and a cultivation of the oats.
These open furrows catch the rains
and hold the water till it sinks into
the subsoil. On hilly land the fur
rows should run with the terraces, or
on a level if there are no terraces.
Oats in the bottom of a furrow stand
the spring draughts splendidly.
In the spring just before the oats
begin to run up, a pike tooth drag
harrow should be run over them.
The teeth will not damage the roots
in the bottom of the furrow, but
will fill in the soil around the oats
and give them fine cultivation. This
work pays splendidly.
The open furrow method has made
oats a sure and profitable crop in
sections where the farmers were not
able to raise oats successfully by the
old methods. The open furrow me
thod in oat growing sections has in
creased the yield and made the crop
certain.
The only objection to this method
is that it takes more time than with
the large wheat drills. On the oth
er hand, the oats sower costs about
one tenth as much, and requires only
one horse and one hand to operate
it. But it pays to use the oat sower
and thus make sure of a fine crop.
The writer is personally acquainted
with large . farmers, having five or
six horses and the best Northern
grain drills under their sheds, who
sow all their oats in the Open. Fur
row one row at a time. They be
live it pays to take more time and
make sure of a crop.
V. How Can I Sow Oats in Cotton?
Many farmers would like to sow
oats in cotton land in the fall, but
the cotton is seldom off the land ear
ly enough. The oat sower enables
the farmer to sow oats in a field of
cotton any time in the fall. Run the
oat sower twice in each middle just
behind the pickers and you will not
damage the cotton. The oats will
come off early enough to plant corn
or, to sow peas. The cotton stalks
should be cut or "knocked" down in
the winter or spring. It will pay
to harrow the oats just before they
begin to stalk.
The oat sower will give good re
sults on cotton land without any pre
paration. But if there is no crop
in the way it pays to prepare the
land thoroughly. The land should
be broken deep, (most lands would
be better if subsoiled also) and har
rowed. Many farmers believe it pays
to run a disk harrow over the land
twice. 1
Special preparation of the land is
not necessary in using the oat sower,
but it will always be profitable.
The Open Furrow Method is the
best yet found for sowing oats. The
oat sower is the cheapest and best
machine for doing the work. The
small farmer can afford an oat sow
er, and the large farmer cannot buy
anything better. C.
Mecklenburg Co., N. C.
Judge Bennett Tells About His Rye
Crop.
(Wadesboro Messenger and Intelli
gencer.) To whom these presents may come,
greeting:
I grew five acres in rye this year
and threshed it yesterday. We got
66 y2 bushels of as good seed rye as
ever grew. Not a drop of rain on it
from the cradle to the thresher
The straw is as white as the shirt of
anold fashioned merchant's I bosom.
This rye is worth $100. The straw
is worth 60 cents a hundred pounds.
The land is in good heart part of
it is in buckwheat; the greater part
of it is , in grass and a feeble pre
sentment of Indian corn.
I. shall seed down to rye next au
tumn 20 acres of my best land.
Ye that have, ears to hear, give
heed.
R. T. BENNETT.
August 1, 1906.
There is now going to waste in
South Carolina enough wild Lespe
deza clover to produce wool and
iutton sufficient to supply every in
habitant of the State with this class
of food and clothing. The worth
less dogs and their owners are stand
ing guard, keeping back this impor
tant industry!- J. C. Stribling.
The
one power that cleanses is
His blood for pardon, His spirit for
holiness. Maclaren.