The Charlotte journal. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1835-1851, 1851-06-04
fGRICUL TURaL,
49,
6lss1h
From the Southern Culiipaior.
Ashes on Fresh Lands-COrn
Culture.

Culture.
Mr.. EpIroR The value of ashes a. a
manure, though generally conceded, is not,
am sure, sufficiently appreciated; else why
are 90 many thousand bushels annually was
ted over the new grounds Of the South =
Forests felled, logs and brush piled and burnt,
and the ashes suffered TO lie just where the
heaps have been fred destroy ing the prodac
tiveness Of these spots for several years. A
little labor employ ed in scattering the sshes
with some uniformity over fresh lsnds, would
almos, double the value Of the crop.
lie, me give you one years experience IN
this matter. With the hope tina. other young
planters may be induced 10 try The efficacy Of
ashes 90 new lands. Something more than a
year sgo. moved to this placs-li,srslly IN
the woods--no, a buildings up, nor en- acre Of
cleared ground on the premises. Alter put.
liog up the necessary buildings, found that
should no, have time to got in sufficient
quantity of N, hammock land. owing to the
difficulty Of clearing il. selected for my
Gotten, therefore. about one. third pine, and
,wo.,hirds oak land. /, vas cut down during
the winter, logs and brush burnt the latter
half Of March and irst week 10 April, and the
ashes raked up into conicaI heaps. Cotton
rows we're Immediately laid CD with scooter
plous, seed rolled in ashes. drilled, aud cover
ed with two burrows by The same plo~s. The
sshes we're spread at The rate Of % OF 30
bushels per acre, sometimes before the seed
we're planted, 10 the FIRST furrow, sometime.
90 the ridge left by the two covering fur.
rows. |. was done under my immediate 81.
pcrvision, by suaIl boys and girls, for whom
| could 6ud no other employ men, OF the time.
From the last Of April till the FIRST OF July,
We had 90 almos, uninterrupted drought
There vas scarcely a square in my fields,
and the cotton va. small and yellow. When
the sho 'ers set in. i, grew of rapidly, AID
brapehcd aud fruIied equal TO old land. To-.
deed abou, the 10Th Of August, good judges
estimated ihs, i, would yield bale per acre
Some here between The l0h, ard l5.h, the
boil worm made lis appearance, Tor chat IRE
term the boil sorm.) destroyed almost the
entire crop Of squares. from tae Is oil Sep.
tea,ber. After the latter date few or no
squares made anything 10 this section, in cen
sequence Of the Fail droughi. which coniin.
ued from 3lh Of August ill the middle Of
October.
Notwithstanding these disasters, which lief,
my cotton (fuIIng season Of only six or
seven weeks, and tina, The freeze 10 Novem.
Der cut OF my crop about 200 pounds 10 the
acre by destroying grorn bo'ls, which sim.
pie ffos, would not have itjured-I have
picked GU, about 500 pounds, per acre Of seed
cotton. Some Of your readers, who plant
the dlfferen, varieties Of prolific ssed and gath.
err from 2 to 5000 lbs. per scte, may be TO-.
clned 10 smile at this result bu, il should be
borne 10 mind, thai first years land, Of similar
quality with mine, Chat is pine and thin oak
land, DO not average more than four OF FIVE
hundred pounds per acre. in thi, sec'ion.--
And email spot in my field on which no ssh.
es we're spread, judging from the appearance
Of the Gotten, could not have yielded al that
rate.
A word about planting corn close. Seven
or eight years sgo, | had On acre of old, ex
haus'ed lsud, bu, recently COW psnned, broken
up With turn plo~s. ard planted in corn, 80 40
experiment, On the Is day Of April, which
is late for this region. Tho rows were laid
OF three fee, wide, corn drilled, and a, & ST
hoeiog, stalks left abou, ons foo, apar, in tho
drill. II was hoed twice, bot a plow nsv.
er touched it after planting. 1, grow tai:
and rather spindlIng, bot every stalk produc.
ed fair esr-many two. The ground and
the corn we're accurately measured and the
yield ~ss serenity busheis. minus peck. The
Isud bad been 10 cu!fi.a'ioo some 20 wears.
red soil.clsy within 61t 7 inches Of The sur.
face. The following year. tho came scfe
produced an indifferent crop Of cane, from
which should infer that i. vas nc, uncommon