The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1856-04-01
From nth. Soil of the South,
COTTON AND CORN

place. the strlks must have sufficient size.
There aTT, other roIid:ti,E5=, .: course, wi!,rh
must be met 10 i:as.7,. :. good coticE crop
but these two r4'sv - v7,i,si,!crc.i prercqui-
sites, amd mention then. BOW, because
they are essentially ,lcrcn,iemt upon the
preparation of the SOL before the crop Is
iplauted. In order - secure a good stand
of cotton, it Is necessary, in the first place,
that the Garth 90 which the seed are dcpos-
Itcd s!:;u ~ thoroughly pulverized, that
they m'v certainly gcrninate, and after
;gerE,hi-;ion. that they may readily take
Toot snd find support from the soil: and it
nrccssary. i'll TIE second place, that tho
young plants, when they come up, should
he on II somewhat elevated ridge, otherwise
they will be destroyed and the stand con-
sequcntly injured, at the first working. To
secure good size To the stalk, it is neces-
sary, in the first place. that the soil beneath
the stalk should be well broken, that the
tap root (which j. the main feeder of tho
stalk may easily penetrate the earth, and
III the next place, II dry soil, or at least ono
drained of its excessive water, is an indis-
pensable condition Of fine growth in cotton
Now, the question is. how are these condi-
tions to be met. in preparing the land! If
the soil intended for this crop is light, po-
rOus and dry, of course there will not be
the same necessity for deep blowing and
jItcsI beds, as if the land were fiat and hard
ID preparing such lands, therefore, the rows
may be laid off with q small scooter, merely
as guide furrOw, and on this the earth
may be thrown from each side with turn
pillow, giving the ridge simply elevation
sufficient to facilitate the first WORKING
Where the land is hard, and inclined to hold
water, the opening furrow should be as
deep as possible, and it would be still i'm
proved by following i'll the same furrow with
coalter. We would also run the first
turrow on each side of this, with long
scooter or coalter, and then finish out the
beds with IA large winged turn plow Ifthe
pillow did not make Il sufficient bed, or if the
land had broken up into large clods, follow
with the hoes, crushing the clods and rak- |
ing up the beds.
We prefer that the beds for cotton should
not be entirely thrown out at first blowing,
leaving the two middle burrows to be plowed
out just before the crop is planted. These
burrows will nearly cover the beds with
fresh earth, and when the cotton is planted, |
the furrow opened for the seed and the |
board used in covering, will scrape the top |
of the bed, that the entire surface is |
fresh and clean.
The distance at which cotton rows should !
be laid off, depends entirely upon the quail |
ity of the soil; if thin, just wide enough to |
admit the pillow and horse between the rows;
If rich, from four to five feet apart We
believe that the cotton field should be crowd
ed to its utmost capacity, and we think the
measure of its capacity is just that number
of stalks which will completely cover every
part of the surface of the earth with their
branches, when the crop is matured. With
this rule before him, the planter must gra-
duate his rows by the size to which he |
thinks his cotton stalks will grow.
In manuring cotton, we prefer putting it
III the drill, rather than broadcasting it
Such system of manuring may not benefit
the land as long, but we think it will benefit
1t as much. In other words, the effects of
the manurinS may not last through as many
crops, but it will add just as much to the
productions of the land. We speak now
OF manurlng cotton, for we conceive that
there is difference in the principles which
control the operations of manures upon
cotton, and corn, for instance. It is very
material in the cotton crop that we should
have fine sized stalk, whereas it is q mat
tel OF little consequence to a corn crop. In
the latter, the object of the manure is almost
exclusively to increase tho growth of the
grain; i'll the former, it has double object,
to increase the stalk, and to multiply the
fruit. Manures applied broadcast We have Il
no doubt affects the yield of the late crop
more than when applied in the drill; but on
the other hand, we think the drill manuripr I
secures larger yield of the forward crop, ,
and our observation teaches us that If is ,
the heavy early crop, which makes the .
largest yield per acre. Our plan of manur
Ing is, to lay off the guide burrows with
scooter, and follow i'll this with wide round ,
shovel which opens a good trench into I
which the manure is strewn, and then bed I
ded on. !
Planters differ as to the proper quantity |
u co''"h SEED tor manuring cotton. The :
estimates vary from % to 10 bushels por {
acre. We have generally applied about 81 v
bushels.
Corn Will soon receive its first WORKING. c
The mode of this working should depend v
lpon the manner in which the land has been G
prepared and planted. The entire surface s
hculd be closely and thoroughly broken,
nd If this has not been done either imu,e- f
lately preceding or at the time of plant e
nS' 1t should be done now. This WORKING n
must also depend upon the character of the Il
OIL II 1t is tenacious, inclined to pack, N
un together and get hard, it may be neces-
aIy to give it a thorough breaking at This Ii