The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1868-02-19
EFrom the Southern Cultivator. T
Letter from Mr.. David Dickson.


following extract from private htrer Of
Mr.. Dickson to us. which accompanied
the communications below: with NV
present business, | cannot answer pri-
vate letter. and at the same time con.
tribute to the CuNtvator What do,
therefore, must be- for the benefit of all
through your paper. l repeat. from ac.
tual observation, that nearly one half of
the Agricultural labor Of Georgia is
thrown away, from want Of knowledge
and skill in its application. There is as
much for the farmer to learn about the
use of a plow and hoe, as there Is for
the painter, concerning the use Of the
brush"
EDITORS SOUTHERN CURRY ArDw:-
There is. a great demand for mo to TO
write my plan of cultivatng corn, pre-
paratlon of land, manure, &C., by new
subscribers, and by persons that are not
subscribers to your paper.
In the first place, refer them TO my
system OF improvement. rest and roia.
tlon, given in tho .Southcra CuHivutny
last year. Many inquire, what is the
proper time to break up land. I write
for this latitude, and every person must
make due all 'wnnu;'. m IN, farm may
be North or sAnlh vi this line The
plowing must be commenced tho frs,
day OF January, To get it done in time,
or as soon as you are done sowing wheat
If [ had my choice, nnI c,niii GIT all
The work done in one day. would not
have the blowing done more than ten
days before planting, for the following
reasons, derived from actual experience :
If it is dry, co,3 (rrrzing winter an>l
spring, the fall blowing is the best IL
some springs Of this kind, as those OF
1889 ard 1854, 1 left belts through the
middle Of a field, which were not plowrd
until a few DAYS before planting, and
could distinguish ,h" b,ls I'LL through
the ycar-thc co II in h'in being from,
8 to % inches lwrr than lhc rest. =
For the crop and the Improvement OF
tho land, in about one winter out OF sew
on, lall plow lg is the best In the cases
where The belts were |, n, when rhu win.
ter was warm an! rnlrs abundant. the
late plowlng would bral the early rIow-
ing twenty-five" per crn, in the crop ;
besides, according to my experience.
there is less loss from washing. Land
must DO well b:okrn bcfnre planting, SO
commence in lim. TO d, 1.-THE later it
is done tho better for ,rr' En,l. taking
seven years together, bu, not quite So
good for teams.
Have good turning plows, and nc.
cording to your ability, use one or two
horses, and suh-snil ride over the field,
and lay off the mnd so TINT rhc horses
will 60 round on level, and the dir,
will fail down hill--a team will break
up the soil nine inches deep in this way,
as easily rs they could seven inches, on
level picce OF land. Continue to tako
the lands in the same way until tho
field is finished, one team following an.
other-all the time going round the
circle; and if you sub.soil, have one
team between each turning plow, run.
ming m tho bottom Of the lurrow. When
you finish, the field is ready for planting,
II the proper time has arrived. In de
clding this point, YOU must be governed
by tho wcathcr-it varies from the roth
Of March to the first day Of April. Ac,
cordlng to my expe, e,icnce, man only
gains hard work and more of it,, bv very
early planting.
Now for the planting. Lay OF fur.
rows with a long 81 rvel plow, on lev
el seven feet apa., Commence al the
opposite end with longer shovel, and
open out the same turrow. The reason
tor this is, you get up to trees aud
stumps and make better finish at the
ends. This furrow should stand open
seven or eight inches deep. Whether
you use compost, cotton seed or guanoa,
lot each hand have his three foot meas.
ure, and deposit the manure ia the bot.
tom OF the turrow, just three feet apart.
Then drop tho corn within three or four
inches OF tho manure, or one or more
grams, as Is your misunderstanding on
the near side Of the manure, MS the drop.
per goes; then, with very light har.
row, cover the corn ono or one and q
half inches deep. The harrow should 70
the Same the dropper does, to keen
from pulling the manure on the
grain.
If you cover deep, yon lose all the
advantages OF low planting, (but not the
deep breaking.) and for this reason -
corn, in good weather, will come mp from
q depth one to six inches, but will strike
out roots about one inch from the surface
OF tho ground, and all below that will
perish. That is one reason why I am
opposed to dir'ing corn as soon rs il
comes up--it brings the root of the stale
to the top of the ground.
My plan is 20 finish tho first working
from the goth Of April to tie 10Th #
May. Sometimes / have uot fnis!:vd
before the 25,h Of May. VIII! tho land
we'll turned, very liulc grass and weeds
will como up except in the hottom of
the furrow, and this is easily manae
ed.
For the first plowing, have heavy
twenty-five inch sweep with the right
wing so set, that its back end win
not be more than one inch above the
ground. This is to run near tho corn,
and should fill the furrow within one