Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1869-03-05
The Cultivation of Corn Letter from
MIR. David Dickson.
Sparta, GA, January 6, 1860.

| 6PARTA, GA, January 6, 1860.
| Editors Southern Cultivator There
| is great demand for me 10 re-write my
plan of cu'tva'ing corn, preparation of
land, &c, by new subscribers, and 6s per-
sons who arc not subscribers to your pa
per.
In the first place, l refer them to my
system of improvement, rest and rotation,
given in the Southern CUliiuator last
year. Many inquire, when is the proper
time to break up land. 1 wri,e fol this
latitude, and every person must make due
: allowance, as his farm may be North or
South Of this line. The blowing must be
commenced the first day of January, to
get II done in time, or as soon as you are
done sowing wheat If I had my choice,
and could get all the work done in one day,
| would not have the plowing done more
than ten days before planting, for the fol-
lowing reasons, derived from actual expe-
riencc: If it is a dry, cold freezing winter
and spring. the fall blowing is the best in
some springs of this kind, as those Of 1880
| and 1854. | left belts through the middle
OF field, which were not plowed until
few days before planting, and l could dis
tinguish the belts all through the year
the corn in them being from eighteen to
twenty two inches lower than the rest
For the crop and improvement of the land,
in about one winter out Of seven, fall plow-
ing is the best. In the cases where the
belts were left, when the winter Vas warm
and the rains abundant, the late plowing
would beat the early blowing twenty-five
per cent. in the crop; besides, accord ng
to my experience, there is less loss from
washing. Land must be we'll broken be
lore planting, SO commence in time to do
it-tho later it is done the better for the
land, taking seven years together, but not
so good for teams.
Have good turning plows, and according
to your ability, use one or two horses, and
subsol; ride over the field, and lay off
the land SO that the horses will go round
on level, and the dirt will fall down AiH
"A team will break up the soil niue inches
deep in this way, as easily as they could
seven inches, on level piece OF land
Continue 10 tako the lands in the same
way until the field is finished, one team
following ano,her-all tho time going
round the circle; aid if you eubsoi, have
one team between e. ch turning plow, run
ming in the bottom of the furrow. When
you finish, the field is ready for planting, if
the proper time has arrived. In deciding
this point, you must be governed by the
! weather-it varies from the tenth of March
to the first Of April. According to my
experience, man only gains hard work
and more of it, by very early planting.
Now for the planting. Lay off furrows
with long shovel plow, on level. seven
feet apart. Commence at the opposite
end, with longer shovel, and open out
the same furrow. Tie reason for this is,
you get up to trees and stumps, and make
a better finish at the ends. This fnrrow
should stand open seven or eight inches
deep. Whether you use compost, cotton
seed or guanos, let each hand have bis
three foot measure, and deposit the manure
in tine bottom Of the furrow, just three
feet apart. Then drop the corn within
three or four inches of the manure, one or
more grains, as is your cus:om-dropping
on the near eide Of the manure, as the
dropper goes; then, with very light har.
row, cover the corn one or one and half
inches deep. The harrow sboald 60 the
same way the dropper goes, to keep from
pulling the manure on the grain.
Ii you cover deep, you lose all the ad-
van,sges of low planting, (but not the
deep breaking) and for this reason: corn,
in good weather, will come up from a
depth of one to six inches, but will strike
out roots about one inch from the surface
OF the ground, and all below that will per.
ish. This is one reason why 1 am opposed
to dirting corn as soon as it comes up:
brings the root of the stalk to the top of
the ground.
/ My plan is to finish the first working
from the 2oth Of April to the 10Th Of
May. Sometimes hav. not finished be.
fore the 25lh Of May. With the land we'll
turned, very little grass and weeds will
come up, except iu the bottom of the fur
row, and this is easily managed.
For the first blowing, have heavy
twenty-five inch sweep, with the right
wing 20 set, that it's back end will not be
more than one inch above the ground.
This is TO run near the corn, and should
I'LL the furrow within one or one and a
half inches Of. the general surface. Break
out the niddles With the same sized sweep,
with the back Of b6th wings turned up :;
if the pIowing is we'll done, four furrows
will finish out--four .hands cnmnlo.ino