The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1871-06-22
Management of Manures and Grass
..... Lands.


Lands.
Owing to the dry weather in this valley
last fall, and in many other parts of the
State, the wheat, though sown in good sea-
son, made but very moderate start before
cold weather; and to this circumstance chiefly
we are to attribute the fact that the yield
has beenless than full crop. Good farm
ers generally SOW grass seed with their wheat
in the fall, and add the clover seeds in the
spring. The dry fall was followed by q still
more remarkably dry spring, and as con-
sequence, we have now on our wheat stub
.bles, less than half the grass and clover that
ought to be there.
What shall we do? Many farmers will
say-"let it go as it is" But this would be
the worst possible economy. Better plow
and sow another crop of wheat, though we
lose all the seeds sown last fall and spring
Nothing in our business is more important
than good, thick stand ofgrass. The
meadows should always be made to produce
two tons Of hay to the acre, and pastures
should never be allowed to get "thin."
Intend in few weeks, if the weather is
not too dry, to SOW my wheat stubbles over
again, and harrow the seeds in. Grass seed
should always be narrowed in or brushed,
when it is practicable to do so. There is
usually great loss in allowing the seeds to
remain on the surface, unless the ground is
in very mellow condition. Should there
be moisture enough to make the sowing safe
as early as the first to the middle of August,
Twill sow the clover and timosI, -tagothor,
but if it should mot be so, I win sow the
timothy in September, and clover on the
snow, in the spring.
After good deal Of experience and OBJ
servation, am satisfied that our chief re-
lance must be clover and timothy for seed
ips,pastures and meadows. Blue grass is of
great Salue-the best we have for permanent
pasture, but in this valley it works in of it.
self, if the ground is in proper condition, as
it does indeed, on most of the good lands oil
over the:State. 1t does not do we'll in very
stiff, undraiued clay. nor on light sandy
soil. 1t hourishes best on loan, (by which
mean clay, with an intermixture of sand, }
resting upon limestone rock. This seems to
be character Of the soil in the far-famed blue
grass regions Of Kentucky, with oxide ofiron,
which gives it a dark red appearance. 40
A good deal is said in the papers about
manuring grass lands, practice that I am
greatly in favor of, as being as profitable a
method as we can adopt, and disposing Of
our barnyard manure. o. I would certainly
agply it all, either to the grass or corn land,
IHd perhaps with land requiring rotation Of
crops, better results are obtained by giving
the manure to the grass, thus insuring a
sthish stiff sod to plow under for the corn,
. which is more valuable on account of its me-
chanical effect in loosening clay soil for a
corn crop, than the direct application of
barnyard manure. At what time should the
manure be applied? A statement has been
going the rounds of the papers, in favor of
making the application to meadows, immedi-
lately after moving. In England, this is a
common practice. With us there are two
objections to it, first, that we usually have
not only very hot, but very dry weather in
August and the first half of September,
which must certainly cause the evaporation
of much of the fertilizing matter from the
manure thus spread upon the surface. And,
because our summers are 80 hot and dry, it
e,is not profitable to keep manure on hand un-
til after harvest, to be thus applied.
But. in England the case is entirely diff:
ferent-their summers are cool and moist,
and their meadows, aftef harvest, are usually
coated with luxuriant " aftermath" !" as fresh
RI and green as our first crop of spring grass.
I conclude, therefore, that we have no
way for it but to apply the manure to our
grass lands in the fall, if we have been so
unwise as to keep any over through the sum-
mer. But . better and cheaper way, is to
applyas we make through the winter. Haul
out and spread as evenly as possible as you
unload H.. There is no sense in throwing it
off in heaps. By spreading from the load,
there is not only saving Of time, but the
benefit to the land will be greater and more
evenly distributed. Nor is there any loss
sustainedby leaving it spread upon the sur
face in the winter.
I have, frequently tried this method, not