The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-06-21
LAYING Down Lands to Grass.

The laying down lands to grass is re-
ceiving more attention than formerly.
The high price of labor, and the use Of
improved machinery, have rendered
the production Of light crops on uneven
land Improbable. Clean, smooth sur
face and good crops is the motto Of good
farmers. Many old fields are undergo
ing charge; the old apple and other
trees are dug out by the roots; powders
and stones are removed or sunk below
the surface; portions which are wet
and produce watergrass, are drained,
either by open bitches or underdrains,
which are the most satisfactory. Gull
tivated grasses soon disappear from ex-
cess of water. When the Instructions
are removed, the land is plOwed; the
side hill or swivel plOws are much in
favor, as they leave no ridges or dead
burrows to Obstruct the mower. The
quality of the work done with the pillow
has much to do with successful man.
agement. Poor blowing does not pay
anywhere.
When the land has been narrowed,
fertilizers are applied. 1t do, S not pay
to re-seed without manure, from five
to ten cords of barnyaru manure are
applied to the acre. Experience has
demonstrated that manure for grass
has double the effect applied to the sur
face than wheE plowed under. 1t was
formerly a custom to apply a coating
of sand or gravel to peat or clay lands,
without manur -, which produced good
crops for number of years. The
anodnt Of labor required has general
~ caused this 10 be abandoned |;
the demand now is for concentrated
manures which can be easily applied.
A chemist found 5000 pounds of
manure taken from the yard Of a neigh
Dor, which was a fair average quality
| made on the farms throughout tile
country, to contain 2 500 pounds water
and the remainder, except "a pounds,
| worthless matter; the constituents ele-
purchased in the market for s. IS,
while the manure would bring 81.
Here il question which may be COLI
sidered with prOfit-dO not We handle
more worthless matter than is neces-
sary? The light of science has been
shed on agriculture sufficiently to show
some Of the elements which must be
returned to the soil in order to produce
paying crops, and il these elements are
to be obtained at n fair price they may
be applied directly to the land in the
pure state, with as good results as in
combinations with worthless matter
Leached ashes from tine soap works
and unieached from the lime-kilDs art
applied on most soils with satisfaction;
from 100 to $50 bushels to the acre pro
duce good crops for six or eight years in
succession; they are regarded as chesI
and reliable as any manure that can bt
purchased.
! BOne-dust or bone manure is useC
with good success; a dressing of 500 I,
| zoe lbs. to the acre is sufficient, aHC
has lasting effect. Raw bone is moi
very satisfactory in its results, being
too slow to act. COmpOsted with twict
its bulk of loan and allowed to hea
it becomes Immediately available; fail
ure with the bone may often be attrib
uted to this.
Nitrate of soda has been used, and j:
said to be valuable, but has not beeI
used great deal in this country; from
800 to 500 pounds to the acre are suf1i
cient; at the price it usually sells, il
would not be a very expensive manure
| NusDo ohu supSl piOcp lidtSc diC uSct
with good results. The uncertainty in
| the quality of concentrated manures i
a drawback 10 their general use; When
good, Disappointment often occurs from
improper application; only a slight
covering is necessary. When deeply
covered they do not SOW any benefit
Hay produced from land manured with
concentrated manures, is not so valua.
BILE for feeding as other hay.
After the manure is applied, the sur.
face made smooth and the cObble stone.
removed, the land is fit for the seed
August and until the 10th of Septem.
Der is a favorable time to SOW. SOwn
just before a rain, it comes up quickly
and gets good stand before winter
and does not easily kill out. Just be.
fore the ground closes fer the season
and early in March are favOrite seasons
with others. SOwn at the latter time
no covering need be used; at any time
only light covering should be made