The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1873-08-01
Summer Following.
Weeds rob the farmer of a 1

weeds rob the farmer OF greater pro-
portion of the proper results of his labor
than all the insect depredators or all the
injurious droughts or floods of rain to
which he is subject. They crowd and
decrease his crops, reduce the fertility
of his soil, occupy his most valuable
time, and all this without any prospect
of their ever being brought under con-
troll or destroyed. Year after year they
seed ard reproduce themselves. This
is the reault of our present system. It
is plain that now, if ever, something
should be done to bring this reverend
ing and ruinous war to a close. There
is no recourse but summer following.
If the question is considered in the
light of dollars and cents, it would be
found that it is better to devote one
year to the bare tillage of a field, and
to raise four successive good crops, than
to raise five poor crops. The element of
time spent need not enter into the cal
culatiOn, for more labor is expended in
four or five years now in fighting weeds
than would be occupied in the cultiva-
ton of one fallow and four clean crops.
Not only is the ground rendered cleaner
by following, but the soil is improved
and deepened. That bugbear to most
farmers, deep tillage and turning up the
sIbsoil, is here met and vanduished.
A summer fallow rightly conducted will
enable the pillow to penetrate several
inches further than it has ever before
done, and bring up fresh soil without
injury. Generally fallow will come
after the corn or oat crop. Then the
stubble deeply is plowed in the fall, and
left asrough as possible during the winter
subject to the frosts. In the spring it
will be mellow, and weeds will sprout.
AS soon as corn is planted, or in June,
the weeds Will have started. II should
then be plowed and narrowed before
the drOughts of summer have baked the
soil. Another crop of weeds will then
start, and In week a heavy harrow
should be passed over the field. This
will destroy the crop and start a new
one, and thus the process must be re-
peated without permitting a weed to get
beyond It's seed leaves, when they are
easily killed. Should fallow become
green, it is insuficiently worked. This
repeated tillage will so mellow and re-
duce the soil that no dry weather can
interfere with the blowing for a wheat
crop to be done in August, and the seed
will go into the soil in such a condition
that the roots can strike 50 deeply and
the plants make such growth that no
ordinary winter can heave them out.
The grass seed at the same time will
have but small chance to fail of a catch.
Thus foundation will have been laid
for good wheat crop, to be followed
by good grass crop, a good sod, and
as must neccessarialIy follow, a good
corn crOD on clean soil and easily cr11
tivated. There are thousands of farms
in the state of New York or Pennsylva-
MIA alone on which wheat or barley must
give place to the less valuable crops,
rye or oats, solely because the soil is
not sufficiently prepared. On these
farms, as well as or any other thus con-
ditioned, these poorer crops may be
changed for the more valuable ones by
one well conducted summer faIlow, and
basis laid for permanent increase in
the valve of the land