Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1873-10-09
Agritnltlra1 department.
From the Southern Cullivator for Oct.
THOUGHTS FOR THE MONTH.

w
sown If the land is rich and the seasons fa-
vorable, those sown before the 18th will do
well-put in later than the middle, the crop is
by no means certain. 1t may be laid down as
general rule that with sUinater crops the
richer the land, the later may sowings be made.
Clover and grass may also be sown the first
half of the month, with like chances of sue
cess but we would not advise it done-it
would be better, if the sowings are delayed till
October, to wait till Spring. Every failure
with above crops, is a misfortune at the South,
because their cultivation is not yet sufficiently
established, for the farmer to fail without dis
couragement-and it is exceedingly important
that no injudicious advice be given. 1t has
been a great misfortune to the country, that
many Of its agricultural writers have little
actual experience Oh the farm, and in other
cases have an experience which can neither
benefit themselves, nor the readers of their
writings. If a successful farmer makes a fail
ure, it is always instructive if a customary
makes one, it may not throw a single ray of
light on the path Of progress. The efforts of
the. latter are neither properly directed nor
kept within legitimate bounds, and every one
expects failure as a natural result. Whilst
with the former, perhaps only one important
condition of success, was omitted if 80, that
one stands forth prominently, to be studied
and weighed and its share in the failure care
fully ascertained.
Preparations for this crop should now be
made, even where it is regarded injudicious to
seed down in October. The clean fallow of
the English, as preparation for wheat crop,
may be regarded as a waste labor, but there
can be no doubt of its great value to the crop.
The repeated ploughing Of the land, brings
the latter into state in which it can give
promptly ofits elements to this most civilized
of our domesticated plants; civilized, in the
sense of being farthest removed from its
wild state, and incapable Of thriving except
under most artificial conditions 1t is not
a gross feeder, cannot, like corn, thrive on
coarse fare-its celebrating power is relatively
small. Choice and delicate food must there.
fore be within easy reach Of its delicate, f.
brous roots-and the soil soft and pulverized,
that the delicate rootlets may roam at pleas.
ure in search Of it.
We say then, if circumstances permit, break
up and harrow or roll or drag your wheat
land several times in advance of the seeding
down, just as you would turnip patch. Give
it also good supply of well rotted stable ma
nure, whose originally offensive and complex
compounds, the chemistry of nature has re-
duced to the simpler elements of Carbonic
Acid, Ammonia, &C., or else of cotton seed,
almost too nearly approximating the food of
animals, to be converted into manure or else
of pure chemicals, like sulphate ammonia nj
trate soda and superphosphate lime Which
ever of these your choice may fall upon, see
that it is thoroughly mingled with and dis
tributed through the soil. Wherever the roots
wander, let them find a portion ready for
them-remember that wheat is fibrous rooted
plant and that its roots are exceedingly nu-
merous, literally filing the soil-let the ma
nure do likewise
AS remarked before, wheat, of all cultivated
crops, is least able to take care of itself As
lands become exhausted by cultivation, they
refuse to yield crops of wheat, sooner than any
other. 1t is useless to SOW it on poor land, or
that poorly prepared. Better expend your
labor and money on something else. But ev-
cry farmer ought to raise wheat enough for
his family and dependents-if he has little
surplus for the poor widows and orphans Of
dead but immortal Confederates, no harm will
be done. Four or five acres on each farm can
furnish enough for these purposes, as was
shown by experiments in this vicinity few
years ago; where, upon naturally poor gran
ite soils, the yield was from 40 to 46 bushels.
Deep and repeated ploughings, with high ma
nuring was the only secret in the matter. The
highest yields were from drilled wheat-drills
10 to II inches apart. We have no doubt
but that it would be found generally advan-
tageous to drill wheat and in the spring run
plough between the rows, to break the crust
and kill the aueeds. In the absence of drill
ing machine, run burrows with narrow bull
tongue, SOW the grain broadcast as usual, and
cover with harrow or brush run cross-ways
the furrow. Thus managed, the plants will
come up quite regularly in the drill. If the
land will admit Of it, run the drills north and
south, to allow the sunshine to get between
the rows; this will diminish the danger of rust
and make the stalks hard and tough and there
fore less liable to lodge or fall down. High,
dry knobs and northern slopes we'll drained,
are best adapted to wheat-and if the soil is
stiff, so much the better for that.
VARIETIES.
White Wheats, whilst yielding the finest
-four and bringing the highest market price,
are not so hardy as the red or amber varieties.
The amber wheats are perhaps best for gener-
al culture for family purposes. And for
southern latitudes the earlier maturing the
better-late varieties are more liable to rust.
Those which ripen the latter part of May are
the safest-both because more likely to escape
rust and because they encounter less risk OF
being cut off by drought
TIME OF SOWING.
From the middle of October to middle of
November includes the best time for sowing
middle of October in the colder, middle Of
November in the warmer portions Of the
South. Sown too early there is danger of the
Hessian hy-sown too late, the cold keeps
back the plants too much. Sow when the
ground is dry and don't forget to soak the
seed in bluestone. One pound will be enough
for five bushels of seed. Dissolve it in water,
put the seed in baskets and dip them down in
the solution, take out and let the pickle drain
off, and when the grains are nearly dry, roll
them in plaster or lime 1t is best to have
the seed whitened, that the sower may see with
what regularity his work is being done.
SWEET POTATOES.
Toward the last of the month, these will
have to be dug. A slight touching of the
vines by frost will do no harm, but it is best
to dig before Freeze as the upper ends of the
tubers are very apt to be frost t-bitten thereby.
We have found it best to dig in dry weather,
and to put away the potatoes dry. With the