Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1874-02-12
[original.]
THE SEASON.

WOulu US IuOTS LIdu SOuI POuoopioh'
[orignal.]
THE SEASON.
In every avocation of life there is a critical
period. Agriculture does not come under the
head of exceptions to this rule To the agrl'
culturist, the most important period in the
whole year, is the period Of preparation fol
planting. Too many of our farmers put of
the work of preparation until it is too late
The secret of making good crop, with ease
and profit, is in making ample preparation
before putting the seed in the ground. Some
persons are of the opinion that it is of nc
avail to commence the work of preparation
for a crop until spring has fully arrived. They
patiently wait until the fields are covered
with vegetation, before they commence work
The result is, that this class of farmers are
pushed the whole year, and in nine cases out
of ten, bad crops are the result Of their tard
ness in spring.
This is the season for deep and thorough
blowing. Stubble lands, and those covered
with vegetation, should have been turned
under last fall. Where this was done, il
will be found that the vegetation is now either
decsyed and rotten and in good condition te
feed the growing crop of the present year, OF
that the process of decomposition is rapidly
advancing Stubble and other kinds of veg
etable matter that have been exposed al
winter to the action of the weather, have los
nearly all their fructifying properties, anc
hence, not much, in the way of manure, can be
expected from turning them under at this
period of the year.
Deep blowing is not necessarily good plow
ing. 1t may be attended with great many
defects. Part of the ground may be broken
and a part simply covered. In this case
there is part of the ground plowed deep, and
a part not plowed at all. The best way
perhaps, to avoid this evil, is to break up land
with two-horse plow. The construction Of
these plows is such that there is less liability
to commit the error spoken of, than with the
plows commonly used for breaking land in
the spring. The two-horse plow is the cheap
est pow that can be used for this purpose
and it does its work more thoroughly. One
plow-man, with a good two-horse plow, will
do fully the work of two hands with the
ordinary single-horse plow. There is saved
the wages and board of one hand. This, in
the course of a few months, is matter OF
considerable Importance.
Deep plowing may be defective in another
respect. The top.surface may be turned down
too deep, and too much of the sub.soil thrown
to the surface. Sub-soiling and turning up
the red and yellow clay, are not the same
thing. A little of the sub-soil brought to the
surface, often subserves good purpose; but
it is better to permit it all to remain where
nature has placed it, than to run the risk Of
throwing too much to the surface.
This is the season of the year to gather up
and place in the ground all the manure that
has accumulated on the plantation. Stables
and cow-houses should be cleaned out, and
barn-yards raked up. Many persons, we are
convinced, labor under mistaken notion
respecting the manner of treating stable ma
nure. They throw it out in the lot and lei
the rains fall upon it. The result is, it be-
comes hot, and smokes like coal-pit. They
call this rotting the manure, and so it is
They say it prevents it from burning the
crop, and so it does; but the reason that ii
does not burn the crop, is because it is we'll
nigh ruined. That smoke which rose from il
while it was in the heap, carried off much oi
its principle as a manure; and the black
lye-colored liquid that ran off from the pile in
the lot, was the very essence of the manure
The proper manner, we think, to manage
stable manure, is to put it in the ground and
cover it up as soon as it is taken out of the
stable It should not be suffered to be rained
upon nor to grow hot. Let it rot in the ground
it is designed to enrich. If designed fol
cotton, deep furrow should be run and the
manure scattered in it, and then covered with
two furrows. When managed in this way, ii
takes but small quantity Of manure on ordi'
nary land. Stable manure, fresh from the
stable, is worth more by the ton than most OF
the artificial fertilizers. The fact that it
burns crops, as it is termed, is the best proof
of its intrinsic worth. 1t "burns' the crop
only in 6gurative sense. 1t only affords
enough of food for the plant itself, so that the
roots do not spread out over the ground, but
cluster around the manure. This is the sea-
son of the year to prevent this thing. Put
the manure down deep in the ground, and
put very little. There is far more danger Of
using too much stable manure than there is
of using too little.
Preparation should be made for planting
corn early. In nine cases out of ten, the
sooner after spring sets in that corn is planted
the better will be the crop. For great
number of years the season for corn has been
favorable up to about the first of July. II
we in this country could get kind of corn
that would be in ioasting-ear by the first Of
July, we could make good corn crops on any
of our ordinary up-lands. IT there is good
season in the ground when corn is in "roast
ing-ear," it will make good corn, without the
aid of any more rain, provided the land has
been properly prepared, and the crop properly
worked. It will make more and better corn
than if rain fell upon it every day until the
crop matured. There is one thing about
early corn that farmers should not overlook
It is the fact that there is more nutriment III
it than in corn that is matured late in the
season. All things considered, this is the
q e Il. 10 rai1ch