Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1874-03-13
From the Southern CuItivator.
TFH0lJCsE5E'S FOR 'kEag IGS'FEz.

Last month We recommended, the
work of putting manure in the drill
and bedding the land, to be pressed
forward, to insure readiness at plant
ing time, If much rainy weather should
prevail. Indeed, it is desirable that
all fermentable nanures be put in the
ground some time in advance Of plant
ing-otherwise the gases entering in
to new combinations into the soil, may
injure your plants. Cotton especially
is liable to die under such circum-
stances. Commercial fertilizers do
not ferment Ill the soil and may be put
in the drill at the time or Just before
the seed are planted; but it is bad pol
icy to defer this work to so late
period, because the farmer is then apt
to be very much hurried, and tempted
in consequence, to perform the opera
ton in careless and siovenly manner
Barnyard manure and composts ought
to be in the ground by the first OF
March, cotton seed conposts not much
later, and commercial fertilizers 10y the
first of April. Again we caution the
young farmers against putting the
manure so near the surface as to make
the grass grow faster than the crop.
BEDDiNG LAND.
1t is desirable to have Except Oh.
sandy lan1s) freshly worked ground,
when ready to plant; anf to secure
this, many defer putting in manure
and bedding on it, to the last minute.
The better plan is to lay off the rows
itO1c. when you have the time to do
this important work welj-,listribute
manure in the drill, ridge on it with
two burrows, and then p little before
planting time, run additional burrows
and complete the beds; or # prefer
red. finish beds at first, making them
as hiqh as possible, aild Just before
planting time, drag them down 4 little
with a narrow or drag, and thus Sc
sure a FRESH surface to plant upon.
The baking rains and winds OF March
can never make hiah bed hard-thcy
may form crust upon It, but the III
terror Will remain soft and mellow.
Again, it sometimes happens that land
bedded just before planting becomes
SO dry that the seed viii not come up
in it-this will rarely happen where
high beds have been thrown up and
the dry crust knocked off.
,0RN.
BY common consent, the South is
going TO raise Il large corn crop this
year. Everybody seems t. he con-
vinced that Except under peculiar cir
cumstances) it viii not do to raise cot
ton to buy corn. Tine fact that the
price OF cotton may be ruinously low,
whilst that OF corn remains high, has
been recently brought home with ter
rible force to the all-cotton men,
4 6. / I
cribs is the envy Of bis neigh
bors. The crectt system is the
uuicksand upon which our agriculture
has been built up since the war, and
the men without provisions are those
who have erected tne largest struc-
lures upon this treacherouS founda-
ton. When ready to begin the ope-
rations of new year, they find that
men and horses must be fed-pTovis-
ions must be had upon any terms the
merchant may dicta:c-and they think
that heavy debts thus contracted can
only be paid by planting heavily i'll
cotton. At the end Of the year the
empty crib and barn, as before, drives
the poor wretch along the same down
ward path crorJjt0let interest on
borrowed money absorbing all the
profits of the farm, and in addition
yearly making inroads on his capital,
until the merchant takes his mules
and his implements, and finally his
land. The farmer, on the other hand,
who has supply cf provisions is per-
fectly independent-the merchant has
no hold upon him. Beyond little
iron for his ploughs, salt, sugar and
coffee, and a little cloth, he is
obliged to buy nothing. He is
master, instead of slareto the situation.
That this is SO, any one can satisfy
himself by inquiring the condition of
the people in those regions of the
South, when, either from soil or eli
mate, grain is more generally raised
than cotton. A gentleman from Floyd