Richland beacon., 1876-03-18
Thoughts for the Month.
IErnu, the Southern Cul,lvarut |

planting, and planting Itself, can he .
nut of no longer. If bad weather
prevails, every one becomes fearful
Of getting behind" aud the fear often .
induces imprudcnt action. The temp
,ation is very great 10 plough land
when too wet. We have warned our
readers against this very often, but
feel that the warning cannot be too
often repeated. 1t is simply ruinous
where clay is present. II land too
wet is ploughed IN the FAIL Or early
winter, the freezes may in part repair
the damage. bu, if done in the spring,
years are required to undo the unwlse
work Of day. Whenever in doubt
whether land is or is not dry enough
10 plough, be sure to give the land
The benefit Of the doubt.
CORN PLANTING.
II is well 20 divide tho crop Of
upland corn in:o two parts--F'ne OF
some cd,iy variety that VIII "a,ure
bv the l,t July-the other OF the best
large kind grown in the n"ighl orhood.
1t is not often the CASE that both Jane
and July are very dry, aud Therefore
one or the other of the two crops Is
very apt to strike the SEASON"
Early corn should be- planned on. the
best land, or olse highly manu!ed /;
It cannot wait or DELAY its progress in
search of food. This must be ready
To its roots and in ample supply. 1t
must also be cultivated rapidly for
q like reason. Varieties from Mary
land and PENNSYLVANIA have succeeded
well in Middle Georgia. AID y. Ped
has given us cheering accounts of the
Cooley corn in. Mississippi. For
the main crop some natice variety Is
10 he preferred. Farmers pay more
attention to the selection of seed corn
than any oiher grain-hence it seldom
degencra,es. The question has recently
been sprung, whether Improvement
Of corn is best reached by developing
varieties with two or more ears to the
stalk, or such as have an increased
number Of rO,rs Of gram on each ear.
1t is claimed 10y those who advocate
the latter method, that variety pro-
tlucing 4, to 5 ears 10 the stalk. Will
rapidly go back to onc-ear-hearlns
stalks, if cultivated Hnder untavorabie
conditions; but tina, the rowe OF grains
to the ear is f,red and constant
under all conditions. Can our readers
throw any light on this matter!
Plant early and cover shallow
soak seed in weak solution of srltpetrc
or nitrate soda, and then coat with
coal tar livery ,bin) for benefit vi birds
and bu,l.worm. How manure should
Jc applied to corn is still a veAed
anirstion-in drill or hill, on each side
of grain or dircctly un it-each has
its advocates. An examination Ut The
roots of corn shows that in the early
stages Of growth the plant sends Out
slender roots, which ramify through
the soil for long distances from To,
stalk. At later siaYe-when begin
ming to ioint-it throws out the large
SPUR or brace roots which cluster
around the base Of the stalk, descend
deep into The soil and produce very
numerous. but short librous root
Now as the first set of roots sc, II
tributary mainly to the growth Of 'h,
stalk (Which in our climate is apt Il
be too large and the second appear
more intimately connected with The
development of the ear, it would seen
that the larger portion of the manure
applied, should be placed where thu
"spur" roots can most convenient,
absorb it : that is, around the base U
the stalk. We are inclined, therefore
10 the absense of test experiments, t
think that whilst little manure
applied near the grain at planting
time is desirable to give strength ant
vigor to the plant. that the large
portion of it should be placed arount
or near the hill of corn at it's first o
second working. And this not onl,,
for the reason assigned above, bu
also because the manures best suited
,e corn being highly heterogeneous, arr
liable TO be leached out and lost.
applied long in advance Of the tim
they are needed.
PREPARATION FOR COTTON.
We usually recommend an carl,
bidding of cotton land, and reversing
Of the beds a little before planting
Where green cotton seed and phoS
plate are used az manure, the waite
furrow is re-opcncd, the manure az
piled, and a light list thrown on il
This is best done in February, bu
may be done during the first half Q
March. If any Of the seed come uI
they can be killed by completing tn
bed II not already done, ,he'row
should be laid off and manure put il
and list thrown on, leaving the com
pleting of the bed till later period
But it is not wise to put of the Who'll
10 the last. Wet weather may int:
fere or dry weather may render IT,
ground too hard to plough.
Many fear there may be loss from
teaching. when fertilizers are put il
early. In the case of heterogeneous o
ammoniated manures there is dauge
Of this, but there is little danger wit
ordinary phospha,es, or with stabl
manure and cotton seed, which hav
10 suffer accommodation before the