The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1877-05-04


force of the world is lost by mistlirec-
ton and imperfect fitting Of successive
operations, but we would not probably
miss 1t very far by saying that fully
One-Aav. is thus virtually lost. What
need there is for strong, trained, effec-
tive brains-brains that can see clearly,
cancO!ordinate and harmonize, can exc
cute promptly and thoroughly, can
make all things. work together for
good. Every day the magnitude OF
the demand of agriculture upon knowI-
edge, and the power of using knowl-
edge, grows upon us-no other avOca-
ton compares with it. We have been
experimenting good deal upon the
capabilities of an acre of land-testing
its maximum productive capacity but
we have scarcely made a beginning
touching the possibilities of the nses,s, OF
the ja,nae,. .himself-what he can be
made, how wise, how skillful, how
successful, Ire may become. Let us
fully realize and never forget sthere is
more in the man than in the land"
In the northern part of the cotton
belt corn is now ready for its first work
ing. The manner in which this should
be done depends upon circumstances.
If, for instance, the land is stiff and has
been ssrun. together" by heavy rains
since it was last ploughed, it is all i'm
portant that the first working should be
very deep, very close, and very thor
ough. At this stage of the crop one
need not fear root cutting; run the
plough very close "a subsoif one is ex-
cellent for tho purpose) but do not
sdirt" the corn lnuch-leave that for
subsequent workings-throw just
enough dirt to it to cover up grass. If,
h,N 18th ~ s.
friable, q larger and shallow running
plough will answer-a narrow shovel,
for instance. The only objec,
in this case to keep up n good tilth, and
prevent growth Of grass and weeds. I,
is not well to have the hoes follow the
plough Immediately, because, in SO do
ing, the hoes ancoret', without cutting, u
good deal of fine grass close to the
plants, which otherwise would DO Of
fectually smothered. Eight to ten
days after ploughing Is good interval
to follow with hoes. But it is we'll to
thin down to a stand at oncc--and for
this purpose, hands should follow the
plough, thinning out and uncovering
such stalks as tho plough covered up.
On atph.ntis, manure may be advantage
ously applied around the hill at this
workfng-put in at the second plough
Juk IL ulu.y I'LL VI ll3 1ull ellttGt from
rains not falling soon after its applica-
ton, and the corn maturing before the
manure becomes available. The chief
difficulty in applying manure at the
first working is in getting it we'll COW
cred, rs the corn will not bear much
dirting. 1t can be done by barring off,
putting manure in furrow, and then
throwing dirt back again. On bottom
lands, the application can be delayed
till the second working, as moisture is
there abundant.
cIIoPpING OUT COTTON.
With the usual method of sowing
cotton seed thickly in the drill, it is
very important to chop and thin out at
the earliest possible moment. It is |
very desirable that the young plants
should grow off rapidly, but il is i'm
possible for them to do this if crowded
together. They struggle against each
other, grow up tall and slender, and
when finally thinned out, are disposed
to fall over. Whenever this happens
some time elapses before growth fairly
begins. Go over rapidly, then, and
thin down, not to a final stand, but as
near to 1t as can be safely done. Chop
out with a wider hoe than that subse-
quently used that the spaces between
hills may be wide enough to admit the |
hoe without danger of bruising the
plants. 1t takes both increased care
and time to hoe between two hills just
far enough apart to admit the hoe be-
tween them. If the ridge is sharp
and soil sufficiently loose for
the hoes to chop advantageousIy, it
may be done before ploughing the cot
ton but If the ground is hard it is we'll
to ssrun around'' the cotton in advance
Of the hoes. It is thought by many
that "barring OFF, and leaving the cot
ton on q rather high and narrow ridge
has two fold good efect-the first to
make the soil about the plants warm
up more rapidly. This is probably
true, as in the spring the air is general
ly warmer than the earth, aud the
more the latter is exposed to the former.
the warmer it will get. The second adj
vantage is, that the roots of the plant
are thereby forcel to run leep-and
this guards the plant measurably
against subsequent drought. The chief
objection to "barring orr is the increas.
cd liability of the young plant, not yet
strongly rooted, to fall down when the
cotton, is chopped out. We repeat the
made in connection with first