Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1877-05-10
The far1m and fireside.
(Original.]
SPRING WORK.

In the Southern country, by far the larger
amount of the crop has been planted. Now
comes the crop-working season. To say thai
this is an important season, would be to say
what every intelligent farmer in the land
knows. Theory and practice, however, are
not always found in an equal state of devel
opment. Knowing what is right and proper
is one thing, and doing what is right and
proper is another thing. Such is the condi
ton of the Southern country-in fact of t,4c
whole country, North and South-that it is
necessary for the general good that each indi
vidual do his duty with promptness and en-
ergy.
In working crop, it should be adopted as
a rule to push the work, and not permit, if
possible, the work to push you. Never stop
work on account of dry weather and never
stir the ground when it is too wet. If the
ground is 80 hard that it can not be plowed
deep, plow on-scratch over the top-break
the crust and the ground will gather moisture
and the crop will begin to grow. Do not sui
fer your crop to become stunted. Such a
course is most injurious to both animals and
vegetables. Stunting either a vegetable or
an animal is thought, by some, to make it
hardy. 1t may make it hard but not hardy.
Stunting is one process of killing things, and
it is very efectual. So soon as the young
plant is seen out of the ground, begin to stir
the soil around it. Break the ground close
to it and as deep as possible. AS it increases
in size, avoid, as much as possible, disturbing
the roots. The farmer who waits until his
cotton begins to make forms before he begins
to work it, can not make full crop.
1t is bad economy to let the grass grow in
your cultivated fields, even if you are certain
you can kill it before midsummer. Every
sprig of grass which grows in the corn or cot
ton field, takes its support from the soil and
hence robs the growing crop. 1t is not very
profitable to toll and struggle in killing a
large crop of we'll matted grass in corn OF
cotton field. In most instances, the grass will
have ruined the crop before you get the grass
killed. To prevent the grass from injuring
the crop, the farmer must begin the work Of
cultivating his crop at an early period.
In about four weeks, the small grain har
vest will begin. Now is the season to gain
time so that the wheat and oats may be har'
vested without injury to the corn or cotton
Six weeks work will generally make crop
after the crop is planted, but these six weeks
must be at the proper time. 1t is waste Of
time to put off planting until June, and then
continue to work through August. All the
crop that is made in our latitude that is worth
any thing, is made by the end of July. Nine,
tenths of the cotton crop is made in July. 1t
is only occasionally that any cotton is made
after the first week in August. If any man
doubts this, let him take notice, during the
coming season, and he will be convinced.
This being fact, it is clear that it is to the
interest of every farmer to push forward bis
cotton crop as fast as possible. The same
principle holds good with regard to corn. 1t
must be remembered that, without work.
quick work-neither corn nor cotton will
make full crop in our country.