The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-01-31

OF the most dHLloN 4uS INSe "ASii
which the planter and gardner IL
the g~ulf-regions have to contend.
But It has never been found lnclln-
ed to be troublesome, and II Is ca
silv managed, as 1t Will not grow
more than n season without cul-
tivation. Two years neglect l. sure
to result III Its extinction. Is a
pasture for sheep this plant s said
to have no superior III the South.
\ writer in Georgia says: IF any
one wishes a sheep-pasture fresh.
green, and unfaIllng during the
parching droughts Of summer he
can lav0it by planting the Spanish
chufa." = = x 1.-The grass
will grow two to four feet high,
uninjured by drouth ar heat, and
is improved by pasturlng with
sheep, a~tfording an abundances OF
rich, tender, sweet heritage until
frost, and an increased yield Of
roots" As it thriyes well on the
poor, WORKOUT, and thin plney-
lands of the Southern States 1t be-
comes a plant of great Importance
in southern sheep-husbandry.
AS a pig feed the chufa is much
more valuable than corn. One en-
thusiastic planter assists that for
purposes of ~hog-feeding one acre Of
chufa is equal toforth acres OF corn.
In commenting on this the editor
of the Home Journal, OF New Or
leans SAYS: I've think the state
ment a little enthusiastic but do
not consider it very far out of the
way, because we know the writer
very we'll, and know him to be a
close observer, a good cultivator,
and a reliable slater of facts; and
because our own experience for Il
good many years IN the MAN cor
roborates his estimate of the value
of this too-much-neglected chick
and hog feed. Our position on
this question is than on Il thin
sandy soils the chufa will, with the
same cost and culture, produce
twice as much nutriment for poul-
try and hogs of any other crop" 1t
is very productive, yielding on the
Oh the thin, sandy, and worn lands
of the Southern States one hundred
to one hundred and fifty bushels
to the acre. While they do well
on poor soil they do still better on
rich soil, yielding with culture four
hundred to five hundred bushels
per acre. A man in California
writes that from on pound of seed
he raised four hundred pounds.
The tubers are quite small, rang
ing from that of a pea to a filbert.
This, of course, makes harvesting
very tedious; but this difficulty IS
obviated by the fact that both poul-
try and hogs will do their own har-
vesting. Chickens may be given
the run of the grounds as soon as
the first tubers ripen, say IN June,
from which time they scratch and
grow fat. AS soon as the crop is
mature enough it should be dugfor
the next years seed and for family
eating through the winter, and
then the hogs may be turned IN and
they will fatten quicker than on
corn, They will if they are album
dant enough and the ground does
not freeze too hard, live fat all VIM
ter without any trouble of feeding.
1t is claimed by those who ought
to know that fowls fed on chufas
have a flavor superior to any thing
else of the kind that can be found.
Chufas may be planted IN rows
two and a half and three feet apart,
and two tubers should be dropped
twenty inches or two feet apart IN
the row and covered two inches
deep. In the South they are plan
ted during February and March.
North they should be planted as
soon as the weather will permit. If
not harvested too closely they will
come up in the spring, and if the
soil is stirred well and kept free
from weeds, grow and produce
good crops. When large enough
for cultivation they should have a
light blowing throwing the dirt
from them, and after a short time
it should be thrown back again.
All weeds and grass should be kept
out with hoe and the hands. They
soon spread, sending up a shoot
every few inches till the whole sur
face is occupied. Each shoot has
a tuber at the bottom. Just how
well this will succeed generally in
the Northern States | am not able
to say, but the fact that they are
raised with success in Massachu-
sets seems to indicate quite clearly
that they will succeed in most Of
tho Nnct1arn S+nto- H.