The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-03-21
CoNTRTRT TED.


An enormous percentage Of the
money which cotton brings into our
State, goe. out again az once for the
artificial fertilizers used "a stimulate
The land. TO enable II II produce n
crop. And II is Questionable whether
these fertilizers are not a positive IN
jury IN the long run. The land. being
stimulated, parts with its fertility in
doubl proportions. and i run down
and worn out just twice as soon. This
Is false economy and misdirected en-
ergy. We draw upon the capital, and
cali the amount thus drawn, income.
Our aim should be 10 increase the
Yield by increased fertility-not 10 IN
crease yield AZ the expense of fertility.
The best agent for improving land
anu improving permanently. l. barn
yard manure. But to secure this, re-
qulres stock, and stock must be fed
and stock fed on purchased food does
not pay. Hence. in order TO use one
agent proftably. we must get a supply
OF food both for summer and winter.
from our home resources. How is
this TO be done We propose sug-
costing some experiments towards Sc
curing this end, and hope that some
n of our planters will give them a
trial.
The cheapest food for stock. and
that most abundantlv supplied by ma
ture, is grass. And. in Eastern North
Carolina, there Is practically none.
Must this state of things continue?
We trust not we think not. Among
the almost innumerable varieties there
must be some kind that will flourish
in our cotton lands, if properly hand
led. Experiment is needed to ascer-
tain what grass this is. We suggest
the following experiment it won't
cost much, and if successful will prove
invaluable Sow half an acre in peas
SO that they will be in full growth
about the 10Th of September. Turn
them under and SOW on the land t-bu.
winter oats and 3 pecks of orchard
grass seed, and harrow in together,
(some pine brush, with the leaves off,
dragged after a horse across the fur
rows, will put the seeds in deep
enough. if no harrow is conveniently
Then let the oats and grass severely
alone for a year. The oats are intend
ed to shade the grass while young and
tender. This they will do even after
they get ripe and fall-acting then as
as mulch. The result ought to be a
good crop Of good hay the next year,
if the soil of the half acre has not
been thoroughly exhausted by sue
cessive cropping under stimulant. If
this succeeds. put in 90, 40, 100 acres.
Orchard grass is one of the good
things no farmer can ave too much
of. And when you once get it, keep
letting it alone-dont pillow it up
nurse it, feed it if you can. Take good
are of it.
Now for the best way to use it. We
want cheap Get some sheep
they a pick a living among the pines
and broom-sedge in summer, at first.
1t is a poor living, it is true, and won't
make good sheep, but they will get
along. Feed them hay in winter; com
post the manure with cotton seed,
swamp mud, any vegetable tissue,
bearing in mind that of vegetable It's
sue saw-dust is least valuable, and pine
straw next, after it is dried. Try to
get something green, if you have to
burn off a sedge field let it grow
again and cut a pile of it before full
grown, while green, %succulent and full
of soluble vegetable matter-not OF
vegetable matter turned to woody
fibre and worth little more than sand.
Never mind if your green vegetable
growth does rot it Is none the worse
for the n pile. Put one-haf the
manure on the grass as a top dressing,
Il suppose it would be asking too
much of a cotton-planters nature to
ask for it all for grass, and extend
your grass. AS soon as you have grass
enough, put your sheep on part Of it
to pasture-not enough to eat it into
the ground, but enough to keep it
cropped off a little. Then ship fat,
early lambs to the Baltimore market
and get $500 to $50 ahead, if they
are real good, fat, early lambs, and by
a thoroughbred Southdown ram, not
by a grade of any kind. Sell 1 pounds
wool to the eve, besides; eat two or
three good, juicy, muttons a year. re
placed by picked eve lambs,) and re-
joice the very heart Of your barren
fields by the very best food you can
give them, viz. sheep the
cheapest, and by long odds the best,