The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1879-02-06
FEBRUARY 6, 1871
Miscellaneous.
prcsb Laurels for the Old North
State.

tbat Capt. Joe Alexander, oui
fauow-tOwnsman, made the finest
cotton crop last year ever seen
the state of Tennessee. He
made more than a bale OF cotton
40 the acre, and made it on up
Land without the assistance OF
So much said for pluck, energy
ond subsoiling; and SO much
'nore said for the farming of a
sailor. who has spent his life on
old ocean, and until the surren-
der. never ploughed anything
~ ..the watery main" Let
vonne men see that to those who
;, ra not afraid of work, all things
are nossible.- Ners.
BOLIVAR, Tenn, Dec. Goth, IS.
EEtor BuHitin: :,
DEAR SIR After several
wears hard work trying to make
money raising cotton in the usual
way and being fully convinced
at last from experience that 1t
..ould not be done, | determined
i'm 1871 to take new departure
The first thing required to make
q good crop is good seed, | had
already tried blooded seed from
> more Southern latitude and
found that our season was too
short to permit the cotton grown
from these seed to mature, |
therefore determined to try some
seed from a more Northern lati-
tude. | sent to North Carolina
and bought a bushel of Williams
seed which cost me laid down IN
Bolivar, $3.50. These seed |
planted April 25th or a poor
piece of sedge land very lightly
manured and gathered nearly
.200O pounds seed cotton from
the patch. This year March 1st
II laid off rows four feet apart on
'7a acres of land and bedded up
with two-horse Brinley plough.
| then distributed 50 bushels Of
green cotton seed in the water
furrow or about bushels of seed
to the acre. The seed were left
in the furrow exposed to the
weather till March 22nd, when |
commenced with a two-mule
wagon and a railroad dump-cart
and hauled manure and distribu
ted it in the furrow.
The cotton seed on 3 acres Of
land, on the other p acres no
manure was put. This occupied
, days, each team making twelve
loads per day and and hauling
the manure something less than
half a mile. April 1st and End,
ran three burrows with long mar
row bull tongue in water-furrow
ridges, thus mixing
manure and cotton seed with the
soil. April Sd and 4th reced-
ied with two-horse ploughs ruu-
ming bull-tongue behind the lest
ing burrows. April 10th, opened
with cotton-opener and sowed
seed very thinly covering with a
block. May LIST, had a good
stand; May 9th and 18th, scraped
and shoveled up. May 18th and
18th, chopped out to a stand
two and three stalks in
4 hill s inches apart. May 18th
and 10th, shoveled up with 16-
.nch shovels and broke out mid
lies with l horse turning plough;
Nay 3Oth, ran three fourrows
With large shovel ploughs; June
10th, ran around cotton with
'lde harrow, and hoed out End
July 10th, ran three fur
'oWs with 16-inch shovel, and
lad the crop bye" After this,
me hand went over with hoe
'nd pulled out ali grass from
ehout cotton. First bloom June
10Th; first open boil August 18th;
sept. I'd, picked out 1892 pounds
cotton, by November Sd had
picked out 1890 pounds seed
all produced on Z 81
'cres OF land, or at the rate of
~ ;poo pounds of cotton per acre.
lie cost of the DreDaration