The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1879-04-17

8be9armt.
Managing Labor-Recuperating
Exhausted S0ils-Clover,
Grasses, &c.-Salt on
Onions.

and team to freedmen as tenants, Is In
my humble opinion, the most legitimate
and safest way of controlling negro la
: Dor that | have ever seen or heard pro
posed. If the plan was generally adopt
Ell by the planters of this State, | think
we would have by far less trouble with
the negro.
wish to make a few inquiries as to
the ch pest and most available means
of recuperating an exhausted soil. |
know how to plough and hoe and that
is about the extent of my knowledge of
systematic flaming. | have just begun
with a farm of stiff red land, a little
rolling and with considerable black iron
looking rock on the knobs, the original
growth of this land was chestnut except
near the creeks and branches, where it
was timbered with post oak and hickory
and very productive while fresh, yield
ing 80 bushels corn, 20 OrmOre OF wheat,
and from 1000 to LOO seed cotton
Der acre, and some acres 800 pounds
see cotton, and al without any II anure.
Now will it pay to SOW peas on corn land
when laid by, and gather the corn early
and turn the pea vines under before
frost? Again, will the difference be-
tween pea vines and the weeds, grass,
&c, that follow grain, as green crops to
turn under pay for the seed and the
p'oughing in of the same. AS it is gen
orally conceded that commercial ma
nures In the main, do not pay, l con-
clude that it is better to plant but little
cotton, raise mostly grain, and give
more attention to Fall ploughing.
What think your more experienced con
tributors Of feet W. and 4 feet in
drill for corr on worn lands. over the 1
feet by 4 feet s, st M? Will not corn on
worn land MANFRED In the hill produce
more bushels of corn 4 by ) han it will
4 by 4 rows, even if a wet year-unless
very wet if Is square feet of surface
contains sufficient moisture for one stalk
of a seasonable year, then the question
as regards wide rows is answered.
Would like to have some practical ideas
on cotton rows with of, distance In
drill, &c, on thin and. | see an article |
IN your January number, urging the
Importance OF growing glass, clover, DC.
My observation is that every attempt at
red clover culture in this section has
ultimately resulted in failure. | have
seen clover on nearly every variety of
soil. both wet and dry. but have never
seen it do well only "A year or two.
would like to know what kind of grass
would be most 81 liable for upland also
wnat grass is best for bottom land ?
Would not our native grasses, crab
grass. and the swamp grasses do better
with us as meadow grasses than any
ut her varieties from limestone soils and
colder climates? Has any one expert
mented with crab grass on upland, or
the native swamp grasses for meadows !?
see that salt is reported by some of
contributors to increa c the yield
from One-third to double when applied
to oats at the rate of 3 to ) bushels per
acre. Will this hold good as a top
dressing in Spring? J. B. b.
Griffin, Ca, 1879.
Soils originally rich and Astounding in
mineral plant food may be recuperated
by means of pea and clover crops and
very slowly also by spontaneous growth
of weeds. Now your land is evidently
of the kind Just descr bed. and it is ex-
tremely probable that if supplied with !
vegetable mould and brought into good .
deep filth, it would require chiefly nitro
gen to make it very productive. We :
have little doubt it would pay well to ,
SOW peas when laying by corn-but IN .
stead of turning under vines after gath !
corn, let them remain until spring !
unless a small grain crop is to be put on }
land directly after burying the vines. ,
Green pea vines turned under in early !
fall. are liable to rot SO soon, that the !,
portion is apt to leach out =
and be lost by spring. You would not =
apply cotton seed in fall, for IA corn crop Z
he next spring, its virtue would In :,
part be lost, and the same is true of :
rryen pea vines. But where IA crop of ).
wheat is sown at once upon a pea fallOw =
he wheat appropriates the heterogeneous :
nmpound as soon as formed and pre-
rents loss. Pea vines ale so much
.icher in nitrogen than weeds and grass.
= to more than pay for cost of seed and =
a bor. But it is best unless the land /"
will of itself bring "a luxuriant growth =
# peasl to use commercial fertilizers as Y
basis for the pea crop. The loss from p
working poor land many years and in q
its fertility by very slow de =
rrees. would more than offset the funds =
to quicken the progress and II
quick and large profits by use of :
,sb elements. If people lived as old as y
the slow process of recu- :
,eration. following the blowing in of i
growths, whilst just as c,
inch as possible was being taken away e
rom the land by continuous Groupings, 9
be endurable-but our lives are !"
na short for that. We must help ma
nre and quicken her process. if we
Tould be really successful. st
Distance of corn rows.-We are ats W
cd that. ul.der the average condition u,
E nreparation, manuring and cul iva l.,
!. odrn i tn, much crowded. If by p'