The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1879-06-12
sOUTHERN FARM AND HOME.
Cultivation.

The following, taken from the New
England Farmer, shows how they 80,
corn in New Hampshire. We w. -- -
be willing to expend a. much 1aboyy a nOS
care upon the cror, mere bnt theTe ', a-e
some hints IN lis that it would not he
amiss to t. re- A'0' NC
Inc. subject that most claims nv
'n >dght just now is corn growing. It
surprises me 10 see how little skill the
majority OF farmers apply to corn rais-
ing. The same old style of preparing
the soil the same old system of msnur
ing; the same old method of planting
the same old ways of cultivation, and the
same old mode of harvesting, Some of
US farmers act as if it was revealed to
our great-great-grandfathers Just how to
raise corn to the best advantage. Since
men OF business bid up on the ssJarv Of
the boys" my help has baen short tn
carry on the necessary work of the farm.
Necessity has driven me to plan t. do
4 ~! WORK nth little help, and when
1o niie : always plan to carry a double
sm"Sl. Believing in corn raising-that
p.dst be planted, tended and harvested
How to raise crop with the least labor
was the study. Up to the time the
ground Is prepared and ready for plant
ing, nothing has been gained by study
and change Of ctiOn, except to deliver the
manure by shedding and deposit it in piles
with foot OF meadow muck (also deliv-
cred by sledding) beneath it to absorb
the leakage, and to be mixed with the
manure before using. The mixing Is
usually done with team and pillow, using
an OK or scraper TO pile it up again. NV
ground has usually been furroWed three
and a half feet, but it should be four
ieet. My manure being broken and
hned" by the pillow and scTaper, it is
thrown into the cart; two men and a
DSoy are needed to do this part of the
JoD. The team is put astride a furrow,
and while the boy drives steadily along,
the two men haul the manure out
through hole or holes in the tail board
OF the cart. By little extra fixing OF
the tsil-board, so as to guide the manure
into the tuTrOw, two burrows can be
CLOSED" at once, provided the two men
are spry and attend strictly to the Job
on hand. From ten to fifteen minutes
Is sufficient time to unload in this way.
Ii the manure lies close to the corn
patch, the two men and the boy will put
out twenty or thirty loads day. The
objections of manuring in the hill have
been the danger of drying up and the
expense OF handling in the old way.
Inc latter objection is obviated, for l
think it takes no more time to put out
the manure in this way than it does to
spread 1T for narrowing. The other OBJ
lection is obviated by using q ''mixer''
hauled by horse, which does not take so
much labor as the narrowing In the man.
ure if spread. To make the mixer, take
two inch hard wood plank, three feet
long and foot wide bore holes and set
IN five or six teeth from the old spike
toothed harrow, slanting well back and
so arranged that they will not clod. At
the rear end fix in an old fashioned cul>
tiVator tooth, or something that will
answer the same purpose attach handles
and hitching gear for your horse. Run
this right in the furrow. Three times
will usually do the job, the last time
taking care that the cultivator tooth
leaves straight, true mark. The drill
is now ready for the seed, which should
be furnished in about double the guam
tity that is usual on rough, bunchV soil.
Scatter it evenly in the drill, which can
be done very rapidly after a little prac-
tice. The seed in it is now ready fer
covering. 1t will be seen at & glance
that the mixer leaves a splendid seed
bed. cover with the horse hoe. Mine
is the kind with three little pIows. Take
of the front one, and set the others so
that they win turn each q furrow upon
the corn. This may look like a careless
way of doing it, but it has been nv
practice for three or four years. and NV
soil is what is termed hard up land, always
taking from six to ten loads of stones
from an acre every time it is plowed.
The corn usually comes up too thick to
stand, but the crows take their share,
and the worms get their living, and the
rest is thinned with the hoe very rapidly,
leaving 1t standing not less than eight
Inches apart, and in as straight line as
possible, SO that on running the horse
shoe it can be run very near the corn.
The thinning should not be done until
the corn is six inches high. The first
and second hoeing are done with the
horseshoe. The third operation is to
turn very light furrow against either
side of the corn with a light horse piow
The weeds may be kept down between
the rows by the horseshoe. But few
weeds will escape the pillow near the
corn what do escape are easily disposed
of. On good soil corn can be raised in
this way at less cost than if killed. and
standing eight inches asuLder, not one
stalk in hundred but will have one OF
more ears upon it. 1t will be readily
seen that the work is much less. That
get more corn per acre by drilling, an
sure, by actual experiment. What
need is a machine that viii do the worb
of my mixer and plant the corn at the
same time. l will close this rather
lengthy letter by saying that l find {
great advantage in running my horse
shoe through my corn after it hal
spindled, and is not inclined TO "shoo
ears" 1t appears to check the growth
of stalk and sets it to caring. / suppos,
this would be called "Ieot pruning"