Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1882-07-27
Grain and Cotton.

EdWard AtkiDson shows what can be done
by intelligent farming in the South, and
how, by perseverance in the work, we can
become independent Of the rost of the world
certainly for everything We need to cat.
South Carolina can do aud docs quite as we'll
as Georgia, both in grain and cotton:
BosroN, July 6, 1882.
10 tho Secretary Of tho Massachusetts
horticultural Sooiety--Doar Sir: May be
permitted to place on exhibition some cx-
amples Of whoat and oats from the present
crop from Hogansville, Troup County, Geor.
gia--a section to which We have not been
accustomed to look for large drops of grain
per acre. St
These examples will possess great interest,
as boiug visible aud tangible evidences Of
the vast improvement in the methods of
Southern agriculture now being brought into
action by the small farmers who own their
land and cultivate it under their own super.
vision.
The crops Of which these are samples
were raised by Minor j. r. Jones, who had
already given evidence Of "a product of 75O
pounds Of lint cotton per acre in State 10
which the average per acre is only about
200 pounds.
Twill now quote from his description of
these samples of grain
l. The Italian whito wheat. This ho
states to be the most valuable variety of
white wheat known in this section. Tho
Rov. Mr. Stacey, of his State, when visiting
Italy few years ago, found some women
cleaning in whoat field near Naples; being
attracted by the guilty, he purchased
small quantity for seed, which he brought
to Mujor Jones; and from this source this
immediate section in Troup County has
been stocked. From ono acre this season
no thrcshcd 48 bushels Of this variety, his
average crop over the whole of his wheat
land being little over 80 bushels.
z. The red wheat, with purple straw, he
describes as hardy variety, giving large
yield. -Four years ago he throshed from
given acre 543 bushoIs, averaging 40 bushels
of this kind on his field.
Tho oats represent rust-proof variety,
of which he has threshed 80 bushels per acre
this year. Ills method of cultivation is as
follows:
ave SOW our wheat about tho 1st of No.
vomber; generally after crop Of cotton has
been raised from the same land the pre- evious
year. For some unknown reason wheat
thrlves best after crop of cotton, the old
stalks, leaves, immature fruit and roots be.
ing themselves splendid forti|izer.'
The farmers in Troup County consider
grain as much money crop as cotton, and
their work explains in part why Gcor gia is
this year in its grain and fruit
crops, irrespective of its cotton crop.
Nlajo Jones states that "many of our
farms average rs to 80 bushels Of good
wheat, and 25 to 100 bushels of oats per
acre"
In connection with what is said about the
properties of the cotton plant, it
may not be amiss to call attention to aome
facts but very recently developed.
For each 500 pounds of lint cotton there
arc 1000 pounds of stems, roots, burrs and
seed, in which an average of over five per
cent is phosphate of liu'e and potash, and
other mineral elements drawn from the
soil. 10 fact, for ench bale Of cotton lint.
which is itself almost wholly carbonaccous
drawn from the air, there arc 10
tho plants on which this lint was grown
moro than two hundred pounds of these
valuable ingredients. Now bear 10 mind
that tho plant is hcrbaceous, and that it can
bo saved after the cotton is picked, and
ground into meal as food for stock with the
cake which is left after the oil has been ex-
tractcd aud it would appear probable, to say
tho Ienst, that 10 the refuse of the cotton
plant wc may fiod an invaluable fodder and
on equally invaluable fertilizer.
1t ia therefore probable that each bale of
500 pounds lint of cotton will be represented
by Is gallons of oil and 5000 pounds of
fodder, of which $50 pounds will be phos,.
phste Of lime and potash and the other fer
tiliziug ingredients.
The value Of cotton sood meal for food
and for fertiIizing has bcoome generally
known, but there is no press capable of re-
moving all the oil. The cake being exces-
svely rich, must therefore bo usod with
great care. But if it be proved possible to
grind the stems, burrs and hulls with the
cnkc. the mixture may not be too rich, and
the stems and burrs contain even more
phosphate than tho meal, if the analysis in
ienaleton's Scientific Agriculture bo oor-
rect.
Our annual cotton crop may therefore be
computed ct 6,000,000 bales of cotton, o.
00O, 900 tons of cattle food ard 90,0O0,O0O
gallons Of OIL
All these facts may possess a greater in
tcrest at the present moment in view Of tho
invitation which has been extended by tho
Manufacturers and Mechanics Institute, to
tho Southern railroads and to other corpo-
Iations or persons interested in the South,
to contribute to their great fair which is to
be held in Boston next autumn examples of
Southern minerals, timber and products of
agriculture similar to those which attracted
fnch widespread attention at the Atlenta