The Opelousas courier., 1882-12-02

tdtGu lChS C6s cGnAlO = "AN
seed till I had secured exactly what
was needed. did so, and at last pro-
duced a perfect compost for cotton. l
then ascertained that my crop of eight
, bales had taken out of each acre of my
land az much of the constituents of cot
ton as was held in $50 pounds of my
compost. / therefore put 500 pounds
of compost on each acre, restoring doa-
BILE what the crop of the year before
had taken out. The result was that |
made four bales extra. | then restored
double what the twelve bales had taken
out ard made twenty-three bales. L
doubled the restoration the next year
and got forty-seven bales. | doubled
again, and this year have at least eighty
bales"
"But does this extra manuring pay"
Immensely. Here are my figures
1000 pounds Of my compost cost 81 70
or 90 90 thousand pounds. The first
year l put 500 pounds to the acre-cost
81 80 an acre, or $117 for sixty-iye
acres. But my crop rose from eight to
twelve bales, the extra four bales Civ
ing me 5000 surplus, OF $63 net on my
manure. Next year my manure 1000
pounds to the acre) cost $235; but my
crop increased to twenty three bales
from eight on unmanured land. These
extra bales give me $3.50 or net proht
on manure of 1916. The next year |
used 1000 pounds per acre at cost OF
So 25 an acre, or $471 for total. But
nv crop went from 8 to AZ bales, giving
increased income or $3.50, or net over
cost of manure of about $500. This
wear | used 1000 pounds to acre costing
Sl4 so, or $942 for total manure. But
NV crop is at least eighty bales with
this manure, where it was eight with
out. This increase of seventy-two bales
is worth $4,000. Deduct cost OF manure
$e4O, and we have S265O as the profit
on use of manure
"And then the land is so much rich
en-"
"Certainly. 1t is worth 800 an
acre, where il was formerly worth 50.
You must credit the manure with this"
"Where will you stop in this pro-
g~ression"
"I don't know. | shall double my
manure next year, putting 5000 pounds
to the acre. I believe | will get l5O
bales from the 65 acres. hope to push
! it ND to three bales an acre. l have q
few acres on which | put 10000 pounds
of compost as an experiment, and every
acre of it will give me three bales this
year."
"Mr. Warthen raised five bales to the
acre"
ayes, but left his land poorer. He
pushed 1t, stimulated it and took the
very heart out of it. After taking off
my enormous crop / leave my land
richer than before. I cultivate my six
ty-fve acres with two plows, and will
make $50 bales with those two plOws on
sixty-f ve acres. That will be glory
enough for me, and will be a revelation
to the world. | believe / will get ~
bales this year with two plows. l have
already picked 80 bales, and the best
Judges say hardly one-third is yet pick
ed. This is an astounding result, and
simply shows what intensive farming
will do"
"How do you make this compost?"
"Here is my formula: Take 80 bush
els w%ell-rotted stable manure or we'll
rotted organic matter, as leaves, muck,
ETC., and scatter it about three inches
thick upon a piece of ground so situated
that water will not stand on it, but shed
off in every direction. The 80 bushels
will weigh about 900 pounds; to 20C
pounds Of good acid phosphate add 1OC
pounds kainit, and mix the acid phos'
phate and kainit thoroughly, then scatter
evenly on the manure Take next sc
bushels green cotton seed and distribute
evenly over the pile, and wet them
thoroughly. They will weigh 800
pounds. Take again 200 pounds acid
phosphate and 700 pounds kainit, mix
and spread over the seed, begin on the
manure and keep On in this way build,
ing up your heap, layer by layer, until
you get it as high, as convenient; Their
cover with six.incnes, of rich earth from
fence-corners, and leave at least siz
|, weeks when ready to haul to the field
cut with a spade or pickax square down
and mix as thoroughly az possible
Now, we have 80 bushels of manure
weighing 900 pounds and 300 pounds
, chemicals in the first layer, and 81
bushels cotton seed weighing 90t
pounds and 400 pounds Of chemicals il
the second layer, and these two layers
combined form the perfect compost
: Twenty-four hundred pounds OF thi'
mixture cost me 90 IS. This mixture
makes practically q perfect n TO
, cotton, and q splendid application to-
t corn"
"Ths restores to the soil everything
the cotton took from 1t ~
? Except silica, which is in the soil il
inexhaustible quantity. So that whel
you put in a larger quantity Of thes
4 than the cotton took ont, your soil i
!. evidently richer"
"You do not believe in Commercial
O fertilizers ~
ain q certain respect. There ar
i, many fertilizers that are made with
!" view to snowy results, that really pare
= and impoverish the land, besides takini
G all the farmers cash. / do not believ
d in them. But the chemicals that are pre-
n pared for composing are very reliable
: and we could not do without them. TIL
!, secret of success is buying these chemi
Gals judiciously and composing wit
IS leaves, humus, cotton seed, etc. n
farmer can succeed permanently with
= outacomposting. The greatest waste /
J the South is with stable manure. Man
farmers never think of saving it. I
Ohio the compost raised ON one ffty-fi
: acre farm, from ten head of horses an
thirty head of cattle in n year, wa
estimated by the State chemist at 1866
and scattered 10000 pounds to the acre