The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1883-05-31
Clean Fields and Heavy Crops.

There, are two drawbacks in the
methods largely adopted by the farm
ers of this country in the cultivation of
their crops during the first half of the
season. These methods involve need
less expenditure of labor, and permit
an extensive growth of weeds, The
surface of the soil is not broken or
stirred often enough. A frequent pull
verization would accomplish two very
important uses, namely, the destruction
of young weeds, and an increased
growth of the crops. We have shown
on former occasions the importance of
destroying weeds just as they are COM
mencing growth, and even before they
have reached the surface of the ground,
wien the minute and tender sprouts are
broken by touch of the pulverizing
implement The experiment was tried
a few years ago of passing the steel
rake weekly over a given measured
surface in the garden, and allowing
alongside an equal area to become COW
cred with a growth of weeds from six
inches to a foot high before killing
them. A record was made by the watch
of the time consumed by each method.
During. the two months of growth it
was necessary to pass the steel rake
eight times over the surface; but this
was done SO easily and rapidly that only
one-half of the time and labor were con-
sumed that were required to clear out
once the tall weeds from the growing
crop, The crop made one-haf more
growth by the first method, and the
seeds of the weeds in the surface soil
were thoroughly destroyed by the eight
operations. A successful farmer, on
whose rich fields about fifty bushels of
corn per acre were obtained by ordinary
management, assured us that by pass
ING the cultivator once week between
the rows until the corn was as high as
the horses back, he had increased the
crop to between sixty and seventy bush
els per acre.
A radical improvement would be
made on many farms by the adoption of
the practice of keeping the surface
crust of the soil constantly broken, and
by never allowing young weeds to see
| daylight BY thus clearing the farm of
foul seeds, in a few years the costly
labor of hand-weeding would be nearly
superseded. To accomplish this result
| it is necessary to secure the best mod
ern tools for cultivating the crops. The
work should be commenced before the
! young weeds have reached the surface.
/ Potatoes, for instance, are some weeks
2 IN InG sou DElOIO COdlIiAA2 uDy anu Jul
/ inc this period the ground should be
/ kept narrowed. the operation being re-
/ peated as often as the young weeds in
! the soil have sprouted, the narrowing
| breaking the sprouts ard killing the
! weeds Just as they are starting to
grow. In this way the foul stuff may
/ be materially reduced. The narrowing
NAV be continued after the potatoes
have reached the surface, and have
/ grown some inches, without injury to
I them. Corn may be narrowed once
before it comes up; and with
/ . fine, slant-tooth harrow the
operation may be continued every five
/ DAYS till the plants are nearly a
foot high. This viii obviate the labor
4 of hand-hoeing. After this, the one
horse cultivator may pass several times,
running shallow so as not to tear the
/ roots, setting the reversible teeth first
to throw the earth away from the row
Of corn, and next time against the row,
a very shallow ridge being sufficient to
4 cover the young weeds as they are just
4 appearing, for there will be no large
ones if the previous work has been
( promptly attended TO. We have
! adopted this course-of first narrowing
[ and then cultivating from and towards
the row. and left the field as clean as a
/ floor without any hand-hoeing. The
repeated stirring of the soil and keeping
! the crust broken, gave a handsome crop
of corn, decidedly larger than when the
/ whole treatment consisted Of one or two
dressings with the cultivator, and Ia
borious chilling" with the hoe.
In large fields, the one-horse cultivation
I will, of course, give way to the two
horse walking or riding cultivator. In
I either case, such implements should bt
used as may be controlled perfectly and
1 guided so as TO run within an inch OF
two of the row of plants; and the i'm.
portance of. straight and even rows i
therefore obvious, Country Gentleman