The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1884-07-05
HOW nUCu CULTIvATION7
Even In Wet weather u ~ Rstter 10 ketl
-. tho work doing.

the work doing.
-.orrpondtnce 81. Lout Republican.
June and July are necessarily months Of
cultivation. Whether In the garden or In
he field, toe greater portion Of the work TO
be done is cultivation. There Is very little
sanger OF OVERRIDING this work, while there
Is considerable danger In not doing enough.
I have often raid that there arc three es.
Bentials in coed farming, sa necessary TO
raise good crops-good seed, good soil,
well prepared, and thorough cultivation
and each Ia essential 10 the other. With
the larger Number Of crops tho greater pro.
portion Of tho cultivation should be given
while the plants are young. Planls, espec.
tally field crops, grow allow ut first and
need all the encouragement possible 10
give them 0 strong start. Plants, like
stock, II stunted when young do
not overcome 1t, and will show the effect In
tho crop. Weeds and plants do not pros.
per we'll together. We cannot ralso 4 good
crop Of weeds and good crop Of grain to-
gslher. And II We want the most profit
able crop Of the one we must be willing to
work 10 keep down the other. Clean cpl'
tivaton must be had as nearly as possible.
We cannot, oil course, 90 over the crop
every day, but We can 70 oyer them 81 the
outside every ten days. not lesa than TINS II
1t Ia possible 10 avoid 1t. ..b :.
Weeds terminate very rapidly, and
they arc much easier kept down at the
start than they arc killed out after they
have made any considerable growth. We
want to keep the soil mellow, and to do
this and keep down the weeds frequent
stirring Is necessary; and 1t must be done
early. The greater proportion Of the work
must be done before harvest. This work
when commenced seriously interleres with
tho work Of cultivating, and on many Of
the farms cultivation ceases entirely dur.
Ing this work. Hence the Importance Of
pushing tbs work as rapidly rs possible.
Corn, potatoes and sorghum should be cul-
tivated at least three times before harvest;
to do less than this Is doing less than is
profitable. II We could only manage to
keep down every weed that makes its ap.
pearance among the growing crops one
year the labor OF cultivatiDg would be vast.
ly reduced, yet every practical farmer
knows this to BIZ impracticable; yet we can
by using tho cultivaor keep down the
greater proportion. Not only Is the crop
made better, and the work Of cultivation
made easier by keeping down the weeds,
but great help in harvesting is done at
the same time. %
Any farmer who has cut and stripped
sugar cane, dug out potatoes when 1t WAS a
serious Job TO find the hills, or cut up corn
10 shuck in the fall, among mass Of weeds
and grass, or worse etill, stumble among
them In the winter when shocking out the
corn, and then performed the same work
in field comparatively clean, realizes
what difference there is, not only in the
ease that the work can be performed, but
also the more there can be accomplished.
We have now 50 many improved imple-
ments TO do the work Of cultivating that
there is little excuse except too vet soil
for not cullivating clean. Even il the
weather is rainy It is better to keep up the
cultivation than 10 allow the weeds to take
the crop. While l do not ordinarily ad-
yocate working tho soil that is in any de.
gree wet, yet have found that by expert
ence in wetseason tits better to keep the
plough going 1.-THE cultivation is kept up
no change will enaue, while the weeds can
be kept down. Last year during June We
had considerable rain, so that in many
fields the weeds were fast getting ahead Of
the crops. I had one piece OF corn that was
low, and nearly all the time too wet TO
pillow well. The weeds were fast taking
possession. Something had 10 be done, and
l plowed it both ways. When the water
would run into the burrows after the pillow,
! kept the soil stirred until dryer weather
came nm, and made profifahlp crnn yrhan
! am confident had I left it alone two
more weeks the crop would have been an
entire failure.