The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1886-07-21


Summer crops still require diligent
cultivation. Drought and heat are to be
fought as best We may, grass and weeds
are to be kept down, and the formation
in the soil of available plant food to be
promoted to the fullest extent Ono of
the greatest antidotcs against drought is
an abundance of humus III the soil A
farmer cannot stop now to suoply this
in field where there is growing crop;
it must be looked after in his general
plans, embracing proper rotations, and
resting OF land, or during winter, when
leaves, pine and other straw may be
hauled out and scattered Lpon it. But
good growth Of peavincs supplies n first
quality humus for old land and peas may
be planted for such purpose during this
and noXt month If seed arc plenty,
they may be broadcast Mt the rate of one
and a half bushels per acre; if seed are
scarce, plant in drills two and half to
three feet apart, either sowing peas thin
~ in fnrrow or dropping five or six in
Dllls fifteen inches apart. Cultivation
will induce SO much more vigorous
growth that the drilled peas will make
about rs much vines rs The broadcast.
Where vines is the object almost any
variety will answer, the old fashioned
COW or clay pea being one Of the best.
For this work, i'll mi l-summcr, one has
to catch the seasons; start plough after
a rin MS soon as practicable, and drop
peas i'll every third or fourth furrow
when one intends to drill breaking land
and planting seed will thus go on to-
gcthcr. Our experience is that peas
must not be planted deep to come up
well; and narrow scootcrs are the best
ordinary plows for this work Probably
deep cutting harrow, like The disc, with
seeding attachment, might be made to
do this work very rapidly on ground not
too hard. Let lis always keep an eye
out for means of accomplishing work
rapidly; economy demands it, and the
rapid drying of the soil in summer makes
1T very great necessity. Time under
such circumstances is most valuable; an
opportu 'ity lost may never bc recovered
But let us go back to the cultivation
of crops. Much OF the corn receives its
last working this month. Let this be
thoro ugh, i'll the sense Of stirring every
inch of the surface, but lei it be only the
surface. Deep plowing OF corn after
jointing fairiv begins, is undoubtedly
injurious. Som. times mcrciful rain
fall in part wards Oh the damage, but only
in part; it cannot wholly countcract the
hurt; the hccl-scmpc is Tie best single
plow for laying by corn; properly set it
, leaves the surface approximately leve..
A wheel cultivator may be gnu"ed % run
shallow enough, and will then answer
very well If the crop has bccl. judic!-
ously cultivated mp to this tune, no hoe
work will be required; ii needed, how
ever, give it. Let the land be lett pcr-
foctly clean unless it is decided to SOW
pnctlcc. Peas will interfere less with
the corn than grass or weeds, and the
hitter are salrc TO come sooner or later
But if the aosH is laid by perfectly clean
it will be pretty thoroughly muturcd be-
fore grass and weeds can get much foot
hold. Last year we s0ycd SOFA beans,
or Japan peas, as they used TO be called,
in bottom corn on the 10th OF July, and
they matured before frost and made an
excellent crop. AS it does not run, it
does not interfere with fodder pulling.
Cotton needs rapid surface cultivation
also, especially during the first half of
J the month. a steady and rapid growth
is now desirable to 10y tho foundation
for fruiting next month. Gct good weed
by the first of August and tnen let the
plant take on fruit frequent cultivation
promotes rapid growth; keep the ploughs
therefore constantly moving, let no crust
form, let no grass get foothold, let
heel-scrape rlm very shallow and flat;
keep them sharp 80 rs to cut oil May
pops, briers, etc. Get only those scrapcs'
that arc bent in the middle. so as to form
: % cuff to fit on the plow-foot, and allow
Tho wings to run flat. a narrow bar of
steel simply bent i'll 3 curve, with hole
in the middle to receive the heel bolt,
IS wholly unfit for the work now in
hand it throws too much dirt, and
leaves beds too high for hilly land IT.
Jnsy suit very well for the level, sandy
Lnds toward the coast. Pit the scrape'
on the back OF the plow fcot, not in
fronS Of it. as long as the cotton will
bear it without layii & its limbs or boils.
broken off; run two burrows to each row.
A twenty-inch scrape will clean ont
middle thoroughly with two furrows
Later in the season wider one may be
run once in each middle. If hoe work
has been properly done up TO this time
little more of it will be needed, but
ba',ly worked crop ut the start will call
for n treat deal OF work at tho end.
On fol nner occasions we have pointed
ont the ben, ,eficiai results from frequent
surface stininss of the soil; we briefly
recall them again, A thin layer of pull
verized soil is oEa OF tho very best
mulches 10 be had. II is the only one
practicable on large scsttS1 1T prevents
the escape of moisture, dries oG rapidiiiy
itself after being stirred, buS etfcctu1lly
cuts off the ascent of moisture from be-
meath through itself into the mir. Deep
stirring of the soil makes II dry off
,apidly. Hence the practice OF plowing
bottoms lands III the spring to get them
low csannot ascend rapidly through pull
yerized earth whilst the free circulation
of Air in such earth causes the water in
Ito go o!f<ipto the atmosphere very
rapidly, with Athin layer OF pulyerized