The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1886-08-11

be sown are small, and call for q very
finely pu!vcrized soil. Deep breaking
and ti&o surface tilth are the destder0t0
SO far IS mechanical preparation goes.
The plow, the roller, the harrow, fol-
lowing each other III the order named,
will do the work. With the modern
improvements in pulvcrizing harrows,
there is little difficulty III bringing
land into the best condition, even when
starting with it rough. For grass and
clovcr-cspeciaily grass-thc land
should be made very rich. If the
supply Of manure is limited, is better
to put 1t ell on a small area and SOW
only that. 1t is time, labor and seed
wasted TO sow on poor land. One
acre Of good grass is worth ten Of that
which is poor and hardly able to main
tain itself il the struggle for existence.
On ordinary land apply not less than
thirty two-horse wagon loads Of yard
manure to start with. If YOU get a
good stand You can help out this
quantity by top-dreSsing next spring
with commercial fertilizers. The
manure should be well mixed with
the surface soil by narrowing. Never
plow it under deep. Whether for
grass proper, clover or lucern, a good
application Of barnyard manure is the
best foundation to build on; CONNER
cial fertilizers answer a good purpose
afterwards.
In relation to grass culture, the
cotton belt may be conveniently
divided into two scctions--a northern
and southern half. North, say of par
allcl thirty-thrcc degrees Of latitude,
rcd and white clover, together with
orchard and herds grass, grow admir-
ably and should be most widely sown.
South Of that line the annual clover, as
the burr and the crimson, together
with au annual winter grass like the
''rescnc" (Festuca), can be more GER
tainls relied on. Lucern will do well
in both sections. We arc speaking
now broadly-therc arc other plants
that may succeed well and answer a
GOOD puraose in both the sections
named. The tail meadow oat grass
will grow al over the cotton belt;
better in the northern then in the
southern half, but moderately well in
the latter on rich sandy loans. Tim
othy does well on the valley land in
the northern section. Spanish clover
Richa:dSonia) is valuable plant for
the Gulf borders, perhaps superior to
any Of the true clovers for that region.
There is ample material from which 70
choose, and an abundance OF land !:
nothing stands in the way Of grass
culture but habit, and to some extent
lack Of appreciation of the value Of
grasses and clovers. Everything that
cheapens the maintenance Of work
stock lessons the cost of production,
and everything that chcapcns produc-
ton increases the net profits from the
farm. Now whilst it costs something
in the way of manure, labor and seed
to GET a field Of grass, it must be re-
mcmbercd that such field will yield
crops of hay and some grazing for
MANY years and if the first outlay is
divided BY the number of years, the
annual expense, so to speak, will be
verv small. But grass culture com
mcnaS itself not only because it is the
cheapest means of keeping stock, bnt
because it is the best restorative and
prcservatiye Of our worn, humus eN-
haustel lands. If corn and fodder
could be raised at exactly the same
cost IS hay and oats. the latter are
greatly to be preferred in view Of
their beneficial effects on land. Farm
ers hold this idea and practice it in the
seeding down of land &c small grain !:
they say the land needs sowing down.
But the rest from the plow in that case
lasts for one year only; grass growing
extends it through many years. Grass
depends mainly on winter rains which
rarely fail; corn cannot be made with
out summer rains and these often fail.
Oar true policy is to concentrate corn
culture on land specially adapted 10
that crop, manure highly and cultivate
with harrow and ploW exclusively, so
as to reduce cost to a minimum, and
then utilize hillsides, rocky knobs and
such localities as are not adopted to
clean culture, by seeding them down
TO grasses and small grains.
On former occasions we have urged
the sowing of rye lots for supplying
green feed in the early spring. Moth
ing is so reliable; rich land, good seed
and early sowing are Just as certain to
bring full supply of early green
forage as spring succeeds winter. The
richer the land the more the rye will
be relishcd by stock. This is impor-
tant because rye is not as much reiished
by animals as some other plants, but
its quality can be greatly improved by
sowing on rich or mighty nanured
land 1t is somewhat disposed to
become woody as it gets older, but Il
rich soil by promoting rapid growth,
obviatcs thiS-it will grow high enough
10 cut before woody fiber has time to
develop. Give the rye patch prece-
dence over all others-bcgin its prepa
rarion at once-break and roll and
harrow and incorporate manure with
surface soil. Have everything ready
to sow the seed by the 10th of next
month. Sow Southern raised seed,
and preferably that grown nearest
your locality. Western rye will not
answer. Seed from Virginia, east of
the mountains, does very we'll. Sow
one aid half to two bushels per acre.
The nearer the barn the patch can be
located the better; if it cannot be
near the barn, let it be adjacent to
farm road so that it may be easy to
reach with Q wagon. In everything
have an eye to economizing labor.