The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1889-11-28
AFARMER'S THOUGHTS
SOME SUGGESTIONS FROM COM
PETENT AUTHORITY.

What Work the Good Farmer NInv Do ut
This Season, With Pleasure and Profit
| to Himself, =
From the Southern Cultlyator.
This month should witness the winding
up of the cotton harvest. Every boil
that opens in November should, if posi-
BILE, be picked before the first day OF
December. Cotton now open in the
field will only deteriorate in value very
rapidly unde. The influence OF dew, rain,
cold and wind, but the work of picking
will be very slow and disagreeable after
the close of the month. There are but
few jobs necessary to be done that will
seriously interfere with the work OF
housing the remnant Of the cotton crop:
SOWING WHEAT AND OATS.
In the northern portion of the cotton
belt the wheat crop has been put In. In
those portions of the middle belt the
old rule of "dark nights in October" as
the time to SOW has had its advocates
from time immemorial. We refer to
this rule partly to give. occasion for the
remark that we do not believe either in
'sowing in the moon" or in being gov
erned by its phases in performing any of
the operations of the farm and garden.
Our own rule for sowing wheat is to
commence about the time when the first
severe frost usually occurs, which is
generally-in the region last referred to
about the first week in November. 1t
has perhaps been noted by habltual read
ers of the Cultivator that the writer of
these "Thoughts" does not insist that
every farmer should SOW wheat. It de-
pends on circumstances which. are gen.
orally beyond control, chief among which
ia available land especially adopted to
wheat. The doctrine that farmer
should produce everything he requires
has its reasonable as well as it's absolute
limitations. A farmer in Ohio is abso.
lutely prevented from growing cotton
and sugar cane, and yet be must have
cotton shirts, sheets and maybe mattres.
ses for his bed, sugar for his coffee and
syrup for his hasty pudding CD So a
farmer in Georgia or Alabama would be
be unwise to persist in sowing wheat if
his best choice Of upland would only
Gield it at a cost of eight dollars per bar
rel of -four, when he can buy better
article, laid down at his door, for six
dollars. The same argument applies
with equal force to many other articles OF
ordinary consumption, But many far
mers in the chill country" of the cotton
region can and ought to raise their own
wheat, in connection with other small
groin. A high and dry hill top or hill
side, With good clay subsoil, is the
proper soil for wheat. 1t is better to
follow cotton, or peas, with wheat,
though corn land, if not too foul, will
do. Rich virgiQ, or naturally rich soil
is not requisite his better to enrich by
fertilizers. Wheat requires large per.
centage of nitrogen, and the land should
therefore be manured with an ammoni-
ated fertilizer. This fact is well illus
trated in the generally good results OF
cotton seed as fertilizer. 1t is more
economical to use the cotton seed mea1
than the whole cocton seed. But az
monia (nitrogen) is not the only. slsWS
required by wheat; it must had sh
end phosphoric acid also. For the av-
erage worn soil of the middle region a
compost of meal, acid phosphate and
kainit in the following proportions will
give satisfaction:
Cotton seed meal. ........ 800 pounds
Acid phosphate. ....... 1000 pounds
:Kainit. go. 200 pounds
Total. -. .............2,O0O pounds
On fresh, granitic soils possibly the
kainit may be dispensed with va Rf
very heavy application be made. Frol
300 to 500 pounds per acre of the abov1
would be moderate dose, and should
give a yield Of ten to twelve bushels OF
wheat. On clean cotton land good
close plowing with turning scooters, or