The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-09-11
SAVING SEED CORN.

Now ia the time to select the best ears for
pianted liant % Special patch Of Choice seed
the purpose Of producing his planting seed
OF course he will select from such patch. But
the majority Of farmers will probably rely on
selecting seed from the crib next spring. lis
far better to select noto, from the standing
corn, the best ears from the best s;alks to
the amount Of four or five times as :uch az
will be absolutely required for t'anttng
another crop; put In box or bin to itself and
full, judicious selection of seed costs but little
| time and labor in comparison with the Ger.
lain In the yield and quality OF the
one Of the first and essential factors In q sue.
cessful intensive system. It is quite as i'm.
portant to secure the best seed OF corn, cot
the best specimens of the best breeds In order
| to produce the best and most profitable focks
and herds.
or course every farmer will save all the
themselves before spelling. They are second
to no other food for working and fattening
stock, and are uneQualed as food for milk
cows, while the vines. If properly cured,
| being the cheapest manure available. We
are writing now in the memory Of the past
| season when seed peas were 80 scarce. and IN
view OF the greatly increased area that will
be put In peas next year.
COTTON HARVEST.
Simple as the operation OF picking and
Handling cotton fs, 1t requires degree OF care
and judgment not apparent to the casual OBJ
server, to harvest, prepare and market croI
ey, while at the same time no other interest
on the farm is permitted to suffer. Labor Is
the most expensive item connected with the
whole business--the manual labor required
| to simply pull the cotton from the yielding
bolls. It is astonishing to consider that II
costs not less than five or six dollars to bale
OF cotton from the stalk and put in the bas-
yeasy 5e dosrs
less! Stain and soil, generally the result ol
long exposure in the open bolls, are the CHIEF
causes which affect the relative market val
should be to encourage the doing Of large
rapidly as possible. When the fields are
white with cotton, every day witnesses
lint, even II no drop Of rainfalls on the field
It gets lighter, the color pales under sunlight
and repeated dewfaIls, and trash from decay.
ant and persistent But when the storms OF
rain and wind fall upon the heavy laden
stalks, the lint may be damaged in value In
Gay enough 70 nave pase los
Let the work Of gathering be pushed from
\ the very start until the bulk Of the crop ia
safely housed. 1t is all very we'll to pick the
cotton more or less free OF trash and leaf. and
through which it passes before IL reaches the
market; but 1t is very easy matter to be
"too particular" about trash, and 50 discour.
as 10 delay the harvesting Of the crop and ex.
pose it to the far more serious casualty OF
storms Of rain and wind, and continued
aali hands," and all That could be induced 70
come into the field by fair promises and
prompt performance, we have pushed the
work and succeeded In safely housing pick.
Il L., oF hny
over q large field, just in time to save 1t from
| q disastrous storm.
In such cases we have often realized a net
| saving of one cent in the pound on all the
cotton gathered during the week. after pay
osen, es nc or r might often Be, much more. Com:
pare sample Of cotton from lot picked. ., tne 9
sample from the same field picked after the
SPELL make allowance for the absolute loss
In quantity and loss in quality, and the
statement Just made will be thought very
The fact is, the harvesting Of cotton and
the separation OF trash from 1t, is q labor
that should be accomplished by machinery ;
general results But If we must harvest by
hand, let the improved gin and careful man
ipulation in the modern ginnery do the rest
Of the work.
i We beg to remind our readers Of the dam.
aged cotton seed 80 generally complained
Of in some large sections OF the country
4 last Spr1uR,apQ altrlOupeQ 10
ing cotton in q wet condition last fall. It
is often the case that seed cotton gathered
too wet or green Is pushed through the GIN
mig process and the seed thrown into bulk.
/ or course they will heat and spoil more or
i less. A good plan to handle and secure the
planting seed for next year against the us
ual sources OF damage Is, to gather when the
cotton is dry, from the middle portion OF
the opening crop, sun 1t II necessary, gin
carefully and closely, sack the seed at once
| in guano or other sacks and hang up In q dry
place as you would bacoh hams. This Will
permit the seed to dry, without danger OF heat.
| Ing, protect from rats or other vermin, and
| they are ready to handle and move TO the
| place where wanted without loss or delay.
! The suggestions made about selecting seed
corn, apply with equal force to selecting cot.
! ton seed. Every farmer should pick at least as
much with his own hands from the most
carefully selected stalks, as will furnish
ed to plant his next years seed patch.
| SOWING GRASS.
Now is the accepted time to SOW seeds OF
cultivated grasses, extending through the
monthof October, according to latitude.
| In the northern part Of our territory, Sep
tember is the best month II weather cond1-
tions are favorable. October will be time
enough for the middle region, and any time
during November, December and February,
as the tntertropics are approached: Ihe op-
Iect should be 10 SOW long enough before the
severe winter freezes TO enable the young