The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-08-07
FARM WORK FOR AUGUST.
WHEN AND HOW TO LAY BY THE CROPS
OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE.

+ 1t pays to pull Fodder Rather than
I go WithOut-..Save Your Fruit---.
i Improving Land with Peas--.The
Time to Plant Fall OATS, dc.
| CORN AND FODDER.
! OF course the cultivation of the main corn
crop has long been over and only late patch
every Southern farmer had his barn so filled
| with hay and his Silos with ensilage, that
there would be no necessity to resort to the
shall we say old fogy practice OF stripping
accumulate q sufficient store of roughness
But probably four-fifLhs of the farmers In
the Cotton Belt will rely mainly on this
source of supply. Old customs are hard to
change. Much has been written against fod.
der-pulling, chiefly on the score Of Injury to
the weight and yield OF the grain, and 1t is
tiresome to go over the ground again. On
land In good heart, and when the season have
| been good, we think the damage small. 1t Is
| also true that we'll cured corn fodder Is an ex-
cellent food. But the great objection to the
practice Is the immense and most fatiguing
and exhaustive labor in comparison with the
meagre results. It pays to pull fodder rather
| than 60 without, and rather than do nothing
but II Is certainly hard work and poor pay.
Most OF the labor OF stripping may be avoided
by first going over the crops or field and strip.
ping the blades on and below the ears; then
60 over again and cut of the top stalks and
cure without stripping. Pull in the morning
night, is the way to make the best fodder. A
| heavy dew is quite damaging to tts quality,
and shower of rain, after the blades are
somewhat cured, is almost ruinous.
COTTON.
It Is now too late, as O general rule, to ex-
pect much fruit in tweed" that Is yet to grow.
The growing eXtremitles Of the stems and
| branches will set few more forms that may
bloom In time to mature bolls; but our hopes
| must be mainly based on the bolls already
matured or rapidly maturing, and the forms
or squares that will show themselves In the
feared is the drying up and falling Off Of the
young bolls just as the bloom has fallen. II
| the stand is not too thick and the cultivation
| has been shallow and frequent, nothing but q
ly to cause this result. We have Of late years
practiced plowing of cotton even in August.
But 1t should be very shallow and close to the
| stalks, mere scratching, such as may be
| should be particularly avoided, as the certain
| result would be the casting of the young bolls
and probably to start the plant in q vigorous
Out 6eianea gsowth H. a1aloe mnao S neeaea Is SIM
ready past or approaching the blooming stage,
while incidentally, o few more squares may
be formed at the extremities; 4 caution may
| once been formally laid by, and period OF
! time has already occurred since the last plow.
ing that Is longer than the usual interval be-
| tween plowings, 1t is not sa fe to renew the
cultivation especially If q good rain followed
| close upon the last :plowing given, and the
| seasons have been favorable since; because
| the young. rootlets will have filled the loose
surfe 20 soil, and renewed cultivation would
be likely to do more harm than possible good.
The same injury Is sometimes observed dur.
| ing the height of the cultivating season,
when too long an interval has been allowed
between plowings This is one of those years
in which late cultivation Of cotton will be
| necessary, since much Of the crop was plant
ed or came up In June, and even as late as
| July. This circumstance will make IL con.
Belt. to SOW oats or rye at the last plowing for
1 winter pasture, and to preventive land from
washing during the winter: We drop this as
TO f
ping cotton about this time. According To
our observation topping sometimes improves
the yield, and perhaps oftener 1t seems to
have very little effect. Probably it rarely re-
under which the operation succeeds are &C
uncertain that no gen eral rule can be given
We are Of the opinion, however. that the
in much benefit On the whole we do not ad
wise topping as general practice.
u FRUIT CROP.
i We urge upon our farmers to utilize the
ali that can be sold, feed ali the wind falls and
Ioverripe to the hogs, preserve, can and dry
by every available means. The crop is worth
millions If sold, fed, or saved for future use
Iseedling peaches.
Apropos, we are reminded that a writer In
the June C,Ittivator says in substance thai
} hogs never have cholera when they have
this be absolutely true we know not. but We
have not the slightest doubt that fruit and
vegetables of all kinds are promotive Of
u n n ATTAINING nnQIftv
The hogs should not only be supplied with
fruit in season, but also an abundance Of 9th
er food, especially those intended for next
winters pork. The shotes that are now four
to six months old should not be permitted to
see another spring-time. We have so often
Istressed the Importance Of supplying an
abundance OF nutritious food, from pighood
1 to pork barrel, that we are a little ashamed
4 to recur to the subject. But farmers are sc
prone tog give the best of their energies and
] attention to present emergency and duty
THAT they are apt to forget the smaller details
J, that 60 to make success in some particular
department Of the farm. II is very poor man.
agement that permits hog to keep In barely
good growing condition during the summer
and fall whilean abundandance OF the cheap.
est food Is available or may be easily provid-
ed. 1t is the old fogy idea and practice to
stint food during the period when food will
Il 60 most to flesh and fat, and then dispense II
favishly when it will be least effective and
tpromotive Of the desired object-when much
larger proportion OF the food will be required
10 Keep up Inc animal neat.
i IMPROVING LAND WITH PEAS.
The abundant rains that fell in most sec
Il tions throughout the month of June and ear
lily part Of July made 1t practicable to plow
the stubble land and SOW large area in peas
i We know of no method so cheap and un1ver.
Il sally available as the improving Of land by
i green crops. 1t Is Natures own original
method. But Nature does not plow under the
l vegetation that springs up spontaneously In
the forests and fields, but spreads 1t as a man
tie over the otherwise bare and exposed sur
face. We initiate the natural process when
we mulch the potato and strawberry patches
with leaves or straw. The benefitin this case
is not due wholly to the fact that the cover
moisture. There Is mysterious chemical &C.
tion induced in the soil that seems to be as
fertilizing In effect as the direct application
OF manure. Every observant farmer has no
i ticed the mellowness and increased product.
iveness of the soil that is caused by covering
it for few months with board or other OBJ
Ject that could not of itself add directly to the
plant food in the soil. So It Is argued with
good reason that 1t is not necessary to turn
i under the clover, peas, or other green crop, in
order to get the full fertilizing effect. 1t Is
claimed that the beneficial effects are even
! decay on the surface; and we think with
| great show Of reason, arguing from analogy.
i 1t is known thatif the entire product Of stems
and foliage-everything that grows above the
Everted into hay, or otherwise entirely re.
moved, the latter will still have been greatly
Improved in productiveness. or course In
this case the roots, which form large per
centage Of the whole plant, are left In the
soil; and this fact is assigned as the explana-
But it does not fully account for it, and we are
almost forced to the conclusion that the in