Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1890-03-13
The Champion Of The World.
Farmer Drake, Of Marlboro, Stands
at tho Head.
SOUTH CAROLINA MAKES THE BIGGEST
CORN CROP EVER GROWN ON ONE
ACRE--llow TIE MARLBORO
FARMER CAPTURED HIS
PRIZE.
[From tho American Agriculturist. ]

The acre entered by Mr.. u. j.
Drake was sandy soil in Marlboro
county, South Carolina. The origi-
nal growth was oak, hickory and
long leaf pine. Three years ago,
before the lend was improved, eight
dollars per acre was fair valuation,
while, thirty years ago, the planta-
ton, of which this acre is an average
specimen, was called by its owner
"Starvation's Empire" 1t had a
gentle slope, with Northern exposure,
and was naturally well drained. The
acre was fair specimen Of much of
the poor land in the South, and its
Improvement and productiveness
affords an instructive lesson. AS
late as 1885, when it was in corn, it
made a poor crop-practically
nothing. In 1886 the acre yielded
about goo pounds of seed cotton,
two dollars worth of ammoniated
fertilizer being used in the way com.
mon to ordinary cotton culture. The
fertility was so reduced that in 1887
the yield of corn was not over five
bushels per acre. But now Mr..
Drake undertook to improve it. TO
provide the vegetable matter Or
humus so much needed, the land
was liberally covered with rakings
OF leaves, straw, etc, from the neigh
boring woods. On top of this, Is
horsc-loads of stable manure were
evenly spread broadcast; also, IS
bushels of cotton seed, 500 pounds
Of Wilcox, Gibbs 81 Co.'S. manipu-
lated guano, $50 pounds cotton seed
meal and $50 pounds of kainit. The
heavy dressing was all ploughed
under with Starke's Dixie turning
plough. 1t was laid off in rows
with the same plough, two burrows
to the row, four feet apart; 100
pounds of guano were applied in the
burrows, and then each pair of fur
rows were thrown into a ridge with
the same plough. The Peterkin
cotton was planted with Leytch
cotton planter, and made the great
crop of 917 pounds Of lint cotton on
the acre, showing conclusivcly the
result of the improvement.
PREPARING FOR THE BIGGEST CROP
on RECORD.
Mr.. Drake decided that this acre
was the one for him to enter in the
corn contest, and he determined to
make the biggest crop on record,
season permitting. The last of Eel.
ruary, therefore, he hauled upon the
contest acre, 80 onc-horse wagon
loads of stable manure, averaging 20
bushels to the load, or / 900 bushels
Of manure in all, worth $50, to which
should be added $4 for hauling and
spreading. This was the droppings
of horses and mules fed on corn and
fodder and was not moved until
hauled to the acre. At the same
time 500 pounds each of manipulated
guano, cotton seed meal and kainit
were also broadcastcd, and the whole
was then ploughcd under. Follow
ing the plough whole cotton seed
were literally strewn in each furrow,
600 bushels being applied to the
acre. a subsoil plough came after,
breaking the soil to total depth of
II inches and also burying the whole
cotton seed deeper than the other
manure. Thus the decaying seed
would back up the crop later in the
season, when its roots had pcno-
trated below the first layer of manure.
One horse and man did the plough.
ing, also the subsoiing; both Jobs
being completed in one day, (Marcb
ID at total expense of two dollars.
The acre was narrowed on the same
day with a Thomas smoothing har-
row, one man and two horses doing
the work in about one hour. The
next day, March Q, the acre was
laid off, with the Starkc plough, in
two burrows to thc row, followed by
the subsoil plough in each row. The
rows were alternately three and six
feet apart--that is, there were six
feet between two rows, then three
feet, then six feet, and 50 on.
THE VARIETY AND CULTURE.
The seed planted was one bushel
OF the common gourd variety of the
Southern white Dent corn, but il
was a strain that had been improved
by twenty years of careful selection
from the best Of corr. grown on this
plantation. The PLANTING was done
in half a day by four hands, on