The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-06-24

4IAISN9
CuZtivation-PeGS for
Enriching the
Sol.
A fine farm or even an ordinary
rood n presents a much better ap-
0oarance if there is a neat and pleas.
aantIv situated home on it. Either
one without the other is not very nice.
Rut if both are together, all the better.
There is not a prettier home in
Wake county than the residence Of
Mr., P. A. Dunn. Mr.. Dunn's farm is
about nine miles from Raleigh, near
Neuse station, on the Raleigh and
CASTOR railroad. He owns nearly 700
acres. This season he has in cultiva,
ton about 100 acres in cotton, about
so in corn, so acres in oats, 8 in
wheat and about 5 acres in clover.
He has good horses and cattle, both
of common stock.
Mr.. Dunn has not made farming a
life business. He was a railroad man
for some years and therefore began
farming at a disadvantage. Much of
his cultivated land had been badly
run down and washed in gull IS, but
he has ditched it and by intelligent
cultivation is rapidly bringing it up
to its former standard. His soil is OF
a white sand, in places pretty well
mixed with red clay. This is the best
soil in our State for cotton and to-
bacco. Beyond a doubt a fine quality
of to2acco could be produced any
where in tho vicinity of Mr.. DAMS
farm.
Mr.. Dunn improves his land by
hauling muck on the washed or gul-
lied places. This he gathers in the
timbered lands either oak Or pine. 1t
is a well known fact that pine leaves
contain certain valuable fertilizing
properties and Mr.. Dunn's experience
is that the time and labor in hauling
them on Iand, especially where it is
very poor, is profitable. He has great
faith in peas as a fertilizer of wornout
land. This is the experience of the
best agriculturists in u country.
They are not only good, but they are
not costly. Here is a good plan to
improve land: Sow rye on land in
September. If the land is in cotton
or corn you a SOW and pillow be-
tween the rows and get a pretty good
stand. 1t would not hurt to pasture
the rye some during the winter pro
vided it is done when the land is dry.
About the first of May pillow under
the rye with two OF three-horse pillow,
the deeper the better Then harrow
in from two to three bushels of peas
to the acre. These will grow very
rapidly on ordinary land. Plow
under the peas from the first to the
18th of September, then harrow the
land good and sou your wheat with
drill any time from the 18th of Sep
TENDER to the 18th Of October. Don't
wait until the 18th of October if you
can help it. That is one reason why
the wheat crop is so often a failure in
the Southern Safes. Our farmers
too often wait until late to SOW it.
Glover seed should be sown on the
land described above. If from 100 to
200 pounds Of some good fertilizer
be drilled with the wheat it will be a
great help to the clover. The clover
seed can be sown when seeding the
wheat or you can wait until the fol
lowing spring and harrow in the seed.
Some prefer the spring sowing.
This is the cheapest and quickest
way to improve land anywhere. 1t
has been tried time aud again and
never fails. There is labor apd ex-
pense both, but the good wheat crop
you get pays all of that and your
clover will pay for itself AM continue
to enrich the soil
Mr. Dunn has very correct ideas
about the way cotton should be cul-
tivated and he makes good cotton.
He runs his rows four feet apart on
common good land. He thins cottsn
to n stalk from ten to sixteen inches
apart. The theory that cotton rows
should be close together and the stalks
left two or three in a place only a
few inches apart has been exploded.
N~lnety-nine farmers in every hundred
leave too much cotton on the land.
The proper way is to chop it out until
it looks like there is not more than
half enough on the land. Cotton,
corn, wheat nor nothing will do well
If too thick on the land. Mr.. Dunn
IS of the opinion that cotton don't
need so much hoeing. Mr.. Mangum
is Of the same opinion. The hoe work
as usually given cotton in our State is
quite expensive. Careless hands
6rulse the stalks very often and rem.
der them unhealthy. Hoe your cotton
as little as possible. But be sure and
thin it to a stand the first time. Cot.
ton requires work often and this
should be done and clay it by" as
early as possible so it will mature