The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1891-03-05
.:';s $3.50. -. Intensive Farming.
atlanta Constellation,

a HASsee'ssN oS''~HN~N>~'o'-'
Mr.. George W. Truitt is successful
farmer on the intensive plan, as every
body knows who has beer to the Pied
mont Exposition for the last year or 80.
Last fall be and Mrs. Truitt carried off
| several thousand dollars in prizes for
| their displsys-Mr. Truitt in the pro.
ducts oil the farm and Mrs. Truitt in a
multitude of exhibits Of the housewives
skill.
The picturesque plantation cabin, sur
rounded by a real cotton patch, which
attracted so much attention at the pre-.
| vious exposition, was Dir. Truitt'a con-
| ceit.
The point Of this article is the renais-
sance of intensive farming. a dozen
years ago it was much talked of, and the
| Hon. Farris Furman, its apostle, stirred
up a great deal of enthusiasm for the
new culture. Since then the idea has
been quietly but steadily growing. Each
year has raised up some new advocate of
the system and in some counties it has
been extensively adopted.
The scarcity of labor has now made
intensive farming pressing question.
It has almost come to be necessity.
The migration of the negroes within the
last two years has, in many instances,
left the planters with q lsrge crop in the
field and nobody to harvest it. This has
| caused loss and has forced the owners Of
land to consider meaus of culture with
fewer hands. Happily it has been
found, aud found to be much more profit
able than the old way. Mr.. Truitt says
it will be the salvation of the country,
| and he has come to the conclusion
through experience.
At the request of the Consultation, MIR.
Truitt gives description of the msthod
which, in his pointed words, "briugs con:
| tentnlent and happiness"
Here is what he says:
"There is no question in the minds of
observing people that we are drifting to
the small farm. In fact, our labor is 80
disorganized and unreliable that the day
of profit on the plantation is gone,
except in rare instances where the owner
is man of exceptionable executive abil-
ity, and has reduced all his operations
down TO the most economic business sye-
tenn.
By hard work aud constant, unremit.
ting attention to details, have succeed
ed in bringing average poor land up to
where it averages bale to the acre. OF
course some land produces more than
another. On eighty acres of my indi>
vidusl crop last year 1 made 104 bales,
averaging 470 pounds per bale. On sew.
enty acres my tenants made forty .six
bales, or on 150 acres of land 15O bales
of cotton. This is plain statement of o
simple fact. As to how I do this:
"First, I break about one half of my
land with two horse plow, alternating
each year, .plowing very deep. The
other half I bed with square pointed
scooters.
81 lay off my rows four feet wide, run.
ming scooter in front and John
son wing the opposite direction in the
same furrow. In that furrow I place the
cotton seed for fertilizer as early after
Christmas as possible, forty bushels to
che acre. About the 10Th or 18th of
March I put on top of these seed 400
pounds of acid per acre. I find the
heavy rains wash the sand into the fur
rows and mix it thoroughly with the
seed, which is very beneficial. Then bed
fat with square-poiuted scooters. When
the cotton seed cannot be had, use 500
pounds Of gossypium per acre just before
planting. On my thirsty land l run a
subsoil plow over the fertilizer, in order
to mix it thoroughly with the soil.
son my bottom land / put 1000
pounds Of fertilizer per acre, in the drill
and two list furrows, and mix it we'll
with the soil. With the planting seed I
put 25O. pounds additional. From the
18th of May to the Goth of June I broad
coast 750 pounds per acre ahead of the
plows. On bottom land I use mould
board, making the beds little higher
than on the upland.
"Before planting I run a Thomas har.
row across the beds ahead of the planter,
which destroys the early grass and makes
the land fresh aud level. With Brooks
planter l put in two bushels of seed per
acre to insure good stand, using 100
pounds of fertilizer with seed on up land.
GAS soon as cotton on up land begins
to break the crust in coming up, start
my harrows, running them obliquely
across the first time, and afterwards,
directly across the harrow rows. Then
follow with an eighteen.inch scrape and
short scooter, running shallow. Then
start the hoea, every hand carrying a
thres.foot stick to measure the distance
between hills on all up lands. plow
this once every twelve days. using, after
tie FIRST time, twenty-four-inch scraps.
very fiat, plowing up to the Grst of Au-
gust.
"On my bottom land I make the rows
Eve feet apart, and bzing the stand down
to four feet between hills by taking o.
inch scrape and running two furrows
ac.oss The rows, leaving q bolt of three
inches to form the stand. This enables me
to plow both ways, leaving but little work
to the hoes. This is better than drop
ping ir the check aud insures better
stand.
II fud that from the Goth of March to
the 10th CT Apri! is the best time to plant
cotton.
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