The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-09-23
A few Hints for Farmers.

feW HlntS Tor FarmerSs
One of the main questions for farmers
to figure out is that which relates to fer
tilizers another year. Last spring during
tho Coosaw trial, phosphate rock advsn-
ced about one dollar ton. The price "'
mains about as it was then. Can the
Piedmont farmers afford to buy ferli'-
izprs at the present prices, when cotton.
our only money crop, is seven cents?
Take fair fertilizer, sold on time at
$500 ton. 1t would require 357
pounds of cotton to pay for ton. If
acid is used, PSI pounds Of lint cotton
would be required to pay the bill. How
much can you afford to use at that price ?
If you should attempt to pay in cora at
so cents from the heap, it would require
so bushels to pay for ton of guauo, or
36 to pay for ton of acid.
1t will take about one-ssventh of the
cotton crop raised in Spartanburg county
to pay the guano bills this year. The
price paid for guauo on a cotton farm
should never be in excess of the value Of
cotton seed raised. If farmer should
pay $4,000 for commercial fertilizer and
raise 500 bushels of cotton seed he would
come out ahead, for the seed replaced "n
the land would be worth more than the
guauo. The farmer should study this
question carefully and buy only so much
fertilizer as he can Use with profit. A
very large crop raised with commercial
fertilizers is worth nothing If all the
profits are required to pay the bills In
the fall. The very best plan is to buy
for cash. The buyingis more judiciously
done, and in the fall of the year one is
not forced to sell his cotton to meet fer.
tiiizer bills.
Lands can be improved only by ma
nuring in some way. There is no use to
attempt farming without keeping up the
fertility of the soil. How can this be
done? The work must be gradual.
Commercial fertilizers alone will not do
it. A wise farmer will sell nothing that
can easily be converted into manure.
If he has an abundance of hay and fod-
der he will buy some extra cattle and
let them convert his surplus forage into
manure. He will then sell his cattle and
get pay for his hay and keep it, too. That
is one instance Of "eating pie and having
it" at the same time. Every acre Of
corn land should be planted in peas and
the vines left on the land. A field sowed
in red clover and allowed to remain
two years will pay we'll as fertilizer,
even if a load ofhay " never cut from It.
The marked improvement in succeeding
crops may be seen for se7eral years.
Those plants that have long tap-roots
like the clover and pea, are the best re-
novator of the soil. Surface feeders,
like crab grass and most weeds, are the
poorest.
The old Scotchman was nearly right
when neigbbor asked him what be ma
nured his crops with, and his reply was,
"braius." The farmer must study the
requirements of bis own soil. He must
turn his farm iuto an experiment station
until be learns what are the best CON-
mercial fertilizers for him and what are
the best green crops for manure. He
must understand what kind OF plows TO
use and The best time for preparing and
the methods of cultivatiog his land.
Each years work should be better than
the last. Not single field should be al.
lowed to deteriorate Gullies and washes
should be unknown. Stability and per-
mauency should appear in every fence
built, in all the buildings and in every
d.-iSpartanburg Spartan.