Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-02-14

me very much, especially that portion Of
voIr remarks that said the LANDS swimmers
were always poor and unluclzy. people. So
they are, and so they will ever be until
their race has passed 70 the great beyond.
You are correct IN your advocacy OF deep
preparation--it must be the salvation OF the
non-irrigatl4g. farmer, not only In Texas,
but everywhere else. There is no land
rnTyvhere that is not the better for deep
preparation. Deep blowing in culture IS
against most crops. but deep preparation Tor
fhe crop, before the seed is planted, IS de-
cidedly more than half the battle gained.
am an old fashioned Texas farmer. In
nv earlier experience l was one OF your
Iskimmers. " for the simple reason that
everybody SKINNED" Twelve years ago,
having heared something about this deep
preparation theory, / tried an experiment.
a strip running across one end of my cot
ION field, and measuring just four acres,
was double-plowed that IS, we ran 4 large
ulow at the breaking and follow 4 In the
same fdIrow with 4 smaller plow, going as
deep as it would 60 Cotton was planted
on the entire field, and Just alike. Culture
Of the entire field just the same. Those
four acres yielded me very near bale OF
lint cotton to the acre, while the rest Of the
field averaged below one-third of bale to
fine acre. The cotton on the double-plowed
Mat was more than double the height OF
that on the same field only single-plowed,
Since that tirae have been double-plow-
fug all my cotton land at the preparation,
and my neighbors have been wondering
why it is that my cotton stands drouth so
well and does so much better than does cot
ION generally. I tell them how 1t IS, but
they contend that I aln mistaken, and that
the better results come of some better
character of my land. This could not be,
however, for my lands (the black waxeyl
arc precisely the same as all the lands sur
rounding my farm.
There can be no mistake in this deep
preparation theory. | can not say how 1t
would be on our sandy lands Of Texas, but
for stiff prairie soils il is the very thing
needed. 1 can take any prairie land farm
and by double breaking raise double as
much of either corn or cotton on 1t as has
ever been raised or ever will be raised by
the land skimming process.
The Texas farmers are in need of some
suitable implement for deep preparation.
Our common plows do not run deep enough,
even at twice IN the same fufrow- do not
contend that the subsoi should be brought
70 the surface, for l do not know whether
This would be advantageous or otherwise,
but do contend that the land should be
torn TO pieces as deeply as possible One
of YOUR correspondents says they often
break to the depth of two feet in Germany.
DO not think two feet would be any too
Eeep in Texas. if we had some means OF
opinion that if all Texans were breaking
their stiff prairie soils to the depth of two
fdet that all troubles from drouth would
be at an end.
But suppose we can not go down two
feet (Which we cannot do under present
aIrangements), let US go as deep as we can.
Every inch deeper than the common ''sklm-
ming depth is just so much gain. now
break my land about ten inches, but well
know that l would be the gamer if 1 could
double that depth.
t. costs something extra to break land
deep but what OF that if it pays US in in
crease Of crop2 Why not as well put in ouI
extra work on deep preparation as upon
extended surface culture2 If l can raise as
much corn or cotton on ten acres deeply
prepared as 1 can raise on twenty ''slim
med" acres, why should 1 not do it, / car
do it every time, and make a sure thing OF
It, whereas. in case of the Swimming pro
cess, there is no certain thing. My skim
med-land crop would stand a chance Of
being seriously damaged by drouth, whilt
have no fears of drouth doing any serious
harm to my deeply prepared crop.
ANOTHER OLD TEXAN.
Navarro County, Tex.
Our own experience has ever shown deer
preparation to be best, even for sandy
lands. In our deep preparation for sand5
LANDS, and, indeed, for all lands, we would
work as much vegetable matter down into
the soil Us we could. .ssss.ss5sssss
The Weekly 6ssssF43 3 the best adver
tiseafRs 81 feSaS TO be had.