The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1892-03-10

esS made on fine
white houry land with similar subsol.
On any light, thin soil with a growth
of huckleberry, sourwood, chinquepln,
persimmon, post oak, black jack or
either Of them, the fine yellow will
grow. Some of our best planters Sc
! lect old fields grown up in pines or
broom sedge.
a liberal application of fertilizers
is an all important prerequisite.
PREPARATION OF SOIL.
New woodland, or piney old field
requires the same preparation in win
ter or early spring as for corn or cot
| ton.
In March or April the soil should
be made fine by repeated dragging
and ploughing. Now with shovel
pillow, lay off the rows from three to
three and half feet apart, the stron-
ger soil requiring the wider rows.
If house made manure is to be used
stable aud COW pen-let it be mixed
and scattered thinly in drill burrows,
50 as to 90 over the whole area; and
follow with the concentrated fertilizer
at, the rate of 200 to $50 pounds per
acre. If none of the former is used
apply the latter at the rate of 800 to
45o pounds according to strength Of
soil. The land is then bedded with
ordinary turning plow, and with hoe
made into hills three 80 feet apart
from center to center. Smooth Oft
these until they present a flat surface
OF IS or 20 inches in diameter and
.'pat' in the center with the hoe.
Now they are ready for setting the
plants when the proper season arrives.
The making of hills with the hoe is
an expensive and tedious process, but
is still almost universally practiced.
Except in very rough new land the
writer has long since abandoned the
hoe and adopted the following pro-
cess, which answers equally as we'll or
better, and saves great amount OF
time and labor.
Take two boards one and a hall
inches thick, six or eight inches wide,
and about four feet long. Slope one
end Of each to point and back some
twenty inches. Set these on the edge
with slopes up and nail on inch boards
five feet long to cover from end toend
with two pieces. Turn this upside
down and you have an implement
shaped like the end of a fat boat; with
staple, attach a chain to the front OF
pointed corners, fasten a slngletree
midway the chain, and nail on some
, rough handles. A single horse Is
. hitched and walks between two rows
the implement reaching over ant
smoothing two beds 1t once. 1t cal
: be sufficiently weighted with stones o
! a log OF wood, to press down the bed
= as fat as desired After this take
u. light shovel plow and mark acro5
three feet apart and the hills are mad
without a hoe, at onetourth or tltti
the expense in the ordinary way.
|
E If the seed Or plant beds have bee
1 we'll attended to, the plants VIII b
0 large enough to transplant by the hrs
! or second week in May. This is don
: latter a shower, called i ':Season, ant
Q the ground must be sufficiently mos
e to secure "a stand. The plant
], set by means of a peg about SIX
i seven ln1neo long and one inch IN d
ameter. The peg IS inserted abor
two or three inches deep in the hi
and withdrawn, when the plant
placed in the opening and soil presse'
10 the roots 1t is a rule that when tn
n soil falls and fills the opening mad
ot by the planting peg, the season
: too light and the plants will not llv'
q If the .sseason" IS wet, the soil shout
q only be closed 10 the roots, as to
y, much pressure will cause it 20 bak
.e and injure the plants.
le The proper size tor planting IS whe
z the plants have five OF six leaves, thre
~ to FIVE inches long. They are draw
g with the hand from the seed bed or
ii bv one and carried, generally IN ba
e. kets. to the lcld from which they al
d dropped on the hllls-one TO each
m by small boys and girls while Il
..gro~n up hands follow and set the'
as before described. 1t IS the cuSto
Of good many planters to wash Il
Al roots before they are set, claiming tn
;" they live better, bat the larger nun
'e Der set them as they are drawn iro
~ the beds.
I Al every succeeding season /
., the frs; day Of July, the field shou
:" be gone over and the missing hills
nc planted. 1t IS generally conssdcr'
T. satisfactory if 1 good stand IS 0
tained by the 10th Of June, but I
- earlier The better.
a, CULTIVATION.
y. In eight or ten days after plantin
ae ar soon as the plants begin 70 ia