Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-02-07
SAW 1T WITH HIS OWN EYES.

business department OF the paper-neVer
TO Us.
y SAW 1T WITH HIS OWN EYES.
With much interest I read your recent
article on deep preparation Of the soil for
crops, as a protection against drouth. That
article, in my opinion, struck the real key
note to success in Texas agriculture, and 1
hope you will keep it up until you have
aroused as much interest in reference to the
matter as you have aroused in pecan cui-
ture and the Jerusalem arti-
choke. BY the way, what are we
to do about the Jerusalem artichokel All
Texas, almost, would put in the Jerusalem
artichoke were it possible to get seed, but
there's the rub. You tell US through THE
GAZETTE that you know of no tubers for
sale and that leaves us la Tantalus-we
can see what we want, but can't quite reach
it. You have made out your case so well
that we almost know that the Jerusalem
artichoke is the very thing we need
for pork production, but when we decide to
plant the Jerusalem artichoke it is like the
child crying for the moon-we cannot get
seed. l find the tubers advertised in some
of the Northern seed catalogues, but am
afraid to risk them through fear that they
are not the same thing that you have been
writing about. But TO get back to my
subject
Deep preparation of the soil Is the thing
to protect US from drouths-I have seen
that with my own eyes. Last summer
there were cultivated in the suburbs of
Waco two kitchen gardens lying side by
side. In point of soil and other conditions
they were precisely the same. One was
owned by an Irishman-the other was
owned by a native Texan. The Texan
had his garden plowed in the
usual way, with 4 team and plow,
but the Irishman, being handy with 2
spade, went into his garden with spading
fork and broke it as deep as the fork would
go. might say that the Irishman's garden
was broken at least one foot deep, While
the Texans carmen was broken to the
depth of about four inches. Both planted
about the same vegetables, and there was
no difference in manuring; indeed neither
used mauures, for their land was rich
enough to do without manuring.
Now as to the results. That Texan
garden was all right in the spring, but so
soon as the summer drouths came on 1t
speedily ceased to be garden-eTerythlng
III it scOrched out. That Irishman'S garden
went right along producing good vegetables
throughout the season, showing no effects
of drouth at all worthy of note. Neither
party resorted to artificial watering. When
one crop was of, the Irshman would spade
her up again and put in another crop, and it
would grow off as lively as the crop first
planted in the spring, out the other mans
ground simply cracked open and all the
weeds on it died.
It seems to me that this case clearly il
Illustrates what we may reasonably expect
of deep preparation for crops, and. as al
ready stated, 1 hope you will not
allow the subject to rest where
it is Your reasoning on why
the deep preparation was a protection from
drouth was as plain and good, apparently,
as anything could be, but this case men
toned by me was even better, for 1t was
CONSTANT READER.
r. OF course deep preparation for rops as
protection against drouth is no longer 4
mooted question among the well-informed.
Land merely SKINNED and lying atop of an
uabroken hard-pan is like placing
soil in dinner dish. In 4
short time the soil dries out
down to the dish and there is an end to
the moisture. Herd-pan neither takes in
moisture or lets it out In little while
the hard pan becomes as dry as the thin
skin of broken soil resting upon it, and
after that it fills the office of the
dish to perfection. But if that
hard pan is pulEerized it takes in
the dews at night, Ceven supposing that
there should be no rain and so has store
of moisture for the roots of plants. During
the day the surface may dry out, but
never down to any great depth in the course
of one day. The next nights dews restore
the moisture evaporated and thus the water
supply is kept up.
We are for irrigation in every case where
It can be applied, but where it cannot the
next best thing is deep preparation OF the
soil, undoubtedly. The thing acts in con-
formity to plain natural laws, and hence
applies with equal force to all regions of
country where there are rains or dews.
As to the Jerusalem artichoke matter, We
are only too sorry that there is not an album
dance of seed to be had, for we feel quite
sure that the crop might be made grand
thing for Texas. There is doubtless plenty
of seed if we only knew how and
where to get at 1t, for the crop
is quite extensively raised in many sec
lions OF the country. And we may add
that, in our opinion, the Jerusalem arti-
chokes advertised by Northern seedsmen
would DC al rlEnl, every way, 4or
there are but two varieties of
the Jerusalem artichoke. One has red
tubers and the other white tubers, We
would prefer the white for a general hog
pasture, but would take the red If we could
not get the white. Really, there Is very
little difference in the varieties
the white is rather coarser va
riety than the other, and is said to be rather
more prolific The red is a little more on
the fancy order. and on account Of its color
is most generally cultivated in gardens on a
small scale to be employed in making
pickles.