The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1894-04-17
First pIOyying of Corn.

The practice of the old-tl1ne laliiS %
yet followed by many, was 10 ny nv e ,..
of these plowings was to commence Wheh
the young plants were large enough 10
bear the dirt" to be repeated at intervals
of three weeks Our recollection IS that
most farmers were punctiious in their OBJ
servance of the rule, and they felt when
they had done that their duty ana ODD
legation was discharged, and the result was
left with Providence. The "llrSt ploWlnB
was to be ''close and deep n careful
plowman placed the first, or siding tur-
row. employing a long, narrow scooter and
a board nailed on the "heve" of the plow-
stock to serve a plant fender. This
plowman was followed by less skillful
one with a larger plowshare, and this by
still another with a still larger pillow. 1t
was usual to put in not less than five or
seven burrows to do fVe-foot corn row.
Since those days farmers have found that
blowing once in three weeks is not sufli-
Gent cultivation, and that the frequency OF
the blowing. or the lesseninS of the period
between plowinSs, is much more essential
than depth and closeness of the burrows.
Still there must be first blowing and
il is of this we are now to write. The
renowned David Dickson, one of the most
successful farmers the south has ever hau,
was u great believer i'll thorough and deep
preparation of the soil before planting and
broad and shallow culture after planting.
We have no doubt of the correctness of
his theory and his praCtice-n the main.
A soft, mellow SOIL that was properly
plowed and narrowed before the seed was
planted, will not generally require that
close and deep first blowing we used
to think essential. Dickson used twenty
four inch sweeps in cultivating his corn
crop. from first to last. Higher UP III md
die Georgia, however, and in the larger
part of the cotton belt, the first ploWihg
cannot always, or even generally be sue
ccssfully accomplished with sUch an UNI
Weiidy implement as a tWenty-tour men
sweep or, indeed, a sweep at all. In many
fields the soil is poorly prepared, probably
only broken up flush, the burrows opened
and seed dropped and covered. On such
fields it is essential that the first cuitlVa-
ton should be thorough as lawyer would
saw "nunc pro tune" or now for then.
Such a blowing will be in the nature of a
preparation, or supplemental to an insuth-
cient preparation. It should be done as
soon as possible, regardless of the smaH
size of the plants. The idea 1t to get the
soil into such condition as to permit the
use of the ordinary wide-eXtended sweep
scTape or cultiVator.
On soils that We're originally we'll prepar-
ed but on which crust OF ana men
thickness, or less, has formed, broadcast
narrowing is a very cheap ana effective
method of first cultivation. This plan OF
broadcast narrowing is extensively prac-
ticed on the great corn farms OF the MIS-
sippi valley, even until the plants are el8ht
or ten inches high. The need Of the young
plant, whether corn or cotton IS ar ana
sunshine and easily digestible plant food
in reach of the mouths of the tiny rOOtletS
The air cannot easily penetrate even a very
thin crust of soil, the result OF previous
rains and following winds. And herein les
the very essence of cultiVat!on-the break
in" and stirring the superficial layer OF
soil-say one-half to one inch in depth:
M. I,.,