The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-31
A MODEL FARM.
A Field of Cotton That Will Produce q
Bale ana a Half per Acre.

Sandersville Ga, July 30.-Mr. George
Gilmore. seven miles north of Sanders
vile, has one of the finest farms in Wash
ington county.
Last year, on field of sixty-five acres,
he had a volunteer crop of Constitutional
peas, the only variety raised on the farm,
which embraces 400 acres. The year pre-
yious, 1892, this field produced 800 bush
els of corn, or thirty bushels per acre,
and was also planted in peas, After the
crops were gathered, horses, cattle and
hogs were turned into the field to CLEAN
what had escaped the harvester, and
then the field was sowed in oats The
Oat crop was cut in the spring of 1898, and
then came on the volunteer peas None
had been planted-they were all vol
unteers, the vines springing from
the seed that had fallen
from the pods the year previous. Last
August the field was completely covered
with vines. A hat thrown into the air
would not come to the ground but would
be caught and supported by the luXuriant
pea vines. which formed perfect mass.
Mr.. Gilmore wasoasked why he had his
peas planted so thick, TO which ne re-
piled that it was entirely a volunteer
crop.
This pea crop was gathC red last fall,
after which stock cleaned the field. In Jan
uary the stnbble of the pea vines was
turned under and allowed to decay. In
April the field was planted in cotton
This cotton is now four feet high all over
the field, and is no doubt the finest field
of cotton in Washington county. Four
hundred pounds of acid phosphate
and twenty-five bushels of cotton seed per
acre was used on the land broadcast The
crop looks as vigorous and luxuriant as a
green bay tree. 1t has not suffered from
the excess of rain. The rows are five
feet apart and already the branches are
beginning to interlock. The stalks are well
fruited. 1t is the general opinion that
this field of IS acres will, with favorab BILE
season, produce one hundred bales of cot
ton. Mr.. w. L. Lozier, successful
farmer of that section, stated that with a
good season it would make bale and a
half per acre.
Across the road is another crop Of cot
ton. The land is of the same character of
soil as that on which Mr.. Gilmore's crop
is growing The stalks are about one
foot and half high, and the crop looks
very unprOmising. II will take several
acres of this to make one bale of cotton,
Mr.. Gilmore attributes his fine crops to
the virtue contained in pea vines.
which are the best and cheapest fertil-
izers that can be applied to land He has
been experimenting for several years lust
to see what would be the result The
crops now growing upon his farm pro We
the wisdom of his course. There is nc
new ground of virgin soil that can excel
his fields in fertility. The land was poor
and hungry for vegetable matter to sus-
tain the annual crops. A problem pre-
sented itself to him as to the best and
cheapest method of restoring TO the soil
| those elements of plant life necessary tC
produce crops which would not only paw
for the expense of cultivation, but also
make a profit. And that problem has
been solved. Every farmer whose land
| avail himself of the opportunity
offered to inspect this crop and
see for himself what are the possibilities
of worn out lands when the proper ingre-
dients are intermingled with the soil.
The crops on land thus treated can
Withstand the effects of extreme spells of
wet or dry weather. While cotton al
most everywhere is now yellow and shed
ding on account of the rains, the cotton
on this farm hos shown no sign of falling.
1t is magnificent sight to see the splen-
did field crops on this farm The whole
secret is revealed in this sentence:
The land was hungry and it was fed on
pea vines.
Mr.. Gilmore had the misfortune of
having his barn, the largest in the county.
burned last year. This has been rebuilt
Lie ldloCo SIdlludIu DLGu UOESGS LOT LDe
market, and now has on mis- farm forty or
fifty head of stock. 1t costs no more 10
raise a standard bred colt than a common
one, and the price of the former will
double and sometimes quadruple those of
the latter kind. The expense of feeding
stock is comparatively small in the sum
mer, as he has large pastures of meadow
land on which the stock keeps fat His
barns and cribs are filled with corn, oat s
and hay. No fodder is ever gathered. 1t
is allowed 10 enrich the land which pro
duces it. Besides the corn yields better
if the fodder is not pulled from the stalks
while it is maturing
A wind mill, put up by H. JEFF Davis of
Waynesboro, supplies water for large
tank, from which it is conveyed in pipes
to the stable lots and pastures, and the
stock can obtain water whenever desired.