The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-04-09
THE IMMENSE FERTILIZING
PROPERTIES OF CAR
BONIC ACID GAS.
It's Effects Beautifully Shown in an Ex-
pertinent on Some Melon Vines.
Correspondence of the Progressive Farmer.


dig some holes about eight or ten feet
apart, then put about a peck of corn
cobs in the bottom of each hole, then
fill with q mixture of rich earth and
manure, plant some watermelon seed
therein and cultivate in the usual way.
he'd forgotten all about the above
instructions. I have made efforts
with a good many people in this Sec
ton to get.them to improve their farm
ing, but 30 far as known, they nave
had but little effect. They persist In
the old plan of merely scratching their
farms. and what is, if possible, worse,
taking all they can from the soil and
adding thereto S little as possible. AS
long as they follow this plan just SO
long will their noses be kept down to
the grindstone.
Well, after the close of the melon
season Mr.. Riddle refre he'd my mem
DRY by reporting substantially as fol-
lows:
He said that a young son of his,
Thomas, concluded to try my plan and
that he did so with patch of just four
hills, or rather holes. The holes were
dug two feet square and two feet deep
in some galded ground that would not
ordinarily produce anything. About
a peck of corn cobs was then placed
in the bottom of each hole. The holes
were then filled with rich soil taken
from beneath cedar trees where fowls
had roasted, being a mixture Of soil
and fowl manure.
Early in April watermelon seed
were planted. In some Of the hills
two, and in others three vines were
left standing. But Mr.. r. could not
tell me which produced the best two
or three vines, nor have I ever seen a
person who had tested by experiment
the proper number to leave, one, two
or three. Some excellent melon grow
ers have, however, adopted the plan
of leaving but one vine in a hill.
The above vines, though planted
early, kept green and produced well
until frost, producing in all nearly 100
melons, many of them large ones,
beating in yield a patch Of about so
hills, planted and cultivated in the
usual way.
The corn cobs were doubtless the
principal factor in giving the above
vines such a remarkably long period
of growth. During the period of de-
composition the oxygen of the air, or
the oxygen contained in rain-water,
united with the carbon in the cobs and
formed carbonic acid gas. The spaces
between the coils soon became filed
with said gas, and the roots of the
vines extended downward and fed on it.
Said gas is very poisonous, and if we
had no other air to breathe we would
soon die. But when drawn up, the
the carbon is retained in the vines and
the fruit thereof, while the oxygen is
given out in a pure state from minute
apertures in the under side of the
leaves of the vines, ready for us to
breathe again. Tnis is a wise provis
ion of our Creator, and, if properly
used, would be of immense advantage
in ~lessening our earthly tolls. In the
same way all green crops, if properly
matured and turned under will en-,
rich the soil.
The cobs should be kept under a
shelter until wanted. Carbonic acid
gas is heavier than common air and if
they be thrown out on the ground TO
rot, it will to a great extent run away
from them, leaving the cobs valueless.
ANOTHER PLAN.
About the LIST of last August I saw a
load of melons at Durham, N. c., of
unusually large average. l asked the
producer for his plan, which he kindly
informed me as follows: That he dug
holes about 2 feet square, Is inches
deep and 10 feet apart each way that
he then put a single handful of salt in
the bottom Of each hole, and then
mixed about q peck stable manure with
a suficiency of the surrounding dirt
to fill the hole slightly above a level.
He then planted his seed, and finally
thinned to n vine in a hill. The sail
caused the vines to remain green much
longer than they otherwise would.
1t might be well to add salt to the
above holes before placing the cobs-
easily tested by experiment.
KIND OF MANURE TO USE.
There is probably no better manurt
formelons than hog pen and cottonseeC
mixed about half and half, say q hal
peck of each to a hill, to which thu