The Opelousas courier., 1895-11-09
FARMERANDP PLANTER.
COTTON CULTURE.
Improved TillaSe and It's Relation to ii
Production of tho Staple.

"SANSN ooaAs Aoe AhACAIS "CAA tAAA IL
roots strike hard bottom. From close
observation I am satisfied that this ID
more apparent than real, and that
while in the immediate preparation Of
the land for the cotton crop 1t Is to
plow less deeply than for the other
crops in the rotation, the fact that the
land has been deeply broken in
previous plowings no detri'
ment, but an advantage to the
cotton crop in increasing the capillar.
ity of the soil, and warding off the
effects OF drought, the well-settled soil
having the same effects on the fruit.
Ing of the crop that an unbroken soil
would have and without the disadvan.
tages attending the real hard pan.
There is no point where greater inn
provement Is needed in the south than
In the breaking and preparation Of the
land for crops. With the incoming OF
the era Of farming instead Of plant
Ing, the one-mule plow should disap-
pear from the farm except for the pur-
pose of marking rows perhaps. As a
tool for b1 eaking land or for cultivnt-
ing crops 1t should be relegated to
the museums of departed tools, along
side the pointed tree limb of ancient
times, 1t may answer for the stirring
OF sand that has nothing but sand in
1t. But in all the upland red clay of
the south no tool less effective than a
turning pillow drawn by two good
horses should be used for the breaking
Of land, and for all crops except cotton
a large pillow drawn by three mules Or
horses should be spsed. For years Ia
Virginia | never broke n field with 1
lighter team than three mules to
q pillow, and followed in the same fur
row with a subsoil pillow drawn by two
horses. SO as to break the clay fully
a foot, and generally more. All
over the red clay lands of the south
men are to-day blowing a little furrow
with a single mule, drawing i plow
that has more resemblance to a child's
play tool than to a real pillow for work,
and are working a soil exhausted of
the elements of fertility, while just
below the point of the tooth-pick pillow
there lies a virgin soil waiting for the
man with courage and intelligence
enough to break it and let In the roots
OF the peas and clover to unlock the
storehouse of big crops. This is no
mere theory, for we have done 1t
right here. The old red clay hill
on which the North Carolina
college of agriculture was built
was five years ago the most
VIGOROUSLY poor spot around Raleigh.
By deep breaking and the use of a lit
tie clover 1t was brought up to make
over fifty bushels OF corn per acre,
with hardly any manuring.
While in the deep sandy soils of the
coast deep blowing may not be needed,
there Is no practice that will more
rapidly tend towards the Improvement
OF u clay hills than deep blowing,
subsoil blowing and shallow cultiva-
tion. Our farmers have long ego
learned the value of shallow culture
Tor the cotton crop. but most of them
still imagine that the corn crop
must be deeply worked, and have
It's feeding roots lacerated with a pillow. |
When was young and thoughtless
I Too worried corn with a pillow and !
WA OF the opinion that / must bank
up soil to the rows to keep it from
falling down in the winds, not reflect
ing that corn with u~ninjured roots, |
and allowed to plant its brace roots
On e level surface would stand up bet
ter than that which had had its roots
lacerated and destroyed by the plow,
and could get no firm hold for It's
brace roots on a slopine bank of earth.
too where the oats crop is not
used IN the rotation, and it is desired
follow the corn crop with cotton,
this shallow culture is an advantage
n getting the soil below frmed for
The cotton crop. ! We do not consider
t the best policy to have two hoed
crops follow each other, when it
AN be avoided, but where peas are
In the corn, the cotton crop NAV
veil follow it, provided the cotton has
) liberal supply Of the potash and
'hosphoric acid 1t needs. Some high
cientific authorities, who never
'lowed an acre, have of late been try.
ng to show to the farmers that the
way to grow cotton is to apply
My just so much of . complete fer
ilizer as the immediate crop can use,
nd they call the restoring Of the plant
ood in the soil, for the future benefit
the soil, dealing in futures" Now,
s far as practical farming is con-
erned, there is no business where tits
lore profitable and essential to deal
a futures. and the farmer who does
OF deal in the fu5dre of his soil is {
laking q sad mistake. It is this very
OF regard for the future Of the |
that has brought the cotton coun.
y to the impoverished condition that
fticts it to-day, and until we come to
Ike the future condition Of our soils |
Ito consideration with every sale crop t
o grow, there can be no real advance 8
'ent in agriculture In the south. OF I
the measures therefore than tend
the development of the real fertili- d
OF our clay soils there arc none of /
ore Importance than deep blowing, {
Ibsctling and shallow culture of the I
led crops. There is nothing that SO o
ards of the bad effects of a drought 4
q deeply-broken soil with a shallow d
ulch OF soil kept constantly mellow f
the surfacc.--W. +. Massey, Super
tendent of the North Carolina En- :
Station. !,
THE FARM MORTGAGE. 9
View Of IL That WIN Apply ia il
Southern Farming. S,
Some DeoDla are 0eftino alnrr~. =