The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1895-12-19

are needed for immediate use, is to put
ourselves at q decided disadvantage.
TERRACES
should be looked after, all breaks repair
ed and weak places strengthened before
the heavy rains. set in. AS opportunity
occurs new lines may be run, and as
the proper locating of these lines re-
CURES certain amount of engineering
skill, more than the average farmer us
sally possesses, it is well to engage the
services OF competent man to do the
work, otherwise the farmer may find
that the result Of his untaught efforts
may cost him more than the price he
has to pay to get the lines correctly laid
on. The system of terracing is based
ON well studied and correct agriculture!
science, and should be adopted in. ali
the s'hill country" of the south, wherey.
er practicable. In the forestry build
Ing at the Cotton States and Interna-
t1onal exposition there is an illustra-
ton OF the principles of this system
and It's effects on our worn and quilted
hillsides which it would be well for
every farmer to study. 1t is there
shown how by careful, systematic and
persistent effort, even the "old red hills
OF Georgia" may be again covered with
verdue, and many "waste places" - here
tofore given over to the destructive ac-
ton OF winds and floods, reclaimed and
eventually made to contribute their
share to the general agricultural pros.
perity of the state.
THE COMPOST HEAP
is another important item of farm econ
IL alN h.. Il
slbly to contribute to our agricultural
prosperity. By systematic saving of
much of the material, which is often
wasted by even intelligent farmers, we
can at nominal expense return to the
soil much of that which is taken from
it in the different gathered crops. All
vegetable and animal accumulations
around the barns and stables, the fowl
houses, fence corners, the woodpile, even
the ashes and Stops from the houses, and
the leaves, which so often accumulate
in unsightly heaps around our dwell
lings, may be considered so much ready
material from which we form com
pounds of equal value with any COM
mercial fertilizer that we buy at such
heavy expense. In the present condi-
ton of our agriculture we cannot dis
card commercial fertilizers. We must
still rely on these, and, judiciously used,
they contribute largely to our success.
Our mistake has been that we have
depended too entirely on these, and con-
signed to useless inactivity the rich
stores of plant food that accumulate on
every farm. These should constitute
the principal factor in any plan of fer
tilization, with the commercial goods
as an adjunct, rather than the reverse.
In making compost heap good plan
where leaves are abundant and close at
hand is to put a layer of leaves about IL
inches deep, then layer Of manure,
about inches deep, then a layer of
scrapings or rich earth inches deep. If
ashes or lime can be had they will aid
materially in the decomposition of the
heap. Put on the different layers, pack
ing down firmly, until the heap is or
s feet high, keeping the sides well
squared up and the middle a little lower.
If there should not be sufficient rain,
dampen the heap by pouring on water
In the spring, just before time to haul
out to the fields, tear down the heap
and mix thoroughly. The real cost of
such heap, say about rs feet square,
would be equal to about a ton of guano,
but intrinsically, it would be worth &C
least twice as much.
should be slaughtered and the pork
packed away before Christmas. There
are two main advantages to be gained
by attending to this branch of our farm
operations as early as possible. We
save the feed, which, after a proper
stage is reached, is only so much waste,
and, as a rule, meat which can be killed
in December cures much better than
that put up later on.
FLOWING.
Fields which are covered with a mass
of vegetable growth should he turned
under as soon as possible in order to
give the mass more time to decompose.
Do not turn under too deeply, the decay
will take place more rapidly near the
surface. There are on an average many
more bright working days in December
than in January or February, which is
another reason why the work should
not be delayed. If the blowing is to- be
done in cornfield, when the fodder
and corn have been pulled and the bare
stalks left standing, there is often much
difficulty in completely covering tbs
! stalks. They remain partly on the sur.
face, and becoming only imperfectly
decayed, the benefit of any plant food
they may contain is lost to the succeed
ing crop. There presence is also him
drance to thorough and neat work. AS
long as we continue the present plan of
gathering our corn,' and stripping
the fodder from the stalks this difficulty
will be encountered, and until we settle
on some more economical plan of say.
ing the stalk entire we must consider
the best methods Of getting these stalks
in condition, not only to benefit but to
interfere as little as possible with the
cultivation of the crop which follows.
A good plan, which has been successful
ly tried, is to select a frosty morn.
ing and run heavy o-horse roller over
the field. The stalks being brittle, will
break off more easily, and the roller in
passing over them not only forces them
into the ground. but the heavy pressure
fiattens and breaks them apart in such
a way as to give freer entrance to mois-
tyre and frost, two powerful agents in
breaking down their s@ucture.
r. T. NESBITT,
Commissioner.