The Van Buren press., 1895-10-19
FARMER AND PLANTER
COTTON CULTURE.
fuproved Tnlage and Its Relation - ~
Production Of tile staple.

fDpr0ved Tillage and Ito Weie11ou - -
Production Of tile staple.
One of the greatest drawbacks to Inn
proved farming In connection with
lotion culture is the fact that cotton
ioes not apparently succeed well with
leep plowing. 1t has been found that
lotion is apt to be later on q deeply
worked soil. not fruiting well till the
roots strike hard bottom. From close
observation l am satisfied that this IL
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 is no detri-
nent, but an advantage to the
cotton crop in increasing the caplllar'
ity OF the soil, and warding of 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'
ages 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 bl eaking land or for cultivat-
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 Q
turning plow drawn by two good
horses should be used for the breaking
of land, and for all crops except cotton
large plow drawn by three mules or
horses should be used. For years in
Virginia never broke . field with a
lighter team than three mules to
/ plow. and followed in the same fur
row with subsoil plow drawn by two
horses, SO as to break the clay fully
foot, and generally more. All
over the red clay lands Of the south
hen are to-day plowing little furrow
with q single mule, drawing . plow
that has more resemblance to child's
play tool than to real plow for work,
and are working soil exhausted OF
the elements Of fertility. while just
below the point of the tooth-pick pillow
there lies 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 nc
mere theory, for we have done Il
right here. The old red clay hill
OH which the North Carolina
college of agriculture was built
was FIVE years ago the most
notoriously poor spot around Raleigh
by deep breaking and the use OF lit
tie clover it 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 plowing may not be needed
there Is no practice that will more
rapidly tend towards the improvement
of our clay hills than deep blowing
subsoil blowing and shallow cultiva
tion. Our farmers have long ag'
learned the value Of shallow cultur,
for the cotton crop, but most Of then
still imagine that the corn crol
must be deeply worked, and hav'
its feeding roots lacerated with plow
When l was young and thoughtles
l too worked corn with q plow an,
was of the opinion that must banl
up soil to the rows to keep 1t from
falling down in the winds. not reflect
ing that. corn with uninjured roots
and allowed to plant its brace root
on leveIsurface would stand up bet
ter than that which had had its root
lacerated and destroyed by the plow
and could get no firm hold for 1t
brace roots on sloping bank of earth
Then too where the oats crop is no
used in the rotation, and it is desire,
to follow the corn crop with cotton
this shallow culture Is an ssdvantag
in getting the soil below firmed TO
the cotton crop. We do not conside
1t the best policy to have two hoe
crops follow each other, when
can be avoided, but where peas ar
sown in the corn, the cotton crop ma
well follow it. provided the cotton ha
a liberal supply of the potash an
phosphoric acid 1t needs. Some higl
scientific authorities, who neve
III ko, 10 1of - kr,vs
ing to show to the farmers that tn
best way to grow cotton is to appl
only just so much of . complete fel
tilizer as the immediate crop can use
and they call the restoring of the plan
food in the soil, for the future benef
of the soil. dealing in futures" Now
RS far as practical farming is cor
cerned, there is no business where it
more profitable and essential to dea
in futures. and the farmer who doe
not deal in the future of his soil
| making sad mistake. It is this yer
| lack of regard for the future OF tn
land that has brought the cotton cour
try to the impoverished condition tina
afflicts 1t to-day, and until we come I
take the future condition of our soil
INTO consideration with every sale Gro
we grow, there can be no real advanc,
,nent in agriculture in the south. {
hll the measures therefore than ten
TO the development of the real fertil
ty OF our clay soils there are none {
more Importance than deep plowinI
,ubsoiling and shallow culture Of I'll
hoed crops. There is nothing that =
wards off the bad effects of drougf
us deeply broken soil with a shallo
mulch of soil kept constantly mello
bn The surface w. F. Massey, Supe
Intendent of the North Carolina Il