St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1895-06-15
INTENSIVE FARMING.
An Alabama Farmers idea Of what II
Means.

Means.
What is intensive farming?
There is an idea abroad in the land
that intensive farming means some
thing hifaluting. something on the pa
per collar style, something too big.
high and grand for the comprehension
of the common one and two-horse
farmers. But there never was a greater
mistake.
Intensive farming means theory of
the wise deduccd to practical use by
the man of good common sense, in
other words, in means the experience
of the ages used in q concentrated
form.
An object lesson in intensive farm
ing: In 1892 there lived q man in
Dallas county. Ala, by TIE name of
Bill Webb, who was running large
cotton plantation on the extensive
plan in the true sense of that term.
But Bill saw that he was on a cold
trial for money hunt, and decided to
sell out everything he had and pay up
what he owed. if he could, which he
proceeded at once to do. After paying
his debts, his once ample means had
all melted away except 5000. q good
mule. one-horse wagon and a good
set of farming implements to run a
onc-hOrse farm
He went in the month of November,
near Mobile, and bought little thir-
teen acre truck farm at $3.50, paying
$3.50 cash, the balance on twelve
months time.
He then bought a Jersey COW and a
Berkshire sow, paying s75 for both.
One acre of the thirteen was occu
pied by buildings. garden, and orchard,
the other twelve having been planted
in watermelons with a row of unknown
peas between, the peas covering almost
the entire ground; he turned it under
as deep as he could with q six-inch
turn pillow letting it lie till first of Feb
ruary, then laid of in rows three feet
apart with a ten-inch corn-shOvef;
using 1000 pounds of cotton seed meal,
600 pounds Of phosphate and 400 pounds
of muriate of potash, putting 1000
pounds in drill. and 500 pounds in each
siding furrow in making bed. mixing
well in each furrow with long bull
tongue scooter.
lie opened the beds on the 18th Of
February, with q l0-inch corn shovel,
running yonder and back in same fur
row and planted it in early Hebron po-
tatoes, covering with two burrows with
turn pillow five days after knocking
them off with . heavy cotton board.
bringing the bed to a general level;
when the potatoes first commenced
breaking the ground he run around
them with a 6-inch shovel far enough
off not tc cover them more than from
1 to inches deep; when they csmc up
a second time he let them get 5 inches
high, then plowed them ont with . H.
inch solid sweep. leaving them on a fiat
bed; two weeks after he gave them one
good hoeing and laid them by.
On the Goth day of May he dug
1900 bushels of fine marketing
potatoes which he readily sold
at 81 per bushel. He laid of the land
again in three-feet rows, running across
old rows, and bedded up for sweet po-
tatoes. After bedding the land he
used 600 pounds of phosphate. 400
pounds of muriate of potash and 200
pounds of cotton-seed meal to the acre,
putting the fertilizer in hills thirty
inches apart. mixing it we'll and max
ing . rather fiat hill, and planted in
Dooly yam sweet potatoes one plant to
the hill, cultivating twice with pillow
and hoe.
lie dug 5000 bushels October g.
which he sold at 6Ssx cents per bushel,
making S. 400. Adding to this his Irish
potato crop makes a grand totsl OF
81, 900; deducting ST. 900 for fertilizers
and barrels, he has $1,000 left.
This heats raising four-cent cotton
on the extensive plan is the opinion OF
Burt Reno, in Southern Farm.
DO Not He Foole0.
We do not believe that any southern
farmer will be deluded by the recent
increase in the price Of cotton. There