The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-05-18
Farm and Garden Topics.

II nothing grew on arabic land but
what was deliberately planted upon it
and if our fifty inches of rain were so
divided up as to give us about one inch
of rainfall weekly, perhaps two inches
every two weeks would be the more de-
sira bile tilling of the soil would be or
might be reduced TO a most delightful
science Even with just the latter re-
ouirement met, it would not be dlIncult
TO elevate the soil culture 70 sCleHtlnic
proceeding. 1t is not likely thaI InG d. t, ~
fetal providing of the essential molsluIe
will ever be so perfected as 10 rehIer
the great mass of cultlVators lndepehu-
ent Of the heavenly dew. For the present
we must rely TO great extent upuh
abundant humus, deep preparation anu re-
peated shallow culture to neuJral!ze any
i'll consequences arising from the deferred
Henceforth, as in the past, the good
farmer will be the farmer that succeeds
with the least rain
1t is remarkable how little rain is nee
essary to the making of corn crop Wheh
the planting is made, say, early IN Marcn
February rains, if, as we have stated,
there is a reasonable amount OF humus
in the soil and the cultivation IS Just
what it ought to be. We are not able
to saw lust how little rain Will suffice for
crop of BlOunt corn planted IN Marcn,
but it has come under our observation sew
when a normal crop resulted from a rain
fall not exceeding three inches from the
middle of March to the last or May AS
Stunning that the soil was level ana normal
" of moisture and the corn planted in
checks so that the harrow and sweep
could be run both ways and planted in
March with the soil, sub-soil and lower
depths normally moist from the usual
winter rains, it would be possible, we
believe, to make crop OF early corn
(corn like Adams or BlounD with an inch
or an inch and a half of rain supplied
in the interval between six weeks after
planting (or germination) and nine or ten
weeks after planting. II cannot be done
however, on soil that is destitute or near
" so of humuS. The presence of the
humus is a necessary condition, as also
the timely cultivation. In this climate
crops are allowed to suffer unnecessarily
from those short droughts that the intelli-
gent farmer should consider really as OPP
portune In the aggregate there is far
more damage done to the various crops
bv too much moisture than by too little.
Excessive moisture promotes mold and
blight and oftentlmes the multiplication
of Insects that dry weather does not. The
better the farmer the smaller the quantity
of rain will be needed and the fewer the
complaints. A man always complaining OF
too much dry weather may be set down
as a poor farmer.
The next three months will pass bv
very rapidly. 1t is well to determine right
now how to provide all the necessary for
a ge for the stock this winter. Take stock
of all the mouths 70 pS Ieu AFTER the max
ing season is over. There are not many
farmers who save more forage than they
can make good use Of. 1t is not well to
feed idle stock with the strong, concen-
+rated food that they require during the
season of hard and steady work. Such
food can. with decided advantage to the
stock and to the owner, be cut down one
half.
There is one good, old standby that the
farmer can resort to when he realizes a
probable shortness of long forage, and
that is forage corn While a seeding Of II
can be made as late as the last Of August,