The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-23

The campaign of 1886 is now well under
way We mean the farming campaign,
rather than the political. Here in the
south the work done during the month of
March must, to a certain extent De taken
as an index of the probable outcome OF
the farmers harvest in November. The
foundation of the years work IS now being
laid. Properly the farmers year should,
in the south, begin in the fall, with the
sowing of small grain and clover, but,
under the system so long observed Dy
southern farmers, the year Work really
begins until the January plowlng, ana
where grain is sown at all, with the sow
ing of oats in February. Where oats are
mol included in the farm cropping the
years work begins with the planting or
corn in March, the blowing for, which is
done during the month of February. A
month or two ago we asked the question,
Without waiting for an answer, however.
how large a percentage of our southern
farmers deferred the commencing OF ac-
tive operations until the first of FEBRUARY.
very large number of small farmers,
one and tWo-horse, white and black, do
This. The majority, II is true, are tenant
farmers. We have little doubt OF the,
great mass of our farmers regarding the
acted accordingly, it would make vast
difference in the outcome or crops II
does pay to grow oats to feed our horses
and mules even if we grow only twelve or
fifteen bushels per acre. over a very. large
territory in the south this grain should be
sown in October. But when circumstances
sowing should be made in February. The
ten acres that should be devoted TO oats
on every one-horse farm, can be sown 70
that other valuable crop, the Wondertul
pea in June. But part, II not all OF
these ten acres can be seeded to saphng
clover at the same time the oats are
sown and the clover will take possession
of the land after the grain is cut OF and
without the extra blowing that the peas
win require. 1t is only a question OF SOW
ing properly ten or. twelve pounds OF GOOD
seeds on the land. The clover will GER
tainly grow on the land if the land is
fertile enough to grow II. Sueh'a praetlce
followed a few years Will make medium
land very rich.
The great bulk of the corn crop of
Georgia is put in during the month of
March. 1t is not advancing anything new
to say that there is no crop raised by the
southern farmer that brings him so lit
tie actual profit as corn, yet very rev
farmers would attempt to carry on farm
work at all without planting certain
proportion of his land to Ito, Az or %
per cent, as the case may be &c, 70
Take the world over, II is doubtful II
amy other crop is put in such q rough,
haphazard way as this crop is. For one
farmer who takes the pains to prepare
the soil as it should be there are a dozen
who do Just work enough to get the seed
m under a poorly scratched surface. Con
sldering the way it is planted II IS no
wonder that the 900 or $500 fertile stalks
uer acre do not average ten bushels of
grain per acre. We are quite sure that
the corn crop of the state could almost De
doubled in any one year by simply plant
ing and cultivating the crops properly,
supplemented by the use of the best seeds
that can be obtained.
The state experiment station, in a test
Of eighteen varieties of field corn last
year, found the range to be from thirty
eight to forty-five bushels per acre. The
TWO varieties that gave the largest yields
We're "Shaw's Improved" and the 'Hig-
gins. " A fertilizer mixed according to
the following formula was mixed per
acre:
Superphosphate ..................... 312 lbs
Murlate of potash ..........-.....-.. ls IDS
cotton seed meal ..............,.... 2S5 lbs
Cost 46l 666 lbs
At this rate it required an increase of
Esne bushels at so cents per bushel. to pay
lor the fertilizer