The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-18
Winter PIOwinG-ROugh Drafting
Land.
Winter

Ordinarily by the middle of November
the crops are all harvested, and from that
time to Christmas considerable progress
should be made in the way of blowing
while the soil is in proper condition, that
is in the way of first blowing of corn land,
and especially where there is much stub
BILE land. 1t is very common nowadays
where farmers have secured a satisfactory
horizontal and have established bitches at
intervals, to maintain the run of the old
rows, by laying off in the middles and
bedding out as to plow up the old stalks
in breaking out the new water burrows.
of course, this is we'll enough where
local crops follow hoed crops. A well-or
dered system of farming implies con-
siderable area of stubble land to be plow-
ed every year-land on which grain has
been grown and when has been allowed
to grow up in weeds for the sake of ac
cumulating humus. Soon after the first of
November preparations of this land should
egn, and the most expeditions and al
together the best way is as follows With
good turn shovel should
run the first row as near
the horizontal as possible and come
back on the bar side of the furroW and
leave just as much land unbroken as can
be well broken with a large round shovel
are to be regulated by the width desired
for the rows next year, running closer in
8 feet in stead of 4 feet is the desire
width. 1t is not expected to break the
soil between the ridges left by the two bar
side burrows, but merely to cover the grass
and weeds to hasten their de-
composition with a sharp well-shaped
tWin-shovel. A fair plowman can run these
burrows so as to make rows of uniform
distance apart, whether it be or feet.
1t is very rapid work and perfectly adapt
ed to covering most of the vegetable mat
ter on the surface. The final preparation
later in February or March will be made
by splitting the ridge left between the bar
sides, applying the fertilizer,if any is used,
and building back on this furrow. If one
adopts the list or siding furrow plan OF
manuring the fertilizer can be applied to
these double burrows before the ridge is
split / hope l have made 1t plain, for 1t
is a good plan and we know of only a
few farmers who have adopted it for the
first blowing of their stubble land. Few far
mers yet, and no, one or two horse far
mers have adopted "sul1y plows with
which they can make one land of a field
and rapidly and effectively turn under the
stubble fields. The plan suggested is al
most as expeditions as sulky blowing and
leaves the land in fine condition for final
preparation. 1t win rarely get so dry as
TO prevent it's being plowed. The decaying
vegetable matter so near the surface will
keep the soil friable. When the weeds are
rank and stale, of course, they will not be
covered, but when the dirt is thrown
against the stems they will soon rot off at
the surface and fall over and will be COW
cred up at the second blowing. When the
weeds are very rank all over field il is,o
course, better to resort to sulky plow or
to a two-horse walking pillow and make
one land" of the field and lay it off hori-
zontally afterwards. Undoubtedly a great
deal more blowing should be done in No
Vember and December than Is usually
done. Fix the fences, make the compost,
and get up the wood, when the soil is too
wet to pillow, but between times when the
soil is in good condition, speed the plow''
so as not to make the work come with
such a rush in the spring, when dry wealth
er, or perhaps wet weather, may become an
obstacle to its being done or well done in
proper time.
The mechanical condition of clay land,
especially is very greatly improved by
ridging it up in December and exposing 1t
to the influence of freezes, not bedding 1t
out, but simply testing so as to give 1t
corrugated or fiuted appearance, and thus
presenting as much surface as possible to
alternate sun and frost.