The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1898-11-15

HOW CROPS GROW.

~OEFeSpOnOence OF the Progressive Farmer.
The growth Of crops is never an &C
cldental circumstance, For every step
IN the development of vegetable mat
ter, nature has provided laws which
may not be broken. With care and
attention to particular wants, crops
Improve both in quality and quantity.
This Improvement of plants is the un
derlying principle of agriculture.
Plants are improved in quality and
quantity of their products, by sur
rounding them with conditions most
favorable to their growth and develop.
ment, this may mean simple tillage of
the soil, liberal feeding with fertilizers
or other manures, or protection from
Injurious diseases and the attacks of in
sects. In a manure, oil OF these meth
DDS OF improvement are dependent
upon another. Liberal manuring of
itself cannot make good the damage
caused by improper or insufficient cul,
tivation. Plants lily cultivated or
scantily fed, fall an easy prey to the
various plant diseases
Plants grow, therefore, by giving
them soil conditions favorable to their
development, and by giving them
ample food Of the right kind and at
the right time; in this is comprised
practically the whole art of successful
agriculture. The soil must be thor.
oughly broken, and kept in a high
state Of tilth by frequent cultivation
Heavy soils should be plowed in the
fall, or very early in the spring; light
soils are not improved by fall plowing.
The seed bed must consist of open por-
Gus soils, and this means deep soil in
most cases. NJ two soils are precisely
alike, so that the farmer must exercise
judgment for his individual conditions.
It Will never do TO let well enough alone
An effort should be made to make each
crop an improvement over it's prede-
cessor. Each years work should be
studied closely, or nothing is gained
from experience.
The feeding of plants ia perhaps tie
most important feature in modern
farming; because it involves the use of
materials in q more or less blind man,
ner. Manures or fertilizers are applied
to the soil before the crop has appeared,
and once applied are no longer under
the apparent control Of the farmer. AS
matter Of fact, the action Of manure
is very much under the control of the
farmer throughout the whole stage of
plant growth. II the soil is kept thor
oughly titled and surface layer from
one to two inches in thickness main
tained constantly in dry pulverized
condition, either fertilizers or farm
manures are much more effective.
In a large manures, the profits in.
farming depend on the amount of sales
made off the farm; and, consequently
it is impossible to keep returning to
the soil, all that is taken off, No farm
can be maintained in normal condition
by the sole use of the mauures made
by feeding the roughage, as in such
the soil each year than is returned. AS
q result, chemical fertilizers must be
used sooner Or later, and it is wise
farmer who does not wait til mis- soil
is nearly exhausted before making use
of them.
The proper use of commercial fertili-
| zers is one of the most important prob
lens in agriculture, and one on which
there are many disagreements. The
best practice at present seems to be in
using the farm made manures oncorn,
or other crops having clean cultiva
tion throughout the year. On all other
crops, the chemical fertilizers are best
used. and even on the clean culture
crops, applications of the mineral fer
tll,z ers, (potash and phosphoric acio),
are very profitable In most cases.
AS all farmers now know, chemical
| fertilizers are materials OF commerce
which contain the fertil ziog principles
found in farmyard manures; that is,
they contain ammonia, potash, and
phospnoric acid. Some Of these chem
icaI manures contain only one Of the
fertilizing ingredients, others two OF
them, and in few cases all three are
found. They are generally much richer
in plant food than farmyRrd manures,
and are conse quently much more
cheaply applied One Of the points of
disagreement is the proper quantity of
fer rsilizers to use, and the pounds of
potash and phosphoric acid which