Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1899-09-01
FARMER AND PLANTER.
NEXT YEARS COTTON CROP.
Planting OF the Fields for
.NcSt Years Crops.

very much impressed with the inn
mcnse increase in the cultivation of
the cow-pea. Fewer fields are to be
seen resting in the old way by grow
| ing up with weeds for future brow
sweatings, but instead the farmers are
fasi learning that the best rest for the
| lai.d is to keep it in a crop that will
| shade and protect the soil and gather
fertility for succeeding crops far fast
cr than the natural growth. Wild
areas are now in peas that bore crop
of small grain, and the "clover of the
south is covering fields that never be-
fore grew it. Many of these fields are
| intended for the cotton crop of next
year, and as matter of course the
owners are thinking how best to use
the pea crop, If they have taken our
advice so often given the press, the
peas have had IA good dose of phos-
phoric acid and potash in some form,
| and where this is the case the course is
| I'l'iii's anu NllO NpNNOh Nlpb Nui w
| grown at the smallest cost if the own
err simply adds the seed from this
years crop to the land. One of the
most thoughtful farmers in South Car
| olina wrote us that he had found that
in his case, being far removed from
| oil mills, where he could exchange tho
| seed for meal and hulls, he found that
| the whole seed after being crushed to
| destroy termination gave him excel
lent results when applied as he uses
thea. He found that when a mass of
seed or other bulky manure was ap-
plicl directly in the furrow under the
cotton, there was difficulty in getting
| Il good stand of the cotton. He found
also that while the seed were valua-
| bic fertilizer, they were slow in be-
| coming available to the plant as food.
| He, therefore, adopted the plan of
| opcning furrow midway between the
| beds for the cotton, and there burying
the seed. BY the time the cotton had
| developed TO the point of making
bloom and fruit it had found the seed,
| which by that time had decayed to
| such an extent sufficient to enable
them to yield up their plant-food, and
| he got better crops in this way. What
We most want to get at however, is
| tic best and most economical way to
apply the purchased fertilizers TO the
cotton. We have said that where the
| pea crop of this year has been well
supplied with phosphorc acid and pot
ash there is better chance for next
years cotton. Experience has shown
that ar application, of the potassic fer
| tilizers especially, some months before
| the planting will show from them bet
| Ter results than from a direct applica-
tion at the planting-time. And not
only this, but their application TO the
Eea crop will give a heavier crop of
forage. There is nothing that the cot
| ton farmer needs more than plenty of
forage and plenty of cattle to feed it
to. The use of the entire growth of
pcJs as a manure direct will undoubt-
cdlv show greater effect on the sue
cecding crop than the cutting off of
the growth. But the cutting and cur
ing OF the crop as hay, and the feed
| ing Of this hay to cattle, with the care
| full saving of manure, will do more for
| the farm and the farmer than the
burying OF crop worth $40 per acre
as food, thrce-fourths of which value
can be recovered in the. manure made
from the feeding.
Another fact in connection with the
using of the whole growth for the cot
ten crop is that it may give an excess
of nigrogen and rank AMI long-limb-
ed growth and late crop. Tie true
| way to use the pea crop preceding a
cotton crop is to cut and cure the
| vines as hay. feed them to stock and
| return TO the land the manure thus
| maze. But what shall the man do who
did not put any phosphate or potash
on his peas? If he takes them off, he
| will certainly have taken off more of
the phosphoric acid and potash, of
which his land was probably already
deficient, and unless he applies fertil-
| izers to his cotton he can not hope for
an increased crop by reason of the
| rea-growth. He may to some extent
| get benefit from the peas so far as the
increase Of nitrogen in the soil is con-
| ccrGed, but while the cotton may
make rankcr "wced" it will fail in
the fruiting. The peas will relieve him
| from the purchase of the most costly
| part Of Il complete fertilizer and he
will not be compelled to buy nitrogen
a, all, especially If he uses his cotton
seed as suggested But what shall he
use, and when shall he apply the fer
| tilizcr? We have already remarked
| that il has been found that the miner
al plantfood in the shape Of phospho-
ric acid and potash give better results
when applied some time previous to
| the planting of the crop. and we know
too, that n liberal broadcast applica-
ton Of these is better. not only for the
Improvement of the land generally,
hut for the crop of cotton. The expert
enco Of our South Carolina friend
points to this. Few farmers realize the
short time in which fertilizers applied
directly in furrow under the plants are
available 10 the plant, The parts of the
roots Ci any plant which are engaged
in colecr1ng food are near the eX-
trcme tip of the small rootlets, and
when these get beyond the area in
which tho food is applied and begin
to forage in poorer soil. a dcteriora-
ton in the growth and rruitihg must
result. Hence we have become fully
satisfied that even for the cotton crop
a broadcast application is best in the
final results on the crop. We would
like some of our friends who have a
pea stubEle to go into cotton next year
to try the simple experiment of apply
Ing this fall broadcast on the part Of
the stubNe all the phosphate and pot