The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-01-30
THE MORNING NEWS: MONDAY, JANUARY 80. 1890

and small fruit growing. I have found
mat 1t IS what you grow above an aver
age crop that pays a profit, and, as a rule
this depends on what manure you put on
above the average manuring. The oia
adage, IL is the last cord Of manure that
pays, IS q true one, up 10 a certain hmlt
and the principle is equally true Of com
mercial fertilizers
For general farm crops, such as corn
potatoes, beans, etc. / generally use one
ton per acre where no stable manure Is
used Three-fouri rs OF this is sOWn broad
cast and thoroughly worked into the soil
with a cultivator or harrow; the balance
Is scattered in the burrows. In these
One-horse cuitiVator, SCI narrow, As Hdl
twice. to mix the fertilizer with the soil.
For small fruits, my method IS me same
except that l use one ton ground bone,
one-haf ton muriate potash, spread
broadcast, and 800 pounds high grade Ter
tilizer in the drills II the land is not in
good condition more viii be required. FOR
crops close planted ] SOW ali kinds OF
fertilizers broadcast, and work them IN
thoroughly with the cultiyator or mario"
usually both.
For the best possible results in the use
of commercial fertilizers the soil must con-
tain sufficient humus or vegetable moid
to make it light and friable. w mere inns
is lacking. the soil, especially II ploWea
early an the spring, is apt TO faH BACK
cold heavy and Hfeless. This condition IS,
OF course, unfavorab.e to luXurant VeSe-
table growth. No matter how much you
fertilize, or how often you cultivate, plants
can not flourish in such soil, early IN the
season. They get stunted for the want OF
that leaven or quickening quality which
Is furnished by an ample supply of humus,
or, in its absence, by stable manure. 10
this lack of humus in the soil, no doubt,
must be attributed many failures in the
use of commercial fertilizers. Land that
IS fun Of vegetable mold if fairly well
drained can be worked early. IT is much
less injured by drought than soil deficient
in il.
There are two ways of supplying this
mold. One is by the application of stable
manure, the other by p.owing an green
crops Where manure is scarce and must
be purchased, the latter will be found
much cheaper and better. NY plan IS 90
SOW clover once in four or five years, cut
the first crop for hay, which should aver
age two tons per acre, and pillow in the
aftermath. If the soil is too poor to pro
duce such a crop it should be top-dressed
with from one half to one ton of good
grass fertilizer, You Will see by this that
l am talking about farming for profit,
which is the only kind of farming l be-
lieve in. The clover roots and aftermath
plowed in will fill the soil with vegetable
mold, making it almost equal TO virgin
soil. 1t will form an ideal seed bed, in
which, by the judicious use OF commercial
fertilizers, any kind of crop, suited to the
latitude, can be successfully grown.
The soil upon which l have used COM
mercial fertilizers for the past ten years
is a light sandy loan. The surface soil
was originally about eight inches deep,
but by blowing it has been made cOnsid-
erably deeper. When l came here the
land was so badly "runout" it would hard
IL grow white beans" For the first four
years / used commercial fertilizers most
lX For the past six years l have used
from eight to ten cords of stable manure,
and one-half to two tons (on celery close
planted OF fertilizers per acre, on mar
ket garden crops. On small fruits 1 have
used fertilizers alone, in quantities men
toned above. The value OF the crops the
first season from five acres was less than
$3.50. From five acres the past season I
have sod over 81 $40 worth of produce.
From seven acres l have sold 200 worth,
of which, however, a part was from glass.
/ used last season about thirty cords of
stable manure and little over five tons
of fertilizer That the above figures are
correct 1 can show from my books.
/ have used a dozen or more different
kinds of fertilizers, but the best results
have been from high grade, or special fer
tilizers, or from chemicals mixed on the
farm. There is undoubtedly a saving in
mixing our own fertilizer if we viii take
lilt tTOuule 10 4edIui now. nave uStti
nitrate of soda for three or four years on
different crops, and have found il profit
able The best results have been on beets,
cabbages, onions squashes and celery.
Plants need the nitrates early in the sea-
SON. TO supply this, market gardeners
sometimes use twenty to thirty cords OF
stable manure, but this practice is too eX-
pensive in the country. l have found ten
cords manure, one ton high grade fer
tilizer and 800 to 400 pounds nitrate Of
soda, sown in two applications after the
plants get well started, fully as good, il
not better, than SO much manure and
the cost is much less. The nitrate of soda
furnishes the nitrates just when the young
plants need them most.
The farmer in the extreme South must
as Il rue substitute for the word clover,
peas, velvet bean or Florida beggar-weed.
as these are his main reliance for supply
| ing vegetable matter. While there are
| two or three clovers that can be read
| lily grown in the extreme South, there
are very few, indeed that make use of
| them 1t must be admitted we have most
excellent substitutes for them TO supply
| vegetable matter,