Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1899-02-10
FARMER AND PLANTER,
HOW CROPS GROW,
There e Ne,h,ss Accidental Aesa. n
kscss ssee IN heVelermea, IL rsa,
tlaea Tor w Ns,uys's lava

1
e'aeN,Nl eheWma,aNoe, tNp evpN stop
IN the deNelepmeN, ot Vegetable mat
ter nature has psNNided laws which
may NO, I've NeekeM with ea,e ami ",
'eaucn 10 paWleNlNs wants, creps iM
proNe both Ia quality aNd quantity |
This Improvement W plants is tm w
dcrlNNg priNciple W aasieNl,NrN
rleN,s are mMNNea W quality AID
quantity et THEW prodNols, M sur
ioNn,lNg them With conditions mos,
favorable to thef growth NNd develop
mcnk Thla mNN mean ample ,llllpe
OF the soiG llheV teeding with fertil'
lsers or othrr mNNurcs, or protection
from Injurious diseases and the Mt
tacks OF insec,@ In u measure, MI OF
these methods of improvements are de-
pendent upon one another Liberal
mnnuring " itself can not make good
the damage caused by improper or In
sufficient cultivation, Plants illy-cul-
t,va,ed or scantiy fed, fall an easy
prey to the various plant diseases
Plants grow, therefore, by giving
them soil conditions of the right kind
and nj the right time; in this is com
rrscd practically the whole mr., of sue
cessful agriculture. The soil must be
thoroughly broken, and kept In high
state OF filth by frequent cultivation.
Heavy soils should be plowed in the
fall, or very early in the spring; light
soils are not improved by fall blowing.
The seed bed must consist of open,
| porous soil, and this means Il deep soil
| in most eases, No two soils are pre-
ciscly alike, so that the farmer must
exercise Judgment for his individual
conditions. 1t will never do to let well
enough alone. An effort should be
made to make each crop an improve
trent on its predecessor. Each years
work should be studied closely, or
nothing is gained from experience.
The feeding of plants is perhaps the
most important feature in modern
farming, because il involves the use
of materials in more or less blind
manner. 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 n matter of fact the
action of manurcs is very much under
the whole stage of plant growth. II
the soil is kept thoroughly titled and
n surface layer from one to two inches
in thickness maintained constantly in
) dry. pulyerized condition, either fer
tilizcrs or farm manures are much
more effective.
: in large measure, the profits in
.. farming depend on the amount Of
] sales made off the farm; and, conse
= Quently it is impossible to keep re
turning to the soil, all that is taker
of. No farm can he maintained il
normal condition by the sole use o
the manures made by feeding tn,
roughage as in such cases more plan
food is taken from the soil each yea
than is returned. As a result, chem
iCal fertilizers must be used sooner o
later, and il is wise farmer who doe
not wait until his soil is nearly ex
hausted before making use of them.
The proper use of chemical fertil
izers is one Of the most importan
problems in agriculture, and one o.
which there are many disagreement
The best practice at present seems t
be in using the farm-made manure
on corn, or other crops having clea
cultivation throughout the year. o
all other crops the chemical fertilizer
are best used, and even on the clear
culture crops, applications of the mil
eral fertilizers (potash and phosphori
acid, are very profitable in mos
cases.
As all farmers now know, chemici
fertilizers are materials of commerC
which contain the fertilizing prime
pies found in farm yard manure'
that is, they contain ammonia, potas
and phosphoric acid. Some of the'
chemical manures contain only OF
of the fertilizing ingredients, othel
two of them, and in few cases a
three are found. They are general
much richer in plant food than far
ward manures, and the consequent
much more cheaply applied. One
the points Of disagreement is Il
proper quantity of fertilizers to us
and the pounds of potash and pho
phoric acid likely to prove most prof
able, but it may be taken as u fair
safe rule that the chemical analys
of all ordinary farm crops may
obtained from any state agricultur
experiment station, free of cost
farmers.
Besides these chemical fcrtilize
indirect fertilizers such as lime, are
most important aid. Lime not or
i improves the mechanical condition
a soils. but also tends to increase
effectiveness of chemical manures.
should he applied at least once
\ every rotation, say every third
Il fourth wear, and at the rate of 20 to
q bushels per acre. In conclusion 1t
\ well to note that plants grow by a
"A with the aid of the farmers skill a
d busbaudsman. He must not blin'
follow the track laid down by p
n generations, but must study his b'
Y ness and take advantage of every s.
q forward proved by the experience
Others as well as the qoints gathe
= from his own eXperience.-R. u
wood. in Texas Farm and Ranch.
\ DISEASES OF HORSES.