The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-02-12
COTTON AND TOBACCO.
Prof. Massey's Advice to Southern
Growers as to These Two Crops.

H..
| cotton is below the cost OF production,
| am resolved to make no more cotton.
| but am at loss for something to take
the place of cotton. Would you advise
the planting of tobacco? If so, can Won
give me any information that would HELM
me in the general management of the
crop? have conversed with good many
tobacco men, but / find that no two
agree on a single point, which leaves
me very much puzzled. If you can en-
Tighten me in the matter, or give me
any reference where l may get reliable
information, / will feel much obliged"
This is a fair sample of many letters
that reach me daily from dissatisfied
cotton growers all over the South.
My answer to oil these writer's is that
they really do not need anything in the
place Of cotton, for in all of our South.
ern agriculture heretofore the cotton
crop has occupied too large a place.
Nor should they think of abandoning
cotton. Our correspondent is in Craven
county in Eastern North Carolina, a sec
ton well adapted to the perfection of the
cotton crop, and where the continuous
culture Of cotton year after year on
the same land, with the aid of little
1ribble of fertilizer Of a complete char
acter, has resulted in the deterioration
of the land, and in smaller crops; and the
continuous dependence on the cotton
crop for the paying Of everything else
has brought about the natural result
when the price has gone down below
what this system makes it cost to pro-
duce it. What we need is not an aban-
donment of cotton, but the growing of
cotton on q smaller area with greater
crops per acre and at lower cost rnan
the old system is capable of. You know
in a general way how to cultivate and
save the cotton crop, and you would
abandon crop which you can cultivate
for another of which you know nothing.
nor even knowing whether or not your
soil is adapted to the new crop. You
are willing to take the risk of utter fail
IRE because under your present system
the Gotten costs more than you can
get for it. The chances are that you
would make still worse failure with
the tobacco.
My advice is that you do not abandon
cotton, but that you resolve to farm
with cotton as the main crop and 50
cultivate your land that you will be able
to make the cotton a real surplus money
crop, after having paid expenses out Of
other crops. Our farmers have for gem
erations looked upon cotton as the only
money crop, and have regarded corn and
oats simply as supplies" Suppose you
get your land to growing fifty to seventy
five bushels of corn, and seventy-fiye
bushels of winter oats per acre; would
they not then assume the proportions of
money crops? And in your section this
can be done by proper farming Of the
land and the feeding Of stock. | viii
arrant that the markets of Newbern
and Wilmington are only half
supplied with good beef, and
that in both cities there is
a large sale of Chicago beef for the
simple reason that no good home grown
beer can he had. Now in yOur section
of the State there is nothing more easy
to grow than forage for cattle from
corn. cow-pea hay and other food and
when a farmer grows an abundance OF
the best cattle food and feeds it to
stock on the place, he not only can
make a profitable business from the
feeding, but if he is q careful man he
can save the manure and have plenty
soon to cover his entire corn field broad
cast.
Not that a farm can be restored and
made rich from its own products alone.
for in everything sold off the place some
of the mineral elements are carried
away, and your land is particularly de-
fcient in these. But when you put the
farm INTO regular system, say a three
year roation in which the corn is
cut off the land when glazed and cured
in the shock, and the land then sown
early in winter oats, then the oats can
be cut and cured and the land imme-
diatey given a dressing of acid phos.
phate and potash (say 30 pounds of acid
| no, phate to 80 pounds of muriate of
p tash) and then sown in peas after
his dressing has been well narrowed in.
This will give you very heavy crop
of peas. Now cut these when the first
pods are well filled, and cure in the
shock for two or three days, turning
them daily, and then store in the barn
while still limp so as to save the leaves.
Then shut them up and let them alone
while they are heating, as they will, and
you Will have the finest of pea hay with
little trouble.
Now when the time comes to prepare
the land for the cotton crop, pillow deep
IA rows in the middles and in these bury
al the seed from last years crop. Buried
ia the middles, the plants will reach the |
rotten seed just when they will do them
the most good-at fruiting time, and the |
result will be crop of cotton with no
fertilizer bill attached. You will soon |
find that in every round of this rotation,
il you are liberal with the acid phos-
plate and potash on the peas, your
land will be increasing in fertility while |
you viii be getting larger crops at less |
e, p nse.
Then if you want to try tobacco, you |
can plant a small part of the corn |
land in tobacco, and gradually learn how |
to treat it, and you will not have all |
your eggs in one basket. You will /
find that on the tobacco you will have |
TO be particularly liberal in the matter |
of fertilizers, and that you will have |
TO use different kinds from that applied |
to other crops.
As a source of ammonia for tobacco |
you VII find that dried blood is the |
best when aided by little nitrate of