The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1899-02-14
PEA VINE HAY CULTURE.
FARMERS FRIEND TELLS or HII
E:ETf!0DS.
He Also UtRcs the Farmer to Abandon
Cotton and DivcrsiGy Hls C,ops-No
Lion Law Neceasnry.
(GaEney Ledger.l

gard to practical divcrsification of
crops, etc, WAS honored by being
placed among the front columns of
your valuable paper
As I gave your readers some prao.
tical experience in poa culture and
the results, etc, now wish to give
them my mode of curing my vines,
etc. l would start my mower about
eight or nine o'clock in the morning,
after the dew WAS off. Then l would
start my rake close behind my mower.
Next with my one.horse wagon be.
hind tho rake distributing stakes to
shock the vines on. Then my fork
mon behind the rake stacking the
vines cut my stakes three and
one half feet long aud drive them six
or eight inches in the ground and
pile my vines about two feot high on
the top Of the stakes, allowing tne
vines to hang down to the ground.
When my mower stops at night my
vines are all raked and shocked on
these stakes.
Some of your readers may say
that wont do if there should come a
wet spell, but there is where the mis-
take is. moved about five acres
the first day and it began raining
that GIT and rained for two days.
l never saw nicer cured vines in my
life. let my vines stand in the
shock little moro than two weeks.
l then hauled them up and put them
in barn. I never saw nicer cured
vines aud they did not shed their
leaves at all. I did not put my hay
on the market until the first Of Jan
uary and it was impossible for mo to
fill the demands and by the first of
February | had sold my entire crop,
still receiving orders every day for
pea vine hay. My customers all say
1t was the best pea vine hay they
ever bought, and could sell as much
more right here in our little town if
| had it.
This process is Il little expensive in
regard to curing the vines, but it is
the only safo way and I know it is
much the best. My vines are per
fectly bright and yellow, while 9th.
ers that cut and let them lay on the
ground for few days were black
and quite lot of the leaves dropped
off. Some Of your readers will say
if we all raise pea vines there won't
be any sale for them. Jnst think oi
it! How much Of this northern anG
western hay is there shipped te
South Carolina every year and SOLD
from seventy five cents to one dollar
per one hundred pounds and you
raising five cents cotton to pay for it
1 averaged nine dollars per acre, clear
profit, last year in oats and peas
Did any of you cotton farmers dc
that in cotton. This was done on n,
poor land rs there is in Lancaste
County almost.
[ venture to say there isL't tn,
tenth farmer in South Carolina to
day but what has sold cotton seed Il
ten cents per bushel and will bu,
guano this spring and pay from fif
teen to eighteen dollars per ton
Say the average farmer will use a
least two dollars worth Of guano t,
the acre, by the time your crop i
made your guano il exhausted. VIII,
not take twenty bushels of cottol
seed that you already have and pn
it on one acre. It will make equal
as much if not moro than tho sam
amount Of guano and then it will i'm
prove your land at least ton per cent
DO let us look at these things squar
, in tho face, and nse moro Of our ow
fertilizers.
/ SEQ the Legislature is still pul
} ing for the lien law. Now let us XII
the accursed lien law by raising OF
,, own supplies and making our ow
, fertilizers. It's all folly to say 1 n,
compelled to run on lien, for til
first year after the Confederate W,
! we were all as poor as Jobs turkc
and L paid Is cents per pound f,
a meat and $1.25 per bushel for cor
| and | did nnf fr,f ~ IN l,,, h.