The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1900-05-07
FARMERS BELkTEO.

From almost every quarter news comes
that farmers have been very much him
dercd and delayed in the work Il plant
ins. both corn and cotton by the excess
sive rains of February and April. Even
May. usually 4 dry month. set in with
heavy duwnpOurs Of water IN many
places I learned from a farmer yeste--
day MAY ID that some of his neighbors
had no; then finished corn planting and
had not planted \ seed Of cotton. Ac-
counts from the best cotton regions OF
the Mississippi are very unfavOrable.
Even that good cd state. once the ban
ner cotton state Of the south. has been
delayed with water from the heavens
above. instead of from the head water
streams further north. | can hardly real
ize that that state can be oVersupplied
with water except along its great water
course). because ! campaigned with Cen
erlI Johnston during May. June and July.
in lSf3. from Jackson to Canton. from
Canton t. Yazoo City. down the Big
Black - within easy hearing Of Pemher-
tons aud Grants guns and back To Jack
son and Morton and Meridian. The sol
,iier bovs thought Il was a mighty dry
country in more respects than one.
In view Of the latcness of planting. es-
pecially Of cotton. Il behooVes the farmer
10 give prompt and rapid cultivation. cot
ton should he put to a stand as soon as
the plants show the fourth leaf. I firmly
be- ieve. however. IN the plan OF going
over the first time with the hoes very
rnnidly blocking out as II is called,
ana when over commencing again imme-
diately and put Ia a final stand. Both
these hoeinCs should he done before the
first e June. OF say within thirty days
to forty days after The seed were
planted.
Where a heavy rain o. rains have fallen
OF the cotton fields. the ground should be
stirred by the pillow as quickly as possible
and before "A hard crust shall have
formed. fSv 'plow'' / mean that the work
shou 4 De done by horseplow. whether by
means Of a harrow. sweep or cultivator
Broadcas; narrowing. under such condi-
tions f. the very best working that can
be given. ON fairly well lying. smooth
land. a. tWo-horSe smoothing harrow.
having spread of eight feet. can easily
e. oye- sixteen 10 eighteen acres n day.
This s best i ne just a. the cotton =
lying Z" force its way through the pack
81 surface.
I have often wondered why every far
NOR cannot be induced to see the great
advantage Of using some one OF tho
several kinds Of cultivators. \ farmer
who puls Two FUR VS. in row with sweep
ur scrape, when one furrOw Cor
''through'0 with q good cultlvator would
do the work equally well Is behind tha
times" \ rich man. who has money in
bank. or investments paying good divi-
d~udS. may afford 10 run ''nigger and
n mule with a sixteen-inch scrape, or
sweep. twice To the row. thr pugh the sea-
son But farmer who depends so ely
on farming for a living cannot afford
such extraVa 2ance- A farmer told me
once THAI b. could not afford To buy a
one-hOrse. hve-hoed cultivator. My reply
was ''ycu have got the proposition and
tho argument turned the wrong way.
You cannot afford II do without the cul-
tivator." I proved Ia him that by run
ming slch an Implement one time to the
row in rows three TO four feet wide as
compared with running the sixteen or
eighteen inch scrane. or sweep. twice To
the row. he could save enough To pay
The cost II the cultiyator in six days.
II L. II