The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-05-07
THE FARM AND THE GARDEN.
MATTERS OF INTEREST TO AGRI-
CULTURIST AND HOUSEWIFE.
The Cultivation of Cotton for Best
Results - Practical observations
Respecting Sweet Potatoes-Butter
Making In Florida.

The millions of acres planted to cotton
during the month of April viii be chopped
to a stand during this month. All other
work on the farm must yield precedence
to this most important work, for cotton
is still the hope and standby of the South
ern farmer. While there is little profit
in growing it, nevertheless it is the money
crop" of the farm. Certainly, after it is
planted 1t should be cultivated In the best
manner possible, for If it could be made to
average a bale to the acre there would be
some profit in growing it. 1t Is useless to
expect bale Of cotton from land about
worn out or from soil that will not make
over ten bushels of corn per acre, but
there is no doubt that good cultivation
should easily increase the production to
average a bale to two acres instead of re-
quiring three acres to make bale as has
been the average for SO many years.
Doubtless there are many persons who
cultivate the soil 1--WE will not call them
farmers) who do not make a bale from
four acres of land. They bring up the flag
end Of a long line Of shiftless farming that
is not pleasant to contemplate.
Soon as the cotton is well up the work
of chopping should begin and be pushed TO
completion as fast as possible, not that
1t is essential or in fact judcous to reduce
the crop to a perfect stand al this first
going over, but IL is important that the
bulk of the plants resulting from the Gus
tomary thick seeding Thick seeding
should be gotten rid of so as not to allow
the plants that are to produce the staple
to become stunted.
AT this chopping, which Ii is proposed
to be done as rapidly as possible by cut
and push no nicer work is required than
to thin down to a number about double
of what will finally be left to grow and
TO smother with loose soil the crab grass
as it has appeared in the row In its ten
der Infancy The usual preliminary to
chopping out is to side the rows with a
narrow shovel or scooter, but this is not
always the best plan. If no heavy
packing rain has fallen since planting, and
the seed beds are still lose and mellow
from previous good preparation, chopping
out can very properly precede plo&ing and
sharp sweep or a light harrow can be run
around after the chopper, running very
close to the plants, but very shallow.
AT this stage of the young plant the soil
is already very loose and light and it is
not desirable THAI 1t should be made any
more so while the plant is preparing to
throw out its lateral roots. long
scooter run close to the row has a tend
ency to loosen the soil too much for the
good OF the young plant So long as the
seed beds are mellow from the absence of
hard rains the sweep or the harrow is the
best implement to run round with and
oftentimes 1t will be better more economi-
cal of labor, to follow the chopper than to
go ahead of him. When the soil has been
packed by hard rains and especially when
II is claytng. of course, 1t is necessary to
use the scooter ahead of the chopper In
chopping out while the plants are young
and tender allowance must be made for
some tyiHs-eat and being diminished by
insects and more than perfect stand
should be left and close thinning down to
stand should be left to the second and
final hoeing, and the strongest looking
plants then left.
BY the latter part of the month the mid
dies should be well broken with single or
double shovels, still using care not 10 run
so close as to cut the young lateral roots
No other deep-plowing is necessary, but all
further cultivation in June should be done
with sweep or harrow, or light cultivator
The sweep is the usual implement among
Southern farmers still. and on the small
farm harrow or culGvator is rarely
found. Frequently one or the other OF
these is more appropriate to the work Of
cultivation than the sweep.
After the first cultivation a wide sweep
or expanded harrow wide enough to break
the crust of the whole middle at one time
going through should be used
Deep preparation of the soil for planting
is a desirable thing, but deep cultivation is
not proper on our light soils.
II is very small proportion
of soil In the pine regions that will hc-
come so compact after deep blowing at
planting time that the roots of corn or
cotton will not be able 40 easily penetrate
during the summer II shallow cultivation
is promptly given before the soil becomes
dry. 1t is very good plan generally 40
go over the crop sweeping or otherwise
cultivating every other middle and then
come back on the other 1t is we'll 20 get
over the crop as rapidly as possible after
the rain.
Sweet Potatoes-This great crop which
should never be neglected comes in COM
petition with cotton chopping this month,
but as the putting out of the plants is
usually done when the soil is rather wet
for hoeing or blowing the work need not
conflict to any great extent
The land should be in state of read
mess for setting out either decided or half
bedded For sweet potatoes, especially, it
is very desirable to have the soil in the
best state of preparation possible, well
plowed and fined. Sweet potatoes set out
in May In soil that has been perfectly
prepared require very little cultivation
compared to the value of the crop
Never. never set ont plants on beds
where there are any crab grass or weeds
sprung up, after the land was bedded.
Re-bed rather than do this.
When the plants are large enough to
transplant 20 work of setting out should
proceed at once whether it rains or not
just at the time. If the plants are pud-
died and placed deep in the soil, and
then pressed firmly in with the foot.
there is no difficulty about their living in
May, whether waite. ed or NOT. If water
is at all convenient, it is well enough to
make use of ii in setting out in dry
weather and where the soil is naturally
a dry one, but we rarely find 1t necessary
20 use WAFER to make May set plants live
We prefer to set plants when the soil is
fairly dry but the roots must be grouted
o. pucdled. However. there are a great
many potato growers who never set out
potatoes until just after a soaking rain.
Tut potatoes so set out rare do quite so
we / as these set when the soil is dry.
There is something in the old saying that
a dry seed bed IA harblnger of good har-
vest and the crop planned or sowed when
he soil is dry does better than the one
started in wet sci.
bara G I'm rdlp n