The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-10-02
NOTES OF THE FARM.
ByW. F. MASSEY, of A. & M. College.


grapes, but the taking out of the old and
Snarled wood and keeping the Younger
wood we'll laid out on The arbor prunine
should be done in the fall as soon &c
the leaves fall. If not done then II will
be better to defer till leaves are opening
III the spring, SO that there NAV he
CROWN enough to take up the sap and
prevent disastrous bleeding. Never Drune
d scuppernong late in winter as there is
then serious danger that it may die from
bleeding.
From Caswell county: Il have some
pone and potash, 10 per cent phosphoric
ACID and per cent of potash | also
nave some fine tobacco stems Can 7
mix the bone and potash with the tobacco
stems and make a good fertilizer for
wheat: Would you advise adding some
ammonia, and if So in what shape?' To-
bacco stems have over per cent of nj
trogen, and some of it is in the readily
available form of a nitrate of potash
The stems have also over 8 per cent OF
potash, and a very small percentage of
phoSphor1c acid. AS your sO-called bone
and potash, which is propably only acid
phosphate with q little potash added has
out ~ per cent OF phosphoric acid, the
fault OF any mixture with the stems will
be lack of phosphoric acid. Potash is
not the special need of your Casweu
soil, but phosphoric acid is and especially
for the wheat. If l used the tobacco
stems | would spread them broadcast as
far as they will so, and then would give
the wheat better supply of phosphoric
acid by mixing the article you have with
some 13 to IA per cent acid phosphate,
and would use SEQ pounds per acre Or
if you have enough of the bone and pot
of
acre. Better put them on in this way
than to attempt TO make mixture of the
phosphate and the stems.
From Granville county: Il have a
piece of what we call chocolate land, now
in peas, which had 400 pounds of 10 per
cent phosphoric acid and per cent pot
ash rer acre. Peas are not a heavy crop
owing to the drought. After the peas are
Off | want to get the land in grass. The
soil is loose and puffy and will not turn
over with an ordinary cast plow, and
is seldom too dry too wet to plow.
Have tried crimson clover and vetch and
failed to get e,and. Land makes good
winter oats when sown early. Have
thought CT sowing oats and vetch with
Bromus Inermis. Would the oats and
vcrtch smother out the grass or help it as
archard grass is helped by clover? Would
it pay to let the oats ripcn and thrcSh
them allowing the vetch to go through
tho thresher and feed the straw? Last
season vetch was hardly in full bloom
when the oats were ripe We have no
doubt that the oat straw and vetch
would make a good feed 1t will depend
on what you want the grass for to
which will be best to SOW. If for hay.
then | would not use the Bromus, but if
for permanent pasture it will be very
good Orchard grass, red clover and tall
Meadow oats grass are about the best
hay grasses for your section. On low bot
tom land I would use Meadow Fescue and
Red Top with a little Timothy. But the
fact is that on our uplands, if we except
the steep hillsides that never should have
| been cultivated we do not need grass.
| Our Southern upland soils need building
| up and this can be better accomplished
by a short three year rotation and peas
! than by trying to get something out OF
| hay grasses. 1t is very hard to convince
| the Southern farmer that he has the pest
bav plant in the world in the field Pea.
| But such is the fact, and when our 1afm-
ers realize the value of the pea they VIII
be less anxious to try things they reau
| about as succe ssful in the North. Bro
mus Inermis is a grass newly introduced
into this country. We have never grown
| it but have seen it growing in the North
in the best conditions possible. The crop
of grass was not heavy, and the gencral
! oninion is that it has a greater value as
| rastllro grass than a meadow grass.
| A., experimCnt made at this station with
! this grass 81 year or so ago was total
| failure.