The Savannah morning news., 1901-08-26
Chufa Culture.

Several years ago the chufa crop was
the chief standby OF the Southern farm
ers for hog feed and fattening pur-
poses. says c. K. McQuarrie in Florida
Agriculturist. OF late years other va
rieties of crops have come to the front
tending to give this crop a back seat,
but l question with all our improve
ments and new crops, if there is any
thing considering the care it requires,
and the small amount of labor neceS-
sary for a crop of it, that it will give
us better satisfaction at the end of the
season than the chufa crop will.
This crop can be made to fill a very
important position in the rotation of
crops on the farm, it is both root
and hay crop. The tops, when cut be-
fore they attain their full maturity,
make excellent hay, and if cut and
bundled like corn fodder it makes a
superior feeding article to any straw
or corn fodder one can make. Another
great advantage it has is, that it can
be converted into pork meat~with very
little care and trouble, by simply turn
ing the hogs on the crop, after the tops
have been cut, and they will soon con-
vert the crop into a marketable article
in the shape of we'll favored hogmeat.
III the IOldIlOU CIOpS SIlOulu
follow either a COW pea, velvet bean or
corn crop, the first two being preferred
to the latter. 1t is a long season crop
and the sooner it is got under way af
ter all danger of frost is past, the bet
ter
The preparation for the crop should
be along the line of thorough pulveri
cation and fertilization of the soil be-
fore planting it. Flowing the land thor
oughly is the first STEP making sure
that all diseased and decaying vegeta-
BILE matter is thoroughly plowed under.
After blowing, a fertilizer of the right
grade should be applied broadcast and
worked thoroughly into the soil either
by narrowing we'll two ways of the
field or running a weeder over 1T sever
al times. If the soil is of fairly good
Quality 1T is not necessary to fertilize
it very heavily, from four to six hun
dred pounds per acre is quite enough,
where the land is somewhat poor a cou-
pie of hundred pounds more would help
the crop.
Care must be exercised in the selec-
ton of suitable grade of fertilizer for
this crop. If too much nitrogen is
used, the crop will run to top and few
roots, if too much phosphoric acid is
used in proportion to the potash, the
chufa will be soft and not sweet and
in the event of wet weather at the time
of maturing a considerable amount
will rot in the ground before time for
harvesting. Therefore, it is necessary
that the proper grade of fertilizers are
used on this crop. On the poor piney-
woods land, so common in the South
and where the chufa crop is at home,
fertilizer, Analysing about per cent.
phosphoric acid, per cent. nitrogen,
and per cent potash would be about
what is wanted.
I A good many farmers plant this crop
by broadcasting the seed and harrow
ing it or working it in with double
shovel pillow. This plan may work all
right on land that is not grassy or
weedy, but the best and surest way of
securing a crop is by planting in
drills. If the land is apt to be grassy
the seed should be planted in hills, in
the drill. say six to eight at intervals
of ten or fifteen inches, so as to be
easy of hoeing at the proper time, as
this is a crop that must be kept clean
from the start. Hills are an advantage,
as they are more get-at-able than is an
unbroken row.
There are several good points about
the chufa, which recommend ii strong
ly to the Southern farmer. 1t will grow
and make a crop on the poorest OF
soil. 1t is an excellent change of diet
for all stock. particularly cattle and
hogs, it is a tremendous yielder. one
hundred and twenty-five bushels of dry
chufa has been got from an acre of
ordinary sandy soil and nearly two tons
of good hay, besides, and what is best
of all il leaves the soil richer and bet
ter than before. Therefore, taking all
these favorable points into considera-
ton. 1t is certainly a desirable crop to
have on the farm. Some claim that
once you have it. that owing to the
difficulty of harvesting IL clean that
II becomes a plot I'm future years. l
have never found IL SO, but venture the