The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-09-03
OBSERVATIONS OF SOUTHERN FARM
LIFE.

0ES 0dH0660, mas written 6ha6 paper
an interesting article regarding his
recent trip through the South. From
it we quote the following paragraphs
which should interest our readers
l have been making a study of
grasses for the South. Of course
the soils vary, yet in general off the
limestone the best grasses seem to
be tall meadow oat grass, orchard
grass, red top, poa compressa Cor
Canadian wire grass and Bermuda.
Red and white and crimson c1overs
all do fairly we'll when fertilized
somewhat. Japan clover is the best
for fairly thin soils and off the lime
stone. Orchard grass seems the best
of them all to my mind and as it
grows in bunches it ought to be
sown with red top or bromus inermis
which run in the interstices. Bromus
has not been thoroughly tested yet
but is promising. 1t is looking ex-
tremely we'll on Woodland Farm,
and this is the fifth year for it with
us. We have sown more of it.
A friend whom 1 visited in the red
soil of Virginia is bringing up his
land in this way, Finding it too
poor at present to pay for cultiva-
ton all over he has it divided into
about six fields. He takes these
fields in the fall and sows on them
home mixed fertilizer made of tank
age, acid rock and kainit. He uses
about 800 pounds per acre. Then he
sows thinly winter turf oats, plenty
of orchard grass and red top and
some red clover, sowing more in the
spring. He sOws a sprinkle Of white
clover in March and little Japan.
He grazes part of the oats, mows
some for hay and cuts the rest for
grain. He has sheep, not too many,
and grows winter lambs out of doors.
Now he has fair sod on which to
Craze, but not at all what he wants,
so he says: every well, here is
some use of all my land and will
lay it by TO be taken up and i'm
proved as I can" Then he takes
some forty acres each year and fer
tilizes heavily in the spring, besides
turning under same rye on which
the sheep have grazed, plants to cow
peas, cuts some of them on the richer
soil, turns the rest under, sows to
grass alone in the fall with another
good dressing Of fertilizer. This
time he gets q meadow and a rich
pasturage and where he can spare
the manure in sufficient amount he
gets alfalfa, but it will not grow for
him without the manure. He plans to
go over the entire farm in this way.
His corn is grown after peas, too,
and peas are always sown in the
corn. He puts most of his crop in a
homemade silo. He practices win
ter grazing somewhat, but supple
ments it by liberal feeding under
open sheds, where all the manure is
saved and his sheep are neither
allowed to tramp the muddy fields
nor yet get soaked with rain. It is
really wonderful how he has brought
up this old farm, though it has cost
a good deal in the way of fertilizers.
He has been able to dispense with
a great deal of labor by confining his
plowing and cultivation to the fields
that are fertile. He tells me that
his earlier mistake was in cultivat-
ing land that was too poor to be re-
munerative he now lets it lie in
grass, even if the grass is scant, till
he can get to it with his restorative
course. He gives as a reason for
the final sowing alone of his grass
that after he has the soil pretty rich
the oats are apt to be so heavy as to
smother out the grass. Tt is mighty
pleasant to see farm coming up
like this {; it makes one feel that he
is a god to that field and indulging
in little creation on his own ac-
count. suspect that it takes some
patience and some money to do it,
However. But the sun shines, tbs
blizzards do not come, the lambs
grow fass and New York is q nights
run away. I believe the most gener-
Gus treatment of fields pays in the
long run. 1t is the man who can
make the long run who gets the