The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-03-12

correspondence ofThe Progressive Farmer.
Many Of our farmers are now lay
ing their plans for another crop, and
some are preparing to go into debt,
mortgaging their property and homes
IN order to buy high priced mules
and horses, high priced farming inn
plementS, high priced fertilizers, and
even high priced corn and meat, all
OF which are now being bought most
ly on credit, with which to make an
uncertain crop of cotton, the value
of which is just as likely to be five
cents as ten cents d pound next fall.
! Would it not be we'll for us to stop
and think a little before we rush into
making our expenses too heavy? Sup
! pose we curtail our fertilizer bills by
! buying only the chemicals and mix
adding a little of our rich scrapings
| in compost pile with little nitro
gen, acid phosphate and potash or
kainit, we can have fertilizer just
as good as the so-called guano, though
it will not cost half as much per ton.
We know the use of fertilizer is
profitable, but we often make seri
Gus mistakes in buying what we do
not need. The losses from these mis-
takes often exceed the gain. Still
it is impOssi BILE to establish any def
mite rule for fertilizing, which can
always be followed on every farm
for any length of time. Different
soils need different fertilizers. Pre-
vious crops will have something to
do with the requirements of the soil.
The farmer who expects to secure
the greatest profits from his fertili-
zer must experiment on his OWE
! farm and a little work in that direC
/ tiOn will result in great saving of
cost of fertilizer. All soils need
! nitrogen, acid phosphate and potash
to produce plant growth. But we
should vary in application of each of
these ingredients according to cOndi-
/ ton of the soil. Some soils needs
more or less of each. For instance,
! suppose the land made a crop Of
pease last year; then we need less
nitrogen, and to put the same guam
| tity of nitrogen in our mixture would
be u waste. By reading our agricul-
tural papers and Station bulletins,
we can get lots of valuable infOrma-
| tion along this line.
| notice our farmers are clearing
more and more of the forest every
year. Now this is great waste.
Yes, waste of timber, waste of
time and land. Yes, we are aban
donding the worn out arabic lands
| to cultivate among stumps and roots
at the wear and tear of team and i'm
plement5. Why not haul the woods
mOull, straw, leaves and ashes from
| the forest to these old wOrn-Out
fields and plow deep when we will be
free of stumps and jerks? Leave
! our timber to grow.
! While we have our forests around
US, we shall not be subject to severe
drouths. We can certainly haul
mould, ashes, etc, at much less cost
| than we can clear the forest. Then
| keep a fence around forest and let
| the pigs have free access to it. They
will find something there to eat
and keep healthy.
Then again | have noticed some OF
our farmers will plant corn on our
hills or highlands, which produce
about two or three barrels Of corn
per acre at a great damage to the
land, without returning anything to
the soil. Now would it not be we'll
to plant the rich bottoms in corn,
where we can make ) to 10 barrels
corn per acre? Those that have no
bottom land proba bly, can rent some
near by cheap, or else can plant peas
or clover to vegetate the land to
plant in corn each year, making
shift to another field every year.
notice also that very few farmers
are educated at these so O-called agri-
cultural colleges. Most of the boys
are from towns. The farm boys
who are educated there do not re-
turn to the farms, but find some
other employment. Why is this? l
would like to see the old fields look
fiourishing as Of old. We cannot ex-
pect it as long as the drift is to the
towns. We see most of the old man
sions in the country now occupied by