The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-03-28

as / am able. 1t does me good to get
hold of a student farmer and / have
written more than / would have writ
ten to one who simply wanted to know
how much fertilizer 10 put on cotton on
land that has been in cotton year after
year. and that is the burden OF nine
tenths of the letters | get, and 1t seems
like a hopeless task to try to do any
thing for such men.
From Rutherford County: Il read
your letters in the Advocate with great
interest. / have large pile of ashes
burnt from oak slabs in running steam
saw mill. Will they make a good fer
tilizer for corn and cotton? How Will
l apply them to the lest advantage?
Haul them out and spread them broad
cast on the land as literally as you
please. OF course they are an excellent
fertilizer and especially rich in potash,
and will make better corn on a sod than
on an old field where there has been no
clover nor peas. Cotton should have
some fertilizer in the fnrrow, but in my
opinion you have no business growing
cotton in your section for you can make
more money by adopting the plan just
described in the letter above and make
wheat your money crop and feed cat
tie. Your country was intended by ma
ture for a grain and grass and cattle
region, and you will never compete with
the lower country in growing cotton.
From CaSwell county: A friend who
say that he has plenty of bottom land
for corn and does not want to grow
corn on his uplands would like to know
my opinion of his plan which is to SOW
peas, follow with wheat in the fall, and
after harvest to let the land lie out till
the following June aud then sow peas
again and follow with wheat and so on.
My objection to this is that letting the
land lie to grow up in weeds from wheat
harvest in June till the following year.
/ suppose you still are irnbued with the
old notion about land getting tired and
needing a rest. Letting the land lie a
year to grow up in weeds is not resting
it much, for it is still growing a crop
and crop that is going to cause you
future brow sweating to get rid of.
The best way to rest land is to keep it
growing something that will help it
rather than something that will injure
it. The land will not rest if you turn
it out. 1t will imply grow omething
you do not want. Far better ow the
land in peas after the wheat and then
put it in wheat again same fall than to
let it lie and gain nothing. 1 believe,
however, that youo would find it an
advantage to put in corn crop on your
uplands even if you have the bottoms
But If you do not want to do this, still
sow the peas and pasture them in the
fall after the wheat crop rather than
let the wheat Stubble lie to grow in
weeds. Or you miShht simply SOW
crimson clover in the stubble, as is
often done here, and let it remain and
the clover without any preparation will
usually make a good crop, especially if
you NOW the rag weeds off in the fall
before sowing the clover. But by all
means get some useful crop on the
land and get rid of the notion that land
gets tired. 1t may get tired of one
crop continually grown on it, and / ex-
pect that you will find after a few
years of the growing of peas and wheat
! that you will get more and more straw
and the wheat will after awhile ledge
and fall.