St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1901-06-22

to year without any rest. or change
Of crops. 1t is an admitted fact that
those beautiful dark loan prairie
lands will eventually become tired OF
yielding n continual small grain crop,
and will have to have rest, change
of crops or fertilizers. / purpose
growing cotton with the wheat. and
while 1 propose to make as much more
clear profit out of the cotton as tho
clear profit on the wheat, will also
enrich the lands and increase the
yield of the wheat as evidence Of this
fact. L learned while farming in what
is known as the black waxy lands of
Ellis county for several consecutive
years, it would so enrich, or cause
the land to attain such high state Ct
cultivation that if sown to wheat it
would often grow too rank and sappy
and take the rust, and fail to produce
a profitable crop, and that corn al
ways yielded a much heavier crop af-
ter cotton than on wheat stubble. Al
to this fact, all black land farmers
will testify. and also to the fact that
cotton is a good fertilizer. Without
further evidence or comment, will
briefly explain my method of growing
both a good wheat and cotton crop
the same year upon the same land. In
putting in your wheat use a close
space drill. It should be made to or
der, SO as to have a skip or miss sown
row every three to three and a half
feet. Tho richer your land, the wider
rows are made the wheat will spread
the more, and comparatively nothing
is lost. An early variety of wheat
should be sown, and as early in the
fall as practicable. Plant your cotton
seed by following the skip drill row
with a cotton planter with little plow
to open the row, with little wheel
to follow behind to press the dirt
down. Be careful not to plant too
thick, SO as to avoid thinning, aud
don't set the opening pillow SO as to
cover too deep, as the seed is ex-
pected to be dropped in the bottom
of the furrow before it closes up. The
wheat crop in this section OF coun-
try at cotton planting time will In
just beginning to joint. and it will
not inuire the wheat to plant the
cotton. Al present time the cotton
will not be high enough to be injured
by the binder. Even should the binder
wheel run over the row, it will not in
jure the cotton. Shock the wheat in
rows to best advantage, SO as to plow
the cotton as early as practicable
with q cultivator. After the grain is
stacked pillow again, so thus your
stubble is broke and ready for anoth-
er wheat crop, and nothing compare
lively is lost in the cultivation Of the
cotton crop. Sow wheat early, fol-
lowing the cotton crop before it is
opening to hurt; or if you can not,
then follow up the cotton picking
with drill with the skip drill row 10
straddle the cotton row. I would
suggest then to try turning these
lands good and deep about every
fourth year and plant in corn. oats
or some other crop. Nicaragua wheat
I believe would be then profitable
crop, as it is great yielder, and
used to be as sure crop as sunflow-
ers and ccckleburs were on some
farms.
Now some will think the cotton
stalks would be in the way of the
binder. As to this, any cotton grow
er Of Texas can explain how to get
rid Of them with stalk cutter. Now
would state that after being cotton
and wheat farmer for % years in the
southwest, I believe this method of
farming, properly followed up. will
double the farming interest in this
country, as I have closely observed
the growing crops and seasons here
for the last four years, and I now
realize the fact that this is not only
a great and proven grain country; it
can also be made q great cotton pro-
ducing country, and at the same time
increase the yield of other crops and
prove a great bonanza. II. Major.
in Texas Farm and Ranch.