The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-10-23
Notes for the Farm.

1 men?" Here it is an easy matter to plant
Irish potatoes in December and cover
Them with two burrows forming sharp
| ridge to be narrowed down in late winter.
! In your section the winters are colder,
| and it might be better to mulch the De-
| cember planting with pine straw to keep
| the soil from freezing deep. Whether
| there is any particular advantage IN
planting at that time. further than get
| ting the potatoes in at a time when the
ground can be worked in better order than
| in the spring and getting them out of the
| way of the rush of spring work, | cannot
say. But / propose to experiment along
| this Zine by planting in December, Janua-
ry. February and March and then note the
difference in the resulting crop as to ear
| illness and productiveness. After we have
done this / shall be in better condition
| to advise. Years ago in northern Mary
land planted "lazy bed as it is called
there. The ground was we'll prepared and
fortified, and the potatoes were planted
| late in November about Is inches apart
each way in shallow checks. The whole
bed was then covered a foot deep in
wheat straw, and nothing further was
done. / dug from this bed the earliest po-
tatoes of the neighborhood, and when the
potatoes were dug the straw was pretty
we'll rotted. 1t was raked aside and the
| ground replanted on the surface with
the small potatoes of the crop and the
straw was replaced These made Sec
ond crop better than the first one, and
then wrote to truckers about Norfolk that
they could do this in any season, while
had only succeeded by reason of an extra
early spring From this first attempt
made over 80 years ago has grown up the
great business of the second crop of po-
tatoes in the South, crop which in this
season of scarcity of potatoes is going to
put large money in the pockets of those
who have the crop in Eastern, N. G.
A dairyman near Charlotte wants my
idea OF the value of Ensilage as food
for COWS as compared with cotton seed
bulls. as he has a chance to buy a lot of
ensilage. 1t is hard to compare ensilage
with cotton seed hulls. The ensilage is
in a far more palatable condition and
its digestibility is far greater than that of
the bulls. Calculated to dry matter there
is not great deal Of difference in the
percentage of protein and carbohydrates
in both, but of the dry matter/in the
enSilage about 70 per cent. is dfgestlble
while in the cotton seed hullS not much
over 20 per cent. is digestible.As compar-
ed with other forage we have here would
place the feeding value of ensilage at
about $3.50 per ton and would consider 1T
far cheaper feed at that price than any
hay that can be bought here at the mar
ket price, except pea vine hay, which is
hardly on the market yet. For feeding
cows l hardly consider timothy hay in
the question as it is no better for cows
in milk than the bulls are and costs
great deal more than it is worth as feed
for cows. Crab grass hay cut at the prop
er stage of growth is fully as good as the
best timothy and better than most OF the
| timothy hay sold in the South, for
great deal of that is simply the dead
straw from which crop of seed has been
| threshed and then is baled to put on the
Southern people who imagine that timothy
| hay is the best hay they can get. | had
| far rather buy good crab grass hay for
horse than the Western hay sold in our
| towns, and it is strange that our people
appreciate their home products so little.
| Ensilage at $3.50 per ton is far cheaper
/ and better food than cotton seed hulls.
From Burke County: Il have a field
which was grubbed four years ago. Twelve
| months later the trees were cut, and land
planted in corn. Last spring the stumps
were all taken out and the holes filled,
and the land was broken with three horses
to a No 40 Oliver Chilled pillow in July
and a heavy growth of weeds turned I'M
der. 1t has since been well chopped over
| with heavy disk and four horses, and
| Ia woak wa ha rr0wad gain twice with
! so tooth harrow. I want to SOW wheat
| or winter turf oats and seed to clover,
and as it is high time the oats were sown.
l think the clover may do better than if
sown later with wheat. How many oats
should be sown per acre, and should
| use acid phosphate alone or acid phos-
plate and potash. Part of the field is
| grey and part red land / am we'll pleas
ed with the Practical Farmer" You have
done very we'll with the land and it ought
to be in good condition for either wheat
| or oats. If you sow the Virginia Grey
winter turf oats you will not need to SOW
more than five pecks per acre, as they till
er like wheat, and if you sow wheat SOW
| about the same quantity. The grey land
will need potash more than the red land
and it would be as we'll to make the
| Same mixture lot the WnOle. Say dcIu
phosphate 1900 pounds and muriate Of
| potash 200 pounds to make ton and use
800 pounds per acre.
From Forsyth Co.: II have tried to fol-
| low your instructions on % acre pea
crop. Used 300 pounds of acid phosphate
| per acre, and got a magnificent growth
| They fell down badly and the mower
| would not cut them clean so that there
/ is considerable portion of the vine on
| the ground. The disk harrow would not
1 cut them up and l have been compelled
| to plow. What other preparation will this
| land need and how much and what kind
| of fertilizer for wheat. Have recently
subscribed to the Farmer and Mechanic
and hope to be benefited by it," / would
| harrow that land as often as practicable
before wheat seeding time and would not
SOW till after a good white frost. / take
| for granted that the land is the ordinary
4 red clay soil of your section. Hence l
would use nothing on it but acid phcs-
| phate. 1t may make good crop of wheat
/ without any application as you gave the
/ peas fair supply, but until you get the
land to its best / would give the wheat
/ the same application you gave peas. But
| MT &c fn