The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-03-05


Our school is increasing and find it
difficult to keep up with the many letters
that ask for reply in these columns.
Hence our friends must not wonder if it
taxes week or two to get to their let
ters, as space for this department is linz
tied.
From Forsyth Co. Il wish tn join
your list of information seekers whom
! you are weekly advising. | am clearing
piece OF new land this winter which |
want to SOW in small grain next fall, and
TO SOW some grass With 1t, so "a to make
q pasture till the roots rot away 1t Is
| strong red land with hickory growth on
! 1t, the oak timber having been cut few
years ago. | was thinking of sowing
orchard grass and red clover for the
pasture. What DO you think of thisf
do not Want 10 do anything TO exhaust the
! soil but to build up its fertility II you
can get the land into shape | believe that
! it would be better to cultivate it in corn
! this summer and cut it in time FOR the
fall grain. This will get the land into
| better condition, for the grain and grass
than if let lie during the summer. There
is no better grass that you can SOW for
| the purpose you want 1t for than the
orchard grass. But / would add some
| red top as bottom grass for the orchard
| grass is apt to get into tussocks and the
red top will fill In very well. Then OF
course sow some red clover with the
| grass. And do not be stingy with the
seed for there are far more failures in
| grass from scauty seeding than from
| any other cause alone.
From Burke Co.: II read all your
F, letters in this paper and get new
! ideas from all of them. find
the sowing of peas means more wheat
| and fat cattle. | want to know how to
| kill sheep sorrell. 1t has troubled me a
| great deal on one piece of land. have
| been turning it as deep as ! could with a
| No. 10 oliver pillow. and find that it is
the very thing it likes. Two years ago
/ cultivated it in corn and that killed a
| great deal Of it, but it is now as bad as
| ever. The field was in wheat last year.
l am thinking of not turning it this
| spring but just stirring with narrow
| bull tongues and SOW in peas in June
with disk drill. 1t makes about 10
| bushels of wheat per acre. How much
| and what kind of fertilizer should use =:
! The sorrel grows because the land Is too
acid for better plants. The acid in the
! sorrel however does not come from the
| soil but is the result of the assimilation
| of carbon from the air. Still it is plant
| that thrves in an acid soil. Glover Will
| not thrive under such conditions, ana
| the best remedy to get rid of the sorrel
| will be to lime the land and get it in
clover. Your plan for sowing the peas
is good for the peas will smother great
! part of it. Then in the fall, cut the peas
| for hay and give the land a good prep
| aration for wheat and give it coat OF
| freshly water-slaked lime. A bushel OF
good stone lime sr0lld Stake three bush
els when slakcd to powder, and even
| light coat of ten bushels per acre will
bring about conditions that will enable
| clover to thrive on the land. Then SOW
| clover on the wheat and If you get q
good stand you will not be much longer
troubled with the sorrel. for the peas.
wheat and clover following each other
will clean it up. and the lime will bring
in conditions favorable to clover and UNI
favorable to sorrcl. Put the lime on top
the prepared land and do not pillow it
under. for it viii go down fast enough
and should go through the whole soil.
| From Randolph County: IL have field
fer corn that has been resting for two
years, and want to knew how to prepare
| il. 1t has red clay subsoil and is rolling.
Have a nice bunch of manure and want to
know how much to put in the HILL have
| eight acres for corn and want to know
how to make $50 bushels of corn on It,
am young man just starting out IN
farming and want to make the most
can on a few acres. Have been reading
=orr articles since last summer and
have not missed one and am still read
ing and am trying to follow your advice
as near as ! can The first thing to dc
is to get the land deeply and we'll plowed
and prepared for the corn. If it had beer
growing peas or something useful II
would be in better condition than by
4 what is called resting. The best way tC
+ rest land is to keep it at work between
i sale erors growing some thing that viii
help it. Put the manure all over the
land as far as it will go. Manuring in
the hill is not the way to make corn
Better have half the land we'll manuret
than all of it in the hill. Cover the
land all over with something II only eartf
from the woods. 1t must be poor land i
eight acres will not easily make $50 bush
els of corn. Prepare the land deeply ant
well and when planted do not put pillow
into it any more, but cultivate 1T rapidly
and we'll with the cultivator and never
hill it at all. but keep fiat and level. Rur
ming a pillow through large corn to lay i
by is the cause of more loss of corn thar
anything you can do: Land of that char
acter, if farmed right. should easily bt
brought up to make more than twice lo'
bushels Oil eight acres but 1t cannot bt
all at once brought from poor condition
to rich one The process must De
gradual building up and restoration o
matters the soil has been robbed OF.
From Wake County: 81 have beer
thinking for long time to write and tel
you how much l appreciate your efforts
to help the farmer. ] read all your let
ters and bulletins and have been helped
a great deal by them. and | am getting
along ii the effort to improve and some
time will write you.an account OF how
am succeeding in improving farm tha'
was once very poor. ! want you to tel
me and others where we can get gooc
nd h fNTNN