Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-04-14
DR.. S7ELL TELLS
FARMERS HIS METHOD
SAYS IT'S BETTER AND CHEAPER
THAN MALLYs AND GIVES
FIGURES IN PROOF.
FARMERS Advocate. Paris. Tex.

Farmers Advocate. Paris. Tex.
Prof. Mally and other scientists claim
that the dying of cotton in patches is
caused by fungus. 1 claim they have dis
arranged things. and have the fugus-cart
before the root-rOt-horse. l claim the cot
ton dies from the lack of humus IN the
soil, and believe / am able TO establish
that fact and when the roots begin 10 die
IL IS then, and not until then, attacked by
a fungus which feeds upon the deeaying
root from the tip all the way on up to
the crown, where it forms whittsh hard
Substances that 4 so often seen around
dead stalks. ] have made most thorough
examination, often, of these dead, dying,
and slightly sick stalks. as we'll as the
apparently well ones adjacent to the dis
eased ones, with strong magnifying
glasses, and have never been able to dis
Germ the slightest spot or thread of fun
gus at the bottom of the roots until the
stalks showed plainly that they were dis
eased.
But the proof of my claim will come
later on. 1 notice Prof. Mally's plan to
starve out the fungus is first the rotation
OF crops, the blowing under of much veg
etable matter. fully admit that this VIII
stop cotton dying, not on account OF starV-
ing out fungus, but because the decom-
position of all this vegetable matter puts
back into the soil the humus, the lack
of which caused it TO die. But by this
plan the professor says II will take four
years TO starve out a bad case Of fungus.
1 will show later on that 1 can return
sufficient humus to the soil in one season,
by the simplest, cheapest and most prac-
ticable way. to stop cotton from dying.
take no stock in starving out fungus, es-
pecially II it takes four years to do IT.
Professor Mally's second plan is to APP
ply ], 400 pounds of common salt to the acre
4 1,.a1 an
fungus will be gradually killed out. This
method. he says, is feasible. The salt can
be applied, but would it not be like the
Indians gun-cost more than IL would
come to? The 400 pounds of salt makes
seven barrels. Salt is selling at $1.75 per
barrel; seven barrels would cost 1920
This for-the first year. The second year
the same. which would amount to $24.5O
for the two years for only one acre, and
then the fungus will only be gradually
killed out. This means IL you would kill
out the fungus entirely you will have to
keep IN the salt cure for some years
longer; provided, however, you have
some other resource to procure the money
to buy salt with. am quite sure you will
not be able to do so by growing cotton
when there is $12.25 per acre to start with
that must be wiped out.
will now give you my cure for cotton
root rot. l shall not offer any wildcat the
cries, either, but will give solid facts,
gained from my own experience. / had
become very well satisfied from close OBJ
servation that the root rot of cotton was
caused from lack of humus in the soil, as
had noticed on one farm that It seemed
could never get very we'll cultivated,
that very much vegetable matter was
plowed in every year, and no cotton ever
died on this farm, while similar soil in
another farm that was always well Gull
tivated, did badly. We took five plats of
the very worst, from two to three acres
each, where every stalk >of cotton had
died the previous year. and sowed them
in oats. AS soon as the oats were har-
vested they were removed, the land was
plowed and narrowed and planted in cow
peas, and when the vines were at their
best. blooming and taking on pods,l they
were plowed under deep and thoroughly.
These plats were all planted to cotton for
FIVE years. The first, second and third
years there was not a single dead cotton
stalk; the fourth year several stalks died,
and the fifth year all died. So you see,
the soil in these plats was perfectly i'm
mune for three years and partly so>the
fourth year.
No scientist who cares for his reputa-
ton will deny that these peavines put lots
of humus in the soil-in fact they put
enough in the soil to carry three cotton
crops safely through, and very muchN ben
efited a fourth crop. So it will be seen
that accomplished in one year with the
pea vines the same that 1t takes Prof.
Mally four years with corn stalks, small
grain SUPPLIES, grass, weeds, etc. That is,
replenish' the soil with plenty of humus to
prevent the root rot, and also to fertilize
the soil.
I Now what was the cost in retaining my
acre? About Is cents worth of peas and
the two plOwings, and narrowing and
planting the peas. We made fine oats, and
| the land was so well fertilized by the
vines that it yielded far more cotton
for the first two years than the cotton
land adjacent to it. So I do not believe
was out anything at all. Compare my
| plan by the side of the two offered by
Prof. Mally and Judge for yourself as to
which is the most practicable and greatest
money saving.
Before closing, I would urge the farmers
in this section to organize county insti-
| tutes for monthly meetings. and a district
| institute TO have two to four meetings a
| year. Come together, give each other the
! benefit of your experience. If you will do
| this for a few years. in my opinion you
will not be the recipients of so much
| gratuitous advice from outsiders, many
of whom cannot tell to save their lives
| whether the cotton takes on blooms,
| squares or forms first, or whether the
| bloom or fruit comes first on the melon
| cucumber, squash and pumpkin vines.
w. w. lSTELL.
Professor of Plain, Practicable and Eco
nomical Plans.