The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1903-04-27
JOTTiNGS BY THE WAY.

JOTTiNGS BY THE WAY.
On the Nth Of April, after a week spent
in Atlanta, this tired editor left that city
for an indefinite stay in southwest and
south Georgia. stopping overnight of the
same day at his home at Experiment to
see the home folks and to learn how
things We're going at the station farm.
Tho morning of the 18th found us speed
ing away on the grand old Central of
Georgia railway to Americas, the first
stopping place arriving at that city at
y.
As looked from the car window on
the fields passing swiftly to the rear !
INDUCED in a few mental comments on
things as they appeared, and here are
some OF them:
/. Middle Georgia. as every one familiar
with it knows. is very varia BILE. or spot
ted in the character of its soils and its
topography but not more SO than is the
case with most Of the states of the At
lantic and gulf states. There are red
clay and yellow clay. chocolate colored
and gray, rocky and sandy, hillside and
valley, rich spots and poor spots. On
the whole the entire country is underlaid
Il
abounds in all the mineral clsments of
plant food. In some spots this underay
has become an overay-the top soil has
disappeared and the aforetime suhsoil
mas taken its place These are the so
called "wornout" exhausted" clay
gall' soils. | prefer to use the term
tired. as more fully conveying the idea
that such spots and fields are capable Of
IN, nd
tiveness They may be brought up TO not
only as productive a condition as they
once enjoyed, but may be made far more
productive than when in their first. or
virgin" state.
AS We sped along I found myself plan
ming what I would do with certain fields
as they slipped by in review. This one.
last year in corn and now being prepared
for cotton, | would have sown in oats
last fall with a liberal amount Of fer
tiliaer. to be followed with COW peas next
June or July Ito be converted into hay)
and next year IN cotton, with another
liberal dose of fertilizer Last year /
assumed that it produced ten bushels Of
corn per acre. this year, with fair sea-
sons aud good conditions, il might have
yielded 30 bushels of rust-proof oats and
one ton OF peavine hay per acre Next
year il might produce 1900 pounds, or
possibly little more, of seed cotton.
The next field, maybe was i'll cotton
last year and probably yielded 1000
pounds Of seed cotton per acre. That was
good especially for such a. year. / note
that the owner has planted it in corn and
see a few plants coming through. /
can only hope that he fortified it mod
erately with fertilizer formula No. l and
that the seasons will be good If 50 he
will probably get about 20 bushels Of corn
per acre which is not at all bad, but
Yet not so good as il should be three
years hence. when it will be in corn
again-provided he snail observe the
regular rota ton and fertilizing methods
1hat have been recommended so often.
The next field that attracted my atten-
ton was one that had also been in cotton
las year. 1t was a gray. sandy soil with
spots thickly covered over with stones Of
all Sizes and shapes My first thought
was 10 get rid Of most Of those stones.
My estimate was that Il probably pro-
duced about one bale Of cotton to IL
acres of land My second thought was
that the soil was 50 far exhausted. or
tired" that it needed a good rest
did not fully make up my mind what !
would do with THAT field bat 4 faint sus-
geston arose from within that if il were
my field and had / plenty Of other land,
/ would be willing 10 forget for awhile.
that ii was a part of my farm. on that
some one would offer me 81 9n acre for it.
However J did not determines finally
what / would do.
The next field that attracted notice
vas I'm better condition. 1t produced
probably or s bushels Of corn per acre.
II occurred to me that I would sow that
field IN rye next fail and follow with q
crop of cow peas the idea being to plant
IN something that would throw most Of
the work of redemption on Mother Ma
ture. 70 whom We are not required 10
pay wages
, IN one field there Were small. conical
piles Of lot mdhnre. about four TO FIVE
bushels in a place and about 100 feet
apart each. amounting possibly TO one
ton per acre. The laborers were scatter
ing the manure from these little plies by
means OF bushel baskets along the 5-foot
cotton burrows. Thinks ] to myself
that man is consuming about oae dollar s
worth Of labor Gncluding the raking up
and hauling out( to get into the soil about
Is cents worth of manure. Of course that
will not pay in comparison with scatter
ing the manure directly from the cart or
wagon by forkfulls as the vehicle IS
dra wn along without a driver and the
whole ton applied to not more than one
fourth Of the acre and the remainder Of
the acres planted in peas or sorghum or
other forage crop.
s. | noticed that many fields of oats
had been sown according to the open
furrow plan and had therefore escaped
the killing effects Of the severe freezes
of last winter That was good. Other
fields had been sown broadcast and
nlowed or narrowed in in the od-fashion-
ed way. and as result the stands were
very imperfect ! could not fail to note
also that the oats, almost without OK