The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-06-22
Mulching Goes with IRRIGATION.

Applying water TO our crops III d
hot and dry time is not enough. Some
times it has seemed to me that l can
not kin celery-plants more quickly by
neglect than by watering them, how
ever freely, and then leaving them to
themselves for few days of hot and
dry weather. Pouring water around
the plants packs the soil, and makes
the water dry out all the faster aft
erward Such watering seems to be es-
pecially fatal to small plants-that Is,
plants the roots of which do not reach
far down into the ground as yet. 1
did kill part of a row of plants which
had only shortly before been trans
ferred from the seed-fiats 10 open
ground, where they were intended to
make full stand of plants for setting
out during the early part of June, just
by applying water to the row and
neglecting to stir the surface again
shortly after Such stirring of the
soil provides the dust mulch. In most
cases of this kind l go even further,
and besides the dust mulch also apply
a mulch of coarse litter or manure.
Such double mulching insures safety
and the retention of moisture for a
long period of dry weather. When the
celery-plants have been planted out
where they are to make a crop mot
of plants but of celery for use) US
ually mulch heavily with fine manure,
and when water applications become
necessary, pour the water upon thS
mulch, letting it soak through until
the ground has become well saturated.
Such watering always does good; in
fact the effects are often remarkable.
But on the whole l believe that irrI-
cation without a mulch of some kind
is only half effective, and sometimes an
injury The least one should do aft
er applying water is to stir the surface
of the soil around the plants as soon
as it is dry enough for it. For apply
ing a litter mulch besides. 1 find that
old corn-stalks, of which l sometimes
have a surplus, or more than l can
use for feeding cattle during winter,
serve a good purpose. 1 think the
best way to handle them is to run
them through the feed-cutter. cutting
them into inch lengths, and then pack
them several inches deep around the
strawberry plants.-F. Greiner.
There are some crops that when we'll
grown pay such splendid profits one is
justified in expanding considerable eX-
ira labor in securing a perfect growth.
Here in the South when the sun Is
hot, the soil thin and so destitute of
humus il is almost impossible to grow
some crops TO perfection without the
aid of mulching and an artificial sup
ply of moisture. 1t is true mulchins
and irrigation can rarely be practiced
to any considerable extent, even when
recognized as most profitable as is al
ways the case in growing such crops
as celery, strawberries, cauli1ower,
cabbage and second crop Irish pota-
toes" Very few growers of either of
these highly profitable crops have ia
cilities for irrigating and mulching
even so much as an acre or two. Us
ually ii is not much more than a small
plat or so that the practice can be APP
piled to. 1t implies the use of a con-
siderable amount of extra labor to
mulch and water even a half acre of
celery or strawberries or caulidower
1t is all true that it would be we'll
paid for, but at the same time the av-
erage grower can not supply that ex-
ira labor except for very small areas.
II is not easy to mulch properly and
irrigate as much as one acre whether
of celery or strawberries or caulflower.
AS Mr.. Greiner says. mulching and
irrigation must go together to get the
good effects of either to the fun eX-
tent especially in the case of such
crops as have been named. OF course
the irrigation of rice is a different
thing, for in the case of that ordinary
AdItH crop tucTG is no dtIefnpt at Gull
tivation and water is understood to
be available 10 an unlimited extent
while with the more valuable garden
crops a considerable amount of work
is preliminary TO mulching and water
ing. In the vicinity of a large town
or city-there is no telling what the
proceeds would be from an acre of
either of the valuable crops above
enumerated under the most complete
culture possible, combined with a sup
ply Of unlimited moisture and perfect
mulching. 1t is chiefly a question OF
water, other things being equal. how
big and profitable the crop may be OF
either celery cauliiower or strawber-
ries. Granting that the soil h sup
piled with the necessary plant food 10
make maximum crop all that win
be needed then IL 10 supply all the
water that the crOD can make use OF
~ attaining complete growth and we
nave crop usually that Is easily
worth ia thousand dollars, and no tell
inf hos much more Eometimef Win
these crops the most important thing
u on uninterrupted supply Of thst sim
Dc element ~ growth water Water
apd plenty ~ u is the KEY 10 success
Wlih flnfed supply ~ BE- none III
HfHf crops cen attain perfection how
.fff fifh fha soil and homeNer pey-
zoe Rae cultivation. ~ me seasons
come ani ~. year ln end year out.
tn.lf a rarely moisture fnoueh from
tslNe tp nafs maximum crop ~