The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1904-09-22
Farming as a Business.

sell, empty of plant food, than he
would think of starting a store with
an empty building. Convenient loca.
ton to railroads OF markets doubles
the value Of farm land as it would
the value Of store site. Hauling is
among the heaviest items on farm.
Clearing timber and brush land usu-
ally costs as much as clear land can
be bought for.
Start farming as you would any eth
er business. Provide the raw mate
rial for the soil. Spreadin. CONNER
cial fertilizer with lavish hands is not
always successful as it is apt to
wash away. The safest and surest
road is the one that the Southern
Planter has pointed out for these
many years: Growing leguminous
crops, such as COW peas, clever and
alfalfa, but to depend upon these agen-
cies alone would take too long. You
would be wasting years without re-
muneration from your farm. Buy no
more land than you can afford to stock
with plant food, and do moi buy stock
until the farm produces tht where
with to feed it, else the cattle, hogs,
horses and sheep will eat the bottom
out Of your purse. AS a business pro-
position no man can afford to waste
his time improving only few acres.
If you haven't the means to handle
fifty to 100 acres, try trucking. A
smaller farm will not be paying pre-
position.
Next to feeding the sell, or perhaps
even more important is proper cult
yation. If you have settled on your
place disk as many acres as you know
you will be able to handle. Disk in
half-lap. Then plow deeply. II you
can, let the subsoiler follow the turn
ing plow. Always harrow immediate
ly after plowing, unless too wet, to
prevent the land from drying out.
Then disk again until it is warm
enough to plant. Unless you are To-
Gated in the limestone region, spread
twenty to fifty bushels Of lime to the
acre. Lime costs from 81 per ton to
six and seven cents per bushel. Spread
also 500 to 1000 pounds Of ground
rock phosphate 1t costs 81 to $S per
ton. Also not less than 200 pounds OF
potassium chloride (murlate of pot
ASH. 1t costs about $41 per ton. Har-
row to a fine tilth and sow or drill
thickly to COW peas.
Begin plowing the peas under in
August, as the peas will be then more
nearly matured. Turning crop Of
peas under when full Of sap and
growth is apt to sour land in this warm
climate, and disk the land every week
in half lap until time for fail sowing.
If you have used only twenty bushels
of lime in the spring, sow now twenty
bushels more. Also SOW again 500
pounds rock phosphate and some po-
tassium chloride (muriate Of potash).
The land is now ready for alfalfa or
German clover. .Devste as much as
you can to alfalfa.
On the land not needed for alfalfa
SOW German clover or hairy veich fer
a winter cover crop. The land or the
seed should be infected with bacteria
if German clover; has never been
grown in the field '(bacteria can be had
from Washington. As land is rated
by the number of barrels Of corn 1t
will produce, it should now yield ten
barrels or fifty bushels If properly cul-
tivated. The time has come, then, to
get some good graded stock and to ex-
tend the work of improving to the rest
of the farm.
Don't imagine, however, that you
can now afford to let your stock OF
fertility run down. OF course. your
alfalfa field will get richer every year
and you will have more stable manure,
but even then it is advisable to keep
on growing peas and clover. Land In
the South should never be bare Of
vegetation. When a crop is removed,
sow peas Or clover Immediately, ac-
cording to season, peas for summer.
German clover for winter. Always
rse lime phosphorus and potassium
for these crops.
You have ploweC Under four crops
at n cost of S5 Tor seed, with seventy
tushels of lime, costing 81 do car
load LOTS, 600 pounds Of rock phos-
phate at S1O, and so pounds potas-
sium chloride at SIC. Your work of
plowing, cecding. diskiag. etc, should
BE- worth SIC per acre. If the land
IS near market OIL static, yoCr in
provements are more valuable than
On land less conveniently located. Life
will be easier now since the alfalfa
fcld has reduced the acreage unGer
plcw. The decaying crops have sup
piled the soil with hunts and the land
will produce row as we'll as land sold
for S10O or more in Illinois, and your
products will bring from fifty to 100
per cent. more tha1 they would In
most We.terC sections.
Sweet Potatoes md CasEavo.