The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-03-26

trying to do, by giving their plans for
cultivating different crops, the value of
the paper would be greatly enhanced No
one man can tell it all, no matter how ex-
tensive his experience may have been or
how thorough his investigations. Five or
ten minutes devoted to writing a short
letter for publication under the heading
of Short letter department. will be ap-
preciated at this time by the editor, par
ticularly along the line suggested.
MY PLAN SHORTLY OUTLINED.
In order to make the start will briefly
outline the plan l intend to pursue for
my individual cotton crop the present
year. The most of the land / expect to
plant in cotton was turned last November
and December with three-horse rever-
sible disc pillow. The disc was set to run
s to 10 inches deep. All the land turned
in this way is now as soft as ashes and
stick can easily be pushed down any
where in the fields to a depth OF 10 to
Il inches. My land is a dark mulatto top
sol with deep red cay subsoil and is roll
i.g.
Another field, in order to test the value
of Malory's mode, / laid of with the Nal
lory plaw last December as deep as two
good mules could pull the pillow, with 10
inch points and two wings. None of the
land plowed with the disc or Mallory has
washed a particle this winter. All the
land broken for cotton this year was
planted in corn, peas, sorgum and pota-
toes last year. My corn crop will be
planted on land that grew a cotton crop
in 1908, as l am an ardent believer in crop
rotation.
This much As to fall breaking, and now
for spring preparation. The land turned
with Il disc last fall will be narrowed with
a two-horse cutaway disc harrow twice.
This vii smooth and puverize the soil.
[ will not lay off and bed this land, but
will probably, if I have time, lay it off
with a shovel and short scrape every four
feet to give light bed between the fur
rows to plant on. This furrow will also
serve as a shallow drain case of heavy.
rains Immediately after planting. I ex-
pect to begin planting about the 7th of
April or earlier if weather is suitable.
Will put in my fertilizers with aaguano
distributor and follow with the cotton
planter. This pioy will get the seed down
below the surface of the surrounding soil
hhIiC eii VI luOlSJuTc can De
had to insure early termination, even
though we may have an extensive dry
spell at that time. / will use from 800 to
$50 pounds of guano per acre, formula
made by myself cut of bulk acid, cotton
seed meal and murlate of potash. The
analysis of my formula will be as fol-
lows: Phosphoric acid, 10 per cent; am
monia, per cent; potash, per cent To-,
tai 16 per cent.
The land laid off with the Mallory pillow
last fall I expect to handle as follows:
Take the wings off the Mallory pillow and
put on a subsoiler, and with two mules
reopen the burrows as deep down as pos
sibe. Then list on the open furrow with
long twisters and burst the middle with
long shovel and short scrape. Next take
short iron-tooth harrow and run across
the beds to pulverize the soil and knock
down the beds, so that they will be but
slightly higher than the middles. the plan
being to leave depression in the middle
tor drainage from the bed The plan of
putting in guano and planting will be the
same as that adopted on the land broken
with the three-horse reversible disc If
the Mallory mode is successful it will be
more economical than the broadcast break
ing and equally as efficient against wash
ing on rolling lands. No report can be
forecast until the crops are gathered next
fall.