The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1904-11-10
TREATING: WORKOUT LAND.
Practical aud Economical Method OF
Soil lmprovemeut-how Mr.. Black.
nall Built Up Some Poor Farms That
Were Almost Worthless.

Soil lmprovement-fiow Mr.. Black.
nall Built Up Some Poor Farms That
Were Almost Worthless.
Correspondence Progressive Farmer.
Messrs. Editors: If having been
the owner of poor land fits q man to
write about poor land, and If he is
competent in proportion to the pow
erty of the land, then l think l am
the most competent man in North
Carolina to discourse about poor
land. Some years ago ] bought some
so poor that the ownership carried a |
distinct species of disgrace along with
it. For time out OF mind owners
land since the war successive tenants)
had skinned that land, or tried to,
for generally the land did the skim
ming, the tenants being poorer at
harvest than at seed time.
The land lay convenient to me. 1t
was free from rocks, hills and waste
places. 1t was light and indeed
somewhat given to sandiness and
therefore pleasant to cultivate. !
bought it, giving the owner consid-
erably less than One-half the price he
paid forit a few years previously and
set to work to make it productive.
did not intend for that land to
break me as it was said to have
served it's former owners. Therefore
l sought to proceed upon economical
lines. Aware that of the three ele-
ments of fertility, ammonia, potash
and phosphoric acid, that ammonia
is both the most costly and the easiest
to escape the soil, I decided to buy as
little ammonia as possible, especially
as it costs about three times as much
as the other properties per pound.
OF course had to have ammonia,
but knew that could get it without
buying it at go much per ton. In
fact, get it free, as the process by
which l got it, as will appear, did not
cost me anything to get the ammo
MIA added. Potash and phosphOric
acid l also needed largely. These
had to buy, because there was no
other way to get them into the soil
The land was plowed and run off,
in rows three feet apart. In these
rows | sowed a mixture OF 15C
pounds of kainit and 100 pounds o.
acid phosphate per acre. Listing or
this furrow by furrow from eact
side, l then split open the list and
also threw open the furrow for thu
peas. In this furrow l sowed evenly
early in June COW peas at the rate o
one bushel to the acre and covered
them lightly with a small tooth cul
tivator. During the summer, a.
needed, they were given three plow
ings with a small tooth cultivator
no hoe work being required.
The result was a fair crop of COW
peas and pea vines. The peas
picked as soon as ripe ald cut tn
vines for forage.
In September l plowed under tn
stubble and applied broadcast tn
same quantity and the same kind c
fertilizer used for the peas. This
narrowed in with disc harrow
leaving q perfect seed bed. On this
sowed annual (crimson) clover a
the rate OF three gallons to the acI
and dragged it in with a brush.
The following spring tho Glove
yielded q moderate crop of forag
the land being yet too poor to rais
clover with much success.
In June plowed under the crimso
clover stubble again and drilled
peas, using the same fertilizer an
the same mode of culture as the pr
ceding year. The autumn shove
how my land was improving. TT
crop OF both peas and pea vines W,
good, l might almost say excellen
In September the pea stubble WI
plowed under and crimson clov
again sown, the treatment being T.
} same as that of the fall before. T
\ next spring gave very good cr'
of clover hay, indeed. This l aga
followed with peas, the cultivate
} and manuring being the same as I
\ the two former crops. The crop
peas and forage that came that SUI
M mer was a wonder. Its equal b.
never been seen in this neighborhoe
~ Inow found that this pauper faI
had been transformed Tito a We
good one, indeed, worth many tin
what paid for it. Thatfall l turr
! under the pea stubble and put
/ lland in strawberries, my staple cr'
IL Since then have grown as fine b
ries and as fine crops OF all kinds
that land as anybody has grown
~ the county: Every two or tn
: years have rotated in cowpeas
crimson clover, using potash in
n. form sulphate Of potash and a
phosphate on the berry crop, and
I. land grows better and better.
IL. O. W. BLACKNALl
Vance Co. \. c.