The Savannah morning news., 1904-10-17
FARM,
In Farm and GardeE-SOme October
Suggestions.

In respect to the opening, p1CklnS
and marketing of cotton, the Septem-
Der just passed was a record breaker.
Despite the fact that labor was scare
er than ever known before, or so
claimed, there was more cotton picked
and packed during the month than
was ever the case before. There was
every reason for the wholesale OPEN
ing of the cotton. The plant brought
to condition of premature maturity
by a long, dry season, peculiarly free
of saturating rains, spread open its
bolls, big and little, almost at once.
There were no rains sufficient to de-
velop new growth or blooms late in Au-
gust and early in September, so there
is little or no top" crop to be set
and matured.
For a number of years there has
been a steady tendency of the cotton
plant towards this trait of opening the
crop all together and within a period
covering less than half the time it did
thirty years ago. There is a reason
for it, The lack of humus in the soil,
the practice of drilling a little fertiliz-
er in the single furrow, the infrequent
rains soon evaporated, causing only
spurts of blooming, without a normal
gradual growth of plant-these oper-
ating together in their influences have
produced the wholesale, concentrated
opening, so to speak. The period of
cotton picking now extends little be-
yond eight weeks, when once it eX-
tended to twelve and even sixteen. In
slavery times it was not an uncom-
mon sight to see the last picking of
cotton late in December. Now it be-
gins in August and is we'll over be-
lore October ends.
The farmer who has picked out his
cotton and housed his corn can turn
his attention to another crop of great
value on the Southern farm.
That crop is oats
1t is of most value when treated as
a semi-hay crop, the greater part of
it at any rate. This part should not
be allowed to get ripe enough for
threshing, but should be cut as soon
as the dough forms, and while the
plant is still green.
Cured just right and then done up
into snug well-tied bundles of about
five pounds, it can be fed to the
horses and mules without more ado
that breaking the bundles. There is
some economy in cutting it up, but if
pulled we'll apart and given to the
stock in a well-made rack there will
be very little waste.
When the oats are cut just before
the dough" hardens and while the
plant is still green, the straw is more
tender and palatable and has more
nutrition in it than when left to get
dead ripe as for threshing In this
shape it is but bread and meat-hay
and grain, and is in every way the
safest and cheapest food for work ami
mails that can be raised on the South
ern farm.
It is a crop that deserves it's fair
proportion of the best land of the
farm; for the crop maturing in May
or June allows the land to be planted
an peas Cor velvet beans if preferred),
thus keeping it in the line of fertility
renewed for other crops another year
1t has always been a feature of
Southern farming lacking as it may
any broad system of rotation in the
favor of humus crops for the sake of
the soil. to SOW peas in the corn at
the laying by of the latter This was
and is helpful. But would it not be
a truer economy and involve greater
Improvement to divide we'll the corn
land with oats and then give the oat
land full crop of peas or beans
after the oat crop was taken off?
An acre of oats should supply more
and better because safer) food for
work stock than an acre of corn. A
corn diet kills more horses and mules
In the South than anything else. If
this does not appeal to many of our
farmers it is because they have grown
nine bushels of oats to the acre, where
they should have grown twenty to
fifty. They begrudged everything
but the poorest land to this crop took
little pains in making or in feeding
it when made.
They have failed to put it in its
true and deserved place in the sys-
tenn of their farm work.
Oats are a great crop whether for
man or beast. We may never initiate
the Scotchman in the esteem that he
holds for it as a human food, but
we could, to very great advantage,
value 1t as highly for our stock as
the Englishman does.
We should sow them in October.
The crop should have good land. The
land should be well plowed. At least
should be sown to the acre.
If we do not start a crop in October
we should start one in February. or
rich land oats can be made from
March sowings, especially when seed
ed with the harrow and the roller.
In the garden there is work for Oc-
tober. Flowing should be well done.
Spinach, a vegetable but little infe-
rior to asparagus. should for the first
crop be sown now on well prepared
soil After the seeds are sown the
land can be top dressed freely with
any lot or stable manure. It is a
crop that requires very rich land. Be
sure to get fresh seeds. so give your
order to an intelligent scotsman that
knows Of their quality
The "Aragon" and "Bloomsdale" are
both good varieties. The first is the
hardest of all. 1t is said Fresh seeds
sowed now on rich land will afford
as early salad as can be had.
Onion seeds can be sown now. US
ing the Bermuda or Creole varieties.
Most any OF the Italian or Mexican
varieties will probably give satisfac-
ton. It is important to have the lat
est crop of seeds. Onions seeds lose
their terminating quality in a year or
two
For market purposes, and even for
home use II is profitable to plant out
onion sets now to make bunch on
ions early I'm the new year. They are
pulled and punched when half grown
Tor less size). and meet quite large
demand In the local markets. coming
so much earlier than anything else
IN the way of an onion.
The very earliest onions do not
bulb down" (mature) before May
possibly little earlier in one or two
varieties.
In cabbage the improved American