The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1904-12-17
PLANTER.
auILpING UP POOR FARMS.
..,h Carolina Farmer Tells How
ne went About RecIaiming
Poor Lands.

~ having been the ownef or poor
IA dts q mar to write about poor
III and if he is competent in pro-
orion to the poverty Of the land,
.tsn I think | am the most competent
IN In North Caroline to dicsuss about
Ear land. Some years ago | bought
s1me so poor that the ownership car
IA = distinct species of disgrace along
Ia il, For timo out OF mind, own
~ and since the war, successive ten
M. had skinned that land or tried
4 for generally the land did the skim
plng, the tenants being poorer at har-
rsst than at seed-time.
This land lay convenient to me. 1t
yas free from rocks. hills and waste
alaees, 1t was light and, indeed, some
THAT given to sandiness, and therefore
aleasant to cultivate. l bought it, Civ
~ the owner considerable less than
taIf the price he paid for it a few
wars previously, and set to work to
rake it productive.
did not intend for that land to
break me, as it was said to have served
ID former owners. Therefore | sought
d proceed upon economical lines.
aware that of the three elements of
feJtility, ammonia, potash and phos-
aAoric acid, that ammonia is both the
most costly and the easiest to escape
the soil, / decided to buy as little m
monia as possible, especially as it
| osts about three times as much as
the other properties per pound. Of
marse | had to have ammonia, but
IEnew that | could get it without buy
inc il at 30 much per ton. In fact, get
It free, as the process by which | got
Il, as will appear. did not cost me any
thing extra to get the ammonia added.
Potash and phosphoric acid | also
needed largely. This | had to buy.
because there was no other way to
let them into the soil.
The land was plowed and run off
ii rows three feet apart. In these
rows ! sowed a mixture of $50 pounds
Of kainit and 100 pounds of acid phos-
phate per acre. Listing on this fur
row by furrow from each side. I then
split open the list with one furrow.
This served to mix the fertilizer in the
al, and also to throw open the fur
row for the peas. In this furrow |
Uwed evenly, early in June, cowpeas
at the rate of bushel to the acre
and covered them lightly with a small
tooth-cultiyator. During the summer,
as needed, they were given three
powings with a small-tooth c%ultivator,
no hoe work being required.
The result was a fair crop Of cow
peas and pea-yines. The peas | picked
as soon as ripe and cut the vines for
forage.
In September I plowed under the
stubble and applied broadcast the same
quantity and the same kind of fer
tilzer used for the peas. This | har-
rowed in with a fine disc harrow, leav-
ing a perfect seed-bed. On this l
sowed annual %(crinson) clover at the
rate Of three gallons to the acre and
dragged it in with a brush.
The following spring the clover
yielded a moderate crop of forage, the
laad being yet to poor to raise clover
With much success.
In June 7 plowed under the crimson
clover stubble, and again drilled in
the pease, using the same fertilizer and
the same mode of culture is the pre-
ceding year, The autumn showed how
my land was improving. The crop
Of both pease and pea-vines was good,
| might almost say excellent.
In September the pea stubble was
rlowed under and crimson clover again
sewn, the treatment being the same
as that of the fall before. The next
spring gave a very good crop Of clover
hay, indeed. This | again followed with
peas, the cultivation and manuring be-
ing the same as for the two former
crops, The crops Of peas and forage
that came that summer was a won
der. Its equal had never been seer
III this neighborhood.
! nov found that this pauper farm
had been transformed into a very good
one indeed, worth many times what
! paid for it. That fall turned under
the pea stubble and put the land in
strawberries. my staple crop. Since
then | have grown as fine berries and
as fine crops of all kinds on that land
as anybody has grown in the COUNT.
Every two or three years | have ro-
lated in cowpease or crimson clover,
using potash in the form of sulphate
OF potash and acid phosphate on the
berry crop, and my land grows better
and better.-C. w. B~lacknall, in South
ern Cultivator.