The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1905-11-15
NV TO ABOLISH The HOE
,,,TION OF CROPS WITH
,rnERs AND HARROWS.
Cultivate Corn and Cotton
.,,..b the Weeder Is Told By a
cuccessful Farmer.

Successful Farmer.
following letter to the Southern
~ ~ nv VIM. Henry Morton, one
/. Ho most successful and progressive
ors in Clarke county, and a gen
'lD who makes a success of what
' he undertakes, will be read with
west and profit by farmers gen
/ ' 'rditor Southern Field: Your letter
.irad asking me to prepare an
.ticIe for your paper giving my pro-
W, for cultivating corn and cotton
..hont a hoe, and which [ will pro-
~ 70 do. [ have contended for a
|sag while that the hoe was the most
s,nensive implement in working crops,
n also that the farmer could do with
- the hoe. So l made a trial this
sar and to my entire satisfaction,
H. That is, the hoe in working
l.ons could be practically abandoned,
l,tside of maypop and bamboo briar
lnes, and by the right kind of cult
! aton even these pests can, in a great
Isssure, be gotten rid of.
Nov. Mr.. Editor, in the first place,
l,ccess in raising any crop is the
Iroper preparation of the land before
lanting. l do all of my blowing in
h. fall, with disc plows, running as
Len as can. Then, when the ground
4 too hard or dry for other plows, let
stand until spring, getting the freezes
md the winter rains, and by the time
Iou will want to commence work most
h the clods will be pulverized. Then
HI YOU need to do is to run your har-
INV to pulverize the small clods. Before
blsnting run a roller over the ground
h crush small rocks and clods that
Eere left by the harrows. never bed
|otton land. think it that much work
brown away. Plant below the level of
he ground and then you will have your
and in good shape for your weeder or
arrow. [ then run across the rows
nd then run the weeder with the rows.
Ibis plan is kept up until the plant gets
en or twelve inches high. After that
be crop needs very little thinning, for
Iour weeder or harrow has almost
,rought it to stand, Now, take some
lay when you can't pillow, or do any
hing else in the crop, and let a hand
bike two rows and do what little thin
ing is needed. You can go very fast
yer a field and bring the crop to
bod stand. A hoe is the very worst
hing you can use to thin corn, for it
utS off many stalks and does far more
arm than good. thin my corn with
fattened stick, at one end, and with
hitch you can take up the stalks, roots
nd all. [ run weeders in my corn until
gets over knee high, they doing all
be hoeing it needs. [ then lay by with
Tide sweeps, running very shallow. ]
Ontend that we do more harm than
Ood with the hoe. In the first place,
fter we have plowed a field in the old
ay, and covered up all the small
raSs, the hoes come along and undo
lis needful work; that is, uncover the
nall grass and pull the dirt from the
alks. The right time to kill grass is
lSt before it comes up or gets through
le ground, say with two leaves.
link there is nothing better to do this
ork with than a weeder. You not
lly clean your middles, but the row
well. SO what need have you for
hoe? Another great advantage with
e Weeder is that you can run them
W hours after rain, or as soon as
Tat OF grass forms. Whereas, under
at coat, your ground is wet and you
'nnot run a pillow. am glad that
rMerS are finding out that blowing
cir lands wet will not do. But you
N operate your weeder when your
'ighbor is sitting down, or has gone
town, waiting for his land to dry |
It, All I want to farm with IN this
ay is one hand for each mule. | let
y neighbors have my hoe hands at
20 per day. There is still Doubling
lomases when it comes to cultivating
crop without a hoe, and farmers who
lex to the old way of working their
ops. But we farmers have just got
is labor question to settle, and MY
an is the only way [ see to do it. II
u turn to the Southern Cultivator
August 18th you will see that my
an IS approved by others better in
fmed than myself. -