The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1905-01-14
FARMER AND PLANTER.
BUILDING UP POOR FARMS.
4 NORTH Carolina Farmer Tells How
He Went About Reclaiming
Poor Lands.

Poor Lands.
E II having been the owner Of poor |
land fits man to write about poor
land. and il he is competent In pro-
portion to the poverty Of the land.
then think I am the most competent
man Ia North Caroline to dicsuss about
poor land. Some years ago ] bought
some so poor that the ownership car
ried distinct species of disgrace along
with it. For timo out of mind, own
ers, and since the war, successive ten
ants, had skinned that land or tried
to, for generally the land did the skin
ming, the tenants being poorer at mar
vest than at seed-time.
This land lay convenient to me. IL
was free from rocks, hills and waste
places. 1t was light and, indeed. some
what given to sandiness, and therefore
pleasant to cultivate. bought It, CIV
ing the owner considerable less than
half the price he paid for 1t q 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
its former owners Therefore sought
to proceed upon economical lines.
Aware that of the three elements OF
fertility, ammonia, potash and phos-
phoric acid. that ammonia is both the
most costly and the easiest to escape
the soil, i decided to buy as little am
monia as possible, especially as 1t
costs about three times as much as
the other properties per pound. vi
| course / had to have ammonia, but
knew that could get it without buy
Ing it at SO much per ton. In fact, get
It free, as the process by which | got
It. 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
get them into the soil.
The land was plowed and run on
In rows three feet apart. In these
rows sowed a mixture of $50 pounds
of kainit and 100 pounds of acid phos4
phate per acre. Listing on this fur
row by furrow from each side. then
split open the list with one furrow
This served to mix the fertilizer in the
soil. and also to throw open the fur
row for the peas In this furrow
sowed evenly, early in June, cowpeas
at the rate Of one bushel to the acre
and covered them lightly. with small
tooth-cultivator. During the summer
as needed, they were given three
plowings with small-tooth cultivator
no hoe work being required.
The result was a fair crop OF COW
meas and pea-vines. The peas Ipicket
as soon as ripe and cut the vines 10
forage. SO
In September plowed under tn
stubble and applied broadcast the sam
duantity and the same kind of fer
tilizer used for the peas. This l har
rowed in with five disc harrow. leaH
J ing a perfect seed-bed. On this
! sowed annual (cr.mson) clover at tn
rate of three gallons to the acre an
dragged it in with brush.
The following spring the Glove
: Welded a moderate crop of forage. tn
] land being yet to poor to raise Glove
, with much success.
In June plowed under the crimso
: clover stubble, and again drilled
: The pease, using the same fertilizer an
! the same mode of culture as the pre-
d ceding year. The autumn showed no
: my land was improving. The Gre
X of both pease and pea-vines was goo
e might almost say excellent.
"A In September the pea stubble VIZ
S plowed under and crimson clover agai
S sown, the treatment being the san
n as that of the fall before. The ne
r spring gave a very good crop Of Glow
hay. indeed. This again followed VII
n peas. the cultivation and manuring b
e ing the same as for the two form
e crops. The crops of peas and foral
e that came that summer was q wo
i der. Its equal had never been SCI
in this neighborhood.
now found that this pauper far
had been transformed into very go
n. one indeed, worth many times VIII
Dr. I maid for it. That fall turned und
l. the pea stubble and put the land
RS Strawberries, my staple crop. SIN
es then I have grown as fine berries q
rs as fine crops of all kinds on that la
ir as anybody has grown in the coun
S. Every two or three years l have
Sc tated in cowpease or crimson Glow
lg using potash in the form of sulphi
ed of potash and acid phosphate on
RS berry crop. and my land grows bet
~. and better.--C w. Blacknall, in Sou
ul srn CultivatOr.