The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1906-08-17
Flowing. Good and Bad.

A correspondent of the Country
Gentleman opens his communication
with an axiom, for it is certainly true
that good blowing is at the founda-
tion Of good farming. All that is
said about blowing when the soil is
too wet or too dry applies, of course,
only to heavy soil containing a large
percentage of clay. Most of the
sandy lands Of this State can be
plowed as soon as the rain stops
without any injury. Florida farmers
have yet to learn that one-horse
blowing does not pay
Good blowing, II has been said, is
at the foundation of all good farm
ing; and there is much of truth in
the statement. A field that is poorly
plowed is not likely to produce a
heavy crop, and always requires
extra labor In its subsequent prepare
tion and cultivation. Land that Is
plowed too wet or too dry is certain
to be baked or cloddy, and often re-
mains in this condition the season
through. Shallow, careless blowing
has been the bane Of this section;
and many a quilted hillside testifies
TO the work OF the man who plowed
four inches deep because he was in a
hurry to get through. Down in the
cotton country, where, in many local
titles at least, the rule is a darby, a
mule and a little one-horse pillow that
turns up from two to four inches of
soil, the damage is equally apparent,
and even more general.
Good blowing and deep plowing
are, however, not necessarily synony-
nous. Some land needs to be turned
no more than four inches, although
it is fair to say that there is very lit
tie OF that kind in thissection. Land
to be we'll plowed must be broken to
a uniform depth and be free from
the "skips" and "wallows' left by so
many plowmen. When the soil is
too wet to shed, or so dry that It
breaks up in chunks. a good job is
impossible The ideal condition is
when the soil as it falls from the
plow crumbles down into a soft,
smooth bed
This ideal condition is not always
Obtainahle even where the land is
smooth and uniform, and where, as
is often the case with us, one field
may have in it a half dozen types
and conditions of soil and as many
differences in topography, the prob
lem is one Of great difficulty Where
one has to pillow up hill and down,
through alluyial deposits ana clay
banks, he must he n better ploWman
than any with whom I am acquaint-
ed If he keeps his burrows of uniform
depth and width. He cannot set his
pillow for every variation of soil or
slope, but must strike an average as
best he can. This means that he
may pillow eight inches deep in one
place and four in another. Usually,
too, the least depth will be reached
where the greatest is needed Now
this is a very unpleasant state OF af-
fairs, but it seems also to he newt
able. 1t is one of the disadvantages
which the man who farms in the hill
country has to contend with. If any
one can tell us any practical way Of
surmounting this difficulty I can
promise him the gratitude of at least
one reader, and believe he will have
that of thousands OF others.
There are some things a farmer is
said never to appreciate until he has
had and lost them-running water, a
good fruit supply, abundant shade
trees and a convenient wood lot. I
think it is safe to add that the man
who has level land Of uniform quail
ity cannot fully appreciate his good
fortune unless he has at one time
farmed on hilly Florida Agri-
Culturist.