St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1907-05-25
CORN AND COTTON.
Some Practical Suggestions For am
mediate Application.


of the life of the corn and cotton
crops, especially the latter. But these
few, as a rule, have found that there
is no detail of surface culture that
costs less of labor and is at the same
time more effective than the stirring
of the surface soil, the mere breaking
of the thin crust that is formed on
plowed land after every rainfall.
Most farmers, or at least many, ap.
preciate the Importance of using a
cutaway, or a smoothing harrow, i'm
mediately following the broadcast
breaking of land, in order to get the
surface into better condition for sub
sequent operations. The use of the
smoothing harrow, with the teeth
slanting backward, or some one of
| the several weeders now available
continues the narrowing process after
| the first rainfall on the newly planted
| crop.
Many years ago the writer con-
| ceived the idea and adopted the
practice of 'chopping out" his cotton
ahead OF the plow, the seeds having
| been covered with a two-row drag,
| which left the cotton beds perfectly
smooth and fiat and very inviting to
the use of the hoe before disturbing
it's evenness by blowing. This chop
ping before blowing (siding) involved
| the delay of the latter operation
week or ten days. It was soon OBJ
served that cotton did not grow, off"
| so well when the blowing was thus
delayed until the chopping was done
| This was more than forty years ago
before the day Of weeders and of
the common use of smoothing har-
rows in southwest Georgia. If the
plan Of surface narrowing the plant
ing fields after the first downfall of
rain had been put into my head and
then applied to the surface of the
fields it would have been of great
| practical value. AS it was, however,
the Old slow plan of Siding" the
corn or the cotton with two burrows
and then hoeing was again resumed.
It was a case Of "backsliding''-as
some church folks have it-into the
old ways.
When good heavy rainfall oc-
ours after the corn, and especially
the cotton, has just been planted, the
immediate effect of such downpour
is the formation of a crust on the sur.
face, while at the same time the grass
and weed seeds that lie on or just
beneath, the surface terminate. This
Ecrust largely excludes the air from
the soil, but-to the surprise of many
it is asserted-greatly facilitates the
escape cf the soil moisture, SO often
likely to be deficient during the month
of May. At the same time the grass
and other weeds spring up and com.
mence to choke the young plants
whose growth and development is oul
object
What is wanted, then, is to break
up the surface left by the shower
and prevent the formation of the thin
compact crust At the same time the
effect of stirring the imr1ed ate sur
t face is to either prevent the germina
ton OF weed seeds, or their immedi
/ ate Observation-Disclosures the young
weeds and grass shall hare had time
to get a firm hold on the SOIL This
: breaking of the surface may be mos
J quickly done by the use of a slant
| toothed smoothing harrow, or weed
) er. 1t is necessary only to run a small
} steel tooth every two or three inche:
: and TO depth Of one-half to one
l inch. A four or five-foot section of {
J,o 4 En-
: this purpose, by an ordinary mule
3 and will go over nine or ten acres II
/ a day without much effort. An eight
4 foot weeder may also be drawn by ;
9 good horse or mule, and will accom-
|. p1ish sixteen to eighteen acres a day
' The operation should commence a
|, soon after rainfall as the land be
a comes in proper condition to sti
a without injury (the test being whel
t the soil crumb1es easily from tn
l. teeth of the imp1ement), and with
s out waiting for the plants of the GRO
|, to come up or to reach a certain siz
o after coming up.
e Whether to run the harrow or weed
er in the direction of the rows o
S squarely across at right angles or d
S agonally across should be determine
v by the lay of the land, the characte
r of the surface and the stage Of tn
g plants-ff they are up. Generally
will be best to run across the row:
either diagonally to the right, we wi
say, and next time to the left, so a
J. to cross the direction first assumed.
IS If the land was well prepared an
IS nicely planted, there will often be n
It necessity to pillow the cotton in th
IS common way until after it has bee
@ put to stand. An eightfoot weede
is as already stated, will go over, sa.
J. eighteen acres a day. A scooter an
IS scrape, or a twister, giving two flu
ID rows TO each row, will go over abou
ID three or four acres day. So we Sc
n the weeder may go over efghtee
;. acres a day thrice-a week or te
IN days apart-with much less labor tina
ID the plow would require to go over tt
same area once.--R. ]. Redding.
Tennessee the canteloupe State.
Il The increased acreage put int
it canteloupes this season is surprising
d In Lawrence county the acreage hs