The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1907-11-01


a surplus crop. If prices are not
sufficient he can keep his cotton
until it is remunerative. The
boys have become disheartened
and move to the towns and can
not be held at home. Conditions
must he changed. Then he will
find that comfortable living and
money can be made on the farm,
he will stay. Such conditions
will build good school houses,
good roads and supply home COM
forts, and the farm offers a good
investment for commercial sue
cess. The farm life is the best in
the word.
How can it be made productive?
If it makes money it surrounds
the farmers with the luxuries of
life. In Iowa the rarm averages
$l100, in the South 5000. What
makes the difference?
We need more horse power and
better machines. In Iowa they
use four horses for blowing, here
one, and oftentimes that one
small pony. Animal industry and
stock raising 60 hand in hand
with the successful growing of
crops. There must he a change
in methods. Plow deeper and in
the Fall. Plant food, like home
food, must be prepared. A COM
parison between land plowed
deep and shallow will demon
strate the fact that deep blowing
retains the moisture and nourishes
the plant. During drOuths one
grows and the other burns up.
Deep blowing retains the moisture
in going down and coming up.
The sun forms a crust on top
while beneath it is a reservoir of
moisture. The dry hank on top
checks the evaporation. A light
blowing breaks the capillary tubes
on top and lets Out the moisture
retained by deep blowing, and
the plants continue to flourish.
Deep blowing and narrowing in
the Fall prevents the washing
away of the soil and secures the
absorption of the rain. This
method is adopted in Georgia,
North Carolina and Alabama,
and hence their success. Always
run two horse pillow and do not
skim over the ground. Deep
blowing does not mean turning
over the burrows, but by narrow
burrows pulverize the ground.
The next process for success is
to plant early and secure early,
sound seed. This is q race be-
tween the farmer and the boil
weevil. If the farmer makes his
crop before the third generation
of weevils mature his work is a
success.
The female weevil, of the first
pair, lays between $50 and 300
eggs and matches out the larvae
in about rs days. In 80 days the
pests have grown to countless
numbers. During that period the
cotton must reach q state of
maturity to place it beyond their
destructive power.
1t is necessary to plant good
sound seed aud the utmost care
should be taken in their selection.
This method will increase the
quality of the crop one fourth.
In demonstration work use the
finest seed and it will produce
the best cotton. The thoughtful
farmers should also become seed
breeders and thus secure the best
results. Practical experiments
have demonstrated this. A DEM
onstration farm grew $50 bushels
Il corn to the acre by careful
selection of choice seed.
If necessary use fertilizers, but
proper cultivation will retain the
humus in the soil. Rotate crops.
Plant peas that are a great
fertilizer and utilize stable COM
post. Build up the soil and there
will he an abundance of fer
tiIizers. Nitrogen in the air is a
necessary ingredient aud it is
absorbed and retained by plant
life. Cow peas and alfalfa es.
pecailly gather nitrogen from fhe
air and make good crops. Rota-
ton in crops insures fertility on
poor lands by judicious use.
Among the fertilizers is acid
phosphate.
Cultivation must be intensive,
that is by constant blowing. A
farmer near Arcadia adopted this
method up to the maturing Of
his crops and made, this year,
despite the weevils, bale to the
acre.
Tho wecvils can he kent down