The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1907-06-08
CORN AND COTTON.
Some Practical Suggestions For I'm
mediate Application.

Comparatively few farmers have yet
caught On" to the use of the harrow
or weeder during the very early stages
of the life of the corn and cotton
crops, especially the latter. But these
few, as 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
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 pillow, 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
| its evenness by blowing. This chop
ping before blowing (siding) involved
| the delay of the latter operation a
week CT ten days. 1t 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
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
1t was case of ''backsliding"-
some church folks have it-into the
old ways.
When a 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 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
crust largely excludes the air from
the soil, but-to the surprise of many
escape If the soil moisture, SO otter
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 plant:
whose growth and development is oul
object.
What is wanted, then, is to breal
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 immediate sur
! face is to either prevent the germina
ton OF weed seeds, or their immedi
ate Observation-Disclosures the youns
weeds and grass shall have had time
to get a firm hold on the soil. Thu
; breaking of the surface may be mos
} quickly done by the use of slant
| toothed smoothing harrow, or a weed
5 er. 1t is necessary only to rum small
J steel tooth every two or three inche
: and TO a depth Of one-haff to ont
| inch. 4 four or ffve-foot section of ;
, smoothing harrow can be drawn, TO
: this purpose, by an ordinary mule
2 and VIII go over nine or ten acres II
l a day without much effort. An eight
4 foot weeders may also be drawn by
3 good horse or mule, and viii accom-
. pTfsh sixteen to eighteen acres day
: The operation should commence a
|. soon after a rainfall as the land be
q comes in proper condition to sti
a without injury (the test being whe
t the soil crumbles easily from tn
l. teeth Of the implement), and witt
s out waiting for the plants Of the GRO
|, | u COutc up Ut " ISdCn d CcItdlu SiL
o after coming up.
e Whether to run the harrow or weet
y err in the direction of the rows @
s squarely across at right angles or
S agonally across should be determine
" by the lay of the land, the characte
# of the surface and the stage of tn
e plants-if 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
a. to cross the direction first assumed
IS If the land was well prepared an
7icoly ,.lcrtoI thora WITH <,ffav, - y