The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-05-18
CULTIVATING YOUNG
COTTON AND CORN

-
the old proverb says, and time saved
| is money saved.
| AS one Of the means to the end Of
the saving of time and increasing the
| effectiveness of the labor of both man
| and beast, the broadcast narrowing of
young corn and cotton is entitled to
| first consideration. 1t is only of late
years that the slant-tooth smoothing
harrow and later the Weeder have
| been used to scarify the fields, break
the incipient crust and destroy the
grass and other weeds even before
these make their appearance. II the
land has been we'll prepared and the
crop properly planted there is no
means of culture that will prove more
effective and laborsaving than the
use of the harrow or Weeder as lnd1-
Gated, and | am glad to know that the
, method IS becoming more and more
generally adopted every year. The
object of this article is not to confirm
or eShort. on this subject, those farm
ers who have got on to 1t. They
need no further argument or persua-
sion, but / wish to try to get every
farmer to adopt the plan, TO go and
do likewise. / have tried it myself
and know that it will do. Let me
here insert a clipping from The Fro
gressive Farmer (Ralelsh, y. -,
written by man who knows what
he is talking about and how to ex-
press what he knows in words:
! How to Cultivate Cotton Cheaply.
| Not many years ago the man who
would have advised Southern farmers
| to use a smoothing harrow broadcast
| over his corn field Just before and
| for some time after the crop came
up would have been regarded as a
coming candidate for an insane asy-
lum: but now thousands are doing
this very thing and know that 1t IS an
excellent practice. With the cotton
crop however. we have no. pro-
cressed so far towards a more eco
nomicaI system of cultivation; still the
harrow has similar place in the best
methods Of cotton culture to that In
corn production. Start the narrow
and the weeder early. Don't wait Tor
the crop to come up, but begin shortly
after planting and keep it up every
six or eight days until the cotton IS
four or five inches high There Will
then be little or no grass, ana chop-
ping Will be done at one-fourth the
expense The stand will not be IN
jured either. In face, it will usually
be better. on account OF the petler
condition Of the soil: but II you are
afraid use a little more seed. II you
are still afraid of injury to the crop,
irst try an acre or two this year ana
be convinced. 1t does not ln1ure the
stand for other men, therefore. we
feel sure il will not for YOU DO not
cultivation will not work on your Soll
because of some fancied local or pc
culiar condition. 1t Will work IN your
case and on your soil also, IL the lanu
was Well prepared ana the SOL wen
fined before planting.
Inst as the author intlmateS IN the
first sentence / remember that L was
utterly incredulous when L hrst read
of the plan not many years agq
thought it was an idea evolved from
the teelning brain of a crank writer
But I tried it and was at once con-
WINGED (but not against my Will.
on comparatively smooth land, with
. soft. mellow soil a two-horse har-
row. or a gang of two or three har-
rows. al with teeth slanting back
ward, may be used, saving the lapor
of one hand by using thus douole
team. On many fields any OF the
widely spreading weeders will do the
work effectively Think of 1T; weed
er spreading only eight feet ana
drawn by one horse or mule Will ac-
complsh sixteen to eighteen acres d
dav. leaving surface in beautiful con-
dition for repeating the Work within d
week or ten days or after the next
rainfall.
1t should be admitted that on a
rough. poorly prepared soil, with corn
stalks and big punches or ola crap
grass, the plan Will not work SO Wen.
Nor will any other plan. IN 1f soEh
cases the first work consists IN nan
doing after the crop was planted What
sho11ld have been thoroughly done pc
fore planting. The cart has been put
before the horse. when the crop was
planted before the land was prepared
| would like to hear from some OF
those who have tried the plan and
approve it, and also from some-it
any there be-who have tried 1t 1airly
and -"didn't like it.''-R. j. ReddIng