Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1909-11-17
Tobacco. Growing in the South.

Tobacco Growing in the South.
A farmer in Eastern North Caro-
lima writes: ST want to know if 1
can grow tobacco successfully two
years; in succession On the same land
by planting cowpeas in rows between
the tobacco. Also, where I planted
corn this season I want to plant to-
bacco next year. How shall I get rid
of the corn stalks? Would you burn
them or cut them in small pieces and
pillow them. under? What brand of
fertilizer should I use on tobacco, and
how much per acre? I want to plant
peanuts between the tobacco and at
last blowing SOW cowpeas in the mid
dies. Will that be right?
In the first place, I would say that
as a rule it is not a good plan to mix
crops. You had far better make a
regulation rotation of crops, putting
the tobacco only on n piece and the
peanuts only on the other. 1t is all
right in your section, where tobacco
is stripped for curing and the stalks
are not cut, to SOW cowpeas between
the rows at last working, so that after
the tobacco is off you will have a
crop of peas and tobacco stalks for
the benefit Of the lard.
But the peanuts are themselves
legumes and would be damaged by
having peas sown among them. The
peas and peanuts will mainly need a
liberal applicatic- of acid phosphate
and muriate of potash, as they can
get nitrogen from the air. There is
a notion that the empty hulis or
pops" as they r called in the pea
nut crop, are caused by lack of lime
in the soil, and growers use lime or
plaster to cure them. The fact is
that the pops are caused by a lack of
potash in the soil and the effect of the
lime or plaster is to release potash
that may be in an insoluble state in
the soil, and thus to diminish the
store of potash that is already in de-
fcient amount in the soils in which
peanuts are usually grown. Then in
using acid phosphate literally you
will be applying about forty per cent.
of plaster, and it is far better to sup
ply the deficiency of potash by direct
application Of potash salts. =
This is. also true with the tobacco
crop. 1t is not a good practice to fol-
low tobacco with tobacco on the same
land, but you should. as I have sug-
gested, leave the tobacco with a
growth Of peas on it. Then, among
these peas, as the leaves fall, SOW
crimson clover seed at the rate of If
teen pounds per acre, as q winter
cover, and in the spring turn the
whole under, when the clover is in
bloom, for corn, and you can very
we'll follow this corn with tobacco.
There will be no corn stalks in your
way, if you harvest the orr crop as
you should, by cutting it at the
ground and curing in shocks. You
will then have a large amount of
roughage to feed, and the land will be
clear except for the roots. which are
easily plowed down. Never burn
anything on the land that will decay
and form humus.
The tobacco crop is one of the most
peculiar crops grown. Certain kinds
of tobacco can be grown on certain
soils and not, SO well on others. Grow
ers have found this out, and the vari-
Gus types Of tobacco are grown in sec
lions suited to the particular type.
There is a notion among the grow
ers Of tobacco of the bright yellow
type, such as You SHOULD grow, that
it will not make the best quality after
a crop Of peas or clover. And yet.
some OF the most successful growers
are those who grow the most of these
legumes, putting another crop. like
corn, for instance, between the meas
and tbs tobacco. l think the chief
reason for the difference in tobacco
grown Immediately after peas or
clover is that the growers fail to real
lie rhat the legure crops have left a
large amount of organic nitrogen in
the soil, and they go to work and ap-
ply as much in their fertilizer as ever.
and thus get too rank and too late a
growth. All tobacco growers know
the value of humus Or vegetable de-
cay in the soil for tobacco. and will
clear up a pine thicket, because there
has been an accumulation of this veg
etabia decay or humus. Why. then,
should the decay of pea vines or
clover be any worse than the decay
OF pine leaves. In fact IL Is a great
deal better, if the grower will but I'M
derstand that in addition to organic
matter the legumes have left him
lore nitrogen per acre than he would
get in a ton of the %low-grade fertilizer
commonly used by tobacco growers in
North Carolina. I lectured last sum-
me- at Farmers Institutes in the to-
bacco growing sections OF North Car
DINA. and I found that as a rule the
tobacco growers are using for their
tobacco the brands that are known as
3-S-3. Now, while there is an abund-
ance of nitrogen. if in q good form. in
this mixture. and a superabundance
of phosphoric acid. there is entirely
too small a percentage of potash for
tobacco. Then the growers have no
guarantee that the potash il the mix
tuTe il from s%ulphate or muriate and
this will make a great difference in
TIE WORLDS OUTPU
If is ,estimated that the worlds