The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1910-10-19
80 BUSHELS OEs CORN PER ACRE
ON SAND-HILL LAND.
How 1t was Done, and How Others
May do It--NitrOgcn from Stable
Manure or From Fertilizers?

One of the best examples to be
found in this State of what can be
done with poor soils by the free use
of vegetable matter combined with
deep preparation and good culture is
to be seen on what is known as the
Asylum Farm, in the suburbs of
Colum bia
When this land was taken in hand
by Captain j. w. Bunch, the Treas
erer of the State Hospital for the In
same, some 20 years ago, it was re-
garded as practically worthless. IT
is in the "sandhilI' section abandon
ed and covered with a spare growth
Of broomsedge. Today the yield from
these abandoned lands averages 20 70
and Is tons OF ensilage ger acrA
This Improvement has ben made
by pursuing the following system:
The land is rlowed, a systemeti:
rotation, consisting of oats and vetch,
peas and corn, and peas has been
practiced. At times sorghum is sub
stituted for the corn. In addition to
the plowing and the rotation this
land annually receives the manure
from a herd of 800 cattle, most of
them dairy COWS. This manure is
carefully saved and applied to che
land in return for which the land,
200 acres, produces all of the rough
feed consumed by these cattle to-
gether with a number of hogs. Iii
addition to raising feed for this live
stock this farm also raises large per-
centage of the vegetables consumed
by the inmates of the hospital. or
course, free use Is made of the silo.
In this connection it is of interest
to know Captain Bunchs method
of utilizing all of his corn crop.
From many acres he cuts and places
in the silo all of the crop. But when
fed upon silage cows also require
certain amount of dry feed. Many
Of hulls. Instead of buying hulls,
Capt Bunch cuts his corn just below
the ear and cures it. When cured,
the ears are removed and the rest
of the stalk converted into stover.
After this corn is cut, and while still
green the rest of the stalk is cut
hauled to the barn, and after going
| through cutter, is placed in the silo
Capt Bunch is no doubt correct in
his claim that the lower part of the
stalk is more valuable as ensilage
| than as shredded corn stover; but I
question whether this superiority is
sufficient to pay for the increased
costs of the work. With this farm
this increased cost is not an item as
| most of the work is done by the pa
| tients.
Some commercial fertilizer has
| been used in building up this land
but it has been chiefly in the form
| Of phosphates and potash On this
years crop Of corn there was used
400 pounds per acre Of a mixture con-
sisting Of four parts II per cent acid
to one part muriate potash. This
mixture would analyez approximately
1875 per cent phosphate acid and
10 per cent potash. In addition to
this applied at the time of planting
there is also used 100 pounds of
nitrate of soda. applied as the corn
was punching to tassel. AS mention
| ed in the beginning, the yield was
about so bushels of corn per acre.
fe who are paying, and did pay this
year, 10 and 20 cents a pound for the
nitrogen that you used in your fer
tilizers, notice that most of the nj
trogen used by this crop is from the
manure. The only purchased nitro
gen in the form of nitrate of soda.
was in the cheapest form. The act
| udi outlay for "guano" could not
have exceeded Sc per acre. If there
We're used ten tons Of stable manure
per acre on this land this spring. this
manure contained 100 pounds of nj
trogen and would have cost in the
form of cottOnseed meal. at least $19.
Admitting that the crop used half of
this amount the balance remaining
IN the SOIL as permanent improve
ment, then it would have been ne
cessary to have spent SO more, or
SO in all. to have supplied this crop
with nitrogen. But the simple sup
plying of nitrogen does not represent
all the value derived from the ma
nure. 1t is very much to be oues
toned whether SO worth of nitrogen
in any other form would have result
ed in 50 good yield, for without the
humus supplied by the manure there