Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-11-18
IMPROVING THIN LAND IN FLoRI-

| ton, selection and relative nXatlon OF
| type.
IMPROVING THIN LAND IN FLoRI-
| DA.
w. H. X, Lake Butler. Fla, writes:
/ have Just purchased a WORKOUT farm.
1t is loose sandy land with clay about
two TO three and half feet deep. and
at present will make about six or eight
| bushels Of corn, and about 300 pounds
of Sea Island cotton per acre. What is
the best steps to take to build up the
land? Do you think clover would grow
on it? If so, what kind? Does the gov
eminent analyze land free? l would also
like information in regard to crop rota-
ton.
| Land that has a good clay subsoil two
or three feet below the surface can GER
tainly be improved and will respond to
good treatment in a rather surprising
manner. OF course, the sandy surface
of your soil tends to make 1t dry out
quickly and to suffer during a dry spell
of weather. There is also q tendency
TO leach which carries the food supply
beyond the depth reached by the roots
Of plants. The first thing, therefore, is
| TO overcome this defect. You can do
this through growing green crops and
blowing them under. In your section
beggar weeds or velvet beans are the
two crops to grow for this purpose. They
are very hardy and grow rapidly, pro-
ducing an abundance of vine and great
mass OF material to incorporate with the
soil. The velvet bean is particularly
valuable on thin land and will gather
and store as much nitrogen in proper
ton as the cowpea or other leguminous
crops. When planting you should APP
| ply not less than 300 to 400 pounds of
high grade acid with 100 pounds of mu-
rate Of potash. Leguminous crops can
! gather the greater part of their nitrogen
from the air, but the mineral elements
must be supplied in a commercial form.
Take this year, therefore, to put your
| land in shape; then next fall seed to
crimson clover or rye and vetch, this
crop to be plowed under early in the
summer, and the land put in either cot
ton or corn. You should adopt at least
three years rotation, growing oats and
cowpeas one year, corn the next and
cotton the next. You should, of course,
seed oats in the cotton stubble and cow
peas or velvet beans in the corn.
In experiments made on the college
farm we have found poor land infer
tilted to yield but 13 bushels of corn.
Where a rotation was practical and
green crops ployed under and a high
500 pounds per acre, the yield of corn
secured was SO bushels. Surely, this
should be sufficient TO convince the
doubters, of whom there are many, as
to the benefit green crops will confer on
the farmers of the south. When you
have filled your land with vegetable mat
ter you have done more to overcome in
jury by drought and a loss of plant food
by teaching than can be accomplished
i'm any other way.
Red clover will probably not grow un-
der your conditions, the sun being too
strong but crimson clover can be grown
as a winter cover crop. Japan clover
will do well in your pastures, but will
not be of great service as a soil i'm
proven in cultivated lands. Alfalfa will
probably grow in some favored locah-
Ties, but certainly not on your land until
you have improved it Systematically for
two or three years.
The government does not analyze soils,
and the only way we can hope to get this
done is for each state to have it's leg
islautre appropriate a sufficient sum OF
money TO its college of agriculture for
it To undertake the work in a systematic
manner 1t is the intention of the board
/ of trustees of this institution to ask
the legislature of Georgia for such an
appropriation at its next session.
CARE OF DAIRY UTENSILS.
J. A. C., Mitchell, Ga, writes: We
have a nice COW but we can not use the
MIX. II looks all right when it is first
MIXED, but when it turns and we starr
to churn it will form like soap suds and
will not make a bit of butter. / have
tried stock powders, but they do not do
any good. Can you tell me what to do?
From your letter l am led to believe
that the trouble with the milk does not
rest with your COW. The utensils used
in caring for the milk should be scalded
daily and aired in the sun. You may be
| trying TO churn at too low a temperature.
! Milk should be churned at about 60 de-
grees. The scaldlng and airing of uten-
sils is important.
HOG CHOLERA AND IS TREAT-