The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-08-23
Cotton and Corn Problems.

Cotton and Corn Problems.
Many farmers have written to me
asking whether they should top cotton
that is growing rankly. | nave studied
his, and have seen cotton that was
topped, trying at once to put weak
shoots to replace the ones cut off and
| do not believe that this is an advan-
tage. In fact, | have seen cotton
topped and right alongside some that
was not topped and the long late sea-
son gave some top crop on the un-
topped plants.
We do not know what the season
is to be in the fall, and no matter how
rank the weed on cotton, l would
never top it. This is my observation
while there may be some who think
they have benefited the crop by top
ping. But when | was asked recent
~ when to top cotton, ! replied:
Some years ago | saw a friend
hauling out manure in August and
spreading 1t etWee the cotton rows.
He had been stall feeding some beeves,
as he was in a neighborhood beef
club Ga good thing, by the way}, and
he did not want to throw the manure
out in heaps to spoil. | asked him If
he thought the manure would help
the cotton at that date. He said that
1t certainly would do no harm, as he
intended to SOW crimson dover amonc
the cotton and believed that the ma
nure would help that.
And it die and more than that, he
got q late top crop OF cotton as far
as the. manure went. Now, do not
let the high price of crimson clover
seed stop Q from sowing it among
the cotton. / believe that in most
sections the time Of the first picking
IS q good time to SOW the seed. Even
if you intend to grow cotton after
cotton, the clover will be a good thing,
for there is no better preparation for
cotton than crimson clover plowed I'M
der in April. And for corn which
should follow the cotton, you can let
the clover stand till dead before turn
ing 1t under, for there is always time
enough to make a crop Of corn after
the clover has fully matured.
In riding around the country here
| notice on the most sandy soils that
there is no firing of the corn where
crimson clover was turned under for
the crop while on soils that had not
his humus-making material and nj
trOgen-fiXing crop that there is firing
almost to the ears IN sandy soils.
A few days ago l went through
a field of corn near my place. The
growth is splendid. and one would
say that the field would be good for
fifty bushels an acre. But l do not
DSlltNc 4 Will H1dke over % DuSnGIS
solely because of bad seed, for [ esti-
mated that there are at least 20 per
cent OF the great stalks hat have no
ear at ali. simply growing fodder.
Seed from hat field will be worse and
worse, for the barren stalks are the
strongest males in the field. and will
set most of the grain. and the grain
will inherit the same tendency to
make no ears like the lintless cotton
that promoters tried to sell years ago.
| know of one corn breeder who
has, by years Of careful selection and
cutting out of taSsels from barren
plants, wholly eliminated barren
plants, from his field went through
his corn tield of thirty acres, last fall
and could not find a stalk without an
ear, and he made over n~inety-five
and sold it all at an average of $3.50
per bushel for seed. Does it not pay
to grow good seed?
One seldom sees the Swiss chard
In the Southern gardens. In fact few
people | ave met know what chard
is. 1t is a species of beet grown for
its leaves and not for the root. In sum-
mer the stout leaf-stalks make a very
good substitute for asparagus after
the asparagus season is over. The
leaves can be pulled off all through
the summer and the old roots can be
hilled up slightly and will stand all
winter and give early shoots in the
spring. But at that season we have
asparagus and do not need it, so that
it is best to grow it from seed every
plants should be thinned to stand 3
inches apart in the rows, and the more
manure used the ranker the growth.