The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1910-08-25
Cotton and Corn Problems.

Many farmers have written to me
asking whether they should top cot
ton that's growing rankly. have stud
ed this, 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 ad-
vantage. In fact, 1 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 nev-
er 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
ly when to top cotton, I replied:
Never"
Some years ago I saw friend
hauling out manure in August and
spreading it between the cotton rows.
He had been stall feeding some
beeves, as he was in a neighborhood
beef club "a good thing, by the waD
and he did not want to throw the
manure out in heaps to spoil. l ask
ed him if he thought the manure
would help the cotton at that date.
He said it certainly would do no
harm, as he intended to SOW crimson
clover among the cotton and believed
that the manure would help that.
And it did, and more than that, he
got a late top crop of cotton as far
as the manure went. Now, do not
let the high price of crimson clover
seed stop you from sowing it among
the cotton. I believe that in most
sections the time of the first picking
is a good time to SOW the seed. Even
if you intend to grow cotton after cot
ton, the clover will be good thing
for there is no better preparation for
cotton than crimson clover plowed
under in April. And for corn which
should follow the cotton, you can let
the clover stand till dead before turn
ing it under, for there is always time
enough to make crop Of corn after
the clover has fully matured.
In riding around the country here
I 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
this humus-making material and nj
trogen-fxing crop that there is firing
almost to the ears on sandy soils.
A few days ago 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 I do not be-
lieve it will make over 25 bushels
solely because of bad seed, for l es-
timated that there are at least 20 per
cent. of the great stalks that have no
ear at all, simply growing fodder.
Seed from that 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.
I 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. I went through
his corn field of thirty acres last fall
and could not find a stalk without an
ear, and he made over ninety-hVe
bushels an acre on the thirty acres,
and sold it all at an average of $2.oO
per bushel for seed. Does it not pay
to grow good seed?-The Progress
sive Farmer.