The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1910-04-20
SOUTHERN FARM NOTES.
Bureau OF Plant Industry-Farmers'
Cooperative Demonstration Work.

dant supply of corn is one of the es-
sentials OF good flaming.
The Southern farmer should grow
enough corn for every possible need
on the farm. The reasons for this
are plain. Ii has been demonstrated
thoroughly that with proper prepar-
alton and cultivation he can grow as
much per acre as the farmer In the
best corn-growing sections. At pre-
vailing prices Ii Is cheaper to grow
II than to buy II. even with IL and
is cents cotton. The best farming re-
quires systematic rotation of crops
on all lands. Corn is a standard crop
and is especially valuable from the
fact that we not only get the corn
crop Of peas. which will give a lib
eral supply Of nitrogen and humus.
two of the most valuable things In
building up soils.
Corn Is a tropical plant, and all
Aher things being equal II should
rive better In the Southern than in
the Northern States. This. however.
is not the case. What is the reason?
The main cause is the lack Of suit
able seed beds in the South.
Experiments have shown that,
while IL sends many of fits roots 8
or 4 feet deep. the corn plant places
the great body of its feeding roots
from to IL inches below the surface
where the soil Is made loose enough
by plowing or by frost to permit It,
The roots send out in every direction
an infinite number of hairlike
growths. which absorb moisture and
food. on soils properly prepared and
In sections OF fair rainfall the feeding
ground for corn is usually from TO
12 inches below the surface. This ~
strictly true In the great corn belt of
the Northwest. In the South there
has been too much shallow plowing.
Breaking 3 or 4 inches Is not deep
enough to make n suitable feeding
place for corn roots on average land
IL furnishes neither sufficient food nor
sufficient moisture for the plant to do
its best. The trouble with shallow
seed bod Is that IL Is too wet under
heavy rainfall ana too dry in periods
OF drought. A long advance will be
made toward increasing the average
yield ive fold IL the following sug-
gestions are carried out:
(1) Make a deep seed bed, suited
60 the requirements OF the corn plant.
CD Fill this seed bed with veget-
able matter and give II good drain
age.
(3) Use the best seed.
(D Practice intensive cultivation.
The disk plow. the adjustable sec
liable aids in producing the corn crop.
THE COwPEA CROP.
The cowpea is a part of the corn
problem i'm the South, and the plan
generally adopted of broadcasting
half a bushel TO a bushel of seed to
the acre at the time of the last work
ing OF the corn and cultivating 1t has
given good results.
The corn should be gathered as
early as practicable and the stock
turned in. Fortunate is the man who
has tight fencing. so that the pigs. as
well as the work stock and cattle can
a..
some OF the poorer lands the corn
rows may be made s feet apart and
a row of peanuts planted between
them; this will add To- the value OF
the fall pasture when no cowpeas are
planted. AS soon as the crop Of cow
peas has been fairly we'll grazed,
break deep, setting the burrows on
edge; harrow; SOW TO oats. vetch. win
ter barley, or rye. and turn this un-
der in the spring. This plan will
economically improve the soil and
greatly increase the average crop
production.
Where the season is too short TO
successfully carry out the foregoing
plan Il has been found that planting
vctch and rye or crimson clover I'm
the corn and turning them under i'm
the spring rapidly builds up the soil
and IS much more economical than
the use Of large quantities of com
mercial fertilizers. The general OBJ
ject Is to keep the land occupied sum-
mer and winter, producing something
Of value for food or fertilizer and at
the same time protecting the loose
soils from washing or teaching by the
heavy rains of winter and spring.
TOOLS AND IMPLEMENTS RE
nT"TRIrD