Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1910-01-26
FARMER INSTITUTE.


teF lO Stt sttiS, 81 2 ~ 10 S0uh
ty to attend fFafmers' institutes.
Less thana oxen gathered in the
court house 4 r'Isilr day TO hear Prof.
/ D. N. Barfow It seems thatif Hon.
/ w. r. Parks Gould come from
! ParksYille score of other farmers
who reside could have at
tended.
In thegoutset Prof. Barrow said
complaint has ensmade that Glenn
son college does not benefit the far;
mer, so in oraas 10 get in direct
touch with tie q cultural classes
THE farm extension work has been
! taken up, nnd the direction of
Prof. Barrow brough the coop
Grafton of3the executiye committee
of the Farmers Union he has ar
ranged to eondl two z or three in
stitutes il each county.
Prof. Barrow remarks Thursday
were devoted chiefly to commercial
fertilizers. he sad the fertilizer bill
of the farmers of South Carolina
amounted to about 81, 900, 900 last
| year, or about: 81 s for every bale of
cotton prodacea Within five years
the use Of comm mereial fertilizer has
increased 90 pc, cent, while the
yield of crops has increased only
% per cent, which indicates that
fertilizers lr rot being used to the
best advantage. BE dnes not advo-
cate curtailmcht but urges more
intelligent use of commercial fer
tilizers.
i Prof. Barrow " next entered into
a very interesting discussion of the
treatment Sspil SO as to render
available the plant food it contains.
1t matters not how fertile soil may
be- unless i'll i rendered soluble
plants will ndt}tIiFiye The applica-
tion of decay & vegetable matter
is the most econo mic way Of reno
vating soil. Tba fermentation that
takes place wien egetable matter
decays releases .sis plant food.
!, !. Moisture inlst 5tesa nt eder
| to render fanf ood available. "A
large amounto of water must also be
provided for the plant growth.
Ninety per cent ola turnipis water
and 40 to As per cent of hardwood
| is moisture. But an excess of water
in the soil will exclude the air and
cause the roots of plants to decay.
1t requires 500 pounds of water to
produce one pound of dry matter.
Thus is shown the enormous
amount of water that is needed to
grow crop. AS. tits impossible to
obtain sufficient water supply from
rain that falls after the crop is
planted water. must be, stored. BY
blowing deepin the fall and early
spring.
Prof. Barrow spoke at length
upon bacterial life. While, said he,
injurious germs are all about us,
there are thousands of good germs
foryevery injurious germ. What is
known as the killing of soil where
lightning strikes a field is simply
the destruction of the germs which
renovate the soil and feed the
plant. Stable manure contains q
large quantity of germs,is why it is
50 valuable as a fertilizer.
Prof. Barrow is a strong advo-
cate of using fertilizers that are
mixed upon the farm. He says
ready mixed guano is used upon all
kinds of soil, when the farmer
should study the character of his
soil and mix fertilizersthat is suit
ed to its needs. Its often the case
in buying ready mixed fertilizers
that man will spend money for
something that he does not need.
Nitrogen, acid phosphate and pot
ash should be purchased and mixed
on the farms, the percentage of
each being determined by the kind
of soil on which they are applied
and the kind of crop to be grown.
Prof. Barrow saws every farmer
should conduct an experiment sta
tion of his own, in order to deter
mine what kind of fertilizer is best
suited to his soil. Notsonly different
kinds of fertilizers should be used
but varying quantities, the yield
from each row being weighed in the
fall. Actual analysis Of the soil does
not give satisfactory results.
Prof. Barrow advised the use of
fish scrap or blood tankage for OBJ
tanning nitrogen for mixing fertili-
zers, instead of cotton seed meal. He
congratulated the farmer ron OBJ
tanning full value of tb5 .ed this
year, and he is of the op.aion that
the mills should con..nue> to pay
good prices.
lom-I can't teach that Wilson
girl to skate: its no use trying.
Dick-But why does she persist
in wontino tn learn2