Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1911-06-27

mails may have color quite at variance
with that OF their immediate ancestry. The
law OF atavism or the throwing back
in the assumption of color or other char
acteristics possessed by remote ancestors
satisfactorily explains the appearance of
unusual colors from time to time. Gray
Jerseys may be just as fine individual
animals so far as milk or butter produc-
ton is concerned as any other specimens
Of the breed. One should not select an
imals for color, but for performance.
The best record Of performance is the
milk pail and scales which determine
the weight of milk and butter which may
be secured from given individual
IMPROVING THE GRAVELLY LAND
w. c. H, Cohutta. Ca, writes: we
have a poor ridge farm. gravelly land
and clay subsoil. would like to know
the best method of improving this land
TO where II will make 100 bushels of
corn and a bale of cotton per acrel
noticed when passing through the edu-
cational train some books on farming. /
would like to have the names Of them.
We have small patches of wild onions
all over our place. Is there any way
to eradicate them?
Ridge land with a gravelly subsoil is
not likely to be very retentive OF mois-
ture and plant food unless n is under
are all right, and IL the subsoil happens
to be at the depth of IS inches, there
is no objection because the roots of the
plant will strike down into the soil
readily in search of food and moisture
greater than that If the soil is open
enough for them to penetrate It, In
case you have clay subsoil, lay down
rotation of crops, even thQmgh It may
take you two or three years to get the
farm organized for this purpose Begin
by blowing under green feguminous
crops This will give the soil retentive-
mes sfor moisture and plant food-the
first desfderatum in improving II. on
this land use for cotton an 1874 fertili-
ger at the rate Of 500 to 500 pounds
per acre; for corn. a 10-4-5 at the same
rate. You may sometimes find top
dressing with sulphate Of ammonia and
nitrate of soda valuable, bur after you
secure enough vegetable matter In your
soil throgh blowing under a green legu-
minous CROP the top applications will
hardly be necessary. and since nitrogen
purchased in this form is expensive, it is
desirable that you manage your LAND sa |
as to avoid the necessity of using top
dressings as soon as possible. A bale of |
cotton with the seed takes from the lana
only about onefifth to one-sixth as
much nitrogen as 100 bushels of corn, |
and land that will grow 100 bushels or
corn will, with any sort of attention
paid to seed selection and cultivation,
easily produce a bale and a half to two |
balec of cotton per acre. Some of the
books to which you refer are included in |
the following list:
The Soil, by King.
Fertility of the Land, by Roberts
Fertilizers, by Voorhees,.
Feeding of Animals, by Jordan.
Farm Poultry, by Watson.
Diseases Of Animals, by Mayo.
Principle of Vegetable Gardening, by |
Bailey.
Principle of Fruit Growing. by Bat
ley.
Milk and It's Products. by Wing
Spraying of Plants. by Lodeman.
Bush Fruits, by Card.
Farmers Business Handbook. by Ron
You will find these among the best
texts for the average farmer to put in |
his library
Wild onions are a serious pest and |
every effort should be made to prevent |
their spread. If the areas are very
small, it is best just to Gig the onions \
up and destroy them by burning. An
otter method is to grow such crops as !
for several years, as they have the pow
er of smoothing out all forms of life and |
will help to destroy the onion as effec-
lively as any crp which can be used for |
T. S purpoe.
AN APPRECIATIvE READER.
E NJ. T.. Homerville Ga. writes:
have found your advice in the past very
helpful. What can l plant in my cotton
or corn at laying by time to make a /
good winter pasture, turn under in the |
spring and help my land?
There is nothing which you could plant |
at laying by time in your cotton and corn
as a winter cover crop with which we
are familiar at this time. It, would |
be too early in the season to sow either |
crimson clover or vetch, or any of the
cereals for that matter insofar as we
know. You could sow vetch and oats |
however, in the fall on cotton land to /
good advantage. particularly II you plant
them in open burrows. This crop will |
completely cover the ground and will |
prevent washing, and will take up the |
surplus of plant food which may be in |
the soil. and will make an excellent crop /
of hay or grain. OF course, oats may be |
sown after corn. Use about 80 pounds /
of veteh with one bushel of oats Grim
SUI CiONGI BANCS IT'S DCSA AC0ullS OI TACn
land. While 1t may be seeded with oats, |
it is not so certain to make a stand as
where sown by itself When planted on
rich land about u to Is pounds of seed
should be used per acre. All fall-sown |
crops should be fertilized with 300 to
400 pounds of a formula containing not |
less than 10 per cent Of phosphorus and |
to per cent of potash. The addition |
of 1 to per cent of nitrogen will often |
be found good practice.
SUCKERING CORN
K. =. S.. Dixie, Ca, writes: 1t is best |
to pull suckers off of corn? My test |
patch of three acres was planted April |
Is in double rows by feet wide, and |
Is inches in the drill Put stall manure /
and 500 pounds of fertilizer in the mar
row middle at planting. Am applying |
500 pounds now in the wide middle beside |
the corn. The corn is about head and |
shoulders high, and two suckers to a
lot of stalks.
The advisability of pulling suckers off
corn depends much on circumstances.
Where one has planted the crop on an
unusually rich piece of ground, sucker !
ing is not so important, as where the |
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