The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-07-04
WHAT FARMERS
WANT To KNOW
Progressive Farmer.)

.lar- all over the South. 1t is Trifol-
iun reflexum, and is known
-. buffalo clover. l have never known
II +, be cultivated. one friend asks
II soil where this clover and white
c,,yer are found growing will be in
o.nI3tpd for crimson clover. Doubt
1.ss the crimson clover will succeed
uharever any clovers are found wild.
That has been the experience here,
and no one has ever inoculated for
CRIMSON clover, but it is grown by
every one.
Cotton Wilt.
In sections where this disease is
common it is said that the Iron pea
i resistant. and that cotton will not
Wilt after it. The best way is to get
cottonseed hat have become resistant
fl the wilt selected from plants that
survive where others are destroyed. 1
think the Department Of Agriculture
has been making Investigations in this
line, and can tell YOU where to get
resistant seed.
Making a lawn.
I'VE sowed grass seed early last
spring C910.o 1t came up but has
died out. Soil rocky With a clay bot
Of stable manure" PloW the land
deeply now and SOW. coWpeas very
thickly. BE sure to turn up a good
deal Of the clay, for grass needs clay
in the South. In the fall when the
peas are ma'uIs turn the whole
dressing of lime and then a good APP
plication Of acid phosphate and pre-
pare the land well and smoothly, and
SOW seed very thickly in November.
The best mixture Is equal parts of
Kentucky b1uegress, redtop and Rhode
Island bent grass, and or these, five
bushels Of seed per acre will be need
ed to give the best results in a lawn.
These seed weigh fourteen pounds to
the buShel. Then rake or brush the
seed in with a smoothing harrow and
roll If the soil is dry. Then the next
spring start the la wn mower as soon
as the grass is tall enough for it to
bite, and in al! favorable weather
run the lawn mower once a week and
leave all the cut grass to rot on the
land, Then every spring give it a top
dressing of raw bone meal, and once
in five years a coat OF lime.
Alfalfa in Orchard.
a Virginia correspondent has an or
chard that he thinks is fertile enough
to grow alfalfa, and wants to know If
it will injure the trees. If the alfalfa
was grown there solely for the benefit
OF the trees and the cut material used
as Il mulch under them, the growing
OF alfalfa would be a help to the or
Chard. But if you want apples, you
should devote the rchar to apples.
You can not make apples and hay both
with profit on the same piece OF land.
TO use an orchard as a hay field, no
matter what the plant grown may be,
VIII certainly lnJure the trees.
Lightning Rods.
VIII it pay to use lightning rods
on a building that is surrounded by
trees | have seen many houses that
were rOdded but struck With light
ming" A badly constructed rod may
he rnrCA I h n ~ n0nn uLhJ1o a U-0l1 fyPG
rod is a good protection. The rod
should have good platinum points, and
should be perfectly continuous to per
1ectly damp soil in the ground. Never
use the old-fashiOned glass insulatOrs
on the rod. If the building has a met
al roof, connect the rod with it. and
il q wooden roof. connect the rod with
the tin rain water cutters. Consult
Il reliable dealer, and do not let a
travelling kghtning-rod man sW1ndle
you, as most Of these travelling fellows
will. Study what the leading dealers
say in regard to their rods, and then
buy it and put it up yourself max
ing sure that the earth is
deep enough to have the rod always
In damp ground.
Two Poor Fields.
A Piedmont farmer has a knoll that
is inclined to wash. and which is very
un~pr0ductive. Also a low sWale that
is very hard when dry and tough and
clayey when wet. Two bitches run
from it about two feet deep. The
needs Of the knoll are evidently deep
blowing and subsoiling and more or
SanjC matter. Deep breaking would
lessen the tendency to wash by letting
the rain down into the soil. Then gel
some peas on it and let them stand
and when the leaves fall SOW crimson
clover among them as a winter cover
Give a heavy dressing of acid phOs-
phate to the peas and get a good
growth. Then when the whole is turn
ed under in spring. YOU will find al
ready a different state of affairs in tina
SOL. If put in corn. SOW peas agar
IN the corn. In short. make it par
OF a general rotation Of crops. The
lNWIand should haze the bitches deep.