Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1913-05-07
Use the Harrow on the Cotton
Fields.

A Mississippi reader writes: DO
YOU think fifty-tooth steel-frsme
lever harrow too heavy to run over
NV cotton. and corn before and al
ter they come up? Would it b.
well to go over the crops while in
the sprout? !. How high should corn
and cotton be before running the
harrow? My, soil.is rather stiff and
q crust forms after rain"
No, we d, 1ot think this harrow
too long for the. use indicated, but
we would set the teeth slanting
backward, Unnecessary, to prevent
100 great damage to the stand and
would run the harrow across the
rows, and not with them, or per-
haps better STILL. obliquely or slant
ing across the rows.
There is no need to deny the fact
that narrowing corn will put out an
occasional plant and narrowing
cotton will injure the plants more;
zbrt the number Of corn plants will
he 80 small that this offers no OBJ
lection to the use of the harrow for
this purpose. In narrowing cot
ton, still more injury will be done
20 the plants, but 30 long as we use
an abundance of seed, or 30 long as
the present methods of planting
continue, the injury to the stand
will be 50 slight, if ordinarily good
Judgment is used in running the
harrow. that the harrow should be
used in the early cultivation of the
cotton as well as the corn.
1t is probably best to warn our
inquirer that there will appear to
be much more injury done to the
crop, when it is first narrowed,
than will actually occur. If there
appears to be too much injury re-
sul,ing, wesuggest that small area
be narrowed and the results on this
observed a few days later. This
is usually all that is necessary to
mase convert to the practice OF
narrowing, these crops.
But the harrow. will not do Mrs
57sles.i IL the land has not been
well prepared, ie,,theresare clods,
slhmps of grass, or corn and cot
ton stalks that have not been cut or
broken up, the harrow may pull
out too many plants, or it may fail
to clean the land. If, on the other
hand, the harrow is not used early
or often enough to kill tie weeds
and grass when very young and
small it will not kill them at all,
and may do material good, or at
least fail to give satisfactory cul-
tivation. We would not harrow
either corn or cotton just az it is
coming up, but especially would
we advise against narrowing cotton
at this time. A narrowing may,
and frequently should, be given af-
ter planting and before the crops
come up, and especially may this be
beneficial to cotton if a rather hard
crust forms or stiff land, after a
rain; but where the plants are com:
ing through the top. soil, especially
cotton, it is usually not best to har-
row. After the crops are we'll up.
] then they may be narrowed on all
well prepared, moderately clean
land, to great advantage. As to
4 how long the narrowing may be
wisely continued will depend on
4 the condition of the land. the crop
and the stand. If when. the plants
! are though. to be too large to har-
row, the work be done ,:i.l the mid
die of warm day, less: injury to
the plants is likely to result. Early
in the morning is a bad time to run
the harrow over rather large plants.
Usually two harrowipgs are as
many as should be given after the
crops are up.
Some have thought the harrow
Ought to do more than any such
implement could reasonably be ex-
pected to DO; while others have
been 80 certain that it would tear
up all the plants that they have re-
fused to tryit at all, or, have not
given it fair trial. 1t will not
perform miracles: but if used with
discretion, on properly prepared
soil md under reasonable condi-
1 tions it is the best and most eco
nomical implement for the first or
early cultivation after planting
these crops.-Progressive Farmer.
Wonderful Skin Salve.
Bucklen's Arnica Salve is known