The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-10-24
WITH THE FARMERS
By Prof. w. F. MASSEY

: sooo farming. and am glad to know
'hat thousands In North Carolina arc
learning this. and are building up thei,
IAN" TO higher production through tn,
growing of the peas and clover and
Hetch and thus saving the purchase OF
amy nitrogen in any shape If YOU
have read these notes with any care
YOU Will know that I uniformly nd
Nise good farming rather than a total
dependence on fertilizers
You can hardly make the double
glazed SaShcs ut home as special mn :
chinery is needed for construction. and
YOU could not make the old window
sashes do much | am sending YOU a lit
'le pamphlet the only one / have left,
on frames and hot beds that will fully
explain these sashcs better than l can
III the spac" have in the paper The
/ anthracnose disease in snap beans is
| carriedsby diseased seed and can be
F., avoided by getting perfectly healthy
sceu. BUT any crop repeated on the
same land year after year Will be apt
| TO get diseased You cen grow quite
n variety of crops after early green
onions ar" off in the spring. But the
! crops should be of q diffeernt nature
! from tho onions. That Is, would fol-
low root crop with n leaf crop, like
summer cabbage or tomato plants
sweet potatoes would do with n liberal
use of acid PHOSPHATE and potash, but
they too are q root crop Lettuce
plants started early under glass can
he transplanted and heavily fertiliaed.
succession or summer cabbages. too
will be good. Then If you wish to
grow seeding dahlias get the very best
seed and start them under glass and
transplant three feet part each way
when they are a few inches high. They
transplant easily and will bloom finely
IN the fall have grown some very
fine ones this season from imported
French seed. Sugar corr every one
wants. and the Country Gentleman and
Stowelfs Evergreen are good varieties
Carrots are largely brought to Rich
mond and Petersburg from the North
and can be raised easily from seed
sown IN June. and parsnips and satisfy,
too can he grown sown at that time
better than sown earlier.
Improving Meadow.
buckingham County: II have some
land. red subsoil, in grass mixture
of Timothy, redtop and SaplinG clover !
mown over clean this fall. Will It pay
me to harrow and SOW Done dust on
this grass this month? If So should
the bone be sown before or after har-
rowing? Kindly advise III The Times
Dispatch" Instead of bone / would
this month give the grass a good
dressing of Basic Stag phosphate. com
monty known as Thomas phosphate
SOW 800 to- 800 pounds an acre, and do
not harraw with an ordinary spike.
but brush II in with slant tooth (
smoothing harrow. Then In spring /
after growth starts, and the grass is |
dry scatter about fifty pounds OF
nitrate OF soda OH the sod
Fertilizers are fine adjuncts to good |
farming when judciously used but
the dependence on fertilizers alone, and
the neglect to build UP the land and
restore and maintain the humus in the /
sou. nas led TO poverty of soil and /
pocket all over the South and the |
only way to make sure OF good crops !
not only of cotton. but all other farm .
crops. is to practice 4 method OF soil |
building. and thus save a large part |
OF the money devoted TO complete fer
tiliHer You Will notice that the young
man have referred to used no am
monia in his fertilizer to make that
fine cotton crop. but he had an album
dance from his legume crops and need
ca only TO put the phosphate and not |
ash. and doubtless IN yoilr case the |
same application he made would not !
give You the same results. since your
land has not had the building process
that he has adopted You can easily |
get Your land up to 500 pounds OF lint |
by good farming. but how much, and |
what sort OF fertilizer would be need
ell in lis present shape. ] cannot say.
4 heavy application of q complete fer
tilizcr might do 1t IN N favorable sea
son, but am not guaranteeing crops |
for any one
Seed Corn nnd Sweet Potatoes.
Il nave selected some corn for seed
IN tie field. with two good ears on q
stalk. Which is the better to use and .
why, or should both be planted and |
the ends nubbed off" Is it best 10 let
sweet potatoes stand till the frost nins
IN Il;
Nhere corn has shown a tendency to /
grow TOO tall. You can reduce the sta
tufc by planting the ear next the
ground, hut II your corn is already in !
a satisfactory shape. plant the best
shaped ears and take off the small
grains at tip and butt. Dig the swce,
potatoes now In any dry sunny
Me"'her II Frost catches them. get
'he vines off at once. as the decaying
vines VIII affect the potatoes Then
dlg ana store as soon as practicable
Growing Asparagus.
'lahoN"r County: Il have read with
interest Your article in The Times
"iSpatch on planting asparagus. and
W!Sh 10 - the method. VIII YOU
kIhdiy advise me how the land should
be prepared fcrtilized and cultivated?,
had though that had fully ex
planned this method The land should
De prepared we'll as early In snrino
as practicable. Run out burrows fonr
reef apart and clean them out TO nr-
teen inches deep, Fill them half fun
y. o'd rotten manure and cover light
WIN SOIL Then sow the seed thin
~ IN row on tlis. and, as thev ca,
a rev inches high. thin out to TWO
,cca "pa ri In The rows. and gradually
WORK The soil to them tin level.
Twice during the summer apply 100
nou"os of nitrate OF soda alongside
,,' '%"s ana Keep clean cultivated
spring few shoots rnny he la,"e
enough to cut but do not cut murl,
Apply high grade fertilizer down
me rows In summer at rate of cna
ponnas an acre or cover the whole
,,'',o'o WIN stable manure ana pillow
~ 10 INC rows In the fan appIv 5oo
pounds OF kainit an acre. The ncxt
SpI'hs NC cutting can begin In earn
'SV ana after the cutting stops. M.