The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-04-01

great extent. THIS rot seems 10 DO
more the result OF arid conditions tnan
a true disease. II Is worse IN CRY
weather, while a real fungus rs raw
ored by moist conditions.
In upper South Carolina, in the
Piedmont section, "On good clay iano
what grass 10 best to SOW for q ana
how much seed an acre." Wouiu
sow a mixture OF ten pounds OF or
,haYd grass. FIVE pounds OF reotop' anu
ten pounds Of tall meadow oats sfaeo
an acre. as early AS the sou cdn We
worked lightly with a smoothing mar
row.
rs the canning of sweet potatoes
profitable" Recently ! asked THIS
question of a large Gamer VINO was
putting up sweet potatoes. He salo
that the only market for them seems
va be in the far northwest and the
mining regions. and that he 1ound
little profit In them, and simply useu
them to prolong the season for WoTk
for the people he employs.
'When is the best time to plant
bermuda grass for PASTURE ABOUT
the middle Of April will be a good
time. Put the land In good order n
make chttlUKS OF tuS uuAAHo o~S'
commonly called roots and scatter
them In shallow burrows two feet apart
and the stems rather thickly in the
furrow. Cover lightly n roll to
pack the soil to them and they will
soon spread and cover the land.
A correspondent says: "On u
sandy soil We have to side-dress corn
and cotton with nitrate of sod or
the corn will fire. Will 'Cefealite
answer RI we'll as nitrate Of Of soda?'
AS l have said before. corn will never
fire II you ave a clover sod under 1t
that was MANFRED in the winter. /
have never used "Cereaiite" and can
not say how it would do, but as l
have often said. you cannot make
cheap corn with fertilizer.
Our friends who are writing to tell
me that / am entirely wrong about
planting at different stages Of the
moon and killing hogs by the same
test had just as we'll save their paper
and stamps. If it makes then any
happier to watch the noon, l have nc
objection to their doing So, but VIZ
cannot spare space in the paper te
try to convince them that it is better
TO watch the soil n the manure
and ] am too busy a man to try t
get them out of old superstitions.
A recent letter says: Il am send
ing you under separate cover a sam
pie Of soil and would like to know
what fertilizer is needed on such soil?
No one can tell anything about tn
needs of a soil by looking at 1t. No
even a chemical analysis that woul'
cost "A good deal to make. would be o
.1x.A bn1o Ho.a,yCo the "a ~ lN~iC Unlli
merely show o what the soil con
tains. but would give you nc informa
ton as to its availability to plan
roots. one thing is certain and tina
Is, that you cannot go wrong in an
soil by using every effort to increas
the amount of vegetable decay Q
humus as We call it In the soil. Wit
plenty OF this in the soil any fertiliZe
will have a better effect because tn
moisture will be retained to dissolv
il, and the soil will be warmer an
earlier. and more mellow. Practice
good rot alton, grow and feed plenty {
pea hay and other legume crops an
make ma IRE, for maHure suits ar
soil.
As usual. ! get a number Of lettel
asking what fertilizers and how muC
TO apply for corn. You cannot NAL
cheao-corn by depending on fertilize
one man wyiteS that on his sane
soil corn ALWAYS fires and he wants
fertilizer to stop it. You cannot do
that way. | have never seen a fe
Of corn fired that was planted on
crimson clover crop turned under. N
Clarendon Davis. Of Alabama, who
beautiful farm / have seen, kind
writes that his success has been fro
Following my suggestions. He sa
THAT he makes corn at an average &C
OF less than 10 cents a bushel. 3
he feeds stock and makes anu a
grows clover and peas. A good co
psete fertilizer will increase the co
crop, but if you will leave a o.
without the fertilizer as ] have do,
you Will find that you have paid
fadr market price for all the increa
Always have q greer winter cover
b land on which to spread t
manure for corn.
A farmer says: "ln nv rotation
IL necessary to plant peanuts on la
that has been in cowpeas for tn,
years. My experience in this has be
unsatisfactory. aS the crOp was mai,