The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-02-23
WITH THE FARMERS
BY Prof. w. F. MASSEY
have.
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fertilizer suited to that land. and of
this. use 1000 pounds an acre In tho
burrows. Bed on this. and then reopen
the burrows so that the fertilizer will
be we'll mixed In tho soil before plant.
ing.
Preparing Glover for Corn.
Charlotte County: II am one of
your readers and admirers and call
you tho Nestor OF Southern agricul-
ture l came here from Illinois two
years ago, took q worn.out farm and
went to work In earnest. I now have
crop OF crimson clover on my corn
land and, of necessity. must put 1t in
corn again. Have put some manure
on the clover. What L want to know
Is this: I usually disk the land well
with four-horso disk harrow before
pillow. with view of meilowing and
compacting the soil, SO as not to In
terrupt the rise OF the capillary mois-
ture. Will 1t be advisable to do SO be-
! fore turn under the crimson cloyerP
Please reply In The Times Dispatch"
You are perfectly right. Tho more
the clover is chopped up with the disk
before turning the better It can be
turned. and there will be less danger
| OF putting dry coat of vegetation I'M
| der the top soil that will give trouble
In dry weather; but plow the land
right then. That Is, do not allow 1T
| to be Topped over fiat but edge up the
burrows. even IL some clover sticks out,
i for that can be easily taken caro- OF
In the cultivation. If you do not watch
a negro plowman he will try to take
moro turrow than his plow Is intended
to turn. for he wants to cut and COW
err Insist on the proper slice for tho
pillow. so that tho burrows will be set
on edge and the capillarity of the soil
maintained.
More About Legumes.
| Prince Edward County: "Just few
questions again about legumes
have q field OF crimson clover in the
pea stubble. which 1 expect to pasture
with hogs during March and April,
and then turn for corn. I have bought
mixture of per cent potash and 10
per cent phosphoric acid, to BIO ap-
piled at ratio of 400 pounds an acre.
The question la, when will DO the best
time to apply this in the early spring.
or when blowing the land for corn In
May? VIII he glad IL you will answer
in the farmers columns OF Tho Tines
Dispatch. value your opinion very
highly In these farm problems, and
watch your columns very carefully. es-
| pecfally In the treatment OF lcgumes"
| Carriers of Phosphorus and potash
can be applied to the soil at any time
for, unlike nitrogen, they will not
leach from the SOIL but will remain
| tiieIc uHtll catlcu Tor by the plant
I roots. Hence, the sooner the applica-
ton Is made the better. Put the 400
pounds on the clover now and the ap-
plication will be helping the clover
and giving you moro feed. and 1t will
be almost entirely recovered In turn
ling under the sod and in the droppings
or the hogs In fact, I believe that
| 1t VIII show better effect on the corn
i than TX applied at planting time Tho
more we encourage the growth of tho
legume crop the better for the crop
! following. But your soil has an al
most ineEhaustible store OF insoluble
potash. and as you get II stocked with
Ihumus and lime occasionally, you can
release the potash as fast as needed
by crops. That is. If am correct In
assuming that your particular soil is
the red soil of the Piedmont country
! When this soil has gotten well stock
ed with organic decay, and has limo
about once in five or six years there
Will BIO no need for the purchase of any
Fertilizer except n carrier OF phosphorus.
and 1t VIII always pay to use this liber-
ally AS rule, while It's action Is
Slightly slower than acid phosphate. I
believe that In the long run 1t will pay
to use the basic Stag phosphate. known
rs Thomas phosphate, since 1t carries
nearly SO per cent OF free lime and VIII
have tendency to keep tho soil sweet,
while acid phosphate tends to rob tho
soil of lime.
Tobacco Stems and Tobacco Dust.
! II inclose a letter from the Tobacco
Products Company Offering tobacco dust
f; at $40 ton and ground stems Mt $3.50
| +. o. b. Durham, n. c., and Richmond
l want to know if 1t will pay to use
n ton OF each on cotton. Sometimes tho
red spider, as it Is called, ia very de-
structive. Will the tobacco stems or
dust prevent them? VIII either BIO
valuable as 4 fertilizer? How much
should l put per aero In the burrows?
| The land made twenty-eight bushels
OF corn last year. and had peas In &c,
followed by crimson clover. but tho
clover is not doing well. Soil sandy
and we'll drained"
| AS preventive OF root lIce, think
that the stems used at about 500
pounds an aero will be rather better
than the dust. Tho average analysis
of tobacco-stems IS $50 per cent nj
trogen. $50 per cent potash and about
ITO per cent phosphorc acid. or a
good ways ahead of stable manure as
81 fertilizer They will have no efrecc
on the red spider. which hourishes in
arid conditions. and is only conquered
by wet weather. The stems are cheap
er than the dust, and believe will
act better in preventing the llce on
the roots.