Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1914-07-01
GEORGIA MELONS.
Uncle" Iv Writes of Good
Crops. Abundant Rains.
Georgia Watermelons
Being Shipped.
Edpefeld Advertiser:

ing awhile from scribbling, / will
jot you few lines, l have been
pretty busy since writing you.
What doing? .Hoeing, sir, and not
lost any toe nail either. Now l can
sit in the shade for while and
fight gnats and really | believe ]
would prefer to hoe but :hat hoe of
mine is hung up on the limb of a
tree and unless / use it to cut some
weeds outside the yard fence, guess
it will hang there till hoeing time
another year.
How are crops and seasons? Well,
those who have worked their crops
have good prospects of both corn
and cotton, except in the deep sand
land. In that there is some COM
plant of the corn firing, but the
cotton is taking on very fast, and
you see very little very tall cotton
or corn, but the cotton well limbed
and the corn most of it in full silk
and tassel, and some that was plant
ed very early in roasting ears. AT
ter next week there will be but lit
tie more work done in the crops un-
less there should come heavy rains.
Of course, the cotton planted after
oats will need work till lst of Au-
gust, but it is looking fine now and
all Of it chopped and dirted. 1t is
a mistake that a good many are
making planting cotton after oats
and in not sowing the land in peas.
1t is telling on the land, but there
are great many renters in this Sec
ton and they do it to get all out of
the land while they are working it,
not knowing where they may be
the next year.
Those who planted melons for the
4 d,rnsrketl haae;begun- to ship. Three
cars have been shipped and tomor-
row there will be three cars more.
That is just the beginning as there
is about $50 acres in melons. Those
that are being shipped now are only
those left on the vines after the
storm on the last day of May and
will all be off Of hand this week.
In two or three weeks from now
there will be two or three times. as
many to ship.
Since the lst of June we are hay-
ing good seasons about every eight
or ten days. 1t has been eight days
since our last rain but another came
in sight yesterday evening.
The sun is shining pretty warm
today but there is a light breeze
stirring and nearly always is during
the day but when it calms let me
tell you tbs some warm, and at
night to sleep at all is to keep all
doors and windows open. Still with
all that and with tne gnats and
tlees thrown in l have no desire 10
20 to the clay lands to farm any
mere. Why not, we'll from the
simple fact that there is more salts
faction in working the kind of land
here than in the clay, and can work
with ease at least a third more.
Suppose I illustrate it by my own
family. Up where we moved from
it was hard job for good hand
To cultivate over l5 or 90 acres.
Now what is a fact, one of my boys
with no help at all has prepared,
planted and worked % acres in cot
lon and in corn, beside doing bis
part of the work in our melon
patch of 5 acres. His crop is clean
and prospects fine. Another one,
and he not we'll a part of the time,
has prepared, planted and worked
10 acres in cotton, 6 In corn and
did his part of work in melon patch.
His crop is now about ready for
last plowing. He hasn't paid on,
over 81. 90 for help. Then there are
the two boys, Is and l6 years, who
, have prepared planted and cultiva
ted SO acres in cotton. s in corn
and 81 in melons, besides patch OF
, groundpeas and sorghum, which
will bring it up to something over
40 acres and they could easily have
handled 10 acres more. With tht
exception of some cotton after oat'
one more furrow in the cotton vii
finish their work. OF course the.
: have all had to work, Mir. Editor
When those two boys came in a
i, night it was not, 'Oh Me, / am 81
!, tired" but a soDg and a jes
t and some times jig dance. Nov
: | know this all sounds pretty larg
t but nevertheless it is fact.
J, OF course, none of us know yet a
1 to how our crops are going to tur