The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-07-22
DR.. v. h. CONIbEAR
TELLS ILLINOIS FRIENDS
ABOUT FLORIRA CROPS

brings your Morton News, which
is looked for and read with eager.
ness by the whole family before the
dailies that give the news of the
terrible war going on in Europe
that too, after nearly three years
since we left Morton. This goes to
show that it is not in the size of the
paper nor the associated press dis
patches that makes it the most in
teresting. The news from the old
home is of much more interest than
that of the world at large.
see from it that you have had
plenty of rain for the crop this year
which is quite contrast to the last
two. We have had an unprecedent-
eddy dry June, but July has started
in in good shape for We had a gen.
uine Florida rain today when we
had about four inches of rainfall in
two hours. The light, sandy soil
drinks water like a spcng, hence
but little of it ran off, although our
house stands on quite hill.
Our first planting of field corn
has made good crop and will soon
be ready to put in thecrib and this
ain will help out the later planting
that is now shooting, so think we
are assured of good crop.
have tested out thoroughly the
advantage of dust mulch in a dry
time, such as we have had, and |
went through the corn with a har-
row once week or oftener and it
has prevented my corn from firing.
whilemuch of that of my neighbors
has fired more or less. 1t is hard
to believe how it prevents the land
from drying out until you have
tried it. Many of the farmers here
do as they used to do in Illinois so
Or 90 years ago, throw up the earth
in quite a ridge with bar plow.
when it gets to be shoulder high. |
kept the harrows going as before
stated, until it was in roasting ears.
The result is that | have corn that
will make somewhere near Is BUSH
els per acre, while many of the old
style farmers will get about their
usual crop Is to 20 bushels. One
would badly suppose that it would
make so much difference on this
light sandy soil where there does
not seem to be much of a crust
formed. OF course there are other
conditions that entered into it.
When we came here the natives
cautioned me about danger of
deep blowing and turning under of
green stuff as it had disposition to
sour the land. The soil here being
so warm, decomposition takes place
very rapidly and would be likely to
sour the land, SO I gave it about
two tons of ground limestone, and
turned under. about eight inches
deep, the previous crop residue and
had good corn last year This en-
couraged me to repeat on larger
scale, so last winter turned under
large crop of residue about one
foot deep; the result is that my land
holds moisture much better and that
with good dust mulching it brings
results.
Our County Demonstration was
ere last week and says my corn is
among the finest in the county.
also gave it about 1000 pounds of
phosphate per acre, which many said
would not amount to anything, be-
cause it would not become available,
unless it was dissolved in sulphuric
acid. When DR.. C. G. Hopkins was
here year ago he said to put it on.
! thought his advice was better than
2 mans who ad never soon 1t tried,
50 | nut it on.
This whole section is undcrIaid
with phosphate at different depths,
but with few exceptions is not near
enough to the surface to do the
crops any good; hence the necessity
of its use. But the fertilizer com
panies have got the people so edu-
Gated to theu Sc of the treated phos-
MI, fnc hof Ia snl, q,
worth while to try the rave article.
Besides none of the mines in this
section are prepared for grinding IT,
Our new mine that started mp July
lst has promised to puin grind
ing outfit. When they do many of
my neighbors say they are going to
try it,
think it will not be long before
thecustom of sending the phosphate
al nog distance to have it treated
and then sent back at large cost,
will be dropped
We are having delightful summer
weather. II was 80 today before
the rain and 6S after, with cool
morning and evening all the time.
Although we have had dry spell it
was raining around us every day
after which the air cools off about
as today.
| suppose you will see Mrs. Conf
bear and Lucy up there before long
as the last we heard from them they
were in Bloomington.
Henry has gone for a two weeks
visit with Ruth and her husband in