The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1920-03-25

of the Country Gentleman, OF PM,
adelphia, the oldest agrlcultural
iournal in the W rid, says the Pee
Dee Advocate, recently visited MARI
boro county, and the following arti-
Gle from his pen appears in the Coun-
try Gentleman of March IL:
FIFTY years ago the soil f MARI
boro county. South Carolina, was
retering out. In spots 1t had piumo
petered already. There were places
% sterile that they seemed nope
less In the piquant parlance OF the
natives. the soil was so poor you
had to bury a sack # guano WIN d
man to make sure he'd come up VII
Resurrection Day.
That was half century ago.
The other day there was a ocna
flee sale of farm lands in this Same
Marlboro county-bare la'id. nho
v u, without a vestige OF oulioihs
for $725 an acre.
referring to the 1910 census we
find that Marlboro county Is creui.eu
with an average of seven elghtns
of a bale of cotton to the acre. Ihats
more than can be boasted by any
other typical cotton growing county
in the South. It's about two and a
half times the average for the cotton
belt as whole.
# makes sales of land at $500 an
acre an every day affair in Marlboro
countv. and sales as cited above at
$500. odd an acre not unheard OF.
In fine, the cotton land in TINS
same Marlboro county is perhaps the
most expensive in the South. II you
long to move among the elite IN
cotton growing circles, just you move
70 Marlboro county--if you can stahu
the price. =. :,
Now this is not prospectus. IL Is
merely a sort of text or eXordluhi OF
eAesesis or whatever you may "anI @
to call it, designed to call attehIloh
to the fact that more fertilizers are
a,pliedH lin growing any other staple
crop in Marlboro county, acre TO-
acre ,lan are applied in gro VII; an!
other staple crop anywhere IN these
United States. 1t is designed to dem
onstrate beyond peradventure that OF
all places in the world Marlboro
county is pre-eminently the place TO
go to get the real inside dope on the
question of fertilizers for cotton.
In the beginning the soils OF MARI
boro county were by no means rlch'
when first cultivated they never grew
the heavy crops of corn and wheat
that were common on the virgin lands
of the Middle West. They are sandy
and sandy loan soils, usually under
laid with a porous subsoil, although
some have sandy subsoils
Unless these soils are carefully
handled they soon wear out.
Learning by Experience.
But a little over half century
ago, long before agricultural exper-
iment stations were established In
this country, the farmers there be-
gan to use fertilizers, and since then
fertilizers have been an outstanding
factor in making the county what
il is. The farmers didn't know
what the soil needed nor what was
good for the different crops nor just
how to apply the fertilizers to- make
the best yields. They kept trying
different fertilizers and different
methods, however, frequently eX'
perimenting in a crude fashion, un'
til gradually they learned the wa!
that paid.
AS their knowledge of fertilizers
increased and they found out how
to make profit, they kept on using
more and more fertilizer, until now
well, in Marlboro county farm
er is hardly considered up-to-date
unless he uses 1000 pounds to the
acre. Lots of good farmers use
1900 pounds. Some of the rea
sports use a ton or more. or late
years thirty dollars an acre has MOI
been an uncommon expenditure fol
fertilizing in growing cotton. l have
known of applications that cost for
ty dollars an acre. 1t looks like {
risky business, paying out so much
money, or going in debt for it, ther
expecting to make it out of the croI
and pay it back in the fall. Bu
farmers have been successful at Il
or they wouldn't keep on doing it.
The yields of cotton have increas
ed enormously. Lands that few
years ago produced only little bet
ter than hundred pounds of lint tt
the acre are now making round
bale. / have driven along Marlboro
county roads where for mile aftel
mile every field would make a bale
and some as high as two bales to the
acre. Ask any of these farmer!
what makes such high yields ant
they will tell you at once that 1t l:
just fertilizer.
AS a matter of fact, however, it il
not just fertilizer. No haphazare
application of fertilizers, however
heavy, could yield such satisfactor!
and uniform results There are otf
er factors. These farmers coult
never afford to use fertilizers so Law
ishbly if it were not for other things
that supplement and make profita
BILE that lavishness.