The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-09-30
Soil Building.


Soil Building.
The soil is a Farmers Bauk"
and If he takes out OF it more
fertility each year in growing his
crop than he puts back into it, it
lis Just like drawing on his bank
account, Will soon get where
his checks will be turned down fer
lack OF funds.
So your farm Will refuse u srow
ia paying crop. One Of the greasest
objects a farmer should have in
view is TO build up has soil and
make it more fertile each Year.
And this can be done in no ether
way than by diversihcatici;, ,ata-
ton OF crops and by sowing le-
suneinous crops such as peas, vel
wet beans. burr clover, crimson
clover or vetch. In the next thirty
days either burr clover, crimson
clover or vetch should be sowed.
Land cannot he made rich by haul
I ing guano 10 the farm and putting
it on the land. II this could hays
been done. this country would have
been a rich, fertile country. Any
/, farmer in this country can so farm
his iand as 10 make living on it
pay his taxes and make his farm
sdouble or even treble its produc-
ton in six years by using the PROB
or methods OF agriculture and
there is nothing that VIII pay him
n areafer profit than TO. adopt these
methods. Working poor land is
very expensive. I know most of
The land is too poor 10 grow &
lleguminous crop and the land has
TO be inoculated before it viii
grow. them, and seeds are expen-
ss:ve bet l want to suggest sure
iand simple method SO any farmer
Iwill ,be able to start these legtlmin-
Gus, crops 10. growing on his farm.
They, recommend about u TO 20
ipounds of crimson clover 10 be
sowed 10 the acre and IS 70 20
pounds OF vesch sowed broadcas.
and have known q great many
who failed TO get a stand. These
seed cost Ii1is year about 20 cents
per pound and there. are a great
many farmers who haven't $500
TO put. out On seeds for one acre.
Now, ! want to suggest little
practical and cheap way that any
.farn.er can use to get these crops
growing on his farm. ! have triet;
these methods TO get my land in
oculated and l know they will do
il.
These crops should be sowed
within the next 80 days or they
can be sown at once IN your corn
fields or cotton fields. Take 81
short gopher piow and run a
shallow furrow in the middle. then
fasten small chain about Eve
feet lorg TO the foot OF the plow
Get a small cedar limb about l
l-2 feet long and fasten to the
other end OF the chain-let it drag
IN the furrow to cover the seed
so that The inocuIation bacteria
will not get killed by the sun.
You will have TO drop these seed
thronGf sunano funnel. Walk
just behind the man who opens the
furrow and drop the seed and the
bush VIII come along III furrow
and cover the seed. By this Ineth-
od, three pounds OF seed Will be
enough to sow an acre Of corn
land and 8 l-2 pounds enougi to
cow cotton land with rows three
feet wide. You can buy inoeula-
ton through this Office for so
cents per acre for less than FIVE
acres. over FIVE acres the Price is;
40 cents per acre.
1 prefer yetch TO either OF the
ciovers ard it is rluct easier to
get stand. AS stated above.
most OF the land ;s TOO poor to
grow iesuminous crops. This is
true. bat by this method, vetch
soWn in rows in January can be
ferrilized with 80 pounds of nitrate
OF soda to the acre and the vetch
will run all over the land and viii
make a fine growth and then .nour
land Will be inoculated for al times
to come. II you plant this same
land in corn. plant in the vetch
rows and see how much better
corn you make than where you did
not plant the vetch. 1t will be
equal to 25 pounds of fertilizer to
the acre
You can build your soils to
higher state Of cultivation under
no other system and under boil
weevil conditions You cannot af-
ford to buy guano. Crow your
soils rich and you farmers Will be
prosperous. Feed your SOIL with
vegetable matter and hninus and
1t will feed yo2.
r. HARRIS.