The progressive farmer and southern farm gazette., May 21, 1910, Page 379, Image 15

About The progressive farmer and southern farm gazette. (Starkville, Miss.) 1910-1920

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★ FRUIT, TRUCK and VEGETA RT.F.S -*T
COVER CROPS FOR ORCHARDS.
Sow Cowpeas in the Orchard at Once,
to he Followed in the Fall by Rye
or Crimson Clover.
In most cases orchards are located
on the more elevated land, which is
hilly or rolling, with sandy soil and
clay subsoil. On such soil it is hard
to prevent surface washing entirely,
but it could be reduced to the mini
mum by the proper use of cover
crops. Not only do these cover crops
prevent surface washing, but they
utilize the soluble fertilizers which
would otherwise leach out of the
soil. When the cropt is turned under,
it adds considerable humus to the
soil and the fertilizers required to
produce it become available for the
use of the trees.
The plants used as cover crons are
of two distinct types, leguminous
and non-leguminous plants. The
legumes, such as clover, cowpeas and
vetch, in addition to furnishing hu
mus, have the power of collecting
nitrogen from the air for the use of £
other plants. The non-leguminous j
plants, such as rye, oats and turnips, £
do not collect nitrogen from the.air, i
but when sown in the early fall con- £
sume soluble plant food during their j
growth, which would otherwise be <
lost by leaching and which is return- ]
ed to the soil when the cover crop ]
is plowed under in the spring. Most ,
soils where orchards are planted are i
deficient in both humus and nitro- ]
gen and, therefore, a leguminous cov- ]
er crop should be selected. It the ,
trees make sufficient growth without ,
the use of nitrogenous fertilizens,
then a non-leguminous crop may be
planted.
To add nitrogen and humus to the
soil and to prevent surface washing ,
we should have both a winter and j
summer cover crop. Rye, followed -
by cowpeas, will give best results on .
poor soil. The rye should be sown
in the early fall in order that it may
cover the ground as soon as possible
and prevent surface washing. The
rye should be turned under not later
than the last of March. This may
be accomplished by double harrow
ing with the disk harrow, and this
method is preferable to plowing as it
avoids the danger of plowing too deep
near the trees. A strip of land six
to ten feet wide between tbe rows of
trees should be prepared and the peas
sown broadcast about the first of s
May. Early in September the pea
vines should be worked into the soil
by means of a disk harrow and the
land can be seeded to rye or crimson
slover.
After one or two crops of rye and
peas have been worked into the soil, i
crimson clover or hairy vetch may be I
sown Instead of rye. Crimson mover
makes an excellent cover crop from
September to May. As soon as enough
seed have ripened to re-seed itself,
the clover should be worked into the
soil with a disk harrow. If the
clover is alloweu to occupy all of the
space between the rows of trees dur
ing the months of March and April, it
will retard the growth of the trees to
some extent, and therefore, it is best
to turn under the clover early in
March. Fertilize and cultivate the
trees early in March, leaving a nar-!
row strip of clover in the middle to
re-seed itself. A strip two or three
feet wide will product enough seed
for the entire middle. After the seed
have ripened, the clover is worked
into the soil with a disk harrow and
the land may be smoothed and the
seed scattered over the entire middle
by means of a tooth harrow. Hairy
vetch is an excellent cover erop and
may be treated in the same wny as
crimson clover. The seed are sown
in August or September and the crop
worked into the soil in the spring.
If erimson clover or hairy vetch is
to be planted on land where neither
of these crops has grown before, it
will be necessary to inoculate the
field by securing soil from land where
vetch and clover have previously
grown. This soil may be scattered
over the land in the same way as fer
tilizer, immediately after sowing the
seed, and then mixed with the soil
and seed by means of a tooth harrow.
Wheat, oats, and barley make
good cover crops, but they do not
thrive on poor land as well as rye.
In no case should grain be allowed
to mature in the orchard as it would
rob the trees of moisture and plant
food at the very time they need them
most.—Press Bulletin, South Caro
lina Experiment Station.
To Destroy Moles.
Messrs. Editors: To kill moles get
i few peanuts—as many as needed—
md shell them. In the soft end of
iach kernel prick out a small open
ng and in this insert about as much
trychnine as the size of half a field
tea. Stop up the hole with a crumb
if bread. Now find where the mole
Lad last been working, and put a
kernel in the run. Just punch a hole
vith your flinger in the run, drop in
he peanut, and cover with a chip or]
>iece of bark. Don't mash down the
un where you put in the peanut, but
m both sides, a foot or two off
m both sides, press it down with the
loot so you can tell if the mole has
jeen along. Next day visit the place
ind if you discover that the mashed
places have been raised again, either
m one side or both, or where you
>ut the peanut, you may be sure it’s
’our mole.
1 once had a small strawberry i
latch infested with moles—every row
eemed to be hollow—and I put a
leanut in nearly every row, and I got
very mole. 1 tried poisoned pieces
if potatoes, poisoned corn and va
lous other things, but nothing did
iway with the moles till I tried the
leanuts. M. L. GUYTON.
Rocky Point, N. C.
Use the Weeder Bight Now.
Messrs. Editors: Please allow me
ipace in your paper to suggest to the
farmer Family that the weeder is
the beet farm tool that can be used
just now. With frequent and con
tinual use of the weeder all grass
md weeds can be destroyed. I have
>ne 2 0-acre corn patch that is clear of
;rass and weeds that I have only cul
tivated three times with the weeder.
Will run weeder over corn one or two
more times, then will finish with my
Planet Jr. cultivator, which I con
sider the best cultivator ever made
for all purposes.
The trouble with most farmers is
that they do not prepare for the
weeder, therefore they can’t use it.
I break my land early, as well as I
can with two-horse plows, follow
with smoothing harrow. In 15 or 2d
days, owing to the conditiun of the
weather. I put my 20-incn disk har
row at work, followed by the smooth
ing harrow again. In this way I
thoroughly pulverize my lands be
fore planting, as well as cut all veg
etable matters up so they are not in
the way of cultivating the crop, but
are of real value to the growing
crops. Think I shall use a disk plow
next winter for breaking laud.
With the disk or two-horse plow,
[disk and smoothing harrow, the
weeder, good cultivator, soma 1,100
pound mules, a combination planter
of good quality, a herd of Berkshire
swine, some pjire-bred poultry, with
milk and butter for family use and
some to spare, and The Progressive
Farmer and Gazette as his guide,
there is nothing to hinder the South
ern farmer from accumulating a sur
plus. We Southern farmers ought
not to have to buy any provisions or
feed-stuffs of any kind at all, but
have some to sell every month in the
year. W. A. SHACKLEFORD.
INJURY TO COTTON BY LATE
FROSTS.
Professor Duggar Reports on Condi
tions in Alabama—Some Lessons
to Re Learned From This Season.
Messrs. Editors: The heavy frosts^
of April 34th and 26th, brought great
loss to the South. The principal
damage in the Cotton Belt has been
to sdtton itself. In some localities
where a considerable proportion of
the young cotton was killed* beans,
Irish potatoes, and even tomatoes es
caped without injury. Com, while at
first severely set back, has almost in
variably survived and only awaits
rain to regain its former condition. It
suffered worse where the land had
recently been cultivated.
In a trip through central Alabama,
the writer made an effort to learn
the extent to which In different
neighborhoods it was necessary t<
plow up the frosted cotton. Thii
was only about 1?wo days after th<
last killing frost, at which time, o
course, a final and positive judgmen
: could not be made. As condition
then appeared, the prospects wer
not nearly so gloomy as might hav
been inferred from press reports u
to that date. For example, on tw
plantations where the first expect)
tion was that about half the cottc
acreage would need to be plowed uj
10 or 12 per cent of the total are
I was found to be more accurate. Te
on one of these plantations, with stii
prairie soil, there were single tenan
farms where about one-third of th<
cotton acreage had to be planted
again. A sufficiency of seed seemed
to be available in most neighbor
hoods, but the price, 55 cents to fl
per bushel, worked a hardship.
Wl WU1DO UJ liltJ umo Ullo is m
print the true extent of the damage
can be more accurately estimated.
Weather conditions wore favor
able to recovery In the first week
after the frost. First, there were
two cloudy days, followed by fair and
warfi weather, which prevented an
extension of the Injury to the root
system and helped to bring up those
seed which were delayed in germi
nating. However, fair and dry
weather continued too long, baking
the land and causing unthrifty plants
to die. Ten days after the frost
found a large part of the cotton of
north central Alabama planted over
and the country in need of rain.
Can we learn any lessons from the
freeze? Certainly a hasty conclusion
should not be formed unfavorable to
moderately early planting, especially
under boll weevil conditions. Tho
principal lesson, I think, should be
the determination of every farmer
to save hereafter until after May 1st,
double as many good cotton seed as
he is likely to need for a single plant
ing of his crop, instead of risking
the pains, expense and final disap- 0
pointment of planting high-priced
seed of poor germinating capacity.
Only the harvest season can re
veal the extent of the loss due to the
use this year of inferior seed for the
second planting.
J. P. DtJGGAR.
Nitrate of Soda
Tie Nodom High Irado I
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Cheapest, Cleanest |
Odorless |
Can.be used anywhere on any crop
Convenient for use |
Increases your farm values |
$3.00 worth of Nitrate on an acre
of Cotton has given an increased
crop of loo lbs. of Cotton. Cotton I
has sold very high this eeason. 5
Books on the crops which inter. |
eat you will be sent free. !
Send name and address m Postal Card |
, DR. W. S. MYERS I
> Nitrate Protagasda I
[. 71 Nassau Street, New York I
S L. ..1
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