Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

THE SOUTHERN WORLD, NOVEMBER 15, 1882. 19 English language that far excel it. This ode was especially admired by all of our Ameri can poets. As to the poetic construction of Mr. Hayne’s verse, it shows a knowledge ofthe lawsof ver sification, and close study. He is not a care less composer. This is evidenced in the rhyth mical flow of most of his verse, and the fre quent resort to alliteration to obtain the nec essary impression. Frequently this artifice of alliteration is too obvious. To be most ef fective, alliteration should not be so perspic uous as to be easily detected. “ 'Tis the high est art to hide all art.” Such verses as the following are found in nearly every stanza Mr. Hayne has written: “Through sylvan shades and solemn silences.'' “And die at dawning down wild woodland ways.” “Pealed o'er this populous earth perpetually." His rhymes are generally correct. He sel dom strains a word, a common mistake amopg many poets. With a few exceptions his dic tion is clear, not encumbered with foreign phrases or obsolete words and expressions. I cannot here enter intoa detailed criticism of his works. It is sufficient to say he has added much to the literature of his country, much we could ill spare. But with all this it is indeed a wonder that Mr. Hayne is so lit tle appreciated among his own Southerners. The South has yet to be awakened in this one great particular, the encouragement of her own meritorious literary personages, if she ever expects to take her niche in the temple of an educated and classical people. Pos Bata oa Fat-man's Farming. JlgrtyuUm[*l Editor Southern World : LISTEN. 'Possum up de gum stump, 'Ooonle In de holler; Our crop around dis nnyborhud Am powerful hard to waller. De gray land perduce de cotton, De red land de corn, De sandy ground de big yam Inters Bot de black land beats um alL Yes, hit’s bo; corn, cotton, sugar cane, oats an’ taters air turning out a hummin’ yield on the black land this year—done gone clean beyond the hopes an’ expectoshuns ov the most sanguin’—the result ov hard work an’ er kind providence. Hit wus thought at one time hear that the big rains in July ah' August, an’ the big obnoxious storm in September, would nock us outen ar good crop tills year, but such is not the case. I can’t understand how crops can be so good under such extraordinary disadvantages; but they air good. Hit is an ondoubted fact, an’ I feel like sayin’—an' don’t yeu fergit it—in order to impress it more deeply upon your memory. I hev red the address of Hon. F. C. Furman on inten' sive farmin’ delivered at Marietta, Georgia, an’ published in your issue of October 15th an’ hit kinder waiked me up—an’ hitoughter waik up every other farmer who is sleeping over his interests, goin’ blindly along plantin croparter crop on the same land an’ not restorin’ to this land any of the ferterlizin’ qualities which these crops air continually drawin’ out an’ leaving no fertilizin' deposit except the stalks and grass, which is a poor paymenton the amountdrawn outeach year. Hit is just as Mr. Furman says; the richest bank in the world would soon become bank rupt whar it is all drafts an no deposits. Com postin' at home is the thing, an’ the formu- lar furnished by Mr. Furman is erbout as good er one as 1 nows ov—fur I tried some thin’ like hit er year er so ergo on er small patch, an’ hit slapped the cotton bolls rite square on the stalk. This extensive use of what is commonly called commercial ferterlizer, (in other words goanno,) is er bad habit fur farmers to contract, an' ef kep up will enrich the man ufacturers an’ bankrupt our land. Any good ascid fosfate mixed with barn-yard ma nure, muck, cotton seed an’ the rakins er bout the farm, will supply the land with all of the ferterlizin’ qualities hit needs, an' cost er heap less an’ give better results than any goanno that can be bought fer fifty dol lars erton. My Bill has hitched on to the idear of com post ferterlizin', an’ he says git out en his way—all he wants is elbo rumunce, fur he is gwine to make one uv the biggest crops next year ever bearn tell uv, an’ I believe him to, fur Bill is er stunner when he gits red hot at it—hard to beat—regular rusher, none er yer milk or water sorter fellows er bout him, an’ I am proud of him too, fur they say he is er chip off er the old block, well now, gimme your hand an les shake till arter Christmas, I am gwine take a big dram Christmas day, maybe you air too, well les drink to the health of all good farmers and wish them prosperity an’ good crops fur 1883. Yours thru thick and thin, Pos Buts. Macon county, Ala. Ground Pens. As this is the usual time for harvesting this crop, doubtless many farmers nre wondering why it is that so many of the pods are only popi, though grown on good soil. We re member one year (we had just commenced to farm,) our ground pea patch of one acre was pitched on a piece of land that had been made rich by penning cattle on it several years before. The growth of vines was luxu riant and gave promise of a big crop. In No vember the fattening hogs were turned in and in a few days they had rooted up hundreds of vines that seemed to be literally covered as they lay with full plump pods. Surprised that that the hogs bad not eaten them, we found on examination that nine-tenths of the pods were empty, mere pops, and the hogs seemed actually to have turned up their notes at the cheat and left the unprofitable work. Be fore planting our next crop we saw it stated that lime was a dominating element in the production of ground peas, and that a soil deficient in lime would not produce well- filled pods. We planted the adjoining piece of ground tho next season manured with acid phosphate of lime and produced a re markably tine crop of nuts, with scarcely a defective pod. Oak and hickory land produce better crops of ground peas than long-leaf pine land be cause the former contains more lime and potash, the latter being also important. li. Does It Pny to Sow Wheat T The question is intended to refer to the cotton growing region ol the South and not to the whole country. It is well-known that in several of the great Northwestern States it is the leading money crop, and is more or less profitable as far south as the northern portion of the Gulf, States. It may be, and is grown for home consumption in all the granite formation of South Carolina and Georgia. Some of the largest yields of wheat record have been realized in Middle Georgia, by means of careful selection and preparation of soil, high fertilization and with the favor of good seasons. We hold that whenever the soil is reason ably suited to its culture and the farmer has a considerable family of biscuit-loving child ren, be should endeavor to produce a home supply of wheut. The relative importance of any article of home consumption is meas ured by thequautity required to supply that consumption. One barrel of Hour to each member of a family is a fair allowance for one year. This will requireahout five bush els of wheat; and if the family consists of the average number of seven, forty bushels will supply the requisite quantity—includ ing seed for next sowing. The question is will it pay to risk the uncertainty of the crop, incu.r the expensive labor of prepara tion, manuring, harvesting, threshing, pre serving, ‘‘goiug to mill”—all for the object to be gained, when the whole supply can be purchased for fifty dollars or less? We do not “go back” on our position in favor of diversified crops. By no means. We still insist that the farmer should grow every thing that he can produce with a reasonable degree of certainty and as cheaply as he can buy it. There is a limit to diversifying crops beyond whkh he ought not to go, and this limit may or may not include wheat in the list of crops to be cultivated—according to the circumstances surrounding each one. When the writer was a young farmer a neigh bor, who was blessed with a wife and eight children, very properly considered his wheat crop one of the greatest importance. He habitually applied the greater portion and, if necessary, the whole of his cotton seed to wheat, It was a sine qua non with him. We had only a wife and one or two babies, and found that it did not pay to sow wheat to supply the small quantity of llour needed If the rule were to produce everything re quired for home consumption, that may be produced, then we should make our own sugar, sirup, tea, cheese, starch, soap, vinegar, leather, tobacco, opium, castor-oil, etc.; we should make our cotton and woolen cloth, hosiery, dye stuffs and many other articles, for all of these can be made at home. In the greater portion of the section in which wheat should be included in the list of crops cultivated, it has already been sown or will be in a few days. But in Southern Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Missis sippi and Texas, wheat is yet to be sown if sown at all; and to the farmers of that belt we are writing more particularly. There are but few localities south of Columbia, Augus ta, Macon Columbus, Montgomery and Jackson, where wheat may be sown with reasonable prospect of a fair yield. Now that the oat crop has loomed up into im portance as one of the best and most reliable crops, would it not be better to devote the labor, land and fertilizers that would be re quired to put in a crop of wheat to far more certain and more important crops ? Plant less corn, more oats, more peas, sugar cane, potatoes, etc., and other less doubtful crops than wheat, and buy the few barrels of flour needed ; raise more hogs and better cattle and quit buying bacon, lard, and doing with out butter and milk. In a rotation oats supply every advantage that can be claimed for wheat, and in addition can be produced with much greater certainty. We believe that one of the greatest reforms now needed in our system of hdsbandry is in the direc tion of stock-growing. We need better cows, more sbe£p and goats, brood mares and colts, swine and poultry. To secure these we need reform in our fence laws, laws for the protection of sheep front dogs, better pastures, etc. R. Commercial Fertilisers. With the long list of different brands of commercial fertilizers sold now-a days, the farmer is often puzzled in making a selec tion. Agents will soon be abroad in the land with high analyses, flattering certifi cates, and voluble tongues sounding the praises of their respective brands. Notwith standing the multiplicity of brands, com mercial fertilizers may be easily arranged in a very few classes: 1. Simple acid phosphates and dissolved bones. 2. The same with potash added. 3. The same with potash and ammonia added. This classification is based upon the fact these three, phosphoric acid, potash and am monia, are the only elements that are gener. ally more or less deficient in soils. Lime, indeed, is often needed, but it is supplied in all of the above classes, being an incidental ingredient of each. Of the first-class the ncid phosphates are usually made by treat- ingCburleston rock with sulphuric acid, and they vary greatly in the per centage ol phos phoric acid made available by such treat ment. Those brands which contain the highest per centage arc generally cheaper in the end than the low grades. Acid phos phates contain little or no ammonia and no potash unless added, but a large proportion of sulphate of lime, which is present as a necessary incident of manufacture. The Charleston rock is composed almost entirely of tribasie phosphate of lime, which contains three equivalents of lime and one of plios phoric acid, and is utterly insoluble in wa ter. By the addition of sulphuric acid, which unites with a part of the lime the tri- basic phosphate is converted into the bi-basic phosphate of lime—which is soluble in wa ter—and sulphate of lime. Dissolved bone is a term now generally re stricted to acid phosphates that have been made by treating recent animal bone with sulphuric acid. It has nearly the same com position as the first described, but in addition contains more or less ammonia. Dissolved bone is better for crops than simple acid phosphate for two reasons: 1. Because of the presence of ammonia derived from the albumen of the fresh bone. 2. Because the phosphate that is not rendered immediately soluble by treatment with sulphuric acid becomes available to plants in tne course of a shorter period than the undissolved phos phate, owing to the porous character of the fresh bone aud the presence of organic mat ter whose decomposition aids in dissolving the remaining phosphate. We consider dis solved bone to be worth more to the farmer than simple acid phosphate, by several cents per pound of the available phosphoric acid present, and we would always insist on pur chasing the former by preference, unless the price be out of proportion. The term superphosphate of lime means the same as acid phosphate. When ammoniating material is added to an acid phosphate the latter is then usually called an ammoniated superphosphate. If the base be dissolved bone the result is ammoniated dissolved bone. But the latter term is frequently used when the base of the fertilizer is simple acid phos phate, and the purchaser is liable to be de ceived by the name. None but a chemist can determine the true composition and base of a fertilizer. There is nothing in a name, and fertilizers are not classified according to name but according to composition. But some manufacturers are in the habit of call ing acid phosphates—dissolved bones, and ammoniated acid phosphates—ammoniated dissolved bones. Potash is usually added in the form of kainit, or German salts. On the granite lands of Middle Georgia, potash is not gen erally required unless the soil is much worn or very high manuring is practiced. In high farming where a very large amount of fertil izers is to be applied per acre, all three of the principal elements—phosphoric acid, potash and ammonia—should be present. In other words the manure should be wlmt is called a complete manure, containing all the principal elements in due proportion. A well bal anced soil may be benefitted by a moderate application of phosphoric acid—the element which is generally most deficient—without either of the others; but three or four hun dred or a thousand pounds of acid phosphate alone per acre would destroy the proportion. A large part of the phosphoric acid will be unappropriated because its complement of potash and ammonia is not available. Hence, when a heavy application of fertil izers is to be made, composts furnish the safest and most profitable form in which to apply it, becauso if properly prepared they are the most complete manures. R. INQUIRY t'OI.UHN. Bermuda Grass. Editor. Southern World.—What is the best time (i. e. season) for planting Bermuda grass? Can we plant it during the fall sea son? W. T. Hamer. Salem, Miss. Answer.—See Southern "World for No vember 1st for reply to this question. ^ Tomboll Grass. Will some one inform us through Southern World if Bermuda and Tombcll is the same grass. It seems from tho description of the Bermuda that it is the same or very nearly. A grass in l’ickens county, called Tombcll, which makes a good pasture and hardly can be killed out when well set except by shade. Suuscriuer. Sunny Dale, Pickens county, S. C. Answer.—We have never heard of tho Tombell (?) grass. Will some reader answer the above enquiry ? Johnson Grass. Editor Southern World.—Where can the seed of the Johnson grass he procured, at what price, how much sow to tho acre, and when to be sowed. I do not remember to have seen nny state, ment ns to these facts in your paper, hence I write. B. B. Edwards. Dresden, Tenn. Answer.—Seed of Johnson grass can be procured of Mark W. Johnson & Co. of At lanta. Price *1.00 l>er bushel and one bush el will sow an acre. Tho best time to sow is in the fall but better sow in spring than wait until next fall. R. Russian White Oats. Editor Southern World.—I see in your paper of the 15th that you advertise the Rus sian White Oats. They are anerfect swindle in the South; all got the blaSt. Many have tried them and utterly failed. This will ruin the merits of your paper with us. We know whereof we speak. J. B. Allen. Oxford, Ala. Answer.—The editor nor the proprietors of The World are responsible for the qual ity of the seeds or other goods advertised in these columns. If it were otherwise we would be compelled to close our columns against all advertisements. The mere publi cation of an advertisement docs not imply an endorsement on the part of the paperpub- lishing. When the editor knows that an article advertised is meritorious be will be very apt to say so, if be knows nothing of its merits he can have nothing to say. If our correspondent will read the article in the same paper (Oct. 16th) by the writer, enti tled “Seeds for the South,” he will find that we gave our readers our views on the general policy of planting Northern seeds and espec ially oats; so, that, if he found poison in our advertising colums he might have found an antidote, or at least a caution in our editorial. R. Pearl Wlltet-Forein* Cows. Editor Southern World.—Please do me the kindness to answer in its columns the following questions: 1. Does Pearl Millet make a good hay or fodder, and if so at what stage of growth should it be cut? 2. Is there any danger from feeding it with the seed on it? ■ 3. Does it make good feed cut with a feed- cutter and fed green ? 4. Is there any known mode for forcing cows into season ahead of their natural peri od, and if so, wbatis that mode ? I am a subscriber to the Notional Live-Stock