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Answers to Inquiries.
Valuable Information Given.
Question', —Will lucerne or alfalfa
grow in the sandy soils of the wiregrass
section of Georgia? If so, what is the
proper time to plant, and how much
seed is needed for an acre?
Answer. —Alfalfa should do finely in
South Georgia, under proper conditions,
as it delights in a light, sandy loam,
which, however, must not be underlaid
by a stiff subsoil, imperious to water.
The subsoil must be penetrable by the
roots of the plant, which sometimes
reach to the depth of 10 or 12 feet. At
the same time the soil below the surface
must not be watersobbed (as it is
termed) or alfalfa will not thrive upon
it. With the above conditions of a well
drained sandy loam, with a permeab.e
subsoil, you are ready to raise alfalfa
successfully, provided you follow direc
tions. If your soil is deficient in lime,
it will be essential to success to appiy a
liberal dressing, say 100 to 150 bushels
to the acre, as lucerne will not do well
on land deficient in this fertilizer. In
addition to lime, you will need a com
plete fertilizer, rich in nitrogen, potash,
and phosphoric acid, and it must be ap
plied with a liberal Hand, as alfalfa
will give a very poor return on land
that is not rich in all the ingredients of
plant food. With your laud now highly
enriched, break it and subsoil it as deep
as possible, the deeper the better. Then
harrow and reharrow until you have it
thoroughly pulverized and free from
clods. You are now ready for planting,
and I would urge you not to broadcast
the seed, as is so often recommended,
for if you do, the weeds and grass are
almost sure to choke out the young al
falfa and yon give up the experiment in
despair. Plant in rows 20 to 24 inches
apart, and use from 20 to 25 pounds of
seed to the acre. You know the im
portance of a good stand in any crop,
and with alfalfa you want the plants
thick enough to hold their own against
the grass and weeds which are sure to
spring up with them. Plant about the
last of September or the last of Febru
ary. As soon as the plants are up well
commence the cultivation, eradicating
all weeds and grass and keeping the
ground mellow by frequent stirrings.
Cut when 16 to 18 inches high, and
after that cut as often as necessary, not
allowing it to go to seed, and it will
soon cover the ground and keep down
the weeds. For hay it should be cut
when the first flowers appear. It should
improve up to the fourth year, and after
that will yield you four to five tons of
the best of hay, annually, for many
years, provided, of course, that you
keep up the fertility of the land and
keep out the weeds. The hay is equal
to, or even better, than clover, and is
much relished by stock. If your soil is
suitable I would recommend you to
try it.—State Agricultural Department.
Question—Do you think there is
any benefit to a farmer in South Geor
gia, getting cottonseed from a more
northern latitude?
Answer. —The farmer in South Geor
gia would undoubtedly increase his
yield of cotton if every three or four years
he would get his planting cottonseed
from a point 200 or 300 miles north of
his farm. The farther south the plant
is carried the greater the tendency to
“run to weed,” as it is termed, namely
to make a large growth of wood and
leaves at the expense of the fruit. This
is clearly shown in the coast regions of
Mexico, where frost is unknown or very
rare; there the cotton plant grows to a
small tree in size, bearing however, but
few bolls, filled with inferior lint. Our
fanners as a rule pay too little attention
to the selection of their planting seed,
especially cotton. It is my opinion that
if every farmer would in person, or
through a trusty hand, go through his
cotton fields and pick the bolls only
from the best stalks of cotton, and from
these save his planting seed, the crop
would soon be increased at least 25 per
cent without any increase in acreage.
Those farmers who by careful selection
of seed have so improved their cotton
that they make usually a bale to the
acre and readily sell their seed for a
dollar a bushel, began the improvement
in the way I have indicated, and keep
it up continuously in order to prevent
deterioration of their seed, If you will
follow the plan suggested you will not
need to send anywhere else for cotton
seed but will soon find your crop mate
rially increased and yourself famous for
having the best cottonseed in your sec
tion. The same theory holds good in
selecting seed corn. Go through your
fields before gathering your crop and
select for seed the best ear from su h
stalks as have two or more well matured
ears. Continue this practice for several
years and you will find that your corn
has become moro prolific and that the
yield has perceptibly increased. Year
by year we should strive for improve
ment and not be content to continue in
the old ruts made by our fathers. They
cultivated our lands when they were
fresh and made good crops under
any circumstances. Now, however, con
ditions are changed and a farmer mast
be wide awake and progressive or he
cannot hone to make anything bat
meagre crops.—State Agricultural De
partment.
QUESTION.—I have got 2,0'>0 bushels
i of cottonseed, 100 barrels of ashes frdm
i the slab pit and 100 barrels of ashes
i from the furnace. In addition, I have
50,000 pounds of horse manure. I want
your advice how to use this in a com
, post. I can get kainit or acid phosphate.
My cotton dies with the “black root.”
What can I use to stop it?
Answer. —In consequence of the un
certain value of the ashes, it is not an
easy matter to give a satisfactory an
' ewer to your question. Ashes vary from
II
1 to 5 per cent in phosphoric acid and
I from 1 to 20 per cent in potash, accord
' I ing to circumstances. The ashes from
the slab pit have, of course, had rains
upon them and are undoubtedly more
or less leached, making those in the bot
' tom of the pit much richer in potash
than those nearer the top. In conse
quence, they must be thoroughly mixed
before using, so that the potash may be
’ equally distributed throughout the mass.
Assuming that your ashes carry 8 per
cent of potash and 3 per cent of phos
phoric acid. I would suggest a compost
made of 600 pounds of ashes, 600 pounds
of cottonseed and 800 pounds of acid
phosphate. This would give you a fer
tilizer containing about 6.50 per cent of
phosphoric acid, about 3.3 of potash and
about 1 per cent of nitrogen. If your
laud is in the habit of causing rust in
the cotton crop, you had better add 150
pounds of muriate potash to the above,
which would give you a fertilizer with
nearly 7 percent of potash. The “black
root” in cotton is hard to deal with
and difficult to subdue. No doubt the
best plan is to rotate your crops, bring
ing cotton on the same field not oftener
than once in three or four years. By
this plan you can nt least diminish the
damage from this disease, and some
times entirely eradicate it. Concerning
the horse manure, I suggest that you
add 2,000 pounds of it to 2,000 pounds of
the above described compbst, and after
mixing thoroughly apply say from sbo
to 600 pounds to the acre for cotton.
This should make yon a good crop
should the necessary work and rain ac
company it. State Agricultural De
partment.
Question. —The farmers in my neigh
borhood have formed a club, and wou <1
like some points from you on buying
fertilizers as cheap as possible. Give
us some suggestions.
Answer.—There are two ways open
to individuals or clubs to get their fer
tilizers. The one most generally fol
lowed is to buy their goods already
mixed by the factories, with the guar
anteed analysis branded upon the sacks..
This plan saves the farmer some labor
both of head and hand, and conse
quently is the most popular. The other
plan is to buy the ingredients yourself,
either as individuals or in -flubs, and do
the mixing yourself. This plan will
impose upon you some thought and
some labor, but will enable you to save
from $2 to $4 a ton on your fertilizer
bill. This is the plan adopted by many
of the shrewdest and most successful
farmers of the state, and if adopted by
all would save about $1,000,000 annually
to the farmers of Georgia. If, now, you
want a cheap fertilizer for corn or cot
ton, such as you have usually paid $lB
to S2O for buy the following ingredients
and mix them thoroughly before using:
Acid phosphate (14 per cent avail-
able) 1,200 lbs
Cottonseed meal (Nitrogen equal
to 8 1-2 per cent ammonia) 300 lbs
Kainit (12 per cent potash) 3.X) lbs
Total 2,000 lbs
The cost of the material should be at
wholesale prices, about sls, not includ
ing the cost of mixing, which should
not exceed a half day’s wages of one
hand. Another higher grade fertilizer
for corn or cotton, would be the follow
ing:
Acid phosphate (14 per cent avail
able) ..1,300 lbs
Blood (Nitrogen equal to 16 per
cent ammonia) 300 lbs
Kainit (12 per cent potash) 400 lbs
Total 2,000 lbs
Cost of materials for above mixture
should be at wholesale prices, about
sl6 60 per ton, while the usual selling
price is about $22 a ton. Add to the
cost of the above materials a half day’s
wages of one hand.
Some farmers demand a fetilizer of a
higher grade, containing more nitrogen
and more potash. This demand can be
easily supplied, but of course will cos:
more money. The following:
Acid phosphate (14 per cent avail-
able).... 1,300 lbs
Blood (Nitrogen equal to 16 per
cent ammonia) 460 lbs
Muriate of Polish (-4) per cent
potash) 3.T0 lbs
Tot al f 2,00() lbs
would give you a fertilizer of a very
high grade, the ingredients of which
would cost you about s2l at wholesale
prices, but for such goods the usual sel
ling price is about s.’o. You can get all
the ingredients for making your fertili
zers from any of the large manufactu
rers, and I suggest that your club dis
cuss the matter, find out just how much
they want and than buy it in carload
lots. They will make a decided saving
by this plan. The mixing must be
thoroughly done and all lumps broken
, up. The prices given above for mate
| rials for fertilizers does not include
| freight, which on an average Will net
THE ROME TRIBUNE, SUNDAY, DECEMBER UO, 1896.
add more than a dollar or a dollar and
a half per ton to the amount given.
One advautnge in buying, mixing and
using the higher grade goods is the
saving in Ireiglr. For instance, dried
blood is usually twice us rich in nitro
gen as is cottonseed meal, a-id muriate
of potash is four times as rich in potash
as is kainit, consequently to get a defi
nite amount of nitrogen or pota«h the
freight charge would only be half as
much on blood as on cottonseed meal
and one-fourth as much on muriate o.‘
potash as on kainit. Before mixing
screen the materials with a common
sand screen to get out the lumps which
can then be easily crushed. I have
repeatedly urged the farmers of Geor
gia to m x their own fertilizers, and I
trust that this season a great many
will follow my advice.—State Agricult
ural Department.
Planting: of Terraces.
Question. —Is there no way that I can
utilize my terraces? I have a good many,
and I have been thinking that some
thing might be planted on them.
Answer. —Os course you can plant
your terraces in various crops, and you
are wasting some good laud if you are
not doing so. Some farmers plant their
terraces in fruit trees, particularly
plums, but I think this a poor plan, as
the tree soon branches out and prevents
plowing right up to the terrace, with
out injury to the trees. Where terraces
are near the house I have seen fine
strawberries raised upon them, and I
think they would be excellently adapt
ed to growing raspberries or blackber
ries. The roots of any of these fruits
would be useful in binding the terraces
and thus preventing their washing
away, while they would not interfere.
I think though that on the whole, sor
ghum, or cattail millet, or chicken corn
would be the best crops to put on the
terraces. The roots of either of these
would offer great resistance to any ten
dency of the terrace to break, and any
of these could be cut green for soiling
or could go to maturity for seed or
grinding, aim in both cases their roots
would be left in the soil, rendering
it difficult to break the terra
ces with even very heavy rains.
Os course this planting of terraces is
best done before they become old.
packed and well sodded with grass.
Then they are better let alone, for any
disturbance in the way of cultivation
would only*weaken and injure them.—
State Agricultural Department.
Horse Suffering; From Heaves.
Question.— I have a fine young horse
which has lately developed a short
wheezing cough, and when- driven out
of a very slow gait, seems to breathe
with difficulty, his breathing then being
short and fast. What ails him, and
what can I do to cure him?
Answer.—Yom- animal undoubtedly
is suffering from what is called heaves
or broken wind. This disease is caused
by ruptured or enlarged air cells of the
lungs, and is consequently incurable, as
no medical science can repair these
bursted cells. The best that you can
do is to lessen the evil, by paying strict
attention to the food of the animal.
Don’t give large quantities of hay or
fodder, but. feed liberally of oats with a
small quantity of fodder. The idea is
to distend the stomach as little as pos
sible, as to do so in such cases is always
harmful. Always dampen the oatsand
fodder before feeding. Bran mashes
are also good. By feeding carefully as
suggested, the trouble will be to some
extent alleviated, and the animal ren
dered more serviceable, though you can
never hope for a cure.—State Agricult
ural Department.
<-nbb I’linla.
Question. —Enclosed find some worms
and a moth which produces them. The
worms have seriously injured our cab
bages and turnips, eating off the tops.
Please name them and give a remedy
against them.
Answer.—The insect is called the
Cabbage Plusia. It works great injury
to many garden crops, but especially to
cabbages and turnips. The female moth
(dark gray in color, with a bright spot
near the middle of each front wing,)
deposits her eggs either singly or iu
clusters on the upper surface of the
cabbage leaves. The eggs soon hatch,
and the young worms begin at once to
devour the leaves and to bore small,
irregular holes in the cabbage head In
this section there are several broods of
this destructive insect each season. The
moths usually fly at night, but may
sometimes be seen flitting about during
a cloudy day. To get rid of them, dust
upon the plants pirethrum, (insect pow
der) mixed with three times its bulk of
flour. They may also be destroyed by
spraying with kerosene emulsion.—State
Agricultural Department.
M. A. THEDFORD’S
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jioNATUMC orM.A.THEoroRD on FrontOf
Several Car Loads of Buggies THF~V RflllOT PCI
Phaetons and Wagons. . | j|L I IfluU I UUI
Prices Cut to the very bottom. /
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$45 for a Top Buggy. SSO for a Top Buggy and Harness,
How is this for a sample of cheap prices? We sell medium and nigh grade work for cash, and we give
time on safe paper. We trade for old vehicles as part pay on new ones
HOW IS THIS: IflO 00 for ase. of buggy wheels, finished, (tired, painted, and your boxes put in). We
allow actual value for old wheels as part pay on new ones We are up-to-uate in our repair department. We
give it careful attention and are having a g< od tradf.
We are having dailv culls lor x<»oa second hand Bugt-ies, Surrie«, Carriages and Spring Wagons. If you
have such to trade bring them and let ns see .h« in and we will trade with you.
R. H. JONES & SONS’ M’F’G. CO ■ s Rome and Cartersville, Ca.
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