: : : : Established 1840. THE Sixty-Fourth Year. Southern Planter A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO Practical and Progressive Agriculture, Horticulture, Trucking, Live Stock and the Fireside. OFFICE: 28 NORTH NINTH STREET, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA. THE SOUTHERN PLANTER PUBLISHING COMPANY, Proprietors. J. F. JACKSON, Editor sad General Manager. Vol. 64. MARCH, 1903. No. 3. CONTENTS. FARM MANAGEMENT LIVE STOCK AND DAIRY : Editorial— for the 153 Work Month Herefords at Anneneld, Clarke Co., Va 177 "All Flesh is Grass." 156 HerefordB'at Castalia, Albemarle Co., Va 177 High Culture or the Intensive System, as Applied Confining CowsiContinuously During Winter. 178 to the Culture of Corn. ...^ 157 A Green Crop All Summer—Corn and Cow-Peas.. 159 Bacon, and a " Bacon Breed." - 179 Grasses and Live Stock Husbandry—Bermuda Biltmore Berkshire Sale « ~ 180 160 GraBS The Brood Sow 181 The Difference in Resalts from Using a Balanced and an Unbalanced Fertilizer 161 Artichokes ^--•"MtABD: My Experience with SO 2, gif x Italian Grass Rye -«-JL ** ,. \aying Competition of Breeds 182 Improving Mountain! Land 163 Nitrate of Soda as.a Fertilizer for Tobacco Plant- Cost cf Producing a Broiler 182 Beds '. 164 Humus ~ 164 THE HORSE Enquirer's Column (Detail {Index, page 185)....'.... 166 Notes 183 TRUCKING, GARDEN 'ANDIORCHARD Editorial—Work for the Month 171 Notes on Varieties of Apples at the Agricultural MISCELLANEOUS Experiment Station, Blacksburg, Va „ 174 Brownlow's Good Roads Bill—A Practical and Garden and Orchard Notes _ 175 Conservative Measure „ 184 Work in the Strawberry.Patch 176 Editorial—Spraying Fruit Trees and Vegetable Publisher's Notes - 185 Crops 176 Editorial—San Jose Scale ~. 176 Advertisements 185 ecan Nuts 176 m- SUBSCRIPTION, 50c. PER YEAR, IN ADVANCE. "M Ahead of them all ASHTON STARKE, and room to spare. RICHMOND, VA. u jj The STAR The finest Corn Planter made. -- --•=- With or without fertilizer hopper, Drops or with runner o r Drills hoe opener. CORN, PEAS, BEANS See every grain any number as it falls to the of grains any ground. distances. forthb TOBACCO CROP USE- "STAR BRAND" GUANO, IT'S THE BEST. ALLISON & ADDISON, nJSSLTSSfc*. ... Richmond, Vav ' MANUFACTURERS. The Southern Planter. DEVOTED TO PRACTICAL AND PROGRESSIVE AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE, TRUCKING, LIVE STOCK AND THE FIRESIDE. Agriculture Is the nursing mother of the Arts.—XENOPHON. Tillage and pasturage are the two breasts of the State.— SULLY. 64th Year. Richmond, March, 1903. No. 3. Farm Management. WORK FOR THE MONTH two, when the winter weather and the spring rains Since writing our article on "Work for the Month" are so persistent as to practically compel him to lose for the February issue, weather conditions have been at least one month of the time he had confidently reck- such almost throughout the whole South as to prevent oned on within which to complete his preparation of the carrying out of the programme of work therein the land for the crop. This practice of neglecting the laid out for February. The frequent rains have kept golden opportunity of the fall and early winter months the land too wet for plowing, and those who failed to also results even when the spring is fairly genial in make good use of the time in the fall and early winter largely limiting the amount of work which he can find months to push on the work of breaking land to be time to put on the preparation of the soil, and this, as cropped this year will now find themselves likely to we pointed out in our last issue, is, in our opinion, be behind hand when seeding time is at hand, and will largely the cause of the small yields which crops make perforce be compelled to try to put four months' work in the South. Where land was broken in the fall and into two. The result will be incomplete preparation winter, it is now well filled with moisture, not merely of the soil and diminished yields of crops. Tear after on the surface, but in the subsoil, and this, if con- year we keep on urging the full utilization of the fall served as it ought to be, will serve to meet all the and early winter months in the breaking of land in needs of the crop, even though we should have a dry order not only to lessen the pressure of work in the summer, whilst land yet to plow, though now wet on spring, but also that advantage may be had of the the snriace, i3 likely to be dry in the subsoil, and will ameliorating influence of the winter's frosts on the require very careful management to make a crop soil, but with comparatively small results. The far should the summer be dry. Very much of the rain mer is usually a procrastinating Individ ual—very which falls on unplowed land during the winter is lost much like the Spaniard who always, when urged to to the soil, as it largely runs off the soil into the creeks make an immediate effort, replies, ' Manyana," " to- and ditches, and it is rarely the case in the South that morrow," a to morrow which often never comes. So we can afford to waste water in this way if we are to with the majority of farmers—they put off the plow make a full yield from the land. ing of land in the fall and winter months, confident that in the spring there will be ample time to plow As soon as the land is dry enough, let the plows be and fit the land for the crop. And yet reflection would set to work first in breaking the land intended to be assure him that probably in a majority of years in the seeded with oats, and then upon the land intended for South there is always at least one month, and often corn and forage crops. Do not, however, be tempted SOCJTMEKN PLANTTEE March 154 THE i freely harrows the field with the Double Acting to plow until the land is dry enough to work harrow once and leave the plow in a crumbly condition. Land a week until September first (say three times), when plowed wet can never be made into a good seed bed, the field will be in condition for sowing wheat or rye, however much labor may be spent on it, whilst the if desired, or to lie until spring for oats. In this way injury done to the productive capacity of the land by the land is stirred 43 times before sowing a seed. In bottom the secor sowing the tramping of the horses, especially in the d season, before the grass seeds and the first after or crop, the field is of the furrows, is great, not only affecting cutting the wheat oat stirred by intervals, crop, but many subsequent ones, unless remedied 32 times, at regular from July 1st to Sep- subsoiling. Plowing, to be effective, should not mere tember 1st, with the same implements as before, thus great part of making stirring of the soil 75 before ly turn the soil over, but should do a a complete times the work of breaking that soil into fine particles and the sowing of the grass, which makes so great a yield and cul of bay. Mr. Clark has for years demonstrated that leave it in such condition as that the harrow tivator can thoroughly and completely disintegrate it such thorough working of land j ields a heavy profit. least to the ton has and reduce it to a fine loose condition, at With hay selling at $12 per he made a net depth of 6 inches, and much better if to the depth of profit of $42 per acre on his crop. Whilst it is not 9 inches. We would once again urge the importance possible for a farmer having a large area to put into give of a more perfect preparation of the soil before plant crops of various kinds to so much work to each ing any crop than is customary in the South, or indeed acre, yet there is a great difference between one plow- any purt of this country. Instead of placing reliance ing, one harrowing, and three cultivations, which is upon the application of commercial or other fertilizer about the average of that given to a crop of corn in of for the making of crops, let the first reliance be upon the South and the foregoing method Mr. Clark. land the perfect preparation of the soil. There is an im It would certainly pay to give here three or four mense reserve of plant fooi placed by nature in al times the preparation usually given to it. Try the most every kind of soil, as analysis proves, much more experiment. than sufficient to meet the needs of crops for yearei if only available. This availability can only be secured Oats for grain, forage or hay should be seeded du- by the breaking up of the soil into the smallest parti ring this month. It is too late to sow Virginia cles and subjecting these to the action of water, air grey winter oats after the 15th of the month with and sunlight, and later to the action of the acids de the expectation of their making a heavy crop. Up to veloped in the roots of almost all kinds of plants du that time they may be sown, but they will not usually ring the process of growth, and which acids have a make anything like so great a yield as when sown in powerful solvent effect on inert plant food.