The ledger. [volume] (Gaffney City, S.C.) 1896-1907, April 27, 1906, Image 3
Gaffney Ledger.
SIX TI ON k J
(; A1 FXEV. S. ( FIUDAY, AIM?IL 27, 190(>
PAGES 9 TO 12
Revolution
IN
Growing of Corn.
A Mine of Wealth Opened Up to Every Farmer in the
Cotton-Growing Belt.
Thf 1 following liiylily valu:il)li' |»ap<‘i'
prepared by Mr. I'.. McImt W illiam
son, of Darlington county. South
Carolina, has just hoon puidislicd in
the Uartsville County Messenger:
For a number of years after I began
to farm I followed the old-time method
of |mtling the fertilizer all under the
corn, planting on a level or higher, six
by three feet, pushing the plant from
the start and making a big stalk, but
the ears were few and frequently small.
I planted much coi n in the spring and
bought much more corn the nextspring,
until finally 1 was driven to the con
clusion that corn could not he made
on uplands in this section, certainly
not by the old method, except at a loss.
I did not give up, however, for I
knew that the farmer who did not make
his own corn never had succeeded, and
never would, so I began to experiment.
First, I planted lower, and the yield
was better, but the stalk was still too
large, so I discontinued altogether the
application of fertilizer before plant
ing, and, knowing tiiatall crops should
be fertilized at some time, I used mix
ed fertilizer as a side application and
applied the more soluble nitrate of
soda later, being guided in thi> by the
excellent results obtained from its use
as a top dressing for oats. Still the
yield, though regular, was not large,
and the smalIness of the stalk itself
now suggested that they’ should he
planted thicker m the drill. This was
done the next year with results so sat
isfactory that I continued from year
to year to increase the number of stalks
and the fertilzer with which to sustain
them, also to apply nitrate of soda at
last plowing, and to lay by early, sow
ing peas broadcast. This method
steadily increased the yield, until year
Never plow land when it is wot, if
! you expect ever to have guy use for it
again.
I fed with turn plow in six-foot rows,
h-aving five-inch balk. When ready to
1 plant, break this out with scooter, fol-
[ lowing in bottom of this furrow deep
with I )ixie plow, w ing taken oil. Ridge
then on this furrow with same plow
still going deep. I tun corn planter on
! this ridge, dropping one grain every
live or six inches. IMant early, as soon
us frost danger is past, say lirst .sea
sonable spell after March In. in this
section. K-peel ally is early planting
xTecessary on very rich lands where
stalks cannot otherwise he prevented
from growing too large. (Jive first
working with harrow or any plow that
will not cover the plant. For second
working, use 10 or 12 inch sweep on
both sides of corn, which should now
he about eight inches high. Thin alter
this working. It is not necessary ttiat
the plants should he left all the same
distance apart, if the right number re-
main to each y ard or row.
< drn should not be worked again
until the growth has been so retarded
and the stalk so hardened that it will
never grow too large. This is the
most dillumlt point in the whole pro
cess. Kxpt rience and judgment are
required to know just how much the
stalk should he stunted, and plenty of
nerve is required to hold back your
coi n when your neighbors, who ferti
lized at planting time and cultivated
rapidly, have corn twice the size of
yours. (They are having their fun
now. Yours will come at harvest
time.) The richer file land the more
necessary it is that the stunting pro
cess should be thoroughly done.
t ink \i l:r. ( |{I »l* A \ AI.YSKS
befoie last (1!M»4) with corn II
apart in six-foot rows and *11
applications of manure go to make
large stalks which you do not want,
and the plant food is all thus used up
before the ear. which you do want, is
made. Tall stalks not only will not
produce well themselves, but will not
allow you to make the pea vines, so
necessary to the improvement of land.
Corn raised by this method should
never grow over seven and half feet
high and the ear should be near to the
ground.
I consider the final application
of nitrate of soda an essential point in
this ear making process, it should
always be applied at last plowing and
unmixed with other fertilizers.
I am satisfied with one ear to the
stalk, unless a prolific variety is plant
ed. and leave 100 stalks for every
bushel that I expect to make. I find
the six foot row easiest to cultivate
without injuring the corn. For 50
bushels to the acre, I leave it 10 inches
apart: for 75 bushels to the acre. 12
inches apart, and for 100 bushels eight
inches apart. Corn should be planted
from four to six inches below the level,
and laid by from four to six inches
above. No hoeing should be necessary,
and middles may he kept clean until
time to break out, by using harrow or
by running one shovel furrow in centre
of middle and bedding on that, with
one or more rounds of turn plow.
I would advise only a few acres tried
by this method the lirst year, or until
you are familiar with its application.
Especially is it hard, at first, to fully
carry out the stunting process, where
a whole crop is involved, and this is
the absolutely essential part of the
process.
This method J have applied or seen
applied successfully to all kinds of
land in this section except river lands
and moist bottoms, and I am confident
it can he made of great benefit through
out the entire South.
fn the middle West, where corn is
so prolific and profitable, and where,
unfortunately for us, so much of ours
has been produced, the stalk does not
naturally grow large. As we come
South its size increases, at the expense
‘of the ear. until in Cuba and Mexico
it is nearly all stalk (witness Mexican
varieties).
The purpose of this method is to
eliminate this tendency of corn to over
growth at the expense of yield, in tills
Southern elimate.
Hy this method 1 have made my
corn crop more profitable than my
cotton crop, and my neighbors and
friends who have adopted it have,
without exception, derived great bene
fit therefrom.
Plant your own seed. 1 would not
advise a change of seed and method
the same year, as yoi will not then
know from which you have derived
the benefit. I have used three varie
ties, and all have done well. J have
never used this method for late plant
ing. In fact, I do not advise the late
planting of corn, unless it be neces
sary for cold low lands.
The increased cost of labor and the
high price of all material and land
are rapidly making farming unprofit
able, except to those who are getting
from one acre wdiat they formerly got
from two. We must make our lands
richer by plowing deep, planting peas
and other legumes, manuring them
with acid phosphate and potash, which
are relatively cheap, and returning to
the soil the resultant vegetable matter
rich in humus and expensive nitrogen
The needs of our soil are such that
the South can never reap the full
measure of prosperity that should be
hers until this is done.
I give tins method as a farmer to
the farmers of the South, trusting
that thereby they may be benefited as
I have been.
A grain of prudence is worth a
pound of graft.
Boasters are cousins of liars.
Courtship by mail usually ends in
matrimony.
Envy shoots at others and wounds
itself.
Foolish fear doubles danger.
(Jod teaches us good things by our
own bands.
He has hard work who lias nothing
to do.
It costs more to
than to sufler them.
revenge wrongs
But few people would know of your
troubles if you knew enough to keep
them under cover.
Too many people expect others to
do more for them than they are w ill
ing to do for themselves.
CROPS OF TWO YEARS WORTH MORE
THAN 400 YEARS’ YIELD OF GOLD
The American Farmer is the Real Dictator of
the World of Commerce.
By Professor W. (J. Johnson, Managing Editor American Agriculturist.
crops the farmer faced peculiar con
ditions. His fields were not always
covered with sunshine and his path
way was not strewn with roses. The
jearly part of the season was beset
with many adverse circumstances that
tried the iron heart of the sturdy
plowman. However, this extraordi
nary harvest w as not so much due to
meteorological conditions as to the
skill, energy and scientific methods
pursued by the farmers themselves.
There is no place in the world where
agricultural practices have reached so
high a scale of development as in the
United States.
The American farmer has not been
handicapped by the traditions of cen
turies, as have the farmers of the Old
World; he has l>eeii steadily hoeing
his owm row . With the help of the
government and State experts at the
agricultural colleges and experiment
stations and dissemination of scien
tific knowledge and exchange of prac
tical experiences through the agricul
tural press the farmers have advanced
more rapidly in technical, specific and
practical knowledge than any other
class. A generation ago a season no
more favorable than that experienced
in 1905, from a meteorological stand
point, would have resulted in only a
moderate crop yield, far short of the
present magnificent showing.
Although Nature was by no means
in a generous mood the past season,
our farmers have wrested from her re
sults that would have been impossible,
even under the most favored condi
tions, in the days of their sires or
grandsires.—New York Herald.
indies
worth
of fertilizer to the actv, I made M bu
shels average to the acre, si-vera
my best acres making as much as i_'•>
biTshds.
, Last year (1905) I followed the same
method, planting the lirsl week in
April, To acres which had produced
the year b fore 1.000 pounds seed cot
ton per acre. 'This land is sandy up
land, somewhat rolling. Seasons
were very unfavorable, owing to the
tremendous rains in May, and thedry
and extremely hot weather later
From June 12th to July 12di, the time
when it most needed moisture, there
was only 5-K of an inch of rainfall
here; yet w ith ifT.Ol cost of fertilizer,
my yield was 52 bushels per acre.
Rows were six feet and corn 10 inches
in drill.
With this method, on land that will
ordinarily produce 1,000 pounds of
seed cotton with 800 pounds of fertili
zer,.50 bushels of corn per acre should
be made by using 2oo pounds of cotton
seed meal, 200 pounds of acid phos
phate, and 400 pounds of kainit mixed,
or their equivalent in other fertilizer,
and 125 pounds of nitrate of soda, all
to be used as side application as di
rected below.
On land that will make a bale and
one-half of cotton per acre when well
fertilized. 100 bushels of corn should
be produced by doubling the amount
of fertilizer above, except that Jooi
pounds of nitrate of soda should be
used.
In each case there should he left on
the land in cornstalks, peas, vines and
roots, from $12 to $10 worth of fertiliz
ing material per acre, beside the
great benefit to the land from so large
an amount of vegetable matter. The
place of this in the permanent improve
ment of land can never he taken oy
commercial fertilizer, for it is abso
lutely impossible to inak*‘ lands rich
as long us they are lacking in vege
table matter.
Land should he thoroughly and
deeply broken for corn, and this is the
time in a system of rotation to deepen
the soil. Cotton requires a more com
pact soil than corn, and while a deep
soil is essential to its best development,
it will not produce as w< II as on Ioom
of
g. Si III poiimk
(grain)....
l.
of corn
•'ll
5U0pounds shucks .
4(10 pounds cob
1 ‘ A " taken land....
I, 2ifb It)-, corn sta Iks.
J, in ill llis peas, vines
and roots grown in
corn
9
41
Entire crop contains 129
Taken from land ‘'A' - 5s
2-<.2i;
12. n.4
J /‘ft for next crop....
IU<I bushels oats and
straw will require..
1,5<IO pounds seed cot
ton and stalks will
require
5() bushel s c<>rn, cobs,
shucks and stalks
will require
71 19 lil l<i. 15
<;4 r
;<»
.ii>
When you are convinced that your
corn has been sufficiently humiliated,
you may begin to make the ear. It
should now be from 12 to
IS inches
von ever
high, and look worse than
had any corn to look before.
I’ut half your mixed fertilizer (this
being the lirst used at all) in the old
sweep furrow on both sides of every
other middle, and cover by breaking
out this middle with turn plow. About
one week later treat the other middle
the same way. Within a few days
side corn in first middle with hi-inch
sweep. Put all your nitrate of soda
in this furrow, if less than 15o pounds.
If more, use one-half of it now. < over
with one furrow of turn plow, then
sow peas in this middle broadcast at
the rate of at least one bushel to the
acre and finish breaking out.
In a few days side corn in other
middle with same sweep, put halanee
of nitrate of soda in this furrow if it
has been divided, cover with turn
plow, sow peas and break out. This
lays by your crop with a good bed
and plenty of dirt around your stalk.
This should be from June loth to 20th
unless season is verv late, and corn
“ - ” • * * — f i i «* Vs.?i.t IIIVI. f HUH VA/lil
o|>en land, whilecorrt does best on land ! should be hardly bunching for tassel,
thoroughly broken. A deep soil will Lay by early.’ More corn is ruined
not only produce mure heavjlv than a: by late plowing than by lack of plow-
K*hjillow’ soil witli good seasons, but ing. This is when the ear is iiurt.
it will< stand more wet as well us more ’1'wo good rains after laying 1 by should
dry weatnoiv
In prenaring lOr.the corn crop, land !
should be broken hroaidstast during the
winter one-fourth deeper tha>n it has
been plowed before, or if much vegour . I _ _
ble matter is being turned under, it | srinall, and do not require anything
may be broken one-third deeper. This | like Me• moisture, evvn in proportion
make you a good crop of corn, and it
will certainly make with much less
rain if pushed and fertilized in the old
way.
The stalks thus raised are very
is as much deepening as land will
usually stand in one year and produce
well, though it may he continued each
year, so long as much dead vegetable
matter is being turned under. It may,
however, be sub-soiled to any depth
by following In bottom of turn plow
furrow 1 , provided no more of the sub
soil than has been directed, is turned
up. Break with two horse plow, if
possible, or better with disc plow.
With the latter cotton stalks or corn
stalks as large as we ever make can
be turned under without having been
chopped, and in peavinw* it will not
choke or drag.
to size, limit
sappy stalks.
is necessary for large,
They may. therefore,
be left much thicker -in the row. This
is no new process. It tnup long been
a custom to cut back vines - j t n<i trees
in order to increase the yieiNJ and
quality of fruit, and so long us ,^ou
do not hold back your corn, it w ill gbj s
like mine so long went, to all stalk.
Do not be discouraged by the looks
of your corn during the process of cul
tivation. It will yield out nf all pro
portion to its appearance. Largestalks
cannot make large yields, except with
extremely favorable seasons, for they
cannot stand a luck of moisture. Early
IMvOSPLX TI TS
OK-
THE POAG REAL ESTATE COMPANY
We desire to organize a Real Estate Company with ample
capital to handle bargains as offered, and at the same time to
accommodate those who wish to buy, sell or exchange.
Our experience in the Real Estate and Brokerage business
has demonstrated that opportunities are repeatedjy being of
fered to handle properties with large and sure profits if we are
only able to command the necessary funds. We have been able
to make a number of such profitable deals for our clients, yet
have had to see many more go by in the absence of investing
customers and for the want of the means to take up the offers
ourselves.
The rapidly increasing prosperity of our agricultural and
manufacturing interests, together with macadamized roads, the
development of our water powers for the generation and trans
mission of power by electricity, and the improved methods of
farming, guarantees the continued advance in value of
both country and town properties. Under the^c conditions we
fed sure that investments in Real Estate, judiciously placed,
can only result in large profits. So, in order to be in position
to take advantage of these opportunities as they may be offered,
and assist in establishing a more ready market for Real Estate,
we have decided to organize a live Real Estate Company, able
to command money, and under the management of a Board of
Direcjton composed of the best Real Estate men in the country,
and with officers of the most efficient and capable men availa
ble. We expect to have our own surveyors to survey and
plat all property to be sold at auction, and our own auctioneer
to conduct sales. The assets of the Company will be safely
guarded under the By-laws, which will place all officers who
handle the money under ample bond, and all monies, when not
invested, will be kept in banks, and no investment in Real
Estate will be made except after the title has been abstracted by
our own Attorneys. It is anticipated that J. Edgar Poag will
be selected as the General Manager of the Company, and that
he will use his experience and talents to make the undertaking
a success, with the understanding, however, that such office
shall not interfere with his present individual business as a
Broker. It has been decided to begin business with the au
thorized capital of ($50,000) Fifty Thousand Dollars, and here
after to increase the same as the demands and business of the
Company shall require. This stock (it is preferred) shall be
held by parties throughout the country, as our Company is
not intended to be a local concern, and we wish to give every
one an opportunity to subscribe. Subscriptions can be made
payable in either money or property ; but property will only
be accepted after being examined, approved and assessed bv
the Company’s Board of Assessors. You are invited to fill
out and sign the attached blank and forward to J. Edgar Poag,
at Rock Hill, S. C.
Mr. J. Edgar Poag, Rock Hill, S. C.
Dear Sir: You are hereby authorized to subscribe for me
and in my name shares of the Capital Stock of the
POAG REAL ESTATE COMPANY, of the par value of One
Hundred ( $100) Dollars each, and to he payable as called for
by the Board of Directors.
Yours very truly,
Dftte
P. Oi. Address..
Our American farmer is the wonder
of the aye. Wall Street trembled when
he announced the value of his products
for 1905 at $(>,415,000,000. Railroad
officials shook because of their inabili-
t.\ to hand to him a bill of ladiny in
1904, hut when he asked for rolliny
stock to transport his crops at the j
close of tlie harvest they were unable
to speak. He requested cars for 2,-
70*.ooo.ooo bushels of corn, 740,000,000
bushels of wheat, 1,000.000.000 bushels
of oats. 55,000,000 bushels of rye, 150,- ,
000,000 bushels of barley, 30,000,000
bushels of Haxseed, 250,(Xib,000bushels
of potatoes, 2*,000,000 barrels of ap-
ples, 3,000,000 bushels of onions., 910,000
bushels of cranberries, (450,000,000 lbs.
oi rice, 280,000 tons beet suyar, 11.-1
000,000 bales of cotton. 58,000,000 tons
of hay, 45,000.000 pounds of broom
corn and 15(4,000,000 pounds of tobacco.
In addition the farmer asks for trans
portation of milk, butter and cheese ;
from ,17,000,000 cows, which products j
alone, be estimates, will be worth in !
19(M> more than $(4(45,(XX),000. He val- j
ues his cows at $482,000,000, to say I
nothiny of the 43,700,000 other cattle, j
worth in round numbers $(>()3,000,(XX).
J ust to make the fiyures even up, he
says, add another $1,500,000,(XX) for |
horses and mules and cast your eye ;
over 47.000,000 sheep and swine in the ;
farms and fields. As the general i
freiyht ayent starts away, scratching
his head, the farmer says provision !
nmst be made for handling and ship
ping 1,800,000,000 dozens of eggs dur
ing the next twelve months.
Billions From the Farm.
When he closed the year 1904 the I
American farmer announced the value
of his products at $4,900,000,000. The
general public was amazed at these
unthinkable figures, but when he comes
forth at the close of another season
with an aggregate of over$1,500,000,000
more than the marvelous record of
1904 we wonder what sort of a man the
farmer really is. All other classes of
producers sink into insignificance when
compared with him.
All the gold mined in the world in
the last four bundled years could not
purchase the farm crops of the last
two years.
Farm crops for 1905 are worth more
than the value of the manufactures of
five years ago. not counting the mate
rials used: they represent several times
the gross earnings of all the railroads
in tlie United States.
An occup. tion that produces such
bewildering figures is deserving of
more than passing attention. A few
years ago the man who tills the »4,(XX),-
(XX) farms in this country was called a
“hayseed” or “Rube”. Today he
stands head and shoulders above his
fellow co-workers in other vocations,
but we never hear him speak disre
spectfully of any one. He is the mas
ter of the situation. Wall Street con
sults him and measures the successes
of the year by the contents of the far
mers' granaries.
The man Itehind the plow has deliv
ered his goods for 1905 and bids every
body a happy New Year. His gran
aries are bulging to overflowing, Ids
cellars»are packed and his larder is
stored with the necessities of life. He
asks alms from no man: he feeds the
world, reserving first enough for him
self and family. No one dare deny
the fact that the prosperity and wel
fare of the United States are intimate
ly associated with the wonderful
achievements of the American farmer.
He has pushed ahead, keeping pace
with the time. In ten years from 1890
to 1IXX) he increased the value of his
produets nearly njnety-three percent.,
but the most marvellous advances
have been made during tlie last five
years.
From products valued at $3,742,000,-
(XX) in 1899 he advanced to $4,480,(XX),-
(XX) in 190.3 and $4.900,000,(XX) one year
later. It is by no means admitted that
these figures represent the full value
of the farm products. Besides the val
ue of his products, the real estate •val
ues of the farms have increased over
thirty-three per cent, in five years.
During the last few years the Ameri
can farmer ha accumulated larger
sums of money than ever before. In
many sections his deposits have been
so generous that tin* rate of interest
was forced down. Alert to these con
ditions, the farmer has now larger
sums in permanent investment than
ever before. He has shown his capaci
ty as a financier, he is founding many
rural hanks, a movement of no un
stable character.
For the first time in the hanking his
tory of the South there are deposits
in excess of $7,(XX).0<X),(XX). The man
with one hand on the plow keeps the
other on the combination of the vault
containing his cash or securities.
What the future lias in store for tlie
American farmer no man can tell, but
one thing is sure, he never turns back.
He goes straight ahead, and nothing
can change his belief that his is not
tiie l»est and safest of all vocations,
lie is no longer a tiller, but a supreme
muster of the soil.
Farm houses are connected with tele
phones a* never before. Isolation is
a thing of the past. Modern equip
ment and furnishings make his home
the liest in the world. His children
are offered improved opportunities
for education; tlie rural delivery
brings to his door daily literature of
the highest clasw; he is a ravenous
reader. As his power to purchase in
creases ids approaches the most com
fortable and happy ideal American
home.
(n the production of the»e immense
VIRTUE OF STICKINU TO IT.
A Salesman Tells How He Got
Customers Worth Having.
Two
“Stick to it,” said the salesman,
“is my motto. It's a good one in any
business. This is how it works out:
“I represent a wholesale provision
firm, dealing only in the Finest grades
of goods, with high-class buyers.
Among my best customers in and
about New York are the railroads.
“One of the first important sales 1
made was to the buyer for the dining
service of one of the biggest roads
running into the city. 1 went straight
to the big man’s office, told him what
I had and did my best to make a sale.
“Nothing doing. My eloquence
didn't please the big man a bit. Fi
nally. he ordered me out of the office.
By that time lie was mad and I si as
mad, but he had the bulge on me and.
escorted by an attendant. I went.
“But I was hound to land that fish.
It was in the midforenoon that we had
our stormy interview, hut 1 waited at
the main door of the office’ until I saw
my man go out to dinner; then I fol
lowed him.
“He went to an exceedingly swell
dining place, hut 1 walked in at his
heels and took a seat at the table with
him. He appeared not to recognize
me when I spoke to him. hut as soon
as I opened upon the provision line
he spotted me.
“ ‘Oh!’ lie exclaimed, and 1 trem
bled: then suddenly his frown melted
into a smile and a twinkle in Ids eye
told me I'd won.
“ ‘You’ve got me,’ he owned up,
and before we left the table he’d giv
en me a big order.
“Ever since then he’s been one of
my liest and pleasantest customers. I
simply tired 1dm out, wore him down.
“There's another big railroad with
which I do a big business that was
still harder to land. Every Saturday
I called on the manager of the dining
system, only to be told that I was
wasting time.
“Well, I kept on wasting it every
Saturday regularly, for two years.
Finally the manager gave me an order
to get rid of me. The goods did the
rest, and that railroad accounts for a
big chunk of my commission today.
“Stick to it does tlie business
nerve and a little tact in using it.”
Knavery is the worst trade.
Learning makes a man fit company
for himself.
Modesty is a guard to virtue.
Not to hear conscience is the \ia\ to
silence it.
One hour today is worth two to
morrow.
I*toud looks make foul work in fair
faces.
Denying a fault doubles it.
Examine Testimonial.
Greenwood, s. c., Feb’y 8th, 19(Xj.
To Whom it May Concern:
It gives me great pleasure to stale
that I have had experience with J.
Edgar Poag, Broker, extending over
a period of two years, in business, and
ever.v step taken In him has l*een most
satisfactory. 1 have found him ac
curate, kind, considerate and patient
in a most remarkable deg/ve. He
guards well the interests of Ids patrons
and yet he is eminently just to tlie
other fellow.
Mr. Poag has just disposed of a val
uable tract of land for me in Mecklen
burg County, N. < ., and while it was
worth every dollar lie got for it. I am
satisfied I could never have realized
what he sold it for.
It matters not how much real estate
I had to dispose of, 1 should get Mr.
Poag to handle every foot of it.
Very respectfully,
(Signed) G. W. GARDNER.
-