Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

The Newberry Sun, Newberry, S. C., Thursday, Nov. 12., 1970—PAGE 5 Visitors see operation of a lumber pro- west Forest Products company Tuesday cessing plant during open house at South- morning. (Sunphoto) The County Agents Column holding capacity will do provi ded it is deep enough. Almost any of the soils in South Caro lina will grow pecans, except those that are poorly drained, underlain by hardpan or stiff clays that are composed of thin sands or of soils with a high water table. There are a few soil areas in the Piedmont with rock ne-r the surface on which pecans should not be planted. In selecting a planting site, keep in mind the desirable soil characteristics described above. Avoid badly eroded hills. Air drainage is not as important for pecans as for tree fruits, but avoid pockets or bottom lands if they do not permit free air movement. Under such con ditions drying will be slow and humidity high; thus the chan ces of infection by disease will be increased. The direction of exposure is of no particular im portance. In selecting varieties to plant, consider disease resistance, size, productiveness, attractive ness, quality, and shelling qua lity. Many varieties have some of these qualities, but only a few have all. Only five varie ties are considered entirely suit able to plant in South Carolina. They are Desirable, Elliott, Glo ria Grand, and Curtis. Curtis is recommended for the South ern or southwestern part of the state only. We have several calls regard ing low or no yields from pe cans. The time to start work ing toward a good yield is now and not next fall when you fail to have a satisfactory yield. The most important factor in fluencing yield is proper ferti lization, including zinc for pre vention of rosette. Control of di seases and insects is essential. Proper spacing of trees is ne cessary for root growth and ad equate sunlight. Unfavorable factors, such as late frosts or freezes, drought, storms, hur ricanes, and sleet will also cause considerable limb break age and will reduce the crops for a few years. Storms and hurricanes may also cause a loss of the current crop of nuts. Lack of cultivation or mowing will permit severe competition of weeds and grass with the trees, and thus will reduce yields. We have an excellent bulle tin from Clemson “Growing Pe cans in South Carolina” here at the County Agents Office, and you can get this bulletin by calling or dropping by. Some of the topics it covers are: Va rieties, Spacing, Fertilization, Alternate Bearing, Factors in fluencing yield and Care of trees in Urban Areas and se veral other items of great im portance in getting the most from your tree. HORSE CENSUS Ten years ago the USDA stopped taking a regular horse census because numbers had dropped to only 4% million. But the population explosion has shown itself in horses too. To day there are over 7 million horses in the United States, and horsemen spend about $4 bil lion each year feeding, equip ping and pampering their steeds, mostly for pleasure use. Ner.rly 9 out of 10 are riding horses. SPORTSMEN VS FARMERS The time of year is here a- gain when many people, far mers and city dwellers alike, take up their guns and head out in search of game. Even with all the public lands in New berry County, our Farmers still play a vital role in providing recreational facilities for those persons hunting game or wish ing to enjoy nature’s beauty and quietness. However, the heading above doesn’t always have to be the case in rela tionships between our farmers and hunters. Anyone wishing to hunt, camp, or fish on a farmer’s land should remember the ba sic rules of courtesy. The first and most important of these is, ask the owner's permission to use the land. A man who owns a plot of ground, regardless of its size, has the right to close it to the use of the public. More often than not this is done after several bad experiences with sportsmen. Most farmers, however, will be friendly and cooperative if politely approached. Some will be very specific as to what ac tivities a visitor may engage in, while others will be more liberal. All farmers expect sportsmen to protect and pre serve their property. No far mers like to see his property littered, gates left open, crops damaged or farm animals in jured or killed. Incidents such as these are the reason many farmers have closed their land to hunters, campers and fish ermen. If you help a farmer by re specting his property, he might help you by telling you the best fishing spots or where that co vey of birds is hiding. So instead of Sportsmen vs. Farmers it can be Sportsmen plus Farmers with benefits for both. PECANS December will be here soon and this is the time to set new pecan trees and prune exist ing ones. New trees should be set in December, January, or February. Ideal soils for pecans are deep, fertile, sandy loams or loams with clay subsoils. But any soil with adequate water- a pictorial profile NEWBERRY FEDERAL SAVINGS and LOAN WEDNESDAY, NOV. 11 THURSDAY, NOV. 12 FRIDAY, NOV. 13 as produced by WISTVlH MgMMotA /mwm/ COLUMBIA