Max Gardner, who has the reputation of being the largest cotton farmer in the western part of the State, and has been a leader in the experimentation which has raised the annual crop in Cleveland from 17,000 to 36,000 bales, thinks that farmers of this section need not fear the boll weevil except in years when there is very wet weather in July and August, provided they farm right. He made a speech in Newton before the Kiwanis Club Saturday and about 70 farmers who were guests.
Mr. Gardner’s speech, especially on the fertilization of cotton, was considered so instructive that it is sure to prove of much value to the farmers of Catawba. He told them they were throwing away money when ever they bought potash. The lands of Catawba need no potash, and when they buy the 8-2-2, 8-3-3- or 8-4-4- mixtures, they pay a lot of money for the potash in these mixtures that is not worth a cent to cotton. “Don’t buy any more prepared fertilizer. What cotton needs is phosphate and nitrates, and in larger quantities.” He could tell as he looked at the cotton stalks in Lincoln and Catawba as he came over here, that Cleveland farmers have the Catawba and Lincoln farmers beat to death on cotton farming, and the main reason for it is that the farmers over this way are not using the right fertilizer and not fertilizing heavily enough. He says the right way to make cotton is to put 400 pounds of acid phosphate to the acre before planting and at the first working give it another 400 pounds to the acre of acid phosphate and nitrate of soda in the proportion of two of acid to one of soda, and after the cotton is thinned to broadcast another 100 pounds of nitrate of soda to the acre. This latter application, by experiment of his own this year, will add an average of six bolls to the stalk.
Mr. Gardner says he was willing to guarantee that if all the cotton planted in Catawba next year is fertilized on this plan the county will grow 20,000 bales on the same acreage it is growing 10,000 bales this year. The acid phosphate insures early ripening and the nitrate of soda makes the growth and the bolls. He said the variety of seed to use in this section is either Big Boll Cleveland or Wannamaker. “Don’t use early varieties. They put on all their bolls early and stop, while the two first named continue blooming and growing bolls. If the boll weevil comes, it will have young squares and bolls to live on and let the older bolls alone. A weevil will never bother an old boll as long as it can find a young one. A variety that puts its whole crop on early furnishes nothing but the first bolls for food for the weevil to destroy.”
From page 3 of the Monroe Journal, Oct. 30, 1923. O. Max Gardner had been a state senator and lieutenant governor. He was go to on to serve as governor of North Carolina from 1929 to 1933. The portrait at the top of this page is Gov. Gardner's official portrait.
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