The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1883-07-19
A9ritnltnral.
A FARM REDEEMED
Greensboro (Ga. } Home Journal.

young man tnen In MS tWoutloef ChIhe
90 Greene county, Ga, purchased a
large track of land, termed bermuda
grass plantation, ADD our farmers
know full we'll what that mt ant years
ago. Failure was predicted, but be
gAut to cultivsting the land 10 bis
own practical way. We visited him
the other day and found hin tEFssh-
ing out 400 bushels of barley made
on 3 acres of ground.
'We have understood, Mr.. War
per, that this plantation was in bad
condition when you first purchased
it,
'Oh yes, some smiled ct me for
buying $500 acres of bermuda grass
land. They were kind enough to
say, too, that | could never make
anything on it thought different.
There was no doubt about the land
being in a hard way, The field
where men are blowing when | pur'
chased the place, was nothing but
gullies and ridges. 1t was 80 rough
that to walk across it-especially at
night-was dangerous. You see 1t
is level enough now. | began to
plow under the bermuda grass.
Whenever that would spring up
washing was stopped. The stumps
and roots gradually rotted away. L
plowed the gullies crosswise and
they 10 time disappeared. | may
say the bermuda redeemed the land,
blowing it under and blowing it deep
enriched it. Others thought it was
foolish to waste time on bermuda
land, for their experience was to
avoid it, but later on they wondered
at Warmers big grain crops. 1t
did not pay the first years to culti>
vate an old pine field, but has been
increasing in productiveness ever
since. Peas and stubbe of grain
which was plowed under and rotted
greatly assisted to improve the fer
tility of the land. 1t would pay to
plant peas simply as a manure
Gather the first crop early, if only
enough for seed, then pillow under
the vines and you are adding to the
substance of your land. | am pillow
ing up a field now for peas.
Bermuda grass makes fine hay.
My stock Craze on it entirely during
the summer and keep fat. | cut so
thousand pounds last year. | donot
believe in selling hay, but a man
should have stock enough to con-
sumo it. | have bought nine good
breeding mares and intend 10 raise
mule colts, which at two and halt
years old will bring 500 each,
while horse colts at same age will
only bring $50. Mule colts are as
saeable as wheat.
Cotton on my plantation is mains
ly raised by troopers. | am not
like many who belive that cotton is
a curse, nor am like others who
plant it TO the exclusion of every
thing else. If man for instance is
running a six horse farm, his object
should be to keep those six horses
and their six grooms in constant em-
ployment Flowing for grain plant
ing should begin 10 August and con
tinue until Christmas. The six
horses can be employed for grain
planting, and extra hands should be
hired tor picking out the cotton.
These horses should no. lie idle aad
the farmers be put 10 the expense of
feeding them without return. The
new year comes and the same six
horses aud the same six men may
90 on breaking the land fol cotton
culture. Many farmers stop their
horses and hands in September to
pick cotton and leave the grain
planting until nearly Christmas
The new year finds them with no
grain scarcely in the ground, and
they must abandon everything else
to go to blowing for cotton and FIX
ing fences. When | hire a pillow
boy he must be employed at some
thing. If not blowing he hauls ma
nure, fencing and the like Cotton
blowing time should never find a
farmer with fences to build and wood
to haul. He should do that before,
and by that means utilize his la
bor.'
Mr.. Warner, how many sheep
have you I
Two hundred and twenty-five
head. | commenced with the COM
mon native ewes and have been i'm
proving them ever since. ! bought
improved bucks and the cross has
been satisfactory. Sheep require
close attention, but they more than
amply repay the care and expense.
During the summer season | keep
them in the pastures and they re-
quire 20 extra food. During the
winter they are comfortably housed
and we'll fed.
You believe fne sheep more pro-
fitable 7
Certainly. Those fifty head of
native ewes | began with would not
yield more than a pound and half
of wool. The wool too was of an in
ferior quality. The improved bucks
-cottswold, sOuthdown and merino
which | have, brought up the
standard. They shear now from
five and half to seven pounds each.
This wool is worth thirty cents per
pound, which yields per head al