The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-06-15
The Forage Plants of the South.
BERMUDA GRASS.

While Bermuda grass may be utilized on
rich bottoms as meadow plant,yet its main
Use In the south will be for pasture. For
summer and autumn pasturage it is an une-
qualled grass, and being so thoroughly
adapted to our climate and so intrusive in
its nature upon our southern soils it must Of
necessity be one Of the chief reliances Of
southern stock growers and dairymen. So
much has been written about Bermuda there
is nothing new left to be said, and the south
ern farmer who does not know what it is
and how valuable it is in its place, and what
nuisance when out of place is certainly
very uniformed man. How thousands of
our farmers have fought against splendid
destiny for twenty-five years in their at
tempts to annihilate it on fields that made
Tar more Improbable returns in corn and
cotton than they would have yielded if they
had been allowed from the start to grow up
10 this splendid grass, which If not equal to
the purpose of moving would have made
pasture yielding splendid profits in beef or
pork or mutton and wool perhaps! There
are doubtless hundreds and hundreds OF
farmers to-day throughout the south whose
greatest regret is that they failed score OF
years ago to recognize the value OF Bermuda
1Hu IoCoIRo IL as ble DleSSluR Ludb III Wsts.
Poverty dire has come to thousands of
farmers along during the past twenty years
whose policy was to utterly destroy this
grass even on land that was incapable of
making fifteen bushels of corn Yea, ten), or
19O pounds of lint cotton. The hand OF
Providence we have always felt was never
SO clearly indicated as acting in behalf OF
mans interest as in the sudden appearance
and rapid spread of Bermuda grass over
fields That nv vii Of LONG onlfi vatiOu
hoed crops how stand in need of a rotation
OF permanent grass in order to restore the
necessary humus that had been almost COM
pletely exhausted from them. The sugges-
u 4 of nature was left unheeded, aud what
was sent as a blessing was received as
curse-and woful has been the penalty
therefor. OF those who destroyed bermuda
grass persistently to grow corn and cotton
now many thousands have gone to the
waltz How little prosperity Is to be OBJ
served amongst that class to-day How
many more thousandsare treading the broad
road to poverty by still continuing this
same policy The man who says that the
corn and cotton raiser and grass annlh1la-
Tor is prospecting to-day is not judge OF
what prosperity is. There are exceptional
cases in every direction, but what does the
careful observer say of the massess They
are not prospecting, and never will so long
as they cling to that fatal policy that curses
and destroys every blade of grass possible.
once entered upon and pursued with that
regard for details that is observed in older
countries or older sections of this country.
stock raising could be carried on in Georgia
70 degree of profit that no other section OF
country could possibly equal. temperate
climate, where the expense Of protection in
Winter is less than anywhere in the United
states; climate where there Is as little
disease as any country in the world; where
1t is possible to have pasture almost unin-
terruptedly the year round by using the
various plants adapted to the purpose:
with shipping ports right at our doors
with all these advantages we are at . loss
70 know why stock raising has not developed
more rapidly than it has done. 1t is true IN
eome localities q very great advance has