The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-05-19
USES ron UNUSED LANDS.
Willow Planting and Broom Corn
Growing for the Rice Farms.

/ VIZ Ink JOT tlB nice 4 arms
There is a good deal Of rice land in this
section which will not be put under Guilt
walton this year In fact, it is said by
some of the rice men that more than
half the tillable rice land in this part of
Georgia and South Carolina will lie idle
unless it is used for some other purpose
than the cultivation of rice.
OF course none of the owners of this
land want TO see 1t become a dead weight
on their hands, and the question natur-
ally arises what is the best thing
that can be done with it.
Some of the planters have determined
to use their land for one thing and others
for another. There are two or three
staple articles fo~ which there is a grow
ing demand, and it is believed they can
be cultivated on the rice lands to great
| advantage.
The cultivation of the willow tree for
| use IN making willow baskets and willow
wares of all kinds is something new in
TINS section. but experiments are being
made with it which it is believed will
prove successful DIR. ). 3. Read has four
! acres OF willow trees under cultivation
on his place west of the city. Though
they were recently planted they are
so far doing well, and it is believed that
| the product will pay handsomely 1t
would perhaps be good idea to put some
OF the rice lands in willow trees. as that
is product which might be raised
| cheaper here than In other places, in
which case it would pay the investor.
Another product and one of which
there is little doubt OF making success,
Is broom corn, to which attention was
called by the MORNING News few weeks
ago, in an interview with Mr.. f. j. Kul-
man, OF the Savannah Broom Factory.
This factory which is comparatively a
new enterprise in Savannah he stated
could utilize the product OF 20, 900 acres.
whereas the annual acreage in this sec
ton at the present time is only about
1000 acres.
THIS mandatory now has to import the
broom corn used from the west, as IL can
make use of twenty times as much of the
product as is made in this section. The
| price of the broom corn at the factory
ranges from ~ to AZ cents, depending
on the quality, and the quality and
amount produced depends on the quality
Of the land on which it is grown The corn
brings all the way from $50 to $40 per
acre, and It's cultivation is far easier than
rice or the products of the truck farm.
Many of the rice planters are putting
broom corn in their fields this year. and
the probability is that the acreage will
be somewhat increased though it will
be nothing like the amount that can be
used right here at home. The seed is
supplied on application at the factory,
and there have been numerous
appi ations for it this year Some
two or three hundred acres are to be
| planted on Hutchinson's Island this year,
and others are using their rice lands for
the same purpose. Even the pine land in
| the sections away from the rivers and
| creeks produces a fair quality of the
broom corn, though it is not so good as
that produced on the richer lands.
These are sugges tions as to some of the
uses to which unused rice lands may be
put. They are Industries which no doubt
win be rapidly developed in this section
if experiments prove, as they no doubt
will, that there is sufficient profit in them