Birmingham age-herald., 1895-05-06
OF INTEREST TO FARMERS.

Indications from all over the state point to a general good feeling among farmers. The crop prospects at present are very f1attering and with providential aid this will be a season of plenty and good. cheer
 The cotton acreage in some sections has been greatly reduced and cereals put in the ground instead. Then, too, the farmers are paying more attention to raising hogs, cattle. sheep. chickens, etc.. which is another evidence of prosperity. Potatoes.
 Potatoes, while being quite rank feed CTS, have a limited capacity for reaching out after plant food elements. They do best in a cool, moist soil, but do not stand a wet soil at all well. If they are planted on a piece of land with a northern ex- posture they will do better than on slms liar piece with southern exposure.
 The land should be deeply and thor oughly plowed and made fine as deep as plowed. This can be best accomplished by planting on heavy clover sod or by blowing more than once. It pays to blow potato land in the best possible manner and put it in the best possible shape be- fore planting. The tubers grow above the seed and the roots reach out from below the tubers. This shows that the soil should be pulverized as deeply as possible, that the feeder roots may have an opportunity to get at the proper food in the soil Coarse manure plowed under is a good fertilizer, and one to which potatoes respond very quickly. If com mercial fertilizers are used one rich in potash should be chosen, as this crop requires more of that than almost any other that can be grown.
 A heavy crop of potatoes cannot be ex- pected unless all the work is properly done, and the cultivation must be com plete. The greater the growth of vine the better shade they make, and this keeps the soil cool and moist, and is ben eficial to the crop.
 Feeding Pigs.
 The most successful pork growers feed the pig to his fullest capacity from the time he is dropped until he is marketed with food rich in muscle and bone-mak- ing nutriments. They contend that any thing short of this will lessen the profits. There should be no stand-still or storage period. The points in favor of full feed ing and early maturity as discussed by Stewart are these:
 1. In the young immature animal the appetite, the digestive and assimilative functions are most active, and they grow less and less so as maturity is reached, the animal eating and dgesting only an amount necessary to supply the waste of the body and keep up heat and respira- tion.
 2 The percentage of waste while in the young and active stage of growth is much less than it is at and after matu- rity.
 This point is quite important. The food of support-that necessary to supply the constant waste of the system and keep the animal without gain or loss-in- creases to a large item at maturity. From the beginning to the end there is con- stant increase in the amount of food re- quired to produce pound of live weight.
 3. The risk is lessened.
 4. Quicker returns from the invest ment-hence greater profit
 5. Better quality of meat.
 The demand at present is not for the overgrown, excessively fat pig, but for that which gives the largest per cent of muscle or lean meat of the very best quality. The time to secure this is when the animal, under the best system of feeding has just reached maturity when the muscles are fully developed. and when continued feeding would only add fat.
 Poultry Notes.
 No food will make hens lay like lib- eral supply of wheat in some shape and a regular ration of green cut bone.
 Remember that milk in any form is good for laying hens. It contains all the elements of egg food in almost the proper proportions.
 Will Mrs. Mary Smith, who wrote about white turkeys, send us her address? We have number of inquiries for it, but have mislaid it.
 We want our farm ITS to keep more poultry, and we want to hear from those who are taking good care of their fowls Let us have your experience.
 If the fowls have f ee run give them a light feed of grain in the morning and a full feed at night. and they will find the extras during the day
 Sometimes hens are found dead under the perches, while seemingly fat and in good condition. Often the trouble is that they are too fat and die of apo plexy.
 Every one who keeps hens knows of one or two or more which are persistent layers. These should be bred from, as they will transmit their good qualities to their progeny
 Don't fail to plant some sunf1owers this spring, for sunfower seed are the best single grain for laying hens that can be given them, and it is surprising what a quantity can be grown in odd corners.
 Carelessness is responsible for more sickness among poultry than anything else. Carelessness allows lice to become numerous, and lice are the worst enemies that the poultryman has to contend with.
 Do not feed stimulating foods to your poultry. Condition powders of all kinds are stimulating. As a corrective a feed of charred corn once week is better than any condition powder we ever saw la The Irrepressible Small Boy.
 A citizen residing on North Eighteenth street, near Sixth avenue complained to stn Age-Herald reporter that large num- Der of Small white boys gather in that neighborhood every morning and throw Taf f1 C..