The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1895-09-14
ikRMERs AND PLANTER.
the FESTIVE eoosER.

see you ask for information about
the cultivation Of coolers. - TO
whether it is right to cover the
blooms. No: they bloom above ground
and the embryo goober Ia formeds then
the stem lepRthens until the tuber Is
driven into the surface of the ground.
Still do not know that covering
hurts them. I have had but little
actual experience in 9oober culture
outside of the Spanish goober, which
is very prolific and hardy kind, be-
ing no more trouble to cultivate than
COW pea, and extremely early.
Ninety days is all the time necessary
to produce as many bushels of goober
per acre and two tons of hay, equal to
clover, on land too sandy for clover,
and that would not produce over
thirty bushels of corn. And there is
no stock l have ever tried that does
not prefer the COOLERS to corn or any
other hay Now, when we consider
how cheapIy they can be made and
harvested. and how that even when all
COOLERS and vines are removed the
land is Improved a nd loft in finest con-.
dltion for fall crops of any kind, is 1t
not strange they are not more extern
sively cultivated, both north and south?
The time for planting and cultivation
is bout the same as for beans. They
are harvested by pulling up the vines.
All the COOLERS hang on to the vines
and come up with them. They can be
left to cure one day and then stacked
as peavine hay: or the pulling up of the
vines can extend over two or three
loft; or by placing alternate layers
OF dry straw or hay they can
be cured in the loft, and the straw or
hay be somewhat improved by the
vines; the vines can be grazed
off by cattle. and goobers rooted out
and eaten by hogs. shall plant near
ly ail of my little upland home in Span
ish COOLERS this spring. and plant the
sa me land in the Tennessee Triumph
potato in August. The vines and GOO
bers will be harvested for our little
dairy, and the potatoes for the winter
marke ct in our little town, and for sale
in the spring for seed. r.=.r.
There is. nothing upon the globe that
will make half as cheap or sweet COL
den butter during the winter as Span
ish COOLERS feed vines with COOLERS
On them), cotton seed, and yam (sweet)
patatoes. And 1 can almost say the
same of Spanish COOLERS and cotton
seed alone. Our cows have been going
dry before Christmas on common hay,
meal and cotton seed. By su bstitu tin g
goober hay with COOLERS on) for other
hay, our cows kept up full flow of
milk until calving time this spring,
and winter butter at the south always
commands double that of spring or
su III ncr butter. ,-. .--. ...z.-. ,... ....
Irish potatoes at the south are never
sold for less than 81 per bushel between
October and March. and to-day arc
selling a SO and So. 25 per busllcl. And
! there is no mistake but what we can
! now make all the potatoes at the south
the south needs, and of most superior
quality, by planting in August seed
from the spring crop. The trouble has
been that we could not always succeed
in getting the tubers to sprout in Au-
gust. This is now ~obviated by thor
oughly preparing the land, planting
the Tennessee triumph, or fall potato
and cutting the tubers instead OF
planting the small ones whole, Us
heretofore. There is surely new era
dawning upon the south; this fall po
| tato business, the cotton harvesting
machinery, dairying. and general sheer
and cattle raising on our six to nine
months pasture. with waste products,
such as cotton, pea-vines, COOLERS,
era bgrass hay, etc.-Jef Welborn, in
Farmers Call,