The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1895-04-11
COMMISSIONER
NESBITT'S TALK.
His Regular Monthly Letter to
the Farmers of Georgia.
ENCOURAGEMENT OFFERED ALL.
Suggestions Concerning che Crops OF This
Year That should BE Well Considered
and Carefully Digested-The Foundn-
tion For Successful arlning-Intersst.
ting Topics Discussed
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

u,
ATLANTA. April /, 1895
At this writing, March 90, the pros
pect for the preparation and planting
OF the crop of 1895 seems most dis.
couraging. The few bright days dur
ing the first part of the month have
been succeeded by almost uninter.
rupted rain. and farmers who were
beginning to see light ahead are again
overtaken by dependency and gloom
The cases are exceptional where any
material progress has been made in
farm work. But, with Q few bright
days, hope, that blessed boon to strug.
Cling humanity. will spring into life
again, and all through the state will be
heard the cheerful hum of busy prepa.
ration, the land will once more respond
to the invigorating touch Of the pillow
and hoe and all nature will awake to
life under the influence of the warm
spring sunshine. Incredible as it may
seem. there have been spring seasons
just as disappointing as this, perhaps
more So. At any rate, bemoaning our
sad condition will not mend matters.
The only remedy is contained in the
aphorism, which applies with force to
farm as we'll as other matters. Turn
to the right-then go forward" How.
ever much we may differ as regards
what is the .right," each individual
has. letus hope, decided conscientiously,
and it is useless now to speculate as to
the probable effect of this decision on
our future. We have chosen our path.
and from this time until our crobs are
all gathered, we must 90 forward. +"
Whether we have planted much cotton
or little the duty is the same. We
must steadily press on to the compile.
ton OF the years work.
1t is now too late to SOW oats, which
fact falls with heavy force on the man
who Is short Of corn, and who has been
prevented by all these drawbacks from
getting the oat crop under way. But
there are other early maturing crops
which can, in measure, be made to
do duty in this important matter of
stock feed.
SORGHUM, MILLET, PEAS, FORAGE CORN
and other forage crops, if planted
early, the ground being thoroughly
prepared and highly MANFRED, in order
to increase the yield and hasten matu-
rity, will be found wonderful help in
the late spring and summer when feed
runs short.
On this subject the Louisiana expe.
riment station has the following:
Pearl, or "cattail'' millet, as it is
sometimes called, is used as "soiling"
| crop. A few rows planted in rich soil
will afford sufficient green feed in the
spring for several head of horses. It
/ grows rapidly after being cut and is
one of:the best early green feeds Of it's
kind.
The non saccharine sorghums make
| excellent forage, and may be used as
soil crops or cured as hay The bush
els of grain they yield per acre make
| them valuable adjuncts to the grain
| producing crops.
Jerusalem corn has large, compact,
dropping heads of white grain. The
| stalkis low, stout and stocky, and not
| so good as the four following.
Yellow and white milo maize grow
large and tall, making large tonnage of
forage, large. straight heads of yellow
and white grain, yielding in favorable
years many bushels per acre.
Large African millet is very much
| like the white milo maize, except it
grows much larger both in stalk and
seed heads. 1t is equally as valuable
for forage and soiling, possessing the
advantage over all of greater tonnage,
and more bushels of grain per acre. It
I will certainly produce more forage per
acre than any forage crop ever grown
at the station.
The Kaffir corn is low growing, but
produces many heads of white grain,
as we'll as fair tonnage of forage. The
seeds are excellent poultry feed
German millet is too well known to
mention any of its characteristics. 1t
is valuable forage and soiling crop.
and should be more extensively planted.
French millet bears long, dropping
head of red grain and bids fair to out.
rival the German variety in produc.
ton.
SOFA bean is leguminous plant, and
aside from its qualities as forage
plant, like others of the leguminous
family. 1t renovates worn land. It re-
sembles the bean, grows treelike, IS
| inches feet high, and bears a heavy
crop of short pods, well filed with
small, round, white berries, resembling
very much the sweet pea of the garden.
II cut just as the pods begin to ripen it
cures readily into good hay.
These crops or whatever are necessa-
ry to supplement the shortage in feed
stuffs, being arranged for, we must
turn our attention to the principal crops
of the farm. Perhaps we have never had
more forcibly illustrated the impor-
lance of fall blowing than is just now
being brought home to our understand.
ing. The almost unprecedented cold,
the long continued rains, the late sea-
son, all combine to crowd into one
month the work of two or more. and
on the fall plowed lands, particularly
| If SUBSIDIZED, even where it has been
packed by the winter rains, the work
is found lighter, more rapid and more
satisfactory than in the fields, which
have remained unplowed since the
crops were gathered, and which have
been in many cases beaten hard by the
| FRAMING of nattla