The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1895-09-07
FARMER AND PLANTER.
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The FESTIVE GOC8ER.

y Subject.
see you ask for information about
the cultivation Of COOLERS. Is to
whether it is right to cover the
blooms. No: they bloom above ground
and the embryo goober is formed, then
the stem 1epgthens until the tuber is
driven into the surface of the ground.
Still 1 do not know that covering
hurts them. I have had but little
actual experience in Goober culture
outside of the Spanish goober, which
is very prolific and hardy kind, be-
ing no more trouble to cultivate than
q COW pea, and extremely early.
Ninety days is all tho 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 cheaply they can be made and
harvested, and how that even when all
COOLERS and vines are removed the
land Is improved a nd left in finest con-.
dition for fall crops of any kind. is it
not strange they are not more extern
sively cultivated, both north ind south?
The time for planting and cultivation
is about the same as for beans. They
are harvested by pulling mp 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
weeks time and they be cured in the
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; or the vines can be grazed
nh INV tad ont
| and eaten by hogs. I shall plant near
ly all of my little upland home in Span
! ish COOLERS this spring. and plant the
same land in the Tennessee Triumph
potato in August The vines and GOO
bers will be harvested for our littl e
| dairy, and the potatoes for: the winter
| market in our little town, and for sale
| in the spring for seed.
There is nothing upon the globe that
will make half as cheap or sweet gol-
den butter during the win ter as Span
ish COOLERS (fced 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 subs titutin g
Eoober hay with COOLERS on) for other
| hay, our cows kept up full flow OF
milk until calving time this spring,
| and winter butter a the south always
commands double that of spring or
| sum .ner butter. --.. 49,.
Irish potatoes at the south are never
sold for less than 81 per bushel between
| October and March. and to-day arc
selling at So and So 25 per buslicl. And
] there is no mistake but what we car
! now make all the potatoes at the south
| the south needs, and Of a most superior
quality, by planting in August seed
| a he fp.0 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 o
planting the small ones whole, IL
| heretofore. There is surely new era
dawning upon the south; this fall pc
tato business, the cotton harvesting
machinery, dairying, and general SHEEP
and cattle raising on our six to nine
months pasture. with waste products
such as cotton, pea-vines, COOLERS
era bgrass hay, etc.-Jeff Welborn. i,
| Farmers, Call. 80