The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1898-05-01
TO THE FARMERS
OF ALABAMA
A Statement From Commissioner
of Agriculture Culver
About Planting.
To the Farmers of Alabama.

To the Farmers of Alabama,
The war is now upon us. Have yo4
planted wisely7 Have you planted enough
food crops both for man and beast? II not,
let me urge you to do so; 1t is not yet too
late. Plant all the low lands in cornf
plant an abundance of cornfield peas: they
are fine feed for man and all kinds Of
stock Nothing better, and then the best
of all the vines and roots are fine reno4
waters of soil, and will enrich your soil IL
persisted in for few years. Plant sor-
ghum. 1t Is fine for hogs, horses and mules,
and for hogs plant the ground pea. Noth-
ing to equal 1t for fattening hogs. Do not
fail to plant an abundance of the ground
pea The Spanish pea planted at once, you
can feed on them in August, or the last Of
July. know from personal experiences
that meat can be raised at &c per pound
by planting the right kind of crops and In
selecting good stock to raise from. Woe to
the farmers who have planted all or nearly
all their land in cotton. How these are
to meet the future do not know, for WITH
guano bills, bills for supplies, wages, etc,
to pay, there can be nothing left after SELL
Ing cotton at &c a pound, and they face the
winter with empty cribs, poor stock, bare
smokehouses and doubtless with unpaid
debts incurred in making the present crop.
For the farmer, on the contrary, whose
cribs are full of corn and hay and peas
and pea vines, who has a goodly number
of hogs to kill. who has plenty of potatoes
banked up and barrel or two of syrup
In the store-room, the outlook is hopes
full. If he has cleared little or no money
on his cotton he has Jews supply Of food
for man and beast on hand. He needs only
to buy sugar and coffee to complete blu
of fare such as the city man of the same
means can seldom indulge in. The farmeF
thus situated can live even with cotton
sc pound.
He can make no money but he can hold
his own and live in comfort until the time
comes when his products will bring q
better price than at present. That time
must come sooner or later; our people are
patient and conservatives; they are watt
ing calmly to feel the prosperity promised
by high tariff and the single gold standard.
But that prosperity and better prices VIII
come under these conditions, 1 do not be-
lieye Money must be more plentiful ana
more evenly distributed before our pro-
ducts will advance In price. we are now
trying the remedy advocated by the repub-
lican party, for restoring prosperity to our
country 1t will soon be demonstrated that
their remedy is a failure, total and COM
plete, and then the people will rise IN tneir
might and place in power party less de-
voted to the interest of trusts ana COM
hines: a party that will enact laws for the
benefit of the masses instead of the classes.
Then, and not before, do I look for pros
porous times, and good prices Tor all our
products Meantime, every farmer In Ala
bama should make it point to make his
farm self-sustaining, and in these war
times some to spare. Raise everything
necessary for man and beast There Is no
necessity to go out of the state for pound
of meat or bushel of corn or barrel or
flour Alabama can and ought to raise all
that she consumes of agricultural products
and by all means should do so this year. IL
is utter folly for any farmer to expect to
make cotton a profitable crop at D, or
even cents a pound, unless he raises az
the same time all the food crops that VIII
be needed on his farm. My advice, First
provide for plenty of homemade pread
and meat, and after that make all the cot
ton you can. 1t holds good whether cotton
is or 10 cents pound. I make the as
sertion that no farmer can prosper unless
he makes his own food supplies at nome.
Let the price of cotton be even double
what 1t is at present, and ruin must eventu-
allv oyertake that farmer who neglects TO
plant provision crops. and not only viii ne
suffer, but his children after him., for ne
will leave them lands run down. worn out
and impoverished by continuous wanting IN
cotton. l. +. cuLV nn,
Commissioner of Agriculture.