The leader., 1901-04-24
More Meat and Less Cotton.

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Good hogs are bringing six cents a
pound live weight in the northern
cities, st. Louis and Chicago. Consid-
ering that hog loses 20 per cent. in
dressing, it will make dressed hogs
worth ~ cents pound. As all hog
products are scarcer in the South than
in the North, and that the movement
with attendant freights, commissions
ETC., is in this direction, we may say
that live hogs are worth very nearly {
cents and dressed hogs 10 cents q
pound in Mississippi. The great
amount of meat and lard now being
bought to make the biggest cotton
crop in our history, is being bought or
about this basis.
Can we make cotton on such high
priced suppliess Not if we make only
the average yield of one-third of a bale
per acre. True, the farmers of Mis-
sissippi had great misfortune to con.
tend against in 1900. Good corn crops
could not have been produced with
such a season. As people raise meat
nearly entirely on corn, the meat crop
was nearly as short as the corn yield
Here is one great mistake that may be
corrected. Instead of depending on
corn entirely to make meat, we may
save three fourths the usual amount
of corn by growing pasture crops for
hogs, such as green oats, rye, barley
vetch, sorghum, peas and peanuts
We may thus cut the expense of pork
raising half in two or even better than
this, as experience has amply demon
strated. Begin even now to prepare
for some Of these crops, instead OF
putting all the land in cotton. Make
every young pig on the place now and
every one to be narrowed between now
and September, meat hog this win
ter weighing from 125 to 200 pounds
1t was demonstrated by Prof Duggal
at the Alabama Experiment Station
that an acre of poor gravelly land in
whippoorwill peas would make meat
enough at Sc live weight to pay az
per acre. With 715c hogs the acre Of
peas will make S25 worth of meat. He
showed also that an acre of Spanish
peanuts made meat enough at Sc live
weight to pay SIS an acre, which is
equivalent to $3.50 an acre in 71ac
meat. In each case thrifty young
shoats and pigs were used instead oil
year old razor-backs that ought tt
have been made into meat the year be
fore. He used just such shoats and
pigs as we may all have narrowed
from now till August or September
He used pigs ard shoats that had beer
kept thrifty and growing. In each ex
pertinent, while grazing the crops, thu
hogs consumed little corn, but also
paid for it at 40c bushel in Sc meat
on pasture crops.
Now to grow an acre of peas we es
innate the cost at 81, allowing 81 80 an
acre rent, but nothing for fertilizer
Five dollars will pay expenses and al
low 125 pounds acid phosphate for peas
The value of the peavines as a fertili
ger the next year will fully repay these
items of cost, and we may have the SO
worth of meat free of cost. The cost
of peanuts we estimate at $3.50 tC
81 80 per acre. From all experiments
reported on, they are a better fertili
ger than the peas, so we may have g
chance to produce $35 worth of meat
free of cost from an acre of peanuts.
To grow cotton on average upland
allowing for rent, fertilizer, labor OF
making, gathering, ETC., and putting
on market, with the average upland
yield of one-tbird bale, cannot cost
less this year of high prices of sup
plies than $3.50, under good average
methods. Six cents now seems the
probable price, judging from prices II
futures. A third of bale of colt on
then will be worth $40. Ten bushels
of seed will have to bring 25c bushel
to make the game even.
Plant less cotton and more hogs and
hog crops.-StorkUiUe Farm Gazette.