The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1902-08-03
Letters to the Editor.
To Hsln Farming.

Editor The Advertiser:
Farmers who have need OF corn Tor the
coming year may have money TO BUY
but some have neither corn or surplus
cash. To the latter class. the great ma
Jority. enough to elect Jelks over all OPP
positions, use your columns tor saying
word of solid sense.
An acre of land put In first class con-
dition at this present time by the pillow
and harrow. then ridged up, the ridges
say two feet apart. Ii sowed In equal
tween now and the first Of September,
Will. by December !, begin to feed one
mule or horse and continue TO feed him
until June l. six months, without a pound
of fodder and with not exceeding peck
of corn a week. The feed must be cut
with a sharp knife or sharp hook twice
or thrice every day and no animal or
fowl be allowed to make track on the
land. The manure, plenty of 1t. may be
bedded on when the land Is ridged up.
Two burrows of turn pillow make the
ridges. Keep the ridges well up all the
time.
II takes three bushels of seed to the
acre. II you want to be disappointed,
there are various ways in the matter.
Cont prepare your land: don't put in ma
nure; don't have seed enough In the
destroy the crop. Another good way not
to succeed In the plan is. not to try.
II Is not true that horse and mule
can not work at any kind OF work on a
race track. all day on limited grain
feed with abundant green IL the green
ration be of the right kind. A mixture
of wheat rye and barley fed In the stall
three times day In winter and all the
spring. as much as the work horse Will
eat each time, assisted by three or four
ears of corn, is more nutritious feed and
will keep a horse up to work better than
all the corn and fodder he can eat. II
the plowman wants turnip greens for diet.
why not give the horse green? One acre
OF land, prepared to produce full yield,
will feed one pillow horse six months with
peck OF corn week and no fodder TO
help out, If the farmer has no fodder.
But sole dependence need not be laid
on the above named source of supply
for winter and spring. The hairy vetch
Is God-send to the Southern farmer
because 1t is winter crop. The. price
of the seed Is 80 a bushel. One bushel
to the acre, drilled in the cotton rows
that are now clear of grass and in good
filth, along with manure about September
j, will supply green feed of the very best
kind for stall use from February 1 until
July, by cutting 1t, as with the other.
The vetch Is top root plant and the best
of improvers of land. It does not grow
well on poor land, because II is a respect
able plant and don't enjoy bad company.
On good land, 1t will grow two feet deep
and cover the earth with the vine. out OF
sight in early spring and summer.
The Bermuda grass comes in to use for
grazing work stock at night, about May
10. A man may put ten mules on three
or four acres Of good Bermuda kept for
the team exclusively, every night. with
out other feed, and work them every
day from May to September and they
will keep in better order than on the
substitute of night feed of corn and fod-
der In a stable. They would require full
grain ration at noon, however, when run
ming on the grass at night.
l am not theorizing but repeating my
personal experience Of many years. I
have personally tested, with perfect sue
cess, every suggestion / now offer to
farmer.
We consume in Alabama only the crops
we grow In summer. Winter crops take
less labor to produce and yield more to
the acre than our summer crops. We
have a bad habit that may be overcome
by necessity right now. Scipio.