The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-12-13
THE FARM DEPARTMENT <
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 AaRrCuLTURH or & IT CoIIx0K
 AUBURN, ALABAMA sA

nf<eGsE<sesesteesNet t1fNeHs1lasaeE fan, yet it would be far. wiser to base next years farming operations on the lower figure. Let the South next year produce as 1t be grown on q smaller number of acres. There is too much risk in plant ing the poorest acres in cotton. thereby increasing the bills for fertilizers. labor. supplies and equipment. 1t would pay better, in view of labor conditions and Of the ultimate upbuilding of the property, to put the same amount of fertilizer on q smaller number of acres and devote the poorer acres to cowpeas. sweet clover or meiilotus. Japan clover or other forage plants that renovate the soil.
 The decision to, make a pasture Is one of the best that can be formed in Decem- ber This step will save the losing of money next year on the poorest acres. It win lay the foundation for the raising in future years If a larger amount Of iive- stock. Make begiAning with improved livestock now. even though you are pisn- ming to produce a record-breaking cotton crop in 1904. 1ecollest that the growing of an increased amount of livestock will be q matter of absolute necessity within . few years, as . means of redeeming ex- hausted land and as the best means of meeting the increasing scarcity of labor,
 Remember that one can best so into livestocl1 gradually. and that experience gained next year and time gained. and even a few breeding animals collected. will make future success with iivesto much more certain than if the beginning is postponed for another year,
 !. F. D. Pastnring Seriously rnjures Wheat.
 An experiment to determine the effect of pasturing wheat was started at the Oklahoma experiment station the falr of 1902. and will be continued several years. Due to the exceptional wet season, the plans as laid out were interfered with and had to be modified for the occasion. During the whole season, with the ex- ception of very short intervals. the ground was too wet to pasture without tramping 1t quite badly, Some few far- mers took the precaution of turning their stock on. their wheat only when the ground was frozen, but these times were few and of short duration, and most of the fields of wheat in this locality were pastured continuously and much of the time the stock would sink into the mud as deep as the ground was plowed.
 The plots with which the experiment was carried on were located in a field of wheat belonging to a farmer living a short distance from the station. The land might be said to be third bottom, rather a heavy soil.' somewhat fiat in location, but fairly well drained. Thet wheat was seeded late in September and early in October. The ground had been plowed and, heavy rains at the time of seeding settled it and put it in fine shape and gave the wheat a good start; 7% inches rain fell in November and the month was extraordinarily wet.
 By December the wheat had made a moderate growth and the owner of the field turned horses and cattle into the field at this time; some care being taken to let them on in the mornings when the ground was frozen and remove them for portion of the day during times when the ground was very soft. This precaution was not followed very closely during the latter part of the season. The spring growth of wheat made good start early in March of this year, and the pasturtng was continued until March S1. when the stock was removed. The field was well tramped and eaten over and was full of tracks two and three inches deep For use in experiment half-acre plots were laid out in the above field and each plot fenced. with the exception men tioned later, so that they could be pas ts1red as little or as much as we desired with the stock running in the field, by leaving the gates on the plots open or shut The following is the treatment giv- en the different plots and the effect.
 Plots 2, 8 and Q were field pastured. They were unfenced and all received the same treatment as the rest of the field in which they were located, which has been noted above. Plot was heavily winter pastured, the cattle being turned on in December and allowed there most of the time until Febru- ary 5. 1908. During that time the ground was badly punched up and the wheat cropped off fairly close. Taking the stock of in the early spring gave the wheat a chance to get a good early start. Plot was pastured lightly during the winter. The farm animals were turned on few days early in February. when the ground was in fair shape, and it was tramped up but very little.
 Plot 1 was pastured late in spring. The treatment consisted of turn ing the stock on this plot March 31, and then. shutting five or six head of cattle on. the plot April 8. and every day there after until the Hth. with the exception of the 10th. when the ground was too wet. At the time of turning the stock on. the growth was fine and large, and when the stock was taken off the wheat was eaten very close to the ground, and the ground tramped more or less.
 Plot was treated the same as Plot l, with the exception that 1t was pastured few days early in February. Plots and were not pastured at all. While there was a fairly vigorous growth on these plots. at no time did 1t reach the stage where there was any danger of 1t smoth- erfng out or lodging like wheat which Is not pastured does quite frequently in this country. The following Is the yield per acre of the different treatments.
 Yield of the Different Plots.
 Grain, Straw
 bus tons
 ,, Per acre.