The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-09-23
AgricuIural Department
CONDUCTED BY FULTON s. WHITE.

many fail in getting grass and clover to grow. They SOW it on land that is not properly prepared, hence a failure, and the result is that the variety sown is pro- nounced a failure, when the fault is in the experimentor and not in the variety.
 Another Cause of Failure.
 Another cause for failures is that many conclude that any old run down. worn out soil will do for grass. This is a great mistake. To crop lands until every par ticle of plant food is exhausted and then exepet such a soil to respond quickly in a growth of fine grass is a great mis- take, for grass, like all other plants, needs and must have plant food to start with in order for it to succeed. True that when grasses or clover is once we'll es- tablished they will supply themselves largely from the air and store up on their roots the necessary amount of nitrogen to keep them growing, but in the start this plant food must be provided before sowing Here is where I think comes in the cause for so many failures in the south in growing grasses The soil is used for other crops as long as it can be made to produce them. After it Is worn out efforts are made to set it in grass and many of these efforts are made with out any knowledge or study of the nature and requirements of the grass used. These worn out lands should first be supplied with a sufficient amount of humus de- cayed vegetable matter, and this can be supplied more cheaply by the use of the COW pea and rye than in any other way. When these worn out soils become so fertilized that they will grow a heavy crop of COW peas or rye, then the matter of grass growing may be considered on such soils.
 The Idea
 The idea is to get the plant food first In the soil and then follow with the grass. Then, too, there are other causes for fall ure. One of the most common is that of not properly preparing the soil before sowing seed. In order to succeed with grass the soil must be made perfectly fine, like garden soil. Grass seed should not be sown oh dry clod soil. We can't grow grass after the careless manner of growing cotton and corn. It requires en- trely a different process and treatment of the soil.
 Other causes of failure is sowing at the wrong time and sowing in a careless man. ner The soil should be prepared for weeks ahead and kept worked perfectly f1e up to the time of sowing, and then, if possible, SOW in dry soil. just ahead of a shower. Where managed this way suc- cess is sure to follow. Another cause of failure is-and here Is where all farmers should be educated-that the wrong va riety is used Some fellow sees or hears of some marvellous success that has been made in a section with a particular vari- ety of clover or grass. So he becomes wild on this one variety. thinks it univer- sal and so goes to singing it's praises It gets in the papers and commences to go the rounds. The farmer sees it and jNmps at conclusions Thinks it just the thing he has so long needed and so is led easily into paying a high price for some thing he knows nothing about. often something that is entirely unsuited for his soil Failure is the result, and then grass growing gets another setback.
 Farmers Should Think.
 And allow me to state here that 1t cer- tainly is time when farmers should begin to think and act for themselves, and not be such an easy prey for every fakir that comes along or ready to take up with the silly stuff that is going the rounds in so-ea1led agricultural papers-mueh of which is written by men who have had no practical experience whatever on any lines of farming. We have a large num- Der of good writers who. have no ax to grind in this matter and whose advise it ,is always best to follow. see so much of this cheap, worthless stuff going the