The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-12-13
Piantine Trees.

Planting Trees.
 Now that the time has come when the crops are all gathered and when it Is Zoo late to SOW fall. grain and too early to SOW spring oats, there comes the best opportunity for the planting of trees. especially shade trees. Trees may De planted ct any time from the first breeze in the fall until the latter part of Feb ruary. However, there is a distinct ad- vantage in planting early in the winter. By SO doing the earth settles better around the roots and hence the tree is less liable to suffer from the defciency of rain during It's hrsf season's growth.
 As to the character of shade trees that will naturally vary with the soil and the tastes of the planter. In general 1t may be said that for the poorest grades of hlily sandy land. the water oak Ia one of the most satisfactory of shade trees. being more hardy and more readily standing e deficfency of moisture than el- most any other tree of its class,
 In almost any soil. the China berry is able to make rapid growth and It af- fords dense and grateful shade. It fs not. however. . desirable tree for the lawn, but rather has it's place in the back yard. For rapid growth and for ease of propagation few if dny trees surpass the cotton wood on moist lime soils. The hackberry and the elm on the same class of soils make most satisfactory shade trees the former being especially hardy.
 The rapid destruction of forests makes it important that attention should at once be devoted tci the suppiy of Sosts for fu- ture years.
 It Is undoubtediyS of utmost importance on most farms having. a dearth of good timber to plant trees Sespecialiy with a view to using them as fence posts ten to twenty years hence. For example. in another part of the country an instance has occurred where . grove of locust trees at the end of its eighth year of growth sold for 500 per acre. In some or the Western States the railroads, alarmed at the prospective dearth of timber suitable for cross ties, have planted and arc plant ing extensive groves of catalpa.
 As between the locust and the catalpa for posts the locust has the advantage of greater hardness, although in some To- calities it is said to be attacked by trunk boring insects. Its great disadvantage Is. of course, its tendency to trespass on adjacent ground, since 1t has roots which easily throw up sprouts. Hence if plant ed, the location should be such that this tendency will not cause inconvenience.
 The locust belongs to the same family as the clover and hence is able to obtain part of its nitrogen from the air tn- stead of relying exlusiveIy on the soil as do most other trees One strong point in its favor Is the fact that when cut down it sends up new shoots. a habit which the farmer does not appreciate when endeav- bring to exterminate locust thicket. The timber of both the locust and catalpa Is very durable, when used as posts. The catalpa has none of the objections stated above against the locust. ]. F. D.
 Farm Plans for 1904.
 Before the land is all rented or the labor all hired for the coming year 1t behooves every farmer to consider whether the general plan on which he Is conducting his faru, is the best one that is ,praStica- ble.
 such A consideration of plans raises rnuititude of questions, some of which are as follows: Can one afford to rent most of ones land to the usual class of tenants with the consequent depreciation m tne value of the property? Is there not some 8 line of farming which can be pureueo with A smaller amount of labor than IS reouired fin cultivating an entire pianta- lion in cotton and corn? What will be inc final result if the present plan of 100 . exclusive cotton culture Is pursued?
 There is a most attractive profit In E- cent cotton, If assured that this price would prevail next fall the writer wouio urge that as large an area as pracrcapie ba devoted to cotton in 1sOA. WnIe it is .u,oosssbSe to forecast or approximately estimate the price of next years cotton next fall. it will be profitable for us 10 consider some factors that have bear ing on future prices of cotton.
 The extensive spread of the cotton boil weeviI throughout the greater part or Texas makes it improbable that Texas will next year produce phenomenal cron Hut in spite of the weevil, progress siva farmers in Texas. by the use of early varieties. early planting, wide spacing. rapid cultivation, picking iof the squares stung by the insect in the .ss carry bart ,slI II growth. and by other means have been abie to make quite satisfactory yie'ds On some farms averages of more than three nor nnorted as against a yield of from one eIrhth to one-f1fth of a bale on nelgnpor- in9 farms where these measures had not been put into practice win sucn s onvIous Sy,res with the systematic and organized effort heinz made to induce the Texas farmers to employ them 1t is highly ProS9aOle PSTS eh .mss larger percentage of the Texas farmers using these effective means of increasing the Yield of cotton per acre, the hnal ef- feet of which may ye. pe sns proTucvTu S,aor Nsyi Greatly above that of the present year. possibiy a million bales above.
 Bearing this in mind and remembering that nearly all other States with tavor- able weather conditions could greatly in- crease the yield per acre. and weighing the certainty that present high prices will stimulate the planting of consid- erably increased acreage in cotton it would not be beyond the range of passi- bility for the crop of 1904 to exceed F Ooo.- 00O bales. This would mean low prices, in spite of the defiection of the usual re- serve supply. of cotton. Though cents may be as far below as iz cents Is above