The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-04-12

dreds of acres of corn in north Missouri not yet gathered, for the want of. help In Texas only few days ago l met farmer who has been unable to get help to gather his cotton crop. He said that he fully believed that the crop would yield a bale per acre, and that he would have to blow it under in order to get the land ready for planting another crop. I can't see what hope he can have for conditions being any better next season, and it surely does seem hard to see farm CTS blowing under such crops of cotton as this to get it out of the way of plant ing another crop. .....
 But we see these things every day and all along our line. Only yesterday, April 2, I held farmers meeting down in Oklahoma and found the same conditions, lots of cotton not gathered and farmers blowing 1t under to plant other crops. Not only this I have seen farmers burning fine shocks of corn fodder to get them out of the way of the blow. I think when l see these things of the old saying, "A reckless waste will bring a woeful want"
 The Remedy.
 The question might arise in the mind of the reader. why encourage the grow ing of more and better crops, when as stated so many crops are going to waste for want of help to care for them? For tunately this over production is sectional and does not extend or apply to all parts of the country. But it does seem that the only solution to the problem is more diversified system of farming. Our farm CTS should grow a greater variety Of crops, and grow crops that may be har- vested and sold at different seasons of the year, instead of centering all their ef forts on growing crops that like cotton mature in the fall, and have to be gath cred in the winter. Then, too, farmers should learn to grow more crops or better crops, produce the same amount of cot ton, grain and other crops on about half the land that they are now using and save the expense of a great part of the present labor bill. Then again our farm CTS should learn the use of our improved farm machinery and by the use of this machinery also reduce tbe expense of help.
 The large farms should be cut up and sold out to actual settlers, to farmers who will move on the farms and with their own families work the land, gather and save the crops, and learn to grow only just what they can care for and save. More grass, grain and stock must be grown. Farmers must learn to manage their crops so as to produce crops that they can hold If necessary and not be forced to sell regardless of the market.
 It is not so much a matter of what farmer is producing that makes him wealthy but t is what he manages 10 save that counts. So how can our farm CTS expect to become prosperous when there is so much all around them on the farms going to waste? Why just to think of a farmer spending a whole season growing these big crops of cotton and then not being able to gather and save the crop, but have to blow 1t under in order to get 1t out of the way for an- other crop. What economy Is there in this system of farming. and where can there be any money in 1t? Would 1t not be far better to have a good portion of such farms set to grass and have fine stock. cattle sheep. hogs, horses and poultry feeding on the grasses? But more later on