The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1902-1905, 1904-07-15
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Che Farm and Grove.


past Jew years. mat good hay may
ne maze III abundance from grasses
and other plants which were former
~ considered simply us pests, is now
IL universally accepted fact. MANY
permanent mOwimgs exist, and many
thousands OF acres of different crops
are now annually grown exclusively
lor hay. The great bulk of the crop,
however, is still volunteer product,
growing entirely wild, in cultivated
fields, after cultivation of the main
crop is finished for the season.
Many of these crops are Of the very
best character. Others, however,
are comparatively worthless. The
only recommendation of this system
Of hay production lies in it's cheap
ness, since the crop which comes in
without Intentional sowing by the
grower is necessarily produced with
no expense except the cost Of curing.
This whole practice is radically
wrong. In the end it Is not ccOnOmi-
cal, because something so much bet.
Ter and more profitable is equally
possible. There is nothing Objec-
tlonabie in ALLOWING good crop to
appear on ones Ian without artif-
clal care or attent on. The mere
letting OF II crop of Deggar-wprd Tor
instance, come into the corn field
after the crop is laid by, Is entirely
commemorative. In thi sense the
volunteer crop is jLstiti ole.
The objectionable f nlurr Of the
system lies in that co ldItiun which
prevents the grower Fl exercising
selection and control over the kind
of volunteer crop which shall have
possession of his land, and which he
shall be compelled to make into hay,
il he saves his own winter forage,
The whole trouble results from ii e
fact that some of these volunteer
crops are very superior to others.
Some are nnprOVers of the soil on
which they grow, while others injurt
the future productivity of the same
soil. notwithstanding these facts
some farms in section produce beg
garweed as II volunteer crop, while
perhaps just over the fence the ad-
joining farm is Over-run with a vol
unteer crop of ''pusley.' Both crops
come in at the same time, both take
possession OF the laid-by fields.
Both will be made into hay ut the
same time. Both are volunteers,
diSpensatiUns Of Providence, and
each farmer takes that which is sent
him, without emdeavOring to control,
us he might, the selection, and de-
termine which crop he would have {;
the valuable, soil enriching desmu-
dlun, or the nearly worthless sou eN-
naustlng pusley, which is III every
way as nearly worthless as possible,
and still be consumed by animals
There is no reason why the farmer
should not exercise the same control
over the KIND OF crops ne VIII allow
to nave possession OF ms Iald-Dy
fields, as he does IN the selection oi
the crops whlcll ne Will plaht III
those fields Tor his regular harvest.
Beggar- weed ana craD-SraSs are
the two hay crops which should DC
toStered, as volunteers AS RUE
either OF them Will dflNt ont other
volunteer crops, ana take possession
when once the SOIL Is seeded to thelh.
If this process does not take place
naturally, II the crop does not come
in us an actual volunteer, where an
when wanted, the land may be east
~ seeded to one or the other' ana
then its presence may be depended
ON. The only dlihculty Will be with
the beggar-weed. The exceptional
value OF TINS crop makes the method
OF securing IT, Wnere II Is NOT nat
ural volunteer, OF much importance.
This plant, DeSn od um, Is one OF
the legumes. THESE are the plants
which take their nitrogen from the
air, and therefore do not have to be
supplied with fertilizer containing
this material, as is the case with
other crops. This power OF taking
nitrogen from the air, not onl y ena-
Dles these plants t" supply their own
requirements for this necessary food,
ont by It's means they ADA nitrogen
TO the soil where they grow, ana
rhus become soil improYers. Ihty
owe this power to the activity oi
small organisms which live ana act
On the roots. Their presence ON the
roots is indicated by little warts, ol
nodulps. These may easily be seen on
The roots Of peas, beggarweed and
other legumes These notuIes are
Indispensable to this nitrogen fixing
action. These plants do not always
possess the nodules, and then they
are not acting as nitrogen gatherers'
Then they are only valuable as crops
and not for any soil-imp"oving power
they otherwise possess.
The practical bearing OF these
facts. in connection with volunteer
/ hay, is this: These plants thrive
, oniy in the presence of the organisms
mentioned. These organisms are
not present in all soils. Then the
crop, beggarweed for instance, Will
/ isms is the soil artifcially, and the
condition necessary to the growth
Of the crop is present and the legumf
viii thrive on the soil.
Where beggar-wecd does not al,
ready exist, and other less valuable
] ~