The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-07-05
Agr1cuItural Department
CONDUCTED BY FULTON s. WHITE.
CROP ACREAGE.

In a former paper promised to have something to say on the subject or oo- leot lessons which farmers might gather from the late floods which prevailed over a very large portion of our country in early June I will also try to show what may be learned from the drouth which prevails also in various sections. These practical suggestions will be point ed out with view to helping some one who may have overlooked some of these practical matters.
 The first and most important lesson to my mind, furnished by these weather extremes, Is the importance of doing things on farm at the right time and in the right manner. How many farmers do we find all over our country who never fail to make crops? We have thousands of such farmers; and why do they succeed? The present season proves conclusively why such farmers succeed, and 1t also shows plainly why we have thousands of farmers who fail. The far mer who feels and knows the importance of doing things early and who pushes his work from start to finish and who never allows his work to push him Is the man who wins in the end. and especially so fla seasons of extremes in weather, whetn- CT wet br dry On the other hand the man who waits for his business to push him, who never thinks of preparing his soil until the time comes when he shouid be planting his crops-such farmers are sure to fail in bad seasons, and It IS oniy when they are favored by kind proVi- dence and all conditions are just right that they ever succeed.
 Proof is Offered.
 Nowin proof of these plain propositions which cannot be successfully contradict ed, l want to notice conditions as l find them all over this great country and allow me to state here that no man in this great country has any better op- portunity to see these things than l have It is my business 10 make study of agriculture, to acquaint myself with crop and farm conditions all over this great country, and I try to give the subject my entire time and closest attention.
 Now I find that the farmer who com menced last fall to provide for his wants for this years crops, who cleared his lands of all impediments: brush stones, rubbish of all kinds and plowed his land after having hauled out and spread all the available barn yard manure, and then
 
 some crop that would hold his soil in place, and then when spring came was ready with his soil in 1lne condition to take advantage of the first favorable weather to plant his crops; and then as soon as the crops were planted ( thor ough system of cultivation was commen- ced-such farmers as this had their crops I'll in good cultivation when the heavy June rains of this season commenced and such crops could stand for weeks dur ing this wet weather before becoming foul, for in the thorough cultivation of the soil before the planting and when the early cultivation of the crops had stimu- lated the growth, several crops of weeds were destroyed before the rains came.
 Farmer Who Fails.
 But how about the man who waited for the season to push him and who hurried fin his crops with scarcely any prepara- tion of the soil? Why when these rainy seasons come they bring forth at once a great crop of weeds and grass the seed is in the soil, he has not cultivated the soil sufficiently to start their. growth and so the whole force Is there ready to spring upon him as soon as the rain Eoftens the soil so that the young plants can push through. If the rain should last a week or ten days, as it did this season his crop is hopelessly lost or it will cost him all there is in the crop to clean It out and so he has lost the years ef- forts.
 The condition of this slow farmer is just the reverse of that of the first .named-the man who docs things right and at the right time. This year the heavy rains did not set in until June. and thene is no reason why any farmers of the south should not have had their crops well under cultivation when these rains commenced and as stated I find thousands of farmers who understand this and who have fine crops in many sections now practically assured. Why see fields of corn out in Texas where the ears are hardening up and on June 23 Texas sent stalks of corn with we'll matur- ed ears on them 10 the Worlds fair at St. Louis. l was there anc saw the corn arrive. And yet there are farmers right In these same sections whose corn is only about knee high and not half cultivated The same is true of cotton and all other crops as well.
 Only few days ago'1 was over through Alabama. crossing the state on three sides and through the center. Now, while the west was beind drownded out Alabama was suffering from drouth. They have had no weather in Alabama to retard the progress of farm operations yet we find on June 20 thousands of acres of corn and cotton not yet worked over and field