The progressive farmer and the cotton plant., 1904-11-01

cattle.
When one passes over the State and sees thou
sand of acres of low-lands producing nothing, and
tens of thousands of acres of hillsides washed and
cut into gullies. he is impressed with the thought
that all these lands should be utilized. How can
it be done so as to render them profitable? Com
mercial fertilizers and cotton will never do it.
Crying aloud for immigrants will not make the
barren places fruitful and restore fertility to the
hills and impoverished uplands.
Mr.. W.. r. Walker, of Union, S.. O.. is solving
the problem in a manner that is going to be
most satisfactory. His farm is in lower Cherokee
County, and lies ON Pacolet and Broad Rivers, a
short distance above their junction. It is about
twenty miles from a market and the roads none
of the best. As agent of one of the large pub
fishing houses, he has had the opportunity of
studying conditions in several States. He came
to the conclusion that the raising of beef cattle
would be the most profitable business he could en-
gage in. He has land enough to produce one
hundred head of beef cattle each year, and a large
acreage left over for cotton. AS the land is i'm
proved, he may double the annual output of
cattle.
Mr.. Walker started out with Shorthorns, which
he considers the very best breed to cross with the
common or scrub COWS of the country, but they
are too heavy and wanting in agility. They can
not get about over billy and rough land and get
a good living from short or scanty grass. They
make poor foragers. He then bought a herd of
Angus cattle from Texas, about 81 per cent pure
blood, and some thoroughbred COWS and bulls.
They went through the summer without any loss.
He will bring all his herd up to the Angus type
They are smaller than the Shorthorn, more active
and can bear rougher treatment and scanty pas
turage.
But cattle have to be fed all the time. They
should never be allowed to get in poor condition
Mr.. Walker meets this requirement with pea
vine hay, sorghum and corn slower. 1t requires
hundreds of tons. Cottonseed meal and hulls will
be fed to- those that are prepared for market. As
summer pasturage, he has Johnson grass on the
river and yellow clover on the hills. He is put
ting out many acres in Bermuda grass. He also
plants land near his pasture fence in sorghum
cane so that when grass is short the sorghum
may be thrown over to the cattle. He plants it
thick in the drill and does not. thin it.
Winter pasturage is a serious problem, but he
will try oats, rye, wheat and vetch mixed. He
will also SOW crimson clover. This pasturage is
intended for COWS with young calves, sick COWS
and calves. Greatest care has been used to pre-
vent the COW tick from getting a start. By change
of pastures, ticks may be persisted out. DR.. TAFT
Butler, of North Carolina, thinks that ticks will
die in six months if they have nothing to feed
on. Mr.. Walker thinks it best to keep all cattle
out of an infested pasture for one year, and then
burn the dry grass in the winter.
Keeping the pasture free from bushes is quite
a task. None of the grasses for summer pasture
will flourish in the shade. The cattle are herded
in lots or in fields in summer and housed in win
ter. The manure will thus enrich the land very
LII
raised for sale, except cotton, will be able to walk