Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1904-12-10
FARMERAND PLANTER
FOUNDATION FOR SUCCESS.
What Farmers Must DO to Insure
Permanent 1ccess On
Their Fla.
The majority OF farm, srs are farming

The majority OF farm, ers are farming
by force OF habit or by surrounding
circumstances. They ha we never de-
liberately made out a pla II TO farm by.
They do as their fathers cid or as
their neighbors do, or as some sudden
impulse seizes them. This unfortunate
habit stands in the way OF all real
progress. Everything is dc ne more or
less temporarily. If we " 1sh to be
permanently prosperous we must
change our methods in thi $ respect.
We must plan for the futu re as well
as for the present. 1t is perfectly
plain to every thinking man that
permanent prosperity in southern
farming must embrace cattle growing.
We can not hope to nave a rich soil
without the aid of the cattl G to fur
nish a constant supply Of rea' manure,
Chemical fertilizers can not and will
not make a permanently rich soil. But
to succeed in the cattle bu siness We
must go at it on a definite plan, We
must first make good pasture $, then we
| arrange to grow ample su ppiies of
forage. Then get the hest breeds of
cattle FOR the line we desire TO follow,
whether it be dairying or be ef-raising.
If we plan well, in a few yea RS We will
find that we have a profitable business
If we have a rundown fal m and we
wish to bring 1t up to a high STATE Of
productiyeness we must lay a plan
and work to tn at plan. We can not
build it I'D perm ,snently with f%ertiliz-
ers. We must bel i'm by controlling the
water and deepen ntg the soil. We sup
plement this by growing peas, and
c~lovers. and beans and sGch plants as
produce or procure their own supplies
of nitrogen. These nust ne wisely ro-
tated with crops of small grain and
grass. BY well plaun ed work along
this line we can, in a l 'ew years, make
the poorest old farm a tch one.
If we desire to so into truit growing
we must go at it with a W ell developed
plan. Suppose for illustrat ion we take
this plan:
Plant pecans In rows 100 feet ap art,
then plant three row of apples %
feet apart between them. This will
give us three rows of apple ;. Now
plant peaches between the ap pie rows
and between the apples and the pecans.
This will give us four rows ca peach
trees. Plant the pecans 80 feet 2 part in
the rows, and the apples 90 &c yet and
the peaches 1G feet. Then plant rasp-
berries and strawberries betwe zen all
the rows. Any oSher small fruit $ may
be used, or some vegetables.
II this ground is thoroughly pre-
pared by deep breaking and high
manuring and the crops we'll cul tivat-
ed, these small crops will pay ex-
penses the first year and make clear
money aftei that until the p caches
come in. Then the peaches will pay q
good profit until they lie out. by this
time the app les will be bearing paying
crops and will continue to do so until
pecans will be large enough to call for
all the land. Some Of all will be pay
ing at once.
We have written che above for sew
eral reasons. We are getting many
letters from young men saying they
are going back to tbs farm. They ask
for a great deal of information. This
will answer some OF their questions.
The small fruits and berries will pay
all expenses and often = good profit
while the peach trees are getting ready
to bear a crop. There Will be SO peach
trees per acre. These iETerage 81 per
tree for five years-$104 per acre. BY
this time the apple trees thirty in
number, will now be giving about two
bushels per tree. which at 81 would
be SEQ more per acre. These would
rapidly increase up to five bushels and
s. per tree. or $50 per acre, and the
pecans would be supplemontiIiG this at
an average Of S. per tree, OF $50 more,
making 5000 per acre. These are very
safe figures at from fifteen to twenty
years. At twenty years the pecans
should be giving ten bushels each. One
hundred bushels worth S. per bushel, |
or $50 per tree, or $500 per acre. The
apples should now be giving at least
ten bushels per tree, or $500 per acre,
We would thus be getting an income
of $500 per acre.
You think these are large estimates.
Well, so they are but they are not too
large. We know of trees that are bear
ing more than the amounts We have
given. OF course we have based these
figures upon the idea that the trees are
given the very best Of treatment. The
soil must be kept in .;ood condition
and the trees we'll sprayed and the
fruit well handled
Perhaps not many Of our readers are
prepared for the figures Oh the apples.
They are accustomed to think the
south is not an ap~ple-growing section.
That has been true and is yet largely
true. But it is not because the climate
and soil will not proGuoe apples. The
few experiments made prove that it is
simply because we have not made all
intelligent effort to grow apples. The
finest apples in the world are grown in
southwest Missouri and Arkansas. II
proper varieties are selected and prop
err attention given them we can grow
good apples almost anywhere in the
south.
Yuung men wake up and think up
and plan well and execute wisely and
you will find farming in The south the
best business that there is.--Southern
Cultivator.