St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1904-10-01
FARMERAND PLANTER
TIE EDITORS FARM.
Prominent souther. r.,.
some OF His Experiences in
Agricultural Proxre...

minent Southern Ed,to. NJ
some OF His Experiences. in
Agricultural Progress.
we would like to have descr,nt;on
- your individual farm, its size cul.
49, ylelo, ETC., year after year. AS
Anaerest in your teaching ia grow.
e. some insist that it is only theory
m ml.,ie oehers are proving it by practice
go go US now you do, what you make
au now many failures you have in
s'uai experience. We would be glad
~ nave you come to south Georgia
u9llng the present summer this month
@nu see how we do and also tell MS
now to do better. OVF
.,:. ~ answer to the above request, the
eai.or desires to say that he was born
anu raised upon poor farm in Coweta
county, Georgia. His father was a good
physician, but not success as a farm
l' Owlng to the death of his mother
anu the Ill health Of his father. he
came into charge Of the farm when he
was about IA years old. The land was
poor, the stock poor, and many debts
uad accumulated, and the crib and
e.noKenouse were empty when he took
charge. BY dint of extraordinary labor
0y himself and younger brother. the
snoKenouse and the cribs were filled,
une debts paid, the stock fattened and
the larm put In good fix, for those
DAYS. BY hard work and borrowing
little money. he managed to graduate
" Emory college in 1853 In the mean
time MS health had been wrecked by
the measles, and has remained wreck
70 this day. Leaving school, he start
ed again to teaching and farming. III
health soon compelled the abandon
ment OF the schoolroom He then gave
more attention to farming, but took on
merchandise as side issue. His bust
ness grew and his farming grew. He
made money at both, especially on the
farm. But owing to too much credit
ne was wrecked and ruined financially
by the panic of 70. Having lost all,
he made ground start with a one
horse farm. Like others, he met with
successes and reverses He often spread
out too much and undertook more than
he was capable Of managing, and some
times ran as many as 40 plOws and fed
as many as $50 negroes
After some years, becaming con-
WINGED that this was not the best plan
to farm upon, he cut his farm down
to 40 acres. On this 40 acres, with
three plows, he commenced and pur-
sued an experiment farm Of his own.
Here he began his experiments in high
er and better farming beginning with
deeper and more thorough blowing.
He abandoned ditching and adopted
terracing. He adopted deeper blowing
and shallow cultivation as the main
line OF his new plans He often broke
his land from Is to 16 inches deep. BY
years of patient and industrious at
tention to the development Of new and
better plans, and by reading everything
that he could find on the subject of i'm
proved methods Of agriculture, he slow
" but surely learned the lessons that
he is now trying to teach. There is
no form Of farm labor, from the weed
ing hoe to the self binder, with which
he has not done his full share with his
own hands.
The farms which at the beginning Of
these experiments would yield about
ten bushels Of corn per acre and one
fourth bale Of cotton, were made to
yield from 10 to 80 bushels of corn, and
from two to three bales Of cotton, 30
to 40 bushels OF wheat, IS to 100 bush
els OF oats, 500 to 1000 bushels Of tur-
nips. and other crops in proportion.
The land was made to pay its way in
working Gus ell these Improvements.
The farm always paid profit on tho
labor. fertilizer and ouher expenses.
Before leaving his farm hc thorough
" tested the practicah1ity Of the re-
forms which he is now advocating He
proved some Of the possibilities Of the
earth. when properly cultivated. to
yield profitable and bountiful crops. So
our readers need not think that they
are reading after book worm or a
book farmer.
The editor is abundantly willing
nav. anxious to have every theory
that he advocates put to the severest
test Of experimentation II it does
not stand this test, let it go. He dear
" loves farm life, and firmly believes
that farming is the most honorable and
can be made the most profitable pro-
fession. So fellcw-farmers. let us all
null together.-Southern Cultivator.