The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1904-06-23
FARMING IN COBB COUNTY.
From Chicago Breeders Gazette

H. Key, st. Mary's Co , Md, has inn
pressed me as one that must be of in
terest to a large number of your read
ers. There are always many in most
every section who from some cause or
other desire to change location and
md new home. To such letter tel-
ing OF the climate, soil,' crops produced
the lay Of the land, kind of roads. ma
ture OF the water, rate of taxes, prices
of produce and of labor, school priyi-
leges, the morals of the locality and
the general character of the people in
any section, is greatly appreciated.
After the winter just passed no doubt
great many like myself thought much
OF the sunny south. 1t appealed TO me
so strongly that on March 18th I left
for Georgia. A letter by Joseph E.
Wing from Atlanta started me think
ing OF the possibilities for northern
man to go to that section and handle
the land as much as we do here. As
people from this place were already To-
Gated near a certain town in Georgia. I
spent in that section the most of the
three weeks | remained in Georgia
On my return home my friends and
neighbors were interested in the report
| made of that land, and many we're
surprised to learn that it had appeared
so delightful that [ was anxious to sell
here and make my home down in Geor-
gia. A great many seem to think that
one would be almost out of civilization
or at least way behind the times down
there. The description of the land
around the section / visited would in
general be description of all land in
Northern Georgia. With no fences
and az that time bare fields it did not
present very pleasing picture to North
ern eyes, yet when one got in close
touch with it, found how easily it is
worked, how warm and fruitful it is,
and learn how cheap much Of it can be
bought, one wondered that more from
the North have not been down here
long ago. The country is billy, vet
there are very few farms but what all
OF our farm machinery could be used
on them. They can grow everything
that we do and much besides. They
mostly grow cotton and with the high
prices received for the last years crop
they are more determined than ever TO
raise cotton. They can grow clover
and and alfalfa but they do not as they
think they cannot afford to. They say
they can make three crops while they
are waiting for their first crop of clover.
Wheat, rye or oats are sown in the fall
and harvested in June, the ground
planted in July to either Irish potatoes
or corn, and this crop will be out of the
way in time for the ground to be sown
to grain that fall. Very few farmers
break their ground in the spring as we
do. In the latter part of February or
early March they open a furrow in
which is distributed fertilizer to be
covered over and let lay until time to
plant, when it is again opened and the
corn or cotton seed dropped in and
covered, no more work being done on
the ground until the plants are up
high enough to pillow or hoe. There is
very little stock of any kind kept. The
average farmer with 100 or $50 acres of
land will have only two mules, couple
of Jersey COWS and few pigs.
few are handling their farms along
the lines we do (most of them are GA
zETTF readers) and their success is SO
conspicuous that it ought to be as a
shining light to their neighbors, and
great inducement to us of the north to
go down there and do likewise, or bet
ter. Among this number was Mr.. j i'm
Anderson. He raises no cotton, turns
over every inch of his ground, has disk
and smoothing harrows, the only roller
saw in Georgia, cuts his wheat with
binder, his corn with a corn harvester,
has a shredder, silo and feeds his herd
of Jerseys on silage and cotton-seed
meal, has milk cooler and hand sep
arator and makes fine butter for which
he finds a ready sale. Shropshire sheep
Angora goats and Berkshire hogs are
kert on the farm, He showed me the
picture of the growing crop, the stub
bic from which it was cut, and told me
he made 80 busiest of corn to the acre
with seed planted July TO-
Corn brings 50 cents per bushel, po-
tatoes Sl.O0, sorghum hay $l4, timothy,
clover or alfalfa SIS or 500. Labor costs
from 30 cents to 81 per day
FL. M. SoEvA,
Champaign, Co., o.