Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1906-06-23

,rs in the State, furnishes the following
excellent articles on diversifcation and
rotation. They are well worth care
full perusal by all;
fcation.-Ask the first farmer
Won meet what is diversification. 1t is
dollars to dimes that he can't tell. Ed
itors who have undertaken to pull the
farmers out of hole are to blame. Di-
yorsify. they say; then they will with
the next breath say that diversiicati0n
and rotation are the salvation of the |
farmer, and l doubt if one out of ten
could give an intelligent answer Diver
rifcation means a division of crops, We .
pinev woods farmers are diversified |
farmers. Probably we do not 60 far
enough with the division; that is, we
do not divide up the crops as equally
as we should To be a diversified farmer
in every sense the word implies, we
should divide our crops something like |
this: Twenty acres is enough for any
one man; maybe twice enough. Plant
five to cotton, five to corn, five to oats,
10 be followed by five to peas, and five
acres to be planted to cane, Irish and
Rweet potatoes, garden, orchard, etc. For
me. twenty acres is too much; l prefer
twelve and am fool enough to try my
hand with twelve next year, divided as
follows: Three acres TO cotton, three
to corn, three to oats, to be followed by
peas. and three acres for sugar cane,
sweet potctoes, Irish potatoes, melons
and orchard. This is diversiiication; 1t
means division of crops-diyided, if you
please.
"Rotation-You need not talk to any
but diversified farmers about rotation,
for no other can rotate. Rotation fol
lows or goes with diversifcation. We
diversity to make farming profitable
to keep from putting all your eggs in
one basket and we rotate TO keep up
the fertility of the soil We will take
a wheel; place four cards upon it. On
the first we will write cotton, on the
second corn. on the third oats and on
the fourth truck. We begin to turn the
wheel at cotton; when the wheel is
turned one-fourth around we arrive at
corn. and when we have rolled the wheel
over one time we arrive at the card la
beled cotton, where we began. These
cards, as YOU see, do not lose their place
on the wheel Each one represents
wear. and a turn of the wheel repre-
sents four years. This represents
-four wear system of rotation. In France
the farmers practice four-year system
of rotation, but one year the land re-
mains fallow; that is, it grows up TO
weeds and is not cultivated at all. Here
In the South, three year system of ro-
tation is more practicable. Corn, oats
and cotton The farmer with fifteen
acres would run it thus: One-third of
each of the three crops named, and each
to occupy the land one year in three"
Mr. Herrington's article is plain and
to the point. He is gifted with the fac
ulty Of making himself understood. lie
doesn't say whether the pea crop should
be cut or turned under. Conditions
would likely settle this question. If the
soil was in need of the replenishing
power of the peas, they could be turned
under; otherwise the crop could be mar
vested, making four from the land IN
three years.
In speaking of the fact that nearly all
Of the Southern roads are preparing to
double track their lines, the Brming-
ham Ledger says:
"The truth is, the productiyeness OF
the South has increased so rapidly of
late years that the railroads find it hard
to meet the transportation demands
with single tracks Complaints OF the
inadequacy of shipping facilities are
growing more numerous every year.
Thousands of dollars worth of straw
berries and other trucking product had
TO be thrown away last year because the
cars were not available for shipment.
The fruit season opens almost every year
with complaint of the shortage of cars.
The double track system will greatly
facilitate the shipping, and will remove
much of the difficulty along its line.
Not only is the freight traffic on all OF
the principal railroads increasing stead
lily, but the passenger traffic is very
much heavier, so that it is not unrea.
sonAble to look for the double tracking
of nearly all of the large railroad sys-
tens in the South in the next few
years"
The United States governments ac-
ceptance of Gulfport harbor, together
with the refunding to Capt. Jones OF
$l50,OOO, portion of what has been
expended upon its construction, meaRS
a great deal to Mississippi. 1t means, IN
the first place, that we have two recog
ni2ed deep water harbors on our coast
line, Pascagoula having been so recog
nized for years, and the subject of fairly
liberal appropriations ab the hands oil
Uncle Sam for improvement and mantle
nance. 1t means that in the future
years of great business prosperity
brought about by the construction OF the
Panama canal and the DETECTION OF trade
through Southern ports, Mississippi vii
have two for the handling of this bust
ness instead of one. 1t means that OF
our coast line there will be more thar
one large commercial center and othel
benefits too numerous to mention. Al
Mississippi is to be congratulated upor
this victory.
Lexington has organized and put int
working order one of those town an'
community building organizations know
as building and loan association 4
number of the best and most enterprls
ing citizens of that excellent town ar
interested in the project and its success
fs assured. There is no factor in th'
building of homes more potential thai
an association that Viii lend those y
moderate circumstances the money u
build homes and accept its return II
small payments akin to the regular ren
tails of similar property. Mississippi j
last becoming home owning State, AM
the work done by local building and loa'
associations is highly commendable'
1t makes no difference whether Tn
Frisco has bought the NJ, j. \ x. Z. o
not, the road is finished, running an
proving great boon to the section 0
country traversed. 1t will be wort
millions to the people along the line, ..
well as the promoters who put
through.
The laying of steel from Belzoni, o
the Delta Southern Railroad, is in prog
iiess, ana work is being pushed on IN
line IL will open another rich seetio
o. delta farming and timber land io
development.