The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-01-29
Agricultural Department
CONDUCTED BY FULTON s. WHITE.

, early potatoes and manage them right, as stated above they will bring you good money and 1t will come at a time when most needed When shipping time comes l ship only the best. have them as uniform in size as possible and slip only clean, nice stock. Do not ship your fine, rich soil with your potatoes for there IS no i demand for it.
 Good seed potatoes no doubt will be scarce and high and this may deter many from planting. But remember you will have the markets of the northern cities at your mercy for months on good early potatoes. The markets that our southern 1 grower should grow for are now import l Ing potatoes from across the ocean. So 1 the earlier our growers potatoes reach these markets the better and greater will be the price Again let me say that there Is no time to lose In this matter and if you have not begun booking Tor 1 seed and preparing your land for this l early crop. do so at once. As soon as you read this article, start your inquiries for seed and your blows fin preparing the soil. Allow me to say here few words about the importance of this agricultural education and something of the advan- tage that the man has who reads and educates himself, also something of the | power of the agricultural press at Brown wood. Texas A very intelligent farmer requested that l give my views on the l prospects for profits in an early potato crop. l outlined the matter as l have here. When I was through he said, T am reader of the Farm and Ranch, and your statements agree exactly with what they say on this question He l then asked if l could tell where he could l get seed potatoes. I was prepared to cite him to a party who has good seed and the very next madl carried a letter of Inquiry for seed potatoes
 l l want to now state something of tho I fTHTa al HnC farms of this country. We turned this Brownwood meeting into an experience meeting. One young man said that 1 few years ago he bought farm on cred l t. worked hard, saved closely and at the end of 1904 he paid out on his farm and that last year he made enough to build a thousand dollar house and this was all paid for. He went on and said that only few days ago he dressed one hog and sold $40 worth of lard and sausage from this one hog and still had the bone left | to use at home.
 His statement made me think of friend, MT Mccullough of Birmingham. | When I commenced editing this depart ment he was working day and a good part of the night to make living. l | persuaded him to try hogs, chickens and | milk cows He took the advice and what is the result? His farm Is. covered with 1 chicken, hogs, good milk COWS, Is in easy circumstances and comfortably sit uated Last October he came to the Ala bama State Fair with great county exhibit and won the premiums for the | best county exhibit. He said that three years ago he had never thought of mak- Ing an exhibit at fair and yet In three years he wins first premium on county exhibit. Now MT. Mccullough is getting up in years. and if man com mencing this work of education and di- versification at 65 years, what promise
 
 men get from such experiences.
 Here in Texas I find that the most prosperous reading the Farm and Ranch, In Alabama our best farmers, the men who are getting moro for their labor on their farms, are the farmers who read regularly the Age-Herald. So I would say to our readers, if you live in Ala bama. Georgia or Mississippi, the Age Herald advice will guide you right not only in this question of potato growing but in all questions pertaining to agrieul- ture.
 If is a pleasure to me to give to the farmers along our line such papers as Farm and Ranch, and on this trip have with me representative of this paper pushing the claims of the paper and have been surprised to see the eagerness with which farmers subscribe. The object of our work from a railroad standpoint Is to educate our farmers in these mat ters so as to increase tonnage. and we know that if we can get them to reading these agricultural papers that It VIII greatly assist us in our work of inereas- ing tonnage for the road.
 Last fall I called upon the editor Of Farm and Ranch when my attention was called to an article in this paper setting forth and warning our growers against the suicidal means of packing and ship ping their crops This matter was taken up and a warning sounded to all our read CTS I am sorry to say that thls matter has not received the attention that It deserves. Soon we will be in the rush of making another great crop of potatoes beaches, onions etc. The question is, are we growers going to pursue the same loose careless methods of sorting grad ' ing, packing and shipping their crops, | thus continuing to commit financial sui- l eide or will they take the advice of such papers as The Age-Herald and the Farm and Ranch
 Just to state the case plainly, the south ern farmer has the world by the heels and the question now is, will he improve his opportunity? The same kind of or ganization, cooperation and education that has brought cotton up from cents to 10 cents or more will enable our farm , CTS to sell their potatoes. onions, peaches and other farm products at remunerative prlces We leave the question for this / time with the farmer as to whether or not he will take advantage of his oppor- tunltes.