The Southern farm gazette. (Starkville, Miss.) 1895-1909, 1908-06-06
Important Facts Set Forth With Emphasis In Professor Wr'borns "tl
Texas-what Soils Give Best Results for Fertilizer me the u

outhtl "a bbtiS "'
the Gulf States, have been greatly handicapped
by the fact that most OF the writer's on agri-
cultural subjects have lived in other sections ana
have written from the standpoint OF the conditions
in the sections where they live. Even IL they at
tempted to write on agriculture for all sectohs,
their experience and the tests OF the Experiment
Stations with which they were the most closely
associated did not eminently fit them for writing
on Southern agriculture. The power OF the print
ing press has had great influence on agriculture
of late years. and the influence has been good
in proportion as the writer's fully understood the
conditions of soil and climate with which their
readers had 10 work, since the problems o! farm
ing are always very largely local problems IL
is a happy thing for the South that her agricus-
tural papers are improving in practiealness and
that Southern writer's arc publishing books on
southern agriculture.
influence of Experiment stations.
Those who read The southern Farm Gazette
some years back will remember Prof. w. {. Wei
horn rs a former editor OF The Gazette. who gave
up the work TO accept tho position of Secretary
OF Agriculture in the Philippine Islands. and who
In now viee~d.rcctor and aEriculturis; of the Texas
Experiment Station. Those who have been read
ing. The Gazette during tho laat fcw rnonia will
recall several articles from Professor Welbora'a
pen. The Macmillan Company. Of New York. has
jusi published a 33o pas" book written by him,
entitled The Elements Of Agriculture: Southern
and Western" Al q Southern man che wa#
born and raised III A@A#4AAsppt1. with southern
experience and training. he sake# !aano In this
book with y number Of those who hold commonly
accepted theories. There are writer's on South
eru agriculture Aho Hse III 10 echo the words OF
writer's living In other sections rather than TO dig
out the facts as they exist In Southern aErlcal-
tur". Professor Nclborn wisely states that.
The experiment nj stations OF tho country have
made the oriy reliable literature NJ agriculture
wo have" II ta easy for sny man To become
possessed ot "a theory aud 10 bn honcat in be-
l!eYing that hla theory works out in practice. while
he ham no carefully conducted ,~sta 10 prove
or dispTosc HIS theory When tho erperi,ssa nj
stations MAX. practical tests under farm con.
ditiona and leave IL 10 the scales when tho crop
IN har seated. TO tell What In III. lost policy. then
We have something more than n theory, Ia
history And that history wlli certainly be re-
paated ii MI The conditions arc the aamo In tho
future Az they have been ia the past Variations
Ia r~asona and other ;hinga over which the far.
fner has no control may produce slightly differ
emf results III The future. hp, In III. ,naln. fu-
turc farm experience will shoa tho same ~.
suits that past ieats at the experiment stations
have shown. II ~ apparent tina, 1t Is on ,ha,
basis that Professor w"lborn contraaicta some
commonly accepted theories.
Gulf state Soils DO Not Need Potash.
For instance. he states. ut has been learned
from experiments that the soils al Mississippi.
Louisiana. and Texas do not need potash. 40 no
potash salt should bc used In the tfcrtilix~r)
mixtures for these States. In Georgia, tho Car.
olinns. and Alabama. n little potash II generally
found beneficial" Further: Equal parts of
cottonSeed meal and acid phosphate mixed will
make an excellent cotton fertilizer for old and
worn lands. Such IL fertilizer will contain about
three and "a halt per cen, of nitrogen and nine
per cent Of phosphortc acid. and about three
fourths per cent of potash. For land needing
potash about Two hundred pounds OF ka!nit should
enter into each ton of mixture"
Potash for lruits uni y.ycfahI.s
The following Is also quoted: 1t has been
general? supposed that fruits and vegetables need
larger proportions Of potash than ordinary field
crops do. hmt from whit would Reem conclusive