The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1908-12-23
A PRACTICAL TALK TO FARMERS.
Commissioner G. II. Affords Address to
The Claiborne County AgFicGIt-
~ Saral Association.

IL
As agricultural writer and
speaEery | have never advised Mis-.
sissippi farmers to supplant cotton
as our leading crop. Five cent
cotton or fifteen cent cotton, boil
weevil or no boil weevil, / honestly
believe that cotton ought to be the
chief money crop grown in this
State. Cotton has always been
King in Mississippi and am more
than willing for him to remain on
the throne. Cotton is and / believe
will always be the main money crop
grown, even in this God-favored
stock county, but during my term
of office as your County Commits
sioner of Agriculture. / shall un-
ceasingly impbrtune you. to supple
ment the cotton crop with all feed
and food products necessary for
home consumption and enough
hogs, dairy and beef cattle, goats
and sheep, mule and horse colts,
and poultry of all kinds to consume
the leguminous crops that must be
grown in order to economically in
crease the productiveness of your
soil. furnish food and teams for
yourselves and manure for your
fields. The farmers in this county
can produce all farm products nee
essary for home use cheaper than
the farmers in any other section of
this country, and it is exceedingly
unWise from every viewpoint for
you to plant seven-eighths of your
land in cotton and buy mules,
horses. pork, lard, rice. sugar,
corn, hay and other farm products.
Let us quit the one-crop system
and resort to diversified farming
and stock-raising. Let US live at
home and board at the same place,
and practice strict economy until
we get out of debt and forever
abolish the curse of the South-the
credit system.
Every farmer ought to have a
large garden. Nothing saves more
money and adds more to the pleas
ure and health of the family than
a diet composed largely of vegeta-
-bles. Let us have spring, fall, and
winter gardens. Pulverize the soil
thoroughly before the seed are
planted and keep it fine ard mel
low between the plants during
growing season. The soil ought to
be stirred every day during the
early growth Of the plants, as the
more it is stirred the more plant
food will become available and the
more air will be admitted to the
roots of the little plants.
Every farmer ought to can pIen-
ty Of vegetables and fruits for use
out of season. We can make our
own sugar to use in canning fruits
and vegetables. A small canning
outfit can be purchased for very
little money.
Thousands of acres that are now
planted in cotton ought to be in
good pastures. We have cultivated
this land in cotton for years; the
entire crop has been removed from
the land; the stalks, grass, and
trash have been burned; the rows
have been run up and down hill;
and stock have been permitted to
run on it during the winter. 1t is
no longer profitable to cultivate
this land. 1t is silly to cultivate
such land in cotton at loss.
Pastures are usually made by
turning out Worn-out cotton land.
Not a furrow is turned; not seed
is sown. Nature is expected to
prepare the worn-out soil and to
properly seed it. Nature will in
time make the soil productive
again, but briars and broomsedge
serve her purpose as we'll as Ber-
muda, crab grass, clovers and
vetches. Now the farmer must
thoroughly prepare this poor land
and seed it in grasses and clovers
if he wishes to obtain satisfactory
results. A good pasture cannot be
procured without human labor.
This county will not grow blue
grass successfully on account Of our
long, hot and generally dry sum-
mers, but carpet and Bermuda
grasses will take its place. When
either carpet or Bermuda grass is
well sodded on fairly productive
land, no better summer pastures
can be found in North America.
Hairy vetch, white, crimson, or
burr clover can be mixed with the
carpet or Bermuda grass for early
grazing. Either clover will die
down in the spring by the time the
carpet grass or Bermuda grass gets
a good start. Oats and hairy
vetch, if planted in September or
early October can be used for win
ter and early spring grazing and
then good crop harvested.
Good pastures will reduce the
cotton acreage; increase the fertil-
ity of the soil, and go far toward
making the raising Of good stock
No country in the his
tory Of the world has long remain
ed prosperous without good pas
lures.
Good pastures are indispensable
to the keeper of live stock. but
good pastures alone are not suffi-
cient. A suficiency of nutritious
hays must be grown in order to
succeed with stock. Corn is by far
too expensive to sell in large guam
titles An abundance Of hay with