The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-17
Farmers Special ArriUes in
 Montgomery and Disbands

Into Htaples crops than hefetofore, ana R. s. Wilson of the United states De- many valuable pointers on the culti- walton of cotton and corn, promising that demonstrator from the cooper ative farm demonstration division of the bureau of plant industry should visit them and show the methods of culture approved by the experts of the department
 At all points along the line. M. V. Richards, land and industrial agent of the Mobile and ohio Railroad and the Southern Railway. told the people what they can expect in the way of fast freight service from the coast to the Northern markets and something of the expedition with which their pro- ducts will be handled by the railroad. At Burbank. near Vinegar Bend, there is ., thriving German settlement. The colonfsts nearly all hall from Chi cago and Milwaukee and they are highly pleased with their present sur roundings and their prospects,. Mutt dale. the next place visiSd. is a North ern settlement which has been devel- oped for several years. where fruit is grown on a large scale and immense orchards of paper-she oceans will soon come into bearing. Just across the line in Alabama. near State Line. H. D. Wing of Wisconsin, Is opening up large new farm. He first planted an orchard at Fruitdaie. sold 1t out at profit ans then reinvested in the unde- veloped property. Thirteen cars of to- matoes and i've cars of cantaloupes were shipped from the first seasons acreage. immense orchards of beach, es and oceans have been planted. When the special party visited Mir. Wing he had a force of men busy preparing second-crop Irish potatoes, gathered in the latter part of November. for ship ment to Mobile and other Alabama markets, where they find a ready sale.
 Throuwh Mississippi.
 The run through Mississippi from Waynesboro to Columbus. on Wednes- day and Thursday, was, perhaps, less interesting, as there Is less variety in the population and production. State Commissioner of Agriculture H. E. Biakeslee of Mississippi made numer- ous interesting addresses. urging diver- sification and modern methods in az rfculture and telling about the boys corn clubs and other incentives to im- provement fostered by his department.
 The visit of the special party to Ma con was one of the most interesting features of the trip in Mississippi. The introduction of alfalfa into a strip or en a new impetus to farming in that section and a boost to the price of | land. A strip of 320 acres recently | sold for $45 per acre and other large l tracts are being held at $50 to $Ss, which Is a vast improvement over Ns former value. It is only five years since the introduction of alfalfa there, | and It's spread has been remarkably slow when the results already obtained are considered. Commissioner Willkin- I son was asked a number of questions | in regard to the best methods of grow ing, and harvesting alfalfa, and was able to give the people of Noxubee much valuable advice. Che point ne | impressed upon them was that there is no sense in trying to grow that crop on lands not particularly adapted to its cultivation, As those spots occur at various points in the county he advised A careful soil survey to locate alfalfa 1 lands.
 Immediately on entering Alabama l Friday morning there was a noticeabie 1 increase in attendance at the meetings | pr. Tate Butler, of Starksville. Miss. 2 | live stock expert and agricultural l writer of wide reputation, was with | the special party Friday, and spoke at 1 Ethelville. Reform. Eirod, Tusc9toosa l and Centerville. He attributes the fact
 that the average farm hand in Ala bama and Mississippi only produces
 S2OO. while the average in some of the l other SIAL6B lG Lu6u vAJVVVt tS LIN | scarcity of live stock to assist In the | work: saying that the average in this | State is less than one head of work stock to each field hand. The value of | barnyard manure as fertilizer and the | futility of attempting to raise crops l with commercial fertilizers alone were l among the other subjects which he ] lcctured on.
 Fencing With Dogs.
 ! t-. rnH HaR nAn l onstrator Wilson became enthusiastic | while praising the cowpea as a crop to | give fertility to the soil and on which l to fatten hogs.
 "Easy?" he said, "why 1t is the easi-
 est thing In the world. Combine your | old methods with the new, and you | can make 1t as near automatic farm l ing as has yet been attained. Fence
 your field with dogs, if you wish to-
 fertllize 1t with stock and, then lei l your hogs gather the crop"
 | MT. Wilson reconsidered the advice
 about fencing the field with dogs. 4 | great deal of interest was manifested
 at Alabama places visited in the prizes | offered by the Department of Agricul- | ture and Industries for the best and largest yields of certain products l grown in the State to the acre. The six prizes offered for corn total $700 | ana AlbOBetneE the pEl1cS dIuouuI " | S1,675. Mir. Wilkinson was frequently
 called upon to explain the methods to be used in awarding the prizes. Al l Ethelvllle W. L. Henderson, land and
 industrial agent at Mobile, located n | farmer who grows his own wool and
 whose wife makes all the cloth used
 by the family on a hand loom.
 At all the points visited the need of
 immigration was one of the questions l discussed, and the people were urged to l invite white settlers from other sec
 tions of the country and desirable | classes from Europe to settle among
 them and to help build up the country Another subject frequently mentioned
 was the necessity of organization and
 concerted action. Outside of the truck
 growing belt Mir. Wilkinson devoted
 much of his time to illustration oi
 what would result if twenty or thirty
 people would join together and agree
 to plant from one to five acres each oi certain truck crops, using the same
 Yarieties of seed and planting at the | same time in order to assure uniform
 shipments. He argued that even a | failure on that basis would not injure
 anyone greatly, while the rewards
 promised for success are large and req | sonably certain. The charts used bS
 Mir. Wilkinson were valuable in dem. | onstrating seed selection and heredI-
 tary influences in crops. losses to the soil by leeching and washing where cover crops are not used after corr
 and cotton have been harvested, and
 the relative value of several natural | fertilizers in chemical properties need
 ed as plant food.
 Fairs and county agricultural schools