Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1909-02-03
S0UTH'S DIVERSIFIED CROPS
Wonderful Advancement in Agriculture
i'm the Last Twelve Years

struggling bravely to overcome the
results af devastating war. I felt
that they needed such help as the De-
partment could give them, and have
lent willing ear to their appeals.
Iteis very gratifying to me to see the
cordial. spirit of appreciation mani
tested by, the people of the South
for the work the Department is try
ing to do"
Under Professor W. j. Spillman,
Of the Bureau of Plant Industry, who
has charge of the farm management
investigations in the South. much has
been done to encourage better sys-
tens Of farm management, looking
to the restoration Of fertility, the
bringing back of humus into the soil,
and the suggestions Of improved ro-
tations.
Gone Of the most important meth
DDS adopted in fighting the cotton
boil weevil" said Professor Spillman
"is the diversifcation of crops
and the introduction of new crops.
Since the farmers have begun to rea-
lize that the weevil will in a few
years spread over the entire cotton
belt, they have become interested in
other crops as they never were be-
fore. In many sections truck growing
has developed amazingly. This is es-
pecially the case along the seaboard,
and along the principal lines of rail-
way connecting the South with the
large industrial centres of the North.
In other sections farmers have turn
ed their attention to the production
of hay. While not enough hay is
grown in the South to supply the de-
mand, the quantity Of the homegrown
product has increased to remarka BILE
degree since the Department of Agri-
culture began its propaganda for di-
versifed agriculture in the South as
means of fighting the boil weevil. In
some sections, especially in Alabama
and Mississippi, alfalfa has become
an important crop. Last spring one
small town in Mississippi sold over
$4,000 worth of alfalfa seed. Five
years ago there was hardly an aero
of this crop in that vicinity.
Stock 2aising.
"Many other crops formerly grown
in small acreages only have been
sown on an increasingly large scale
for the past few years. This is espe-
cially true of corn, COW peas, and
beans. The COW pea crop especially
has become vastly more important
than formerly. This crop is used both
for hay and as a seed crop, for which
there has been a steady demand at
good prices.
sfSouthern Farmers also are turning
their attention to stock raising. Cat
Tie nave uOLy -Ueeal ulltCu 1dlooo III VIZ
South, both because forage crops
were not extensively grown and be-
cause of the presence of the tick
which spreads the dreaded Southern
cattle fever. The government, both
State and national, is now making an
effort to eradicate this tick, with
every promise of success. This will
permit Of the development of an i'm
portant new industry in the South
which is affected by the boil wee
vii.
Apparently it will only be a short
time, bofre the South will adjust its
agricultural industries to the changed
conditions brought about by the ad-
vent of the boil weevil, and viii be
even more prosperous than it was
when cotton was king At the same
time, owing to improved methods of
culture. and increased acreage, the
cotton crop will probably be even
greater than it is now."