The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-07-20

Conclusions He Reaches.

butcher) to winter at so much per
head and thus feed his pea hay and
keep the manure on the farm. The
writer has one this way several
times when he hadn't cattle sufficient
to consume his feed.
Then if you are expecting to grow
only ten acres Of peas from which to
make manure, you haven't any use
for a S125 manure ~spreader. The
writer has managed to get along
Withou a sDreader SO far and gener-
ally keeps 70 heads OF cattle, but
hopes to have one some day soon.
"Now a word as to the OF
gorwing peas. The other day when
writer lighted his pipe, pulled a book
and pencil out of his dirty breeches
and proceeded to figure on the cost
of the crop in the land. The interest
on value and the taxes on the land
amounted to $255 8 days blowing
with 2 horses. SO; 2 days narrowing
in the peas with three horses, IS;
8 bushels peas and soy beans, s12,
l did the sowing myself and Mrs.
French doesn't allow me anything for
my work. but any good mar could
broadcast the. 5 acres for IS cents
So the expense totals $54.75. We
are as sure Of 16 tons of hay on this
~ oo w * IL LILY LII dS W.
have a beautiful stand, and we will
probably cut the 8 acres at an ex-
pense of So for moving, $1.25 for
raking. $3.50 for punching or cock
ing, and IS for handling. Total,
1875. Add this amount to cost of
seeding n we have 16 tons Of hay
in the barn at a cost Of $3.50, or
$4.2S per ton. This wouldn't hurt
even a poor man.
"Of course the proposition in the
first part of the above letter is pre-
p~osterous. as no man would think Of
charging the manuring of ten acres
Of land with the cost of a pure bred
herd of cattle and a manure spreader,
to say nothing of $44 worth Of cotton
seed meal which he could not use
with pea hay to advantage. The
writer's idea, no doubt. was to bring
out the fact that very poor men could
not purchase the expensive equipment
and I have tried as best I can to
make him see that he should not, and
that he doesn't need to go TO any big
expense t feed UP his peavine hay on
the farm"
From his years of successful farm
ing and useful teaching, Prof. Massey
drew these conclusions:
"a place of 10 acres that is too
poor to grow peas tail enough to
NOV withou fertilizer will not carry
one head Of cattle per acre. It takes
strong land anywhere to do that. But
if there is land in the South tina will
not grow peas tall enough to NOV
without fertilizer. I never found it.
I'm the next place, it would not be
wise for a beginner to buy full blood
cattle to start with, since by the use
of a full blooded bull on common
cows he can easily breed up grade
cattle to a high standard as beeves.
THE man with ten acres that will
hardly sprOut peas and with but one
cow lac better hire his labor to
some one else till he can save some
honey n then had better not buy
$50 calves for a whole herd. But
with one COW, and q good one, a prac
teal and industrious man a soon
have more of his own raising, though
with land that will hardly sprout
peas he had better quit farming till
he can, through his WI labor, save
some money. There are thousands
of tenant farmers in the South who
are simply scratching the soil for
hardly enough to feed themselves and
their mule, who would be far better
off working for cash wages Farm
ing, like any other business, demands
at least some ready capital, and the
idea that a man can farm without
any capital is responsible for that
plentiful talk about the One-horse
farmer. But the farmer in moderate
conditions, with two horses and one
COW will soon have more if he farms
right, and he can grow into stock
farming in connection with his other
farming if he practices the methods
tina come within his reach. The man
with land will hardly sprout peas
certainly cannot afford to grow cot
ton, corn, wheat or anything else till
he does something to improve the
condition Of his soil, and it will pay
phosphate and potash for the peas
than to go in debt for 200 pounds
per acre Of the poor $50 to put
cotton on such land, and be as poors
at the close. of the year as he was
at the start.
80 I say this is almost entirely a