The progressive farmer and southern farm gazette. (Starkville, Miss.) 1910-1920, 1910-02-12
Professor Massey's
Editorial Page.
Notes and Comments.

Inv HE DEMONSTRATIONS" as / have said
Ms show what the land can be made to do by
good preparation, fertilization and clean
cultivation. Now we need demonstrations that
take the whole farm into consideration and that
VIII demonstrate that by good rotative farming,
growing plenty of legume forage and feeding
it, we can entirely avoid the purchase of CONNER
clal fertilizers for the CROP and can abandon
the purchase of ammonia in a fertilizer for any
crop. Good farmers in this section have long
since abandoned buying the complete fertilizers
Tor any crop. Most of them use no fertilizer for
any crop but wheat and then only acid phosphate
sometimes and little potash. And yet their
lands are constantly increasing in production be-
cause they grow forage and feed it,
And in the Cotton Belt farmer who farms in
good rotation, grows plenty of crimson clover
and peas and feeds the peas and cottonseed meal
and some corn and corn fodder would never need
10 buy anything but acid phosphate or basic Stag
ana IN some sections potash, for small grain and
cotton, and by having stock to sell-hogs in fall
and fat cattle in spring-would have the cash to
pay Tor these and would be independent of the
FERTILIZER men. We have to hammer away on this
line till farmers in general realize what thew can
DO But the wave of interest in better farming
Is sweeping all over the South. The young men
Tue nope OF the country, are breaking away from
the old slavish methods and the men who are moi
gong to keep up with the procession will soon be
the exceptions.
HOW MANURE Is WASTED-I passed farm
on the railroad last week in good farming section
ana saw a row of windows in the stable and a milo
OF manure under each window against the q, ah,e
ana under the caves. | wanted badly to stop and
Tell that man what waste he was making for
the ground sloped away from the stable and the
manure was not only heating but was teaching
do"n TO the branch below. saw other felds
Where manure had been hauled out I'm the fall
and forked off the wagon into small piles and was
Standing there covered with snow to make rank
ana lodging spots when that field comes into
wheat And the farmer was handling that mn
nure three times when he could have handled q
but once on manure spreader and left II on the
iand IN the best shape. And yet they are COM
pialnlng or the scarcity of labor while using more
than is needed
The FOLLY OF COMPOSTING.-And other
farmers write to me, evidently poor farmers ask
Ing about composing rich dirt and manure and
cottonseed for the purpose of putting a little In
tue iurrow Tor cotton. know just what sort OF
farming those men are doing What cattle thew
nave are feeding on poor roughage all winter en-
that the manure is little better than the earth
use 10 compost it with. and they imagine that
mixing 1t up and wasting their cottonseed will
make II mixture that will pay for the labor 7
say wasting their seed, not because the sead v,,,
not add more value to the compost than anvtb,nv
else used in 1t, but because they should EXCHANGE
their seed for meal and feed II judiciousIv with