Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-05-13

ply the demand, though good butter
brings . to % cents per pound The
farmer says there is no money in but
ter making because he only obtains ten
cents per pound. This is because he
does not know how 10 make good but
ter. The same is true of cattle feeding.
Thousands of cattle pass out of the
state in an unfinished condition. They
weigh possibly SO pounds; they might
just as well be made 10 weigh 200 BY
feeding them the rOughness that Is now
allowed TO 90 20 waste on the farms
and BY utilizing some Of the cotton seed
meal produced in the state. 70 feed
these cattle would mean an increased
value of $3.50 10 Ss0.O0 per head, yet
the Industry is neglected Then there is
alfalfa, a crop that promises great
things 10 Georgia IL its culture is prop
eFly understood. but men are making
failures with il everywhere because
they do not understand its culture or
how TO inOeulate the soil In order TO
develop the bacteria which make its per-
manent growth and development posi-
bic. The farmer says he can no longer
grow red clover. but the real reason Is
due TO the deficiency OF humus in the
soil; to the fact that he does not rotate
his crops properly nor fertilize his land
so as TO get the most out Of il. A hun
dred illustrations might be given show
ing the value OF agricultural education
TO the farmer, but these are enough TO
demonstrate that there is something 10
learn about agriculture; that after all IL
Is no a hsphazard business
One reason why the farmer does not
take more kindly TO education is due TO
his fear OF criticism His friends and
neighbsrs are likely To laugh, some
thing he can not endure. Many a boy
"a
courses in agriculture offered in the
State college OF agriculture at Athens
the coming winter. but for his friends.
His uncle says yeu are foolish to go.
His chums intimate that book farming
is a failure and he, not knowing. fool
ishly decides to stay where he is and
keep on eking out a bare existence in
the belief that farming is drudgeTy.
The farmer Is afraid Of book larnin',"
or, as he terms il, scientific farming
He calls that theoretical farming and
Yet there is no person so filled with
theories that are curious, improbable
and incorrect After all, science, which
Is simply an array Of facts systemati-
esly arranged, is nothing more nor less
than god common sense IL one under
stands that bacteria cause the souTing
Of milk and that under certain eondi-
tons they are more active than under
others. the fermentation Of milk can be
controlled. and butter Of good or bad
quality made from the same lot of milk
at will, and an education that would
teach a man these things could hardly
be called theoretical. The farmer thinks
he makes new discoveries every day
and sometimes many times day, and
so he does, but he is simply finding out
what he might have IL ned years be-
fore I'm the school of agriculture, be-
cause the knowledge Of people who have
studied agriculture has been concentrat-
ed in the hooks and bulletins published
by the experiment station, Thus, a
man is put in possession Of the world
knowledge on the subject and may start
today where his grandfather left OF.
He believes that cheat turns to wheat;
that hoIlsw horn is a disease of cattle
when Il is natural condition.; that when
the COW loses her eud il will be Teeov=
cred by giving her a ball of rags. These
and many other curious beliefs arise
from his deficiency in Information about
the common things Of life.
There are many opportunities for edu-
Gated agFieuiturists in the south, There
is a chance in almost every town or
city for the development Of the dairy
Industry. The eeW Is one of the most
profitable machines on the farm, Milk
can be sold for 3 TO g cents per gallon;
butter for from 20 TO $ cents per pound.
A cow yielding 500 pounds Of milk per
snnum would produce SIS gallons OF
milk, which at 50 cents per gallon would
be SI76o0 A COW can be kept for from
$500 to $500. II this proposition were
made to a man by a ''get-Fieh-quick'
concern. he would lose no time in max
ing the investment
Then there is a chance to produce
the seeds OF csrn and cotton in great
quantity through the adoption OF the
simple principles OF selection and
plant breeding Thousands Of dollars
annually go out Of the state for the
purchase OF seeds OF these cereals at
prices ranging from s2.s0 TO IS per
busheI. whereas corn ordinarily brings
40 cents and cotton 81. Why not grow
more seed corn and eottOn2 Why not
produce seed OF IAe veteh which does
well here as a winter cover crop, and
OF the soy bean. etc.
These are but three or four of the
many money-making industries that
are open 70 the progressive agTieul-
tuTist OF the South To-Day. mere never
was a time when there was a better
chance TO make money from the intel
ligeRt application OF business prinei-
pies to the production OF dairy and
beef products. To the growing Of horses
and mules. TO the development of the
poultry industry, which is still in it's
infancy, and to the breeding or seed or
high quality fer use by Southern farm
eFs. Who will be the hrst tn see these
good things and TO reap the rich hsr-
vest which awaits the Industrious
farmer
AS to the future CT the farm there
can be no question. Look at the cOn-
ditiOn which has grown up in Europe
because Of the ancient systems of land
tenure which prevented the average
citizen from owning a piece of ground,
making every tenant a peasant Of some
landlord In America until the present
time many men have been interested in
manufacturing plants. building rail-
roads. steel furnaces, iron fences, etc.
A period OF leisure viii come, a time
when the output OF factories will offset
consumption. men there will be mil
lions to invest in something. Will 1t
not be natural for these men to turn
TO the country and to invest IN lands?
VIII the time not come when there
will be many landed estates in Amer
lea? Will the farmer who tills the soil
who is the most important factor in
the welfare OF the country give up his
land? Surely not, and yet the sign OF
the times would seem TO indicate IL, for
the wild desire on the part of many
seems TO be TO go TO the city and to