The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-11-08
ALABAMA ADVANTAGE IN GROWING OF HAY Farmer Here Gets S6 More Per
 Ton
COSTS CONSUMER LESS
Gets More for His Product Than Shippers Who Send Goods to
 This District
BY WALTER HARPER


 The Birmingham consumer pays s more for a ton of alfalfa hay that 1. grown in Colorado than he pays fol the same ton Of alfalfa grown In Ala. bama.
 The Colorado hay is greener. look: fresher and the consumer believes thai it Is better than the Alabama hay. The Colorado hay is grown and gathered without rain or dew The moisture in Alabama gives the Alabama product it's brown color but experts claim that the nutriment Is not affected.
 But the difference in the Birmin gham price is there just the same.
 On the face of it one would natur- ally think that the Alabama farmer is getting the worst end of the bargain. Indeed, some farmers and even writers on public questions have looked on these sale prices and are complaining that the Alabama farmer is not being treated fairly.
 Such people only look on the sur face of things. They see the bare fig ures and jump al conclusions.
 Let us go to the bottom of the prop osition.
 The Alabama farmer gets sS more per ton for his hay than the farmer in Colorado
 The price of alfalfa on the Colorado farm is S11 and sells in Birmingham at $22.50. The price of alfalfa on the ! Alabama farm is SIT and sells at s1s.50. The difference in the Birmingham sale price is the difference in the freight from Colorado to Birmingham and the freight from the Alabama farm to Bir- mingham. The consumer pays the diff ference and the Alabama farmer is getting much the best end of the bar gain even though his hay may be Drowned by the dews and rains.
 The Alabama farmer has still another and very important advantage. He can gather from three to five crops a year from his land whereas the Colorado farmer is doing exceedingly we'll if he gets a second small crop. Only one crop is the rule.
 The Illinois and Indiana farmer gets SIP ton for timothy hay which is considered the best hay in this mar ket. The Alabama farmer has not yet learned to grow timothy to any great l extent but he grows Johnson grass in stead. Johnson grass hay or the Ala bama farm Is worth s1o and it grows in spite of the farmer. He can cut from three to six crops every year where the western farmer gets only one crop.
 l am told by local dealers that the | best hay sold in this market is a mix ture of alfalfa and Johnson grass, in the proportion of about three to one of alfalfa and Johnson grass respect ively. The latter supports the other and has great nutritive powers. Government experts have declared that the Johnson grass grown in Ala bama Is of most excellent nutritive qualities and is one of the best hays that can be procured on the market. W. H. Maxim, one of the largest deal CTS in hay in Birmingham, said: 'The Alabama farmer is getting much the best of the hay proposition. While Colorado alfalfa is selling in Birmingham at s22 50 and Alabama hay at Sls5o the Alabama farmer is getting s17 per ton on the farm against s11 that is being paid the Colo rado farmer on his farm. The difference I is in freight rates and the belief of the local consumer that the Colorado hay is the best. The Colorado hay may be the best but so long as the farmer in Ala bama is getting s6 more for his product than the western farmer he should cer- tainly not feel that he Is being discrim- mated against
 1 'The Alabama farmer has another ad- vantage in that he can grow several crops every year, while the Colorado farmer only gets one crop. Alabama is growing more and more hay of all kinds and the | day is coming when we will be able to produce all the hay that is demanded on this market"
 keting of all other farm and garden prod ucts. The home planter gets as much or more for his produce than the foreign planter, who ships his stun into this market. Of course quality Is always taken into consideration. | The hard head cabbage grown in Jeff  | ferson county will bring more money on Morris avenue than the same cabbage shipped from Florida or any other place. If there is any difference we give the advantage to the home producer" said C. F. Bell. The home producer brings his stun into tho market fresh and we can see what we are buying. The market is always controlled by supply and demand. I have seen the time when beans and cabbage for instance were not worth anything. But when we cannot handle local produce we certainly cannot handle shipped stuff.
 "The truck grower who is really onto his job arranges for the sale of his stuff ahead of time, is careful to give good quality and can always command the | highest market price.
 q have tried both ends of the produce game and believe I can speak with au- thority. I have lost money when my