The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1911-04-07
J. K. MORRISON
Writes on Matters That Pertain to
Country Life. the Farm and its
Great Opportunities. and
Appeals For Better
Farming.

In other words. I have Joined the STAN
pede Of the town folk who have an idea
that country life has its charms that
outweigh those OF city and town.
Armed with a few hens. COWS and a
team of horses. | have gone a-prospect-
ing. During the first winter the farm
has turned out a few r~eadv-made silver
dollars, and I am now working overtime
planting my first crop.
! am an amateur, and shall not bur.
den the readers of the Sentinel with o
dissertation on the methods of the how
to plant cotton and corn. DR.. Knapp,
the NestOr of American farmers, speak
ing through government agents and bull
letins. is telling the man how to double
his yield.
The farmer today who does not know
the Importance of better seed. the soil
mulch and more thorough preparatio1
of the soil, is among the has-beens in
the farming business. Uncle Sam is
furnishing dope galore to the man who
tills the soil, and the newspapers are
augmeHting this work by giving much
of their space to the discussion of better
methods.
The boil weevil is coming. Few of u+
are doubters of this statement. Shall
we continue to plant cotton? As long as
it brings the present price we cannot
afford not to plant it.
BY throwing aside the stereot vped
methods that have prevailed and adopt-
ing the modern culture theories that
have been worked out by the man with
a scientific turn. We can still raise cot
ton with a profit. II YOU have not
thought so before. it would pay at this
particular time to use Your thinking
machines. The time is opportune for
the man who uses intelligence and en-
lergy, and the man who does will CON
tinue to raise cotton at a profit.
We must reduce our acreage. raise
more live stock by planting feed stuff
and feeding to the cattle we raise.
The farmers of Grenada county actu-
ally do not supply the Grenada market
with eggs. They want the prosperous
farmer of the West to do that. 50 the
Western man sells his eggs to the COM
mission man: he stores them in Chicago
and puts them on the Grenada market
when eggs are scarce.
Our neighboring town of CofeevilIe
ships each year thousands of dollars
worth of poultry and eggs. The farm
ers in the vicinity OF Coffeeville do not
crowd the market Just one season-the
springtime, when the old hen deserves
no credit for laying-but they bring
eggs to town every trading day.
| have seen as high as thirty cases
of eggs shipped from the town in one
day. Does Grenada ship that many in
a year?
Egg cases and poultry coop. going out
Of the town with return cards to Grenada
are mighty good ads. They remind that
we are on the map. 1t is corking gooi
publicity.
The trucking business on a large scale
10 my mind i unsuitcd to this section.
South Mississippi people reach the mar
ket first with their goods and We catch
the market on the downward turn. But
we could raise enough potatoes. straw
berries. etc. for home consumption. A
canning outfit could he added to Use up
the surplus and help the housewife in
providing things to eat at home.
| would be wasting space to urge my
fellow farmers to change their cropping
system. There is Il force soon to be
reckoned with that will compel the
change. 1t We're better that the change
be made now, in order that business con-
ditions may be affected as little as pos
sible.
More lectures from experts on better
. farming methods and fewer political
speeches would be helpful.
Should the same enthusiasm that is
manifested in the political situation be
shown by the farmers in wanting to
learn better methods. there would be an
agricultural revolution at once.
But for some time a farmers institute
will continue to attract a mere handful
of farmers, whereas a political pow-wow
will bring them from miles.
We need an eager thirst to know the
hows and why's of the business of farm
ing, and not continue to plant potatoes
in the moon and follow other wild fan
cies which have long since been RELOCATED
to the past by the man of science.
| wish to impress upon the man OF
the farm the Importance of the home
paper. 1t should head the list from the
standpoint of Importance. But by nc
means let this be the only one that
comes to your home. You need a gooc
agricultural paper and some of the stand
ard magazines. such as the Ladies' Home
Journal, the Worlds Work, the Home
Companion, the Outlook. and other mag
azines calculated to uplift and educate
Too many cheap magazines flood the
homes of our country.
Reading matter that is high-class tends