The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-16
NEWS AND
 GOSSIP FROM WASHINGTON
BY WALTER HARPER

Washington, October 15.-(Special.)-A
 New Yorker who owns a large farm in Virginia will sell this property and re-
 invest in an alfalfa farm in Alabama
 or Mississippi. He came to this decision
 after making a careful investigation of l conditions in the two states based on
 the information that has been given him
 by the officials of the United States de-
 partment of agriculture.
 This gentleman, who asks that his name
 be withheld for the present. has had con
 siderable active experience in growing alfalfa and other hay erops, and is posi- | tive in his assertion that the alfalfa sec l tion of Alabama and Mississippi offers | exceptional advantages for the growing
 of such crops. This gentleman expects to make the change next spring and in the mean | time is making further investigations
 through the department here and in the
 south
 1 Recent investigations of the officials | and experts of the agricultural depart l ment has developed the fact that in what | is known as the black belt of Alabama | and Mississippi are found some of the | finest types of Houston black clay, lands specially adapted to the growing of al | falfa in the country. Added to this ad- | vantage is that of long seasons, equitable | distribution of rainfall and cheapness or | the lands.
 | On account of the long season and other | favorable climatic conditions from four | to six cuttings may be had year. The | expert farmer gets on an average of one | ton to each cutting. Four tons of hay l per acre is the general average. R. D. Strong. one of the large al l fslfa planters of Macon, Miss. has been | in Washington few days comforting 2 with the officials of the department | in reference to methods Of curing the lhay. His Investigation promises to be | of great benefit to the growers in that | section.
 l As is well known tho heavy dews Of the south falling on the hay after it I is out gives 1t brown color that, | while this does rot injure the feeding | qualities of the product, slightly de-
 precates it's value ir the markets where it comes in competition with
 western alfalfa that cures green and
 retains it's green, rich color The diff
 ference in price, in Birmingham. Mem | plIis and other home markets of the south Is from $2 to Si per ton. This difference is entirely due to the prej- udice of the consumer who bases his | judgment on the color alone. Actual tests. however have shown that the brown cured alfalfa of the south is as | high in quality as the green hay from | the west that is cured without the pres | ence of atmospheric moisture.
 | Mir. Strong has been shown a process of machine curing that has been tried | in Missouri and other middle western | states that promises to overcome this | difficulty. Such process would add greatly to the profits of hay raising ,n Alabama and Mississippi not only in securing better price for the product, but would enable the grower to gather his crop without regard to the summer rains that often threaten him at the harvest seasons.
 During the last five years the growing of alfalfa in Alabama and Mississippi has grown into an industry of marked impor- tance and promises to become one of the most important in the south The deparl- ment experts declare that this strip of black land extending in a bolo-shaped curve from about Tupelo, Miss. around 60 near Selma, Ala. is the finest and most promising alfalfa section in the United States, taking all things into con sideration. The largest development has been in Noxubee county. Mississippi where there are number of large plan tations with thousands of acres The ncishborhood of Demopols and Cnfor- talnsd for n'uuhsr of years a special