Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1911-08-24
GOOD FORAGE CROPS
' Question Is Easy One to Solve on
Southern Farm.
Each Year Piece Of Land Should Be
Selected for This Purpose-lm.
portant as Corn, Cotton, To-
bacco and Grain.
tBy C. c. MOORE, Charlotte, N. c.)

CBy c. G. MOORE, Charlotte, N. C)
The question of forage on a south
ern farm is easy solved. Almost every
vegetable plant can be used for for
age. There are, however, certain
plants that will produce forage in
abundance.
To have forage plentifully, every
farmer should make the growing of it
n of his crops. Each year a piece
OF land should be selected especially
for this purpose. 1t is as important
as corn, cotton, tobacco or grain
crops, but 1t is nevertheless the most
neglected crop.
AT this season Of the year the turnip
crop should be considered, as it is of
great value. We prepare our turnip
lane to a fine condition; n
heavy, plant in drills three feet apart;
when the leaf is as large as a dime,
thin to 10 inches; cultivate often. We
raise great quantities and find the
crop profitable for winter feeding.
Fol- the earliest spring feed we SOW
rye in August. Two bushels per acre
on well prepared land literally ma
nured usually produces feed by the
fifteenth Of March. Rye makes a fair.
ly good hay If cut when in the boot.
Crimson clover is the most valuable
winter crop we plant. We find Sep
TENDER and October the best months
for seeding; and to be assured Of a
good, big crop We SOW on a perfect
seed bed, using lots Of manure and
If the land is at all thin we drill in
200 pounds Of acid phosphate per
acre; from Is to 20 pounds Of seed
Is sown to each acre. The yield Of
hay from good preparation is about
one and a half tons per acre. The
corn planted on this clover stubble
has never failed US. We have grown
Is tons to the acre of silage corn aft
er crimson clover.
For a great yield Of hay we SOW one
bushel of wheat and Is pounds OF
crimson clover per acre. The crop Ia
cut when the clover is in full blooms
1t Is quite easy to make two tons Of
hay per acre, and 1t is G milk and
fat producing feed. n
Hairy vetch and wheat Is also f..
AIfor green feeding of hay. We are
seeding nor land each year to this
mixture, and are convinced that 1t
a crop mixture all our farmers wi
like.
Another good mixture is wheat, oats
rye and barley. If this is sown IL
August On fairly good land it may BID
grazed all the dry days from Novemt
Der l to March l; then, If stock be
kept off, a good lot Of hay may be
harvested in June.
Spring-sown oats, II cut when in
bloom, make a capital hay-more val
liable as hay than If threshed for the
grain.
There Is hardly an end to the sum
mer crops we can grow for making
forage. Every farmer may select such
as he likes. In our WI case, for a
green feed from July l to November
/ we }have not found any plant that
produces more to the acre or that
better results from feeding than
8 cane. Every animal we have
~ Is fed green sorghum from
is four feet high, about
( July on to frost; then
is cut and put into a sllc
ICED. We have never had g
death nom animals eating sorghum
We feed sparingly at first, always aft
er a full feed of dry forage. We have
about fifteen acres planted to sor
ghum and will feed the entire crop tc
our farm stock.
Every farmer who keeps ten head