The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-19
MOSS WRITES ID ALL FARM AGENTS Vital Advice on Manner of
 Making Crop EXPECT GREAT CROP Alabama Will Surpass Herself n Production This Year With
 Enormous Acreage in
 Tillage
 
EXPECT GREAT CROP

Montgomery, April 1s.-tSpecialo-B. L. Moss, state agent of the farm dem | onstration work has just issued a let Ter to all of the Alabama agents con corning the best methods of cultiva- ton. Mr. Moss states that the dem enstration work in Alabama Is now thoroughly organized and in working shape and some great results are ex- pected from this years work.
 It is true all over the state that lands have been much better pre- pared for the crops than ever before, that the sales of fertilizers have been heavier than during any previous year, and that there is going to be a bigger acreage in cultivation than ever be- fore. With these facts in mind 1t Is only reasonable to suppose that, with an average season, Alabama Is going to surpass herself in crop production this year.
 MT. Moss letter concerning the best method of cultivation is as follows:
 Montgomery, Ala, April IT, 1911. To All Alabama Agents
 The season is now at hand for the be- ginning of the cultivation of the crop. chain Is no stronger than it's weakest link, and even should your demonstrators and co-operators have implicitly followed your instructions with reference to seed selection, preparation of the land, use of fertilizers and planting, it is still possible for a failure to be made be- cause of improper methods of cultiva ton.
 The cultivation of the crop has two main objects, namely, keeping down the grass and weeds and, second, preserving the soil moisture. To accomplish these two purposes and at the same time do the crop the least possible injury, is the aim of every really successful farmer. How can we do this?
 It Is idle and foolish to lay down any set rule as to the frequency of cul. tivation or the kind of implement to be used. Circumstances must, of necessity. very largely guide us. However, we may make the very general statement that a dust mulch should be maintained whenever possible. that the grass and weeds should be kept out of the crop, and that these objects should be attained with as little injury to the root system  light shallow-running implements The root system of plants Is far more ex- tensive than most people suppose. Com plants foot high will show roots inter- locked in four-foot rows, and the same Is true of cotton. These tender rootlets are the feeding parts-the mouths, as 1t were-of the plants, and when they are broken or destroyed by deep cultivation, the crop must suffer and the yield be denrea ced Cultivate shallow
 Try to keep dust mulch on the dem onstration farm. This prevents capillary action and keeps the moisture in the ground in much the same way that lay CT of straw and leaves would do. This is very important in dry weather.
 Another very important point Is to avoid the high ridge cultivation that is so prevalent in the south. Years of ex- perience have shown that the farmer who jays by on a high ridge suffers an aver age annual loss on both cotton and corn of from B to s5 per acre. Of course this loss will vary with the season. If the weather is wet after laying by it may amount to very little; but if 1t turns off dry, any crop will suffer. There are two reasons for this. In the first place, when throwing up a high ridge to your cotton or corn, you are generally using a blow that cuts a large number of feed roots. Second, simple mathematical calcula- tion will show on bedded land that from 9 to 50 per cent more surface is exposed to the hot sun. hot winds. and consequent evaporation and loss of moisture. Is it any wonder that cotton and corn shed and dry up under such conditions? Their water supply, and consequently their food supply has been cut off. and 1t would be wonder If they did anything else.
 You do not need high beds on level land If your land needs drainage, 1t needs some good big ditches, and not a small ditch between each row. Professor Fox, at the Mississippi Delta Experiment station, practices flat cultivation on low lands, and averages over bale of cot ton to the acre. We want you to see that all Of your demonstrators and co-opera- tors practice this method Of cultivation this year. It will pay them. Very truly yours, sB. l.. MOSS,
 State Agent.