Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1912-12-24

amount Of quickly available potash.
Those who have had experience in at
tempting TO grow leguminOus crops On
thin lands especially will realize the
essential character of this element in
I'm uring a vigorous and profitable
growth Of this class OF plants
From this ii would appear that pot
ash performs a number of the most Inn
portant and essential functions in the
life economy OF plants and that in its
absence many crops will not grow Wig
orously or yield probably. The quality
of the product derived from plants we'll
supplied with potash will be superior
to that secured from those lacking this
element in sufficient abundance 70
meet the natural requirements. Every
farmer should take stock of his land
and should consider we'll the nature
and character of the crop he expects
10 grow thereon and be certain that IL
there is any probability Of a deficiency
in potash existing that IL will pay him
well TO supply this element in liberal
amount. and in that form which is best
calculated to serve the needs of the
crop he intends to grow
EVIDENCES OF ACUTE INDIGEs-
TON.
c. f. G.. Westminster. S. c., writes:
1 had a good mule to die and would
like to know what was the matter with
him. At first he did not seem to suf-
fer much. but all of a sudden he began
to pant and every nerve jerk. He also
got stiff in the hind parts and lived
only about eleven hours. He was about
seventeen years old and had never
been sick before. Would like to know
. a.. hawr dnr4N
for him.
Judging from the description con-
tanned in your letter your mule evil
IDENTIFY died from an attack of acute
indigestion brought on from eating
dusty or moldy Iood or from the con-
tinued use of a ration which was not
properly balanced. We are inclined to
think the trouble was due to the feed,
however. Sometimes an animal that
appears TO be quite well is taken sud
denly i'll through a failure to digest its
food properly and dies suddenly even
though the constituents fed seem 20
be wholesome so far as one can tell
from a physical examination. The
chances are that mule seventeen years
old and which had been worked hard nU
doubt for many years had about reach
ed the limit of its endurance, and like
old people. his digestive system was
easily upset and he therefore fell a
ready victim to the attack of indiges-
ton, which we feel quite sure was the
cause OF his sudden death.
CULTIVATION OF BROOM CORN.
a. II. b.. Wallace, Ala, writes: 1
would be glad to have a little infor-
nation concerning the planting anu
ralsi Of broom corn and where is
there a market for ii?
Broom corn is classed as a variety
OF sorghum. the brush or seed head
being used in the manufacture Of
broo..s. Broom corn differs from the
other varieties of plants in the sor-
ghum group in having the seed borne
on long straight branches which con-
stitute the brush from which brooms
are made. There are two varieties OF
broom corn. known as the dwarf ana
standard. The dwarf produces stalks
three to six feet high and brush
about eighteen inches long. The stand
ard type grows ten TO fifteen feet high
with a brush eighteen to twenty-four
inches long. Any soil that will produce
a good crop of corn is well suited to
the production Of broom corn. Lighter
soils are better adapted to the produce
ton of the dwarf type than to the
standard type. 1 should be remem-
bered that land for this crop should
be we'll prepared and fertilized as for
corn and quite similar cultivation
should be given. Broom corn is best
grown in those sections where there ~
comparatively little rainfall at the time
the crop is ready to harvest. On this
account it has probably been produced
with greater success in the semi-arid
regions Of Kansas and Oklahoma, but
where a small acreage is grown spe-
clad means of harvesting and protecting
the crop can easily be devised. There
should be no trouble in securing broom
corn seed from any reliable scotsman,
PLANTING AND FERTILIZING PO-
TATOES.
w. r. P, Boston, Ga, writes: ]
want some information as to how to
prepare one acre Of soil for Irish pO-
tatoes. and then after I have taken
them off TO plant the same land in
corn. I wish to know what fertilizer to
use to make about thirty barrels of
potatoes and about seventy-hve bar
rels of corn.
The best suggestions which can be
offered under the circumstances are
about as follows: Break the land inn
mediately and stir the subsoil with a