The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-03-22
CULTURE DEPARTMENT
OF SOUTHERN RAILWAY.

President Finley, Of the Southern Rail
way Company. speaking recently Of the
first years. work of the Cotton Culture
Department maintunoiby the Southern
Railway the Mobile &OhJo Railroad. he
Alabama Gr"nt Southern Railroad. and
brCirorgIa South"rn& Floud4 Railway,
said:
''Thr primary purpose Of the organIza-
ton Of the Cotton Culture Department
by the railway companies winch cDDtrI
butte to IT,, support Was 10 co-oprrat, wjth
farmers HIoug the line Of those COMPANIES
IN the territory along the advance IF
the Mexican cotton boil Wccyli for the
adoption Of those cultural methods rec
commended by the late DR., "a Knappof
the United States Agricultural Depart.
mcnt, for growing cotton under boil
Wrtyll conditions. DR. Knapp also ADVISED
that it would be advantageous tO adopt
those method, independently Of the
| presence Of the WpcVIi. The results Of
the first years work Of our Cotton CuI
turc Department have demonstrate the
|suuDdnc8s Of his advice in all respects.
"In a circular, under date Of February
II, 1912, prepared by DR.. W. d, Hunter,
the boil w""YjI expert Of the Brrcau Of
Entomology, and issued by DR.. l.. q,
Howard, Chief Of that Bureau, with the
approgaio Of the Secretary Of Agriculture,
1t Is pointed out that the WrrvlI8 were
Ir5a numerous in 1911, owing to adverse
weather conditions, and that the insect
WAS cXlerninatcd N an area covering
| about 81, 900 square miles in the north
western portion Of Texas and the west
crn portion Of Oklahoma, where cOndi
tons w"r" particularly unfnYorabIr, DR..
Hunter shows that, notwithstanding
| these conditions, the insect continued to
spread to the nurthWard and eastward
in Arkansas, Mississippi. and Alabama,
lie Bays that the reduction in numbers
m 1911 was due to Il combination Of
climatic Influences which can only be
expected to r"CuF at mfrCquent intervals,
and that, with the return Of Favorable"
Seasons, tn" wrcvII will again multiply.
| He urges, therefore, that ItI8 necessary
for planters to continue their fight
against tn" wcrVll according to the meth
DDS that have hccn recommended hy the
| AgrlcuItur" Department, These are the
methods advised by The Southern Rail
way Cotton Culture Department.
1T should be borne in mind that the
culture methods recommended by the
late DR.. Knappnnd advised by our Cotton
Culture Department involve intensive
farming. Tins is important not only ~
to cotton, but also as to other crops,
and w are urging farmers to produce
all of the grams, fruits, vegetables,
meats, dairy products, and poultry used
on the farm 10 that they may not have
to sell cotton regardless Of market con
ditioDs in order to buy these things, but
may be able to market their crop when
there is Al economic demand for it.. 1t
will thus be seen that the agents Of the
Cotton Culture Department are giving
advice as to farm operations generally.
Their success in this il shown BY the
records made in 30 fields of corn grown
in accordance with their advice. The
average yield obtained under improved
culture methods was AZ! bushels per
acre, as compared with an estimated
average of ID bushels per acre on similar
lands in the same general localities, The
best corn yield reported by our Cotton
Culture Department was 81 bushels per
acre on a field of 65 acres.
II desire again to call attention to the
fact that the services Of the field agents
of this Department are given free of
charge to all farmers along the lines Of
the participating companies. Farmers
residing ulNnp fhp Dnpg pf thngp Gamma.