Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1912-02-11
LOCAL FARMERS MAY PROFIT BY
STATES EXPERIMENTS NEAR HERE
State Agricultural College Has Secured Plot Agricultural College Here Be Used In
Making Valuable Experiments With Fertilizers and Local Soil COndlO-M
RaS Of AgmOmy Department Of State Agricultural College Here Yesterday

AFTER haVlng selected plot to, be
used by the State Agricultural Col
lege in conducting its experiments at
the Third District Agricultural and
I Mechanical College here, Mr.. L. r.
Rast, head of the department of agron-
omy at the State Agricultural College,
returned to Athens yesterday
| Mr.. Rast came to Americus with the
numerous representatives of the stale
! department of agriculture Friday.
While here, Mr.. Rast selected ths
three acres of soil that will be used
by the State Agricultural College in
conducting numerous experiments in
the growing of varied crops, such Is
OATS corn, cotton, wheat and small
grain, with the purpose in view OF
determining what fertilizers are need
Ell to grow these crops most success
iuAly Ou ILlo type VI sui.
The three acres to be used in the ex-
periments were selected with the eud
IN view of securing soil that would
be as representative of the soil of this
county as possible. Mr.. Rast secured
samples of the soil and sent them to
the State College of Agriculture for
chemical analyses fo the purpose of
determining what elements would b.
needed by them for the making of va
ried crops. On the present trip which
Mr.. Rast is making throughout the
state his purpose is to select the plots
that are to be used in various coun-
j ties by the State College of AgricuI-
turc
After the lands have been selected,
work man begin to have them proper
ly .o'-en up and made ready for the
fertilizers to be used, which will be
sent out from Athens in accordancs
with the soil analyses which will I4
made from the samples of soil that
have already been sent, with the end
in view of using such fertilizers as
will be suggested by the analyses
These chemical analyses will be in
valuable to the farmers of this seq
ton in that they will show what ele-
ments of plant food are needed or
much of the land to be found in tn $
county. p
Ordinarily Mr. Rast arranges for
The counties to do the work of expert
'nentation which his department is
carrying on, but conditions here made
It vastly better for the work to BE-
lone at the Agricultural College,
where it will have not only better ST
DerVision but also will be available Coz
county and to the students of the col
observation to both the farmers of th.4
lege. Later MIR. Rast hopes to have
officials from the State College of Agri-
culture come to Americus to conduct
a farmers institute at the college to
emphasize in a practical way the les
sons taught by the experimental work.
1t is probable that the first work
to be done on the plot will be to denG-
onstrate the growing of oats ami
small grain crops. Other crops will
then be taken up, and the matter of a
three-year rotation of crops will be
demonstrated in way that is to be
both practical and helpful, There will
be demonstrations in the use of cover
crops, also In the experiments there
will be demonstrations OF the use CT
of special interest and usefulness in
| this section
With Superintendent Collum and .e
other officials of the college here Mr..
Rast was we'll pleased. The work If
the college, he said is most helpful
and is not surpassed by that of any OF
the other district agricultural schools.