Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1913-11-21
DAIRYING IN THE SOUTH.
Important Address by H. B. Guer of Noxubee before the
Dairy Farmers Convention at Chicago, Oct 2Sh.

Z
TIE firSt point to be considered
/ In an5 section of country when one
B is lookIng for location in which
to makea home is the climate, es.
a pecially as to the healthfulness of
- 1t. I am talking especially about
the pras lie belt of Northeast Mis-,
sissippi, where / have lived for
N We and half years, but much
that shall say will apply to the
South in general.
This East Mississippi prairie
belt has excellent surface drainage
aNl and we have fewer mosquitoes here
than any place that have ever
N kL ,wn about. / have been ready
for my food at every mealtime
II since I have been here. We do
VI not have as high temperature
N here in the summer as in the
MI North, the main reason for which
y IS doubtless that our days are not
IS long. The hot weather comes
earlier in the year and stays later.
IN Our nights are much more comfOr-
N table than in the North. We are
pnly two hundred miles from the
81 Gulf and four hundred from the
WlAtlantic ocean, and the wind from
NJ the south and east is pleasant at
all times and we receive much
comfort from it nights.
& This prairie soil was as fertile in
4 it's virgin state as the prairie soil
IN of the Northern states. 1t is all
I underlaid with the selma chalk
. rock which contains a high per
" centage of carbonate of lime and is
W q valuable asset for use on much
f our land where the lime has
ached ontAof tllss SURFACE SOIL
fNis rock is q waterbearing rock
N and when wet and frozen it is com
M pletely disintergrated and it may
be applied without being finely
~ Npulverized as it will disintergrate
Efficiently fast to supply the need
or plant growth. Our rainfall is
4 ANffty one inches and as rule it is
distributed over the year,
ythough October and November
{6Nhave less as a rule than other
! months. We are no more subject
dsNo summer drouths than the North
Is. We have no more rainy days
Ind have as much sunshine, but it
krains very fast while it is about it.
III This is the best grass country
Ia that l have ever seen. Our rain
y fall and long seasons with the mild
Wfwinters make it the stock growers
~ paradise. Young cattle, sheep and
Whogs can have pasturage all winter,
j. but the milk COW needs to be
Yhoused and fed about four months
in the year. We have built siIos
t4 and fill them with corn as is done
in the North. There are now ten
W silos in my neighborhood and sew
eral more about the county.
H. All the clovers thrive here, in
: Guiding burr clover, a winter an
Rtinual which grows with Bermuda
2 land the combination makes pas
Jture all the year round. The Jap
~ tanese clover, lespedeza, is sum-
mcr annual and grows with Ber
"A ,muda and so with johnson grass.
= 5Crimson clover has given excellent
p results where it has been tried and
n more of it is being sowed this sea-
II son than ever before. Alfalfa does
W we'll here when we keep its feet
dry. Much of our land needs tile
AZ draining for alfalfa to do its best.
| We have land here that grows six
to eight tons per acre when it is
i tiled. There is great quantity of
l tile being laid here now. johnson
T grass, the cotton growers terror,
" is very valuable grass on a stock
u farm, and many stock farmers are
y now sowing the seed for pasture
and for hay. 1t makes very pal
atable pasture-sO much so that
4 stock will eat it to the ground if it
Z is fifteen inches high when they
n are put onto it. 1t also makes
II very palatable hay and is fully as
4 nutritious as timothy, which does
N not thrive here, but we do not need
n it. White clover grows well with
+ Bermuda and gives pasture a month
\ before Bermuda gets to business,
" as the latter is a hot weather
4 grass; but it is great producer
4 while it is doing business. 1t has
4 very strong root system and
stands more trampipg on BY stock
II in wet weather than any grass we
" kk0 III kkaak nntfln 7