The Madison journal., 1913-12-13
INVESTIGATION ON
SOUTHERN FARMS
Everybody Should Join in the
Universal Farm UpIift.
FARM METHODS ARE LACKING
Farmers Can Easily Grow Twice Aver.
age Of Staple crops-Many Great
Industrial Corporations Of
Country Are Interested.
By G. III. ALFORD)


We have between the average and
the best inifarming in the cotton belt
an attainable 1000 per cent. This diff
ference OF 1000 per cent. against the
average farmer is due wholly to con
ditions which he can easily control
with the necessary knowledge. Every
corporation and business man interest
sd in the welfare of the country should
join forces with the United States de-
partment of agriculture, agricultural
colleges, experiment stations, state de-
partnents of agriculture and other
campaigns until the foolish and Grim
inal waste that is going on every year
by reason OF unscientific methods of
farming is q thing of the past
Our farmers can grow easily twice
the average yield of our staple crops.
This increase would pour many mil
lions of dollars annually into our
industrial channels. Such an addi-
ton could not be made without touch
ing every corporation, every banker,
every storekeeper, every doctor, every
lawyer. every editor and, in fact, every
person In the country.
Many of the great industrial corpo-
rations OF the country have already
Joined forces with national and state
institutions and are helping the farm
ers to larger production and to larger
life. and are thereby contributing to
the prosperity and uplift of the whole
people Some people may attribute
this to pure selfishness, but from out
of that selfishness will evolve better
condition among the farmers, greater
comforts in living, and more luxuries
of life and better opportunities for the
daughters-thus the presumed selfish
ness contains within it a resulting
philanthropy.
During the last ten years our acre
yield increased, but not half as much
as the increase of population. There
good farming, and to do good farming
we must decrease the number of the
acres of cotton and increase the num-
Der devoted to pastures, forage crops
and live stock. We have all heard the
old Dutch proverb quoted before, but
we cannot quote 1t too often: mo
grass, no stock; no stock, no manure;
no manure, no crop" Holland is al
most entirely a grass and stock coun-
try, and lands are worth on an aver
age Of $500 per acre. These people
have found that they can make more
out Of land from grasses and live
stock than they can by cultivating It,
Unnumbered acres of hill land In
the cotton belt are making less than
one-third bale Of cotton per acre, and
at the same time making poverty for |
those tilling them. The cost of COM
mercial fertilizer applied annually is |
appalling. The razor-back terraces.
covered with weeds. grass and briars, |
and the circled and short rows pre- |
vent the use of labor-saving imple-
ments.
Millions of acres of poor hillside
land now producing less than one
third bale Of cotton per acre should
be plowed deep, well fertilized with
acid phosphate and some nitrogen and
some potash, when needed, and plant
ed in summer and winter legumes for,
say, two years. and then sodded in
Bermuda grass, lespedeza, crimson and