The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1914-02-21
THE SUGAR PLANTERS HOPE.
Meat Production to SuppIant Cane
RaIsing-Long-Legged Corn for
Cattie-Peas and Peanuts for
Piqs,

dated Jan. 10 the following interest
ing article, to which is given the gen
eral caption, ''Meat-the Sugar
Planters Hope"
The boil weevil has DESTROYED
many scores of millions of dollars
worth of cotton. There is no doubt
whatever of that But this same boil
WeeVil is a blessing. There is lit
tie doubt about that, either, though
the blessing is usually very we'll
disguised, especially at first. About
the same things may be said Of the
removal of the sugar tariff
My friend Phil Connell's pIanta-
ton shows both the injury and the
blessing Of the weevil. The injury
came by the knocking out of cotton
crop or two, and the undisguised
blessing is the fact that it drove
him into the livestock business.
Mr.. Connell's plantation is in south
erR, Louisiana, about four miles
east Of the Mississippi river, on
soil the river has brought down but
which it does not now overflow.
This plantation is like many, many
others. Having been brought down
by The slowly flowing waters the
soil is as fine as flour, as level as
an ordinary floor, naturally fertile,
and underlaid with water short
distance from the surface.
It is also like many other plan
tations of that region in it's past
treatment. For sixty years or so,
down to about 1885, it was in
sugar cane-sugar, sugar, sugar-de-
cades without end, until finally the
sheriff got the city-dWelling Nightly
er who owned it. Then followed that
other great southern substitute for
riculture-continuous cotton, twen-
ty-four years Of it, with negro ten
ants. Then came the blessed boil
weevil and Mr.. Connells conversion
first of himself, then Of his plan
tation.
When he discovered the weevils
were eating up his cotton he real
lied that he was bound to feed ami
mails anyhow, so he. concluded he
might as well feed some he could
sell He tried feedins cattle. And
at the end Of four years he has him
self Strengthened out as first-class
livestock farmer without a stalk of
cotton on the place.
Eighty years Of one-crop farming,
with little or no return but weeds,
is a bit hard on fertility, even on
Mississippi delta land, SO Mr.. Connell
started in to build up his soil. Some
of his one-erop neighbors in the SUI
gar business are fertilizing with cot
tonseed meal and raw bone. It ought
to be a statutory offense to fertilize |
with cottonseed meal-the theory
back of the statute being that need
less waste is against public policy.
Mr.. Conne1l is fertilizing with cot
tonseed meal in the proper way. He
wanted some fertilizer for his corn |
this year and here's the way he got |
it:
January first he brought two hun
dred stock cattle to big shed Of a
barn that he and his men had knock |
ed together. He fed each of them
the following each day: Seventeen
pounds Of cottonseed hulls, six |
pounds of molasses, and cottonseed |
neal in quantities increasing from
Two to six pounds day
"What did you bed them on?" I
inquired.
'sOat straw and raw rock phos
ohate," he answered with a twinkle.
I raised the oat straw, but | bought
every bit of the feed and two car
Dads of raw phosphate. At the end
If ninety days l sold those cattle and,
lfter allowing for interest charges
md all costs, they cleared me $4,000
Ind left me the manure pile extra.
The year before, the cattle mar
1et wasn't so good. I made $500
N one hundred cattle, but I could
veil afford to do it for the manure
f I had to, This year We have built
silo and enlarged the barn, and
IN going to feed silage, cottonseed
neal and molasses, if the molasses
Ioesn't prove too laxative along with
ilage."
l couldn't make out whether the
lilo sgmost resembled big smoke
tack or municipal watertank. Mr..
,onnell said he had read in the
,ountry Gentleman of one that was
ixty feet high, AMI the way his
lolds came out it was just as handy
0 make it sixty-threa, so he did. 1t
5 twenty feet inside diameter, built
f four-inch REINFORCED concrete,
nd holds little more than five hun
red tons of si1age. He built it with
is own force at cost of $1,000. l
7ant to emphasize the point that
his is the coming type of barn. Is
here any other type of storage that
an be built for 81 q ton of feed
heltered and last Indefinitely, with
ractically no repairs?
An allowance of 500 year will be
mple to keep the roof on that silo,
cards in the doorway and round
ne chute, and provide a sinking i
und that will pay for the silo in t
ON thirty-five to fifty years-may- g
e less. Meanwhile, SO far as we q
ow know, the silo will still be per a
actIy good at the end of sixty or
undred years. Add this 500 to six |
er cent interest on the cost-$60- d
nd the annual cost of $50 for nous f
lg five hundred tons of silage
ONES out at sixteen cents ton d
hat makes a wooden barn full OF V
ay look like millionaire's luxury. /
Mr.. Connell's barn is also worthy t
{ the consideration of livestock men e
orth and south, especially south, f
ecause Of the way he saves his c
lanure. The barn Itself is eighty 4
1ree by one hundred and five feet,
ut most of this is merely a one-story J.
ned. 4 small part of it in the