The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1914-11-26
FARMING PROGRAMME FOR 1915.
How the Small Farmer May Succeed
Despite Low-Priced Cotton.

A farmer has IS acres of land fair
ly we'll suited to cultivation. He has
been emphasizing cotton production
very strongly in the past. He sud
denly finds cotton improbable and
realizes that under existing condi-
tions he must change his practice es-
sentially. This is the issue confront
ing the Southern farmer at the pres
ent time. What can he do to meet
the situation?
First of all, he should minimize
cotton production and not attempt to
devote more than five acres of his
land to the cultivation of this crop in
1915. At least eight acres of the
land now in cotton should be seeded
to cereals Immediately; three acres
should be used where the soil is suit
ed to this crop, for wheat, and five
acres for oats. He should prepare an
acre of land as carefully as possible
with the idea of planting Irish pota-
toes as early in the spring as it is
practicable to put them in the ground.
When the Irish potato crop is har-
vested the land should be devoted to
sweet potatoes. He should set aside
five acres to be planted to grazing
crops to be harvested by hogs. He
should certainly devote a half-acre
to a garden for his family and to the
production of such truck as will sell
most readily in the local market.
One-half acre of land should be de-
voted to the growth of a variety of
crops suited to poultry. Eight acres
should be devoted to corn, with vel
vet beans, peanuts, or coWpeas IN the
middles. AS soon as the oats and
wheat are ripe, prepare the land
thoroughly and SOW to peas, or peas
and millet for hay.
This accounts for the 2S acres
which the small farmer can hope to
operate successfully with the power
of one or two horses or mules and
such labor as his family can provide.
The reader will observe that this pro-
vides for an intensive system Of cul-
tivation and that a considerable area
of land produces two crops in a year.
This means, of course, that thorough
and efficient soil preparation must be
had, and that the land must be 1u-
diciously handled and as well fertiliz-
ed as possible. 1t is we'll to remem-
ber also that the system of farming
proposed tends to conserve fertility,
as some of the crops grown are OF
restorative nature, and if the crops
are fed to livestock, as is anticipated
in this discussion, large quantity
Of manure will be available for the
further enrichment of the soil.
Contiguous to practically every
area Of cultivated land in the South,
there will be found more or less waste
or idle land, as much as Is to 20
acres. This land should be used for
grazing such cows and calves as may
be raised on the farm, and as range
for the hogs when not confined on
specialized grazing crops. If a part
of this additional land is in Bermuda
pasture, it will be especially valuable
for the purposes mentioned.
Situated as described in this article,
what may a farmer operating 2S
acres of land naturally expect to pro-
duce in an average season where the
land is reasonably we'll handled? The
figures presented below have been
carefully considered, and the writer
believes them to be thoroughly con-
servative. They are based on the re-
suits of close observation and on data
obtained from practical farmers.
They are also in accord with the re-
suits obtained on the college farm
at Athens. In some localities the land
may not produce as large crops as in
dicated, or seasonal conditions may
interfere. In other instances these
figures may be surpassed.
The cotton land should produce
five bales; the corn should yield at
the rate of 35 bushels, making a to-
tai of 2SO bushels for the eight acres.
The three acres of wheat should
yield 60 bushels of threshed grain;
the five acres of oats, 40 bushels per
acre, or 200 bushels all told. The
Irish potatoes should yield 100 BUSH
els and the sweet potatoes 100 bush
els. The garden should provide an
abundance of food for the family and
leave a considerable surplus for sale.
Many of the canning club girls in
Georgia have sold more than $50
worth of tomatoes from tenth-acre
garden. The five acres devoted to
grazing crops for hogs with such sup