The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1914-12-05

DoNAL
HOES INSTEAD OF COTTON
United States Government ADVISES
Farmers Of Louisiana to- Grow
Live stock-Truek Crops on Large
Scale Not Recommended.
Four measures are being recon-
.mended by the q. S. Department of
Agriculture t8 the farmers of the
south IN order to remedy the condi-
tlons created by the collapse of the
cotton market. These are
The reduction of expenses by
the production of more food for the
family and more grain and forage
for the live stock.
2 The substitution OF other
money crops for part Of the cotton
acreage
3 The raising Of more live
stock
The addition Of humus to the.
soil in order to make fertilizer less
expensive.
The first thing to be done, say
the government specialists, is to
plant winter crops to be used part
" for winter and spring grazing,
partly for spring hay and grain. and
partly for cover crops to be turned
back into the soil for fertilizing pur-
lEs-I,,, III ~
oats for grain, and oats, barley or
rye for hay, and any one of these
for winter and spring grazing or
for humus value. Although October
and November are the best months
for planting these crops in the cot
ton country, the time may be ex-
tended into the winter. The winter
crops should be followed by summer
legumes such as coWpeas, soy beans,
etc. Fall and winter vegetables
should be planted for home use and
for the market.
& Hogs are recommended as the.
best form Of live stock to grow. I'M
mediate steps should be taken to
increase the profits from hogs and
hog products by the planting OF crops
for winter and spring grazing, to be
followed by summer and fall crops
for the same purpose. Growers are
also being warned to take rigid pre-
cautions against hog cholera. If
strict quarantine measures are
adopted and if the animals, when.
threatened, are inoeulated with anti
hog-cholera serum, growers should
suffer little loss from this source.
The great advantage that hog rails
ing possesses in this emergency for
Louisiana farmers is probably the
fact that it will give quick returns.
Sheep also will give fairly quick
returns and like hogs dc not require
much capital in the beginning.
The farmer who heeds this advice
should begin to SOW oats at once.
The Department of Agriculture, how
ever. warns him not to neglect treat
ing the seed for smut In those
sections Of the state where Iespe-
deza does well should be soWn IL.
the cats next February or March. a
dressing of barnyard manure put or
in the early spring will aid the
oats crop in areas where this does
not easily do well, and in rare cases
dressing Of nitrate Of soda may
be advisable. Economy in the use
of commercial fertilizer is, however,
most desirable under the present cir
cumstances. This can best be- ac-.
eomplished by carefully saving all.
the barnyard manure through the
winter
E Provision should also be made now
for pasture and hay crops, On many
Louisiana plantations this may mean
nothing more than taking bushes
and stumps off of Bermuda sod, but
in other instances it will be adVis-
able to plant alfalfa and some red
clover. Hitherto the south has not
grown hay enough for its own needs.
1t is a good staple crop for Louisiana
and planters are advised to grow
for the market as well as for their
own use.
While the farmer is advised to
grow enough food for his own use.
and to plant only the surplus land
in cotton, truck crops on a large
scale are not recommended. The
risk is too great and the market too
easily g1utted
Cutting Out the .Middlenan in SELL
Ing Louisiana Sugar.
A new plan of handling American
grown sugar, and one that contains
interesting possibilities for the fl-
ture of the domestic. sugar Industry,
has been tried recently in Louisiana.
The concern adopting this innovation
is the Leon Gndehaux Co., Ltd, one
Of the oldest and largest plantation
operators in Louisiana. For several
years this company has been maxi
ing at its Reserve factory white
granu1ated sugar ready to go direct
" into consumption without passing
through the hands Of the big sea-
board refiners. This year the plaF
has been carried a step further and
such sugars, as. well as clarified SUI
gars, have been offered directly to
the public.
During the final week of October
an advertisement was published in
the New orleans papers, the pur-
pose of which was to encourage a
local demand for Louisiana grown
sugar. For this reason the company
declined to fill orders for large guam
titles Objection was raised by
some retailers to this method of di-
rect sale TO consumers, but, as was
made clear by It'd advertisement it
self, the purpose was not to dis
place the locN dealer, but to create
a demand that could be filled
through him. The plan does con-