The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1915-12-17
THE RICHEST BEGGAR IN THE
WORLD.

AA4E AeA1hLJA DLuUAh 44S AhG
WORLD.
SEVEN walled cities strive for Homer
dead,
Where living Homer begged his daily
bread"
Blind and a beggar, the greatest OF
all poets lived ana died in misery, and
the Greeks were two hundred years
or more in finding out that he was
great. Then, no less than seven
cities lay claim to the honor of his
birth, building monuments to perpet-
uate his name.
But the humble purpose of this ar
ticle lis to law before the people of
this state a few plain facts with re-
gard to Florida beggar, the richest
in the world. The beggar weed of
this state carries within its succulent
stalk, stems and leaves, a greater
amount of nutriment for domestic
animals than possibly any other plant
that grows, and thereby hangs q
tale"
To see this valuable plant go to
waste in the fields by the tens of
thousands of tons all over the state
of Florida, and then see the people of
Che state buy other thousands of tons
Of inferior feed shipped in from other
states, should make a fellow sit up
and think, SO let us try to think.
To compare the value of this plant,
which goes SO largely to waste, to
other feeds SO largely imported, es-
pecially alfalfa, legume that enters
extensively into many Of the feeds
shipped into the state.
wrote Capt. r. z. Rose, our state
chemist for scientific information that
would aid in an investigation covering
several months. The captains letter
follows:
State of Florida,
Agricultural Department,
Division of Chemistry.
r. e. Rose, State Chemist.
Tallahassee, Aug. 27, 1915.
Mr., Allan Rodgers,
Ocala, Fla.
Dear Sir: Yours of the 23rd re-
ceived and noted. Beggar weed hay
shows on analysis to be superior to
any other legume hay, alfalfa, Glow
ser, cow pea or kydzu.
Under separate cover we send re-
port, on page 135 of which you will
find a table of analyses OF various
stock feeds, hays, etc. You viii note
that beggar weed is superior to any
other. Well made beggar weed hay,
cut at the proper time and properly
cured, has no superior, as hay. It
AS superior to wheat bran in protein
and is exceeded on protein only by
cotton seed meal
Yours truly,
r. e. ROSE,
State Chemist.
Turning to the page referred to the
wayfaring man must wonder that
Florida is an importer of inferior
feed; he will wonder more that she
is not an exporter of superior feed.
Then let him look over the thousands
of acres of beggar weed that rot in
the fields or is committed to the
flames to clear the land for other
crops, and he will wonder some.
tit is said that wonders never cease,
and visit to the largest feed store
in the city of Tampa bears out the
saying. All kinds of feed in car loads
and boat loads, feed in bales and in
bags, ground and unground, mixed
and unmixed, but you will look in
vain for an ounce, for a straw or a
grain grown on soil of your native
state.
We will ask the manager about
mixed feeds and he will probably lay
emphasis on the fact that all of them
are, based on ground alfalfa, and the
price to you viii be about an average
Of 1925 per hundred, or $45 per ton
It is safe guess that alfalfa is The
:. most valuable of any of the compo
nent parts so you may pay $45 fol
alfalfa and other inferior stuff, anc
sell your corn at something like Sic
per ton.
The demand for ground mixed feee
rs growing very rapidly, and alfalfa