Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1915-11-18

SoHrtuefeu W acre cObu1ItOus Ia
yor the production OF milk and
cream, they also favor the growth
and marketing of truck crops, the
two lines going well together. OF
course, in neighborhoods too far
from the railroads for shipping milk
or truck crops, poultry, hogs, sheen
and cattle should be the leaders for
live stock lines. However, good
roads and autO trucks enable the
farmer TO market dairy and truck
products at distant points. The
aim in growing most of the crops
should be TO feed them to live stock
and not to sell them direct from the
farm. In other words, market the
farm crops on four legs instead of
on four wheels.
The credit system is probably
the greatest curse of that part of
MARYLAND. The too exclusive cul-
ture of tobacco established the credit
system. As long a the farmers
raised feed for man and beast there
was little necessity for the credit
system. Good gardens, orchards,
poultry, dairy cows, hogs, sheep,
forage crops, pasture and meadows
will practically abolish the credit
system. This will mean prosperity,
and life on the farm will be free,
unfettered by the bonds of prOmis-
sorry obligations.
The problems of Southern Mary
land are not special; they are basic
or fundamental. Its salvation il TO
put all of the lands TO work growing
crops that will do well-not one
crop year and leave the lands idle
half the time-bGt two or three
crops year. keeping them busy
every month. If the farmers will do
this, and this alone, using legumi-
nous crops as largely as possible and
buying as much phosphoric acid and
lime as they need or can afford,
there will he no lack of food for the
people or sufficient money to meet
all their needs. Hundreds of farm
ers have suffered because they have
grown tobacco to such an extent as
to have no time, energy or money
left to grow anything else.
My message, il | have one, is as
old as agricultural knowledge, and
is simply to keep all lands busy all
the time. Leguminous crops, in
addition to tobacco in intelligent
rotation, will add humus and nitro
gen TO the soil. These crops NAV
be sold or fed to live stock, and
these sold or disposed of i'm any
wav practical. Such a system
of farming will not fail-cannot
fail-because il is founded on soand
principles and proved good practice.
1 am reliably informed that the
Southern MARYLAND farmers are send
ing millions of dollars TO other Sec
tions of the country for pork pro-
ducts. No man can give n sensible
reason for growing low-priced tobac-
co TO pay for bacon and lard instead
of growing some legumes or cheap
forage crops to raise hogs. Pas
ture grasses and forage crops that
viii grow healthy, vigorous hogs of
quality must good ever. remain the
basic factor in successful pork pro-
duction in this section.
A certain amount of grain is
needed to grow hogs with the great
est profit, but should be used only
to supplement the feed which the
hogs harvest for themselves in the
pastures and fields.
Ten years ago the annual home
produced egg allowance per capita
was 2o7, but the value of each egg
had advanced TO IL cents, so our
egg supply for the year cost each of
us $40. That conditions have not
changed since the taking of this re-
port is evidenced by the fact that
the price of eggs remains practically
the same and the home supply is
still unequal To the demand.
Statistics gathered in many
States show that for the money in
vested poultry yields greater returns
than even the dairy COW. When
other crops fail the hen still con-
tinues to pay the grocery bill.
Farmers should keep as many hens
as they can take care OF.
The central idea is the fertility
of the soil. An ignorant farmer
can succeed on good land until he
wears it out, but the most intelligent
farmer will fail on poor land unless
he builds it mp. To sum up, 4
suggest better gardens, better or
chards, more poultry, more and
better dairy cows, and hogs, more
feed crops and more tobacco pro-
dueed on richer SOIL