The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1915-03-20
The. Production Of Beef In the South.

had been freed cotton was high and II
was hard to get labor, as there was q
scarcity of money. This condition made
it imperative that the Southern farmer
produce some crop which could be
readily sold to buy clothing or other
necessities. This method of farming
caused some lands to be planted in
cotton for 80 years in succession, which
depleted the soil to such an extent that
live stock Is necessary to build up the
soils to their former state of fertility.
Abandonment of the one-crop System.
The spread of the Mexican boil
Weevil over the western and the CEN
trail portion of the South has caused
many farmers to abandon the one-crop
system and begin diversified farming
and the rotation of their crops. Diver
si1ed farming in the South means the
production of more grain, hays, and
other roughages. which leads I'D to the
production of live stock to consume
them.
1t is with the idea of getting away
from the old one-crop system, lessen
ing the damage done by the boil weevil,
increasing the fertility of the soil, do
ing away with large portion of the
credit system with the resulting high
rates of interest attached to it, and
producing their quota of meats in or
der to avert a greater shortage than
at present exists, that the raising of
live stock and consequent diversified
tion of farming is urged upon the
Southern people.
The cheapness Of the lands through
out the South makes 1t possible to own
quite extensive farms for the produc.
ton of both forage crops and pastures
with a comparatively small investment
OF capital. Cheap lands, combined with
cheap cows for foundation stock, en-.
ables one to start In the cattle business
In that section with an outlay of far.
less capital than in most other portions
of the country.
Water and shade in abundance are
found throughout the South, and the
seasons are usually so mild that ex.
pensive barns are not needed for cattle
as in the North. The only shelter
needed for beef cattle in the South Is
an open shed facing the south under
which young cattle may take shelter
from the cold rains or wind. The ma
ture beef cattle needs no other protec.
ton than that afforded by trees, hedges,
underground of switch" cane or brush,
and other natural shelter.
Forage Crops and Feeds.
The amount of roughage grown in
the South is small compared with that
produced by some of the states of the
Middle West. Still there is no section
of the country that will grow such a
variety of leguminous hays and other
forage crops as the South Cowpeas,
soy beans, and crimson clover will
grow luxuriantly in any of the southern
states, while alfalfa, melilotus, and
velvet beans grow in various sections.
The corn-growlng tests which have
been conducted in every southern state
during the last few years show that
corn can be produced in large quaint
ties per acre and as cheaply as in
other states. The wide variation of
time during which it may be planted,
combined with it's luxuriant growth in
southern ATTITUDES, make it exceeding
ly valuable as a silage crop. A yield
of 10 to IA tons of silage per acre Is
not at all uncommon on the good lands,
while the average yield Is about tons.
In addition to the various feeds
which can be grown upon the farms
for the cattle, there is one which is
produced as by-product of the cotton
industry which is more valuable than
any other known cattle feed-eotton-
seed meal. With the enormous output
of the commodity at home the list of
feeds necessary to produce good beef
cattle is complete.
Tick Eradication.
The Federal Government realized
the Importance of the southern states
as a field for producing beef cattle, and
as result began investigations in
breeding and feeding cattle in the
South in 1904, and in 1906 began a
systematic fight on the cattle tick,
which killed SO many cattle that were
brought into the South years ago. The
methods of eradication used were rota-
ton OF pastures and the dipping or
spraying of the animals with emulsions
Of crude oil and kerosene, or with an
arsenical solution At the beginning
of this work there were 741,515 square
miles of infected territory. From that