Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1915-08-06

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land cheaply, none is so good as
growing Iegumes. The fact l want
to impress you with is that if you
grow alfalfa for the market, you
are robbing your soil Of nitrogen
about as fast as if you we're sell
ing corn or oats off of the land.
Four tons of alfalfa a year takes
more nitrogen from the soil than
40 bushels of corn or 65 bushels
of oats-as much PHOSPHORUS as
100 bushels of corr and as much
potassium as 800 bushels of corn.
Yet we sell the alfalfa from the
farm and buy feed in the spring.
Is that good farmingi
Let us now consider some of the
ways to build soils to a higher
productivity, giving better profits
and at the same time adding to
the nitrogen contents of the soil.
First, we will consider dairying
as it is practiced here. The COM
mon feeds for the winter months
are silage made from corn or sor-
ghum, Johnson grass hay and cot
ton seed meal. These fed wisely
to we'll. cared-for cows are sold for
more money in the form of but
ter or cream than il sold as raw
material, but no fertility is added
to the land, except the nitrogen
bought in cotton seed meal that
costs some twenty cents a pound.
That is an expensive way to build
up soils, for you must deduct the
cost of this nitrogen bought in
meal from the selling price of the
butter fat in order to determine
the net profits. Beef cattle will
not add as rapidly to the fertility
of the soil as dairy cattle.
Then what should the farmer do
who is in the dairy or beef cattle
business to increase the fertility of
his land and at the same time
make money out of his farmingI
He MUST, by all means, grow al
falfa, lespedeza or pea vine hay,
or feed in connection with silage
md some cotton seed meal. An
.cre yield of four tons of alfalfa
hay fed to dairy cattle and the
manure judiciously saved and
applied to the land, adds more
than $l2 worth of nitrogen to the
Iand-nitrogen gathered from the
the air. This is the farmers best
profit.
But the farmer says: 81 can sci
4. these four tons of alfalfa and buy
cotton seed meal and make money
thereby The four tons of hay
will cost $50. The value of the
: plant food saved in four tons o.
alfalfa hay is about $45. Yor
take the money received for thu
: hay and buy 1 3-4 tons of meal
, and you have bought $50. II
> worth of plant food. The dairy
. man knows more about the profit
. powers of the two feeds than tn,
{ writer, but from a soil building
standpoint, there is no money in
y swapping plaut food. So the log
-. ical conclusion reached again i;
, that the farmer should feed hi;
! hay made from legumes, and sup
. plement these feeds with cottor
: seed meal to the extent he find.
. it most profitable.
. The same conclusion is applica
: BILE to the farmer growing anC
u feeding beef cattle. The man whit
9 is selling crops from his land,
: whether alfalfa, johnson grass
{ cotton, oats or corn, is Robin,
his land continuously, and at {
IL rate that is indirect ratio with the
intensiveness Of his method o
: farming.
) What is the best plan for hin
I to follow to increase his yields ant
: at the same time build up hi
y land
= There is just one thing for hin
4 to do, and that is to add NOR
y nitrogen to the land than he take
u away faom it.
: Phosphorus and potash are no
{ spoken of as limiting crop factor
Z because of the general belief tina
: our lands are well supplied will
! these two elements.
5 But some day before many year
. the best farmers in this section
will be using rock phosphate prof
II itably every year..
How can he do thisi He mus
determinedly adhere to q syster
of rotation that includes cove
crops to be plowed under. Take
1t for instance, the four year rota
If ton mentioned in last weeks arti
re Gle on oats and melilotus the frs
wear and tho malilotuS Orazad