Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-10-31
AGRICULTURAL
'gez9SSGduCatiOn
~ And SUCCESSFUL HN1NG
SE@a " AHDREWH coULE
What the South Offers IN the Way OF
Cheap Lands for L9ve Stock Production

y careful survey Of the situation
shows that there are almost zoe, 100000
acres Of land which could be utilized
for range or semi-range purposes. The
possibilities for development are there
fore almost unlimited. In the state
cf Georgia. for instance. there are be
tween thirteen and fourteen million
acres OF so-called woodlands. good
part of this could be used without in
jury for grazing purposes Undoubtedly
twice Ihs number Of cattle now kept
in the state could easily be maintained
without undertaking the establishment
OF additional pastures. IL would be a
comparatively simple matter IL a part
Of the remaining land were double
cropped or operated in a rotation TO
provide all the roughage needed for an
additional million head Of cattle. Out
OF a total area Of approximately thirty
seven million acres in Georgia, only
abou; one-third is devoted TO farm
crops. IL will thus be seen that there
are large areas OF land which could
ktiu be brought under the pillow TO
..dvantsge. or used for grazing and for
forage production. thereby enabling
the number of farm animals kept TO
be ousdrupled i'm the course Of time.
The same relative degree OF develop
ment is possible in any other southern
state included in that great sweep OF
territory from the Potomac and Ohio
rivers TO the Mississippi on the west,
the Gulf of Mexico on the south, and
the Atlantic ocean on the east.
THE FOOD SUPPLY
The food supply viii naturally divide
itself Under three heads. First, crops
available for use during the summer;
second, crops available during the win
ter. and third. concentrates Grass
should be depended on in so far as pos
sible, as already pointed out. If this
fails during the spring and summer.
succession OF forage crops may be
provided which may be fed soiling
crops or harvested by the animals them
selves Cereals if sown early in the
fan will provide a considerable amount
OF pasturage during the late autumn,
winter and early spring. Spring oats
may be utilized thereafter and followed
by corn, cowpeas, soy beans. velvet
beans. sorghum, kaffir corn and millet
grown singly or in an unlimited num-
Der OF combinations. While practice
of grazing these crops down may be
regarded by some as wasteful, II is
really surprising the amount of carry
ing capacity these combination crops
possess. and since they will grow for
several months under our climatic con-
ditions, they yield not only an immense
amount of food. but are available for
a long time II is quite easy to seed
them. and where legumes predominant
they have the great merit of improy-
ing the soil. Velvet beans and some
OF the other crops will remain on the
land for a long time. and the beans
are so hardy that cattle and hogs ranged
on them maintain themselves in very
good conditiOs. for the greater part OF
the winter. This is especially true IN
the coastal plains region
For winter feeding there lis nothing
superior to silage. This can be made in
great abundance in all parts OF the
southeastern states. Our results on the
college farm this year indicate an aver
age yield of thirteen tons per acre. We
now use almost exclusively for silage
sorghum and kaffir corn planted in al
ternate rows. This crop stands all kinds
of unreasonable weather with impuni-
~. large tonnage is secured ana the
silage Is equal to that made from any
combination of crops which can be util-
lied for this purpose in the United
states One can NIL a silo at a cost of
about S25O a ton. and IL is practical TO
iced il for nine months OF the year
Twenty years experience in this direc-
tfon should convince the most skeptical.
That IL is a fine milk producer is dem
Onstrated by the average yield OF the
herd at the college dairy. Moreover.
we have one HOlSteln COW with more
than thirty of her descendants in the
herd which have been fed for some
years past in the winter months almost
exclusively on silage and cotton seed
meal At times a little corn meal and
bran have been added This cow and
her descendants have made an average
Weld OF more than 5000 pounds of milk,
some OF the animals yielding as much as
rs 900 pounds or milk a year The COW
came into our possession nine years
ago. Beef cattle for which we have been
offered 10 cents a pound on foot and
which have attained weights of 1.4OO
pounds as long yesrlings have been
reared on Bermuda grass pasture. ST.
Iage and cotton seed meal Any farmer
can do the same thing il he Is SO
minded
Where dry roughsge and forage are
desired. combinations Of any Of the ce-
reals with crimson clover or vetch pre-
vide an ideal cover crop for the winter,
thus preventing erosion and the loss OF
soil fertility. In the spring from ton
and a half TO three tons Of cured nay
pe racre may be obtained It is equal