Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-11-07
Some New Light On the
Food Crops Problem.


recent bulletin of the State Normal School
the production of food and feed in the Southern
states by F. A. Merrill, director OF the Georgia
club Of this school Athens and article in the
October twenty-eighth issue of the Country Gentle
man the Feed Yourselves campaign being
conducted in Alabama restate in a most interest
ing way the old but timely admonition to the
people of the south to break away from the one
crop system and let their acres bring them not
only cotton and money but also hay, grain meat
and more money.
Mr.. Merrills bulletin shows by statistics the
annual deficit of the southern states in hay, corn
wheat pork. beef mutton, poultry animals. eggs,
milk and butter Summarizing the situation the
bulletin says THE productive capacity of the
Southern in food and feed crops is extremely
low The yearly food bill for many of these states
is enormous 10 be almost unbelievable. This
section Of country with some 100000 pop
uIation produces approximately only onehsf Of its
food and feed products. Such a lamentable cond-
ton OF affairs is due to the fact that the south is
yOne-crop section. Whenever a country section
of a country devotes its entire attention to the
production of one staple crop there is apt to be a
continued and unfortunate neglect of all food
crops
Some of the problems involved in attaining a
greater diversifcation of farming, noted by the
bulletin. are the establishment of markets for the
diversified products and a change from the tenancy
whose rental exchange is based upon cotton alone
so long absentee landlords" says Mr..
Merrill, will not accept payment for rent in other
commodities than cotton. long will cotton be
only crop for rental exchange The South is wait
ing today for Moses who will lead it out of
the wilderness OF Anticipated leasing system
and unfortunate increase in its tenancy popula-
ton
The article in the Country Gentleman tells of
the effective work of Mrs. G. H. Mathis, agricul-
tural field agent of the Alabama Bankers associa-
tion in arousing the farmers and landlords of that
state TO activity for more food crops. She is a
farmer herself and has made money at il. Her ex-
Derience may point to the development of methods
that max help solve the problems of tenancy and
marketing and make easier the change from the
old system TO a better After purchasing a big
Alabama plantation she told her tenants that they
must farm as she directed. The article tells what
this
,rHer first year something like this:
= Out of every twenty-five acres there were to
be eight in corn, five in oats, one in Irish pota-
toes. one in sweet potatoes, half acre in
popcorn and SOY beans for hogs, half an acre
in sorghum for molasses, half in veg
etables for current and for the women and
children to White and red clover for
cover crops were to be planted to begin with.
Five or six acres to be planted in cotton
Arrangements also made for the renters
raise their own nOSSs COWS cOltS ana
result says Mrs. Mathis, vas: More than seventy
Eve per cent of those men are today comparatively
we'll fixed financially and many of them own their
own homes. They had made nothing the
first year / had taken the place. The second year
they averaged seventy-eight dollars profit on pots-
toes planted in February and harvested in June.
That was almost the value OF bales of cotton at
that time. II cash money, you understand
and cotton not even in bloom. They planted
cash money out of that, too
These very pertinent facts bearing upon a
vexed problem and that confronts the south
INCREASINGLY. Manifestly cotton is a great money
crop but what actual value is after ALL If the
money must go to buy food and feed leaving the
producers either with balance at all or with a
deficit 1t is somewhat like the frog in the well
climbing up foot and slipping back two The
movement for crop diversifcation in the south has
made gratifying progress but IL must go long way
vet before will bring this section the blessings
that are its due a time-honored system must be
overturned To accomplish this is no light matter
gressive financial and civic force available 1t is
most gratifying to note the alert factors that are
already AT work to this end Among these may be
mentioned chambers OF commerce. bankers asso-
Citations the agricultural schools and colleges the
boys corn and pig clubs and the girls canning
cIubs-agencies that doing their teaching by
object lesson and this is. of course, the mose eff
fective teaching OF all
The evidence is in; now for the voters verdict