Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1917-11-16

cotton acreage would have resulted IN an even
more serious predicament for the cotton plahteis
during the summer season.
Another for the decline IN prouucllon nus
been the strong pressure brought to bear upon
the South to practice diversified farming. inns
has resulted in some states in considerable ue-
crease in the cotton acreage in order that more
corn wheat OATS hay and other food crops might
be grown, though these conditions are more Oh
less local. The government is engaged IN cam
paign to interest the South in feeding itself, ana
many thousands of farmers who planted cotton
almost exclusively have embarked In dlverslneu
farming in the last two years.
The idea back of the diversified farming move
ment in the South is to make cotton the money
making CROP and to utilize corn and other staple
farm crops to pay the expenses of operating the
farm and to enable the South to produce enough
foodstuffs to feed itself. Thus, tenant farmer
who has 40 acres in cotton would, provided he
practced diversified farming successfully, make
from $500 to $4,000 year, all from the sale Of
his cotton. This would be net profit, but would
not, of course, include the increased value given
the land through the enrichment of the soil by
the corporation plan. The average tenant farm
er who practices crop rotation well can double
his cotton production within two or three years, it
has been demonstrated
This gives food for speculation as to the possi-
bty which would follow the general adoption
Of crop Investigation throughout the South. The
average tenant farmer grow barely more than
one bale Of cotton to the acre, though with
proper farming and fertilization he increase
this yield to three bales an acre, according to
5 farming experts. However, not all of the South
ern cotton fields soil impoverished and it
would be doing the better-class cotton planter
an injustice to say that by proper farming he
could double or triple his cotton crop. Of the
35,000OO0 acres planted in cotton this year,
large percentage of the acreage could be so in
creased in fertility to double the yield by
1919 provided crop rotation was followed out
dow Iix10c
With better farming the South will thus be
able to make its 35,O00O00 acres or more do the
work of from 100000 to 100000 acres under
the old plan. Any important reduction in acreage,
therefore, is not to be looked upon with alarm
for there is certain to be consequent increase
in production. barring unforeseen weather calami-
ties. To this increased production must be added
the millions of dollars added to the wealth of the
South by the other farm products grown in in
creased quantities.
The slogan 1.-THE South Must Feed Itself" is
the outgrowth of this campaign for crop rota
ton as practiced in the North and West.
The realization of this dream would add hum
dredS of millions of dollars to the wealth of the
South alone, for almost all of the states will be-
come producers instead of consumers. Despite
the enviable climate and the good soil possessed
by Alabama there are many counties which spend
one million dollars each year in import
ing outside foodstuffs With the practice of d
versifed farming it will be possible for every
county in the state to export as much corn and
other farm crops as it imports.
Some observers have taken the view, especially
since the entry of the United States into the
war has resulted in increased activity in the di-
versifed farming campaign, that a serious blow
is intended at King Cotton, but such is not the
case. The whole idea of the campaign is not to
uproot the chief Southern crops for the Northern
crops but to rotate such crops as have soil
enriching values, to enable the Southern
soil to produce greater cotton crops Be
cause of its revolutionary character, the divers-
fled farming campaign has not made much prog
ress except in Alabama, Georgia and neghboring
states which have been adding tens of millions
of dollars to the value Of their farm products
each year in recent years.
When the sent and wheat to sky
high prices along with cotton, it proved much
easier to enlist the sympathies of the Southern
farmer, and many thousands of farmers are MAX
ing money growing highprced corn and
wheat than they did in growing cotton. This is
due chiefly TO the relief given the soil by crop
rotation, and such conditions will be even more
common next season, when the soil rebuilding
process adopted by nature is given time to get
well underway. Impetus has alone been given
crop diversifcation by the shortage of labor The
most of these crops require less labor than cot
ton and can be tended more efficiently than cotton