The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1919-03-07

III weeds and filth are now productive OF pront
able crops of corn wheat, oats, hay cotton, tobac-
co, potatoes, vegetables, and truck crops. Sec
tons that formerly had never exported carload
of cattle hogs, or sheep extensive pro-
ducers of mutton, beef, pork, wool and dairy
products. Families which formerly lived drear
life of meager existence are now not only enjoy
ing plenty of the staples but also many Of the
Injuries of country life
How that revolution effected? How was
mirage transformed into actually in the South
land? The presented the opportunity for re-
formation along agricultural lines due to the I'M
limited demand on the American food store
houses. The secondsreason is because the United
States department of agriculture and the state
agricultural colleges. through the medium of 1889
county agents, located in the Is states from Tex
as to Oklahoma and from Florida to Maryland,
have been steadily urging farmers to increase
crop production to practice better farming meth
DDS; to maintain more live stock and to produce
in the South the majority of what food the South
annually consumes, utilizing cotton as the leading
surplus cash crop.
Heretofore the South has been the Eden of the
one-mue, onenegro cotton farming corporation.
The negro farmers have raised cotton largely to
the exclusion of all other money crops. Then
they have about faced" and converted their cot
ton money into imported beans, bacon. and bread
at the local supply stores. In view of this preva-
lent and traditional practice of buying instead of
raising the bulk of food, the United States depart
ment of agriculture operated under handl-
cap when it began food work south of the Mason
and Dixon line
Great credit is given to the county agents. who
have not only shown Southern farmers In Is
states how to raise and produce vegetables truck
crops, field crops and meat products, but have
been successful in getting the farmers to raise
such products on large scale. Despite the fact
that the record price of cotton has operated
against the popularity of other crops. the average
farmer backed up the food program. Southern
farmers and townsmen raised plenty of potatoes
as well as sorghum for strip, ia their home gar
dens The farmers increased their production of
small grains, corn, hay, peanuts, velvet beans
soy BEANS cowpeas, well as meat milk and
eggs
For example, during 1918 Alabama increased Its
production of potatoes 6S per cent; cotton 80 per
cent; hay II per cent; oats. s per cent hogs q
per cent; sheep, 10 per cent and sweet potatoes
per cent over the yields of 1917.
The South has been heavy buyer Of hay, the
majority of her yearly forage coming from the
Western states. The services of the Southern
county agents have increased the local hay pro-
duction to the extent that Alabama produced
1,293OO0 tons of hay during the year 1918, as
compared with 100000 tons in 1909. During the
period from 1909 TO 1913, Georgia increased hay
production 426 per cent; North Carolina 1873 per
cent; Florida, 1852 per cent; and South Carolina
253 per cent. According to recent crop estimates
the hypothetical value of the farm crops of Ala
bama, Florida, Georgia. Mississippi. North Caro-
lima, and South Carolina, amounted to 1880 213-
600 In 1909 and 50 100 $4,000 in 1917 an increase
of $50 per cent
1t is only logical thai the production of corn
and hay increases in the Southern states the
numbers of hogs and ca tile raised and kept show
corresponding gains The razor-back hog has
been traditional of the South since the Civil war;
but of late years these nstIve rustlers have been
replaced by well-fnlshed porkers of desirable con-
formation and breeding w Itch are more econ:m-
teal in the manufacture of pork under Southern
conditions than are the grairfed hogs of the corn
belt in middle Western territory.
According to recent estimates by the bureau Of