Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-02-25
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
BY DR.. ANDREW NJ SOLE

and the gross yield was below that OF
1917.
In the matter, of velvet beans we
should emphasize production as
strongly as possible This constitutes
one of our principal food assets for
the maintenance of livestock upon
which we must largely rely if our
agriculture is to be properly stabil-
ilzed. l think we should undertake
to produce 900 tons of velvet
beans, which would be well over the
record of the past two years. We
can do this at comparatively little
outlay OF money or effort, because
the velvet beans should be grown in
our corn fields, thereby enabling us
To- raise two valuable grain crops,
the one beautifully supplementiInIg
the nutritional deficiencies of the
other. There is no danger of our
over producing velvet beans this
year They are not properly APP
preciable crop at present as they
are adapted for feeding singly or IN
every class of livestock we main
tain. If they cannot be fed they
will not fail to confer a benefit on
the land owner for they contain
considerable quantities of nitro
gen and potash. The former they
asSimilate from the air, the latter
they gather and store in forms ac-
ceptable to succeeding crops. There
fore l am unable to see how one
could figure out that velvet beans
can .be grown at a loss in Georgia
under existing conditions and the
Well-Ilnown deficiency of our land in
nitrogen, and some other essential
elements.
Wheat Outlook
Of course, our wheat production
cannot be changed IS far as the
harvest of 1919 is concerned. No
doubt the freezes have interfered
considerably with our anticipated
harvest. Then l am rather afraid
that as much emphasis was not laid
on wheat production by the land
owner as should have been accorded
this crop. In any event it will al
ways be a wise and proper policy
for the farmers of Georgia to make
themselves self-Sustaining in so far
as The production of wheat is con-
and handle it with sufficient economy
to justify us always in growing
our own bread. 1t will take about
seven and a half million bushels for
us to accomplish this desideratum,
and so we should plan to plant in
TO insure such return. ,,
. oats constitute one. of our main
/ food crops for animals. We still
suffer many severe losses in the mat
ter of cultiVating oats because the
majority of our farmers still per-
sist in planting on the level rather
than in the open furrow. We should
have learned the lesson. long be.
fore this. date. Maybe the expert
ence of the last two or three years
will help us. In the open furrow
we can practically count on
profitable oat harvest. Planted on
the level we for the most part will
I,1 aSt Of fo1 "a
have not produced anything like as
much oats in the last two years as
our agricultural economy dictates as
essential. We should predicate the
planting of 1919, on a, basis which
will insure a harvest of not less than
The more extensive planting Of oats
is one of the things on which Il
successful live stock industry must
be based. This is a truth we do
not realize at it's face value, but
it is a fact from which we cannot
escape. T. u
We should emphasize the growth
of rye We need harvest of at
least 100000 bushels to meet the
requirements of the state. we gath
cred 10000 bushels in 1918, which
is $4,000 bushels short Of the mini
mum goal we should expect to at
tain.
We cannot overdo peanut produce
ton. No doubt a howl of protest
will arise when this statement is
read, because there, are" lots of
farmers now with peanuts on hand
and . in some sections of the state
|. they are said to be rotting in the
shock, and the prices altogether un-
satisfactory. Why bewail this mis-
fortune, however, when hogs may
be made to harvest peanuts and
with a. little special care and atten-
ton be finished into the finest quail
ity of pork in a period Of thirty
days through corn feeding. We car
make pork cheaper on peanuts than
in any other way. The. hogs grow
and thrieXe wonderfully we'll and
| take on a beautiful finish. If there
were no other market for peanuts.
we should be able to use 100000
bushels, the goal set for 1919, in
the fattening and finishing of hogs.
Let us not make the mistake of
abandoning the cultivation of one of
our most valuable meat-producing
crops because the price of the pea
/ nut for oil production is temporarily
unsatisfactory. We could not make
| greater mistake There is a dis
position at this time for all Of us to
be jumpy and irrational as to cur
point of view and erratic as to our
! conclusions. There never was a time
| when we needed Sc firm and definite
grip on ourselves. Now above all
other times is the time to be normal
! There is danger Of 9 debaole in so
! far as the peanut industry is con-
| cerned. Let. us take a fresh grip
| on the situation. 1t is necessary
7 from my point of view that we do
! this for the safety and we'll being
| of our farmers, our swine industry
and our business interests in general
We have been emphasizing the pro
| duction of sweet potatoes quite sue
cessfully for two years past. Large
increases have been made in this
| CROP, yet in proportion to the popu-
! ton we have to feed we are still
! tagging behind. Let us use the pc.
| tato more extensively than ever. We
| may preserve it successfully in
| storage houses now so there is no
reason why we should hesitate to
! grow it under the impression that
| it should necessarily rot on cur
| hands or that we. must sacrifice it
by selling cheaply Immediately after
harvest. We should predicate our
| crop in 1919 on a basis of 1885,
| 900 bushels. We can obtain this
yield easily enough, as we increased
| the output of sweet potatoes during
1917 and 1918 by between 5000, 900
- RAISE BELGIAN RARES e.:
| MA nOGE PRoEIIS easily and pleasantly made We
cha1ea for III v~I rsice (oo ot ~