Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-04-29
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
81 DR. ANDREW ri. SOULE

produced successfully in any sec
ton of the southeast.
In some favored sections Bermuda
grass may be set out and cured as
hay. 1t is we'll worth saving, as it
contains about 4 per cent digestible
protein, as against At per cent of
this element in Kentucky blue grass.
In sections where Johnson grass
is already seeded it should be saved
for hay, care being taken, however
to cut it so early that there will be
no possibility of the same maturing
sufficiently to spread farther over
the land, should the droppingS from
! animals consuming it be used for
fertilizing purposes.
Timothy hay, according to many
analyses, contains only about per
cent digestible protein, hence it is
no better for the nutrition of our
live stock than Bermuda hay and it
is. not as rich in protein as millet.
In many localities in the state
there are patches of alfalfa of great
er or less extent. We should extend
areas of this character and garner
and save all the hay our alfalfa
acreage will yield for winter use.
digestible protein, 80 per cent diges-
| tible carbohydrates, and g per cent
digestible fat. We have been able
to obtain about five cuttings per sea-
|
years. Alfalfa at $4,000 a ton on
this bass will thus make a return
per acre of $4,000. There are few
crops which will yield the land
owner Il larger increment.
In addition to the above we can
use Sudan grass either with cow
peas CT by itself. If planted early,
under favorable conditions two cut
tings CT more year. may be OBJ
tanned. Sudan grass is very much
like Johnson grass in general ap-
pearance and habits, except that it
is not possessed of a stoloniferous
root and therefore does not establish
itself in the soil and become null
sance. This is great advantage
and this grass probably deserves
more consideration than has been eX-
tended to it UP to the present time.
Kaffir corn may be used in the
place Of sorghum, and soy beans may
very often be made to take the place
Of cowpeas Peanut vines without
the nuts afford a rich food. This
crop should be carefully gathered.
The hay made from this crop con-
tains about &C. per cent digestible
protein, 81 per cent digestible carbo-
Lydrates, and 3 per cent digestible
fat. There is an objection to pea
nut hay in so far as it's use with work
and may therefore tend to encour-
age the development of a heavy con-
dition in horses When fed to this
class of livestock it should be mixed
with some other form of roughage
containing smaller proportion of
protein, and it is best chopped up
and moistened before feeding.
Velvet beans will furnish fairly
good hay in some sections where
they mature sufficiently early to
enable them to be cured satisfac-
torily. Of course, all sort of native
unteer growth or seeded, should be
saved for hay In this connection
refer to the use of such crops for
instance as. crabb grass and Japan
clover Great quantities of corn
stover. are made each year and allow
ed to go to waste. This material if
properly harvested and then run
through cutting box or shredder
and mixed with an adequate amount
of peavine or peanut hay, would pro-
vide the finest kind of roughage ra-
ton for al classes of stock. When
fed to work stock it is best to mois-
ten it with water containing a little
brine.
. On the average farm it will not
take more than two to five acres de-
roughage needed. On larger plan
tations proportiOnate acreages should
be planted. We are strictly in an
indefensibIe position if we do not
produce all the rOughage needed at
home. Moreover, We cannot be pros
porous as. long as we fail to produce
our; oWn'Shay crops Freight rates
are now higher than ever before,
and most%,of the hay we are using
comes long distance, which, of it. 4
self, makes the use of this particu-
lar character of foodstuff unprofit-
able. There is nothing which we can
DO to add more to the prosperity of
the south during the spring and sum
mer tlSan to devote our attention to
the cultivation of sufficient amount
and variety of the crops mentioned
TO provide ourselves with all the hay
we can possibly need for our work
stock and the ever increasing num-
Der of animals of other classes we
must keep on our farms if we hope
&C be truly prO&nerouS