Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-02-21
| AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
| ~ DR.. ANDREW NJ SOULE

of the country, there is good and
bad land and the price naturally va
ries according to the degree of i'm
provement which the land has re-
ceived and the manner in which it
has been farmed and handled. The
bottoms as we'll as the uplandS i'll
that section will produce very good
corn. Excellent crops of both wheat
and corn are raised by the best farm
erS in east Tennessee. AS L recol-
lect, the water in that section of
Tennessee is all strongly impregnat-
ed with limestone.
The Merits of Soft Phosphate Rock
]. B. p, Greensboro. Ca, writes: l
am Offered soft phosphat rock analyz-
ing &c per cent for $23 per ton by the
carload. ] would like your advice in
regard to using this on the red lands
of this county.
No doubt the soft phosphate rock
about which you inquire contains 26
Per cent of total phosphoric acid.
The question about which you ale
most intimately concerned, however,
available. We do not judge that
more than 8 per cent would prob
ably become serViceable to plants
the first year after it was applied.
possibly a smaller per cent would
become available, while under the
most favorable circumstances a
greater per cent might be made SER
viceable to plants.
We have tested the soft phosphate
rock quite carefully, not only here at
Athens, but on a large number of
test plats throughout Georgia for
some years past. In this, way we
have been able to study the merits
Of materials of this kind as COM
pared with the phosphate of com
merce, known to most people now as
acid phosphate and which ordinarily
contains about Is per cent available
as you doubtless know, supplies one
of the essential elements crops need.
1t is particularly valuable as insur-
ing the early maturity and .ripening
of the crop. In other words, phos-
phoric acid is chiefly concerned with
the development of seed, This ele-
ment is deficient in most of our
soils, notably so in many of them,
which when applied to the land
gives us as a rule a highly bene-
ficfal result in increased yields.
According to our experience, acid
phosphate used at the rate of 300,
800 or even 1000 pounds per acre.
and the crop to be planted, is more
economical and desirable as car
rier Of phosphoric acid for the aver
age Georgia soil at the present time
to be, You will note that large
quantities of this material must be
applied to the land, that you must
wait considerable period of time
turns are obtained from soft phos-
phate rock when used on soil con
tanning an abundance of vegetable
matter or which has been literally
difficult to accomplish these ends
In Georgia and raise crop at the
same time, the recommendation we
are forced to make, therefore, on
this subject is still in favor of the
use of acid phosphate as. a carrier
of quickly available phosphoric acid.
Farming Operations in Northwest
Georgia
A correspondent, Dalton, Ca, writes
From your knowledge of the soil and CT
mate of this section, what type OF
farming would you consider most prof
liable, whether stock, dairying, fruit
straight farming or a combination of
these? / have about 81, 600 saved up.
What capital would yoq think 1t adyis:
able for g young man to start farming
with? Please recommend some good
books on farming.
Diversified farming will offer you,
in my judgment, the best opportunity
to secure a stand in the section of
the state about which you write. The
first thing to do is to study your
which it is likely to be most de-
ficient and for which there will be
the best demand. Then emphasize
those lines of production. If you can
sell some milk or butter to good adj
vantage keep few cows. If there
is an opportunity to sell truck have
a small area devoted to the produc-
ton of crops of this type. You could
also produce a little fruit, as you
would want a small home orchard
anyway. Then no doubt you could
raise a few pigs and sell them TO
advantage. AS a rule there is a good
demand for chickens and eggs prac-
tlcally all the year round. One oper-
ating on the edge of a town like
Dalton should be able to sell almost
any surplus to advantage.
My suggestion would be to start
in a small way, buying a small area
of land and then securing possibly
other things as needed or buy add1-
tional land as circumstances may
Justify later OIL. The average tnd1-
vidual who undertakes a farming en-
terprise generally puts too much of
his capital into land. With $1,000
you should certainly not invest more
than $500 in the land, keeping at
least $500 as revolving fund and
for the erection of such buildings
and the purchase Of such equipment
and live stock as may be necessary.
There is no reason why you should
not be able to operate a few acres
of land and still retain your pres
emit position. Our plan in this coun-
try is extensive rather than intensive
farming. About 5000 square miles
were. overrun in France by the Ger
mans. There were some $4,000 farms
in the. area in question that varied
from is to two acres in size. The
people in that limited section of ter
ritory, one-twelfth the size of the
state of Georgia, produced more than
$500, 100000 worth of food crops. We
have made wonderful record in
about 10 $500, Oo6, 900 worth p of food
crops, but to that end we cultivated
p1 obably 100000 acres of land.
: Let me urge upon you, therefore,
the suggestion that you buy small
area, but work and operate it on an
intensive scale. In this manner L be-
lieve you will make much larger re-
turns and find yourself more pros
porous at the end of a few years
than If you engaged in farming on
a more extensive scale.
/ have no doubt the books you
mention contain many useful and val
liable facts; however, I am not ac-
quainted with these particular books
/ would recommend that you buy ana
study say the books of the Rural
Science Series. These are published
by a we'll known firm, are moderate
in price, and thep are standard books
and will give you first-hand informa-
ton.