Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-08-08


is this to be brought about? PR.
marily through the use of more la
| hor-saving devices on the farm. Ir
industry in the past it has been nee
essary to cheaper production through
the use of machinery in order tC
meet competition either at home OF
abroad. Some such practice as this
will have to be instituted on the
modern farm. TO do this successful,
| ly we must have either a great ac-
ceSSion to our horse and mule power,
or the Introduction and use of some
device which will provide an album
dance of power at reasonable cost
lPresuming that we are able to intro
| duce and use as many horses anC
mules as may be necessary, we must
| first remember that a great outlay
will be necessttated. Secondly, that
horses and mules through the agency
of one man or we cannot successful
| y overcome the present shortage OF
labor on the farm.
On the other hand, suppose
through the purchase of a tractor we
buy the efficiency and the service
work of ten or twenty horses and
are able to operate and direct the
equivalent of the energy of this
many animals through the agency
say of one or two men. Is it not
an economy to do SO? l thinkit
has been fully demonstrated that
such is the case and so further ar
gumant along this line is not neces-
sary. Someone will rise up imme-
diately and say that | am advocat-
ing doing away with horses aud
mules. Far from it. We should have
more of them, and doubtless will
There will be place for them in
our agricultural economy which the
tractor cannot now take and proba-
h mill 1T n 0nT1 q
If at all. The use of tractors on
Georgia farms will, therefore, not
initiate against the legitimate de-
velopment of our horse and mule in
dustry.
Let us see what advantages ten
tractor has to offer. 1t appears now
that there are some we'll developed,
comparatively simple and easily OPP
Grated machines available at costs
within the reach of our larger farm
ers. Can they afford to purchase and
use such machines? Such facts as
the college has bee nable to gather
about the use of tractors in Georgia
indicate that they can and should use
machines of this type. Take for in
stance present conditions. We have
had long spells of wet weather. The
preparation of the land is greatly
behind. With a team of horses and
mules just SO much soil can be
turned over in the course of a day.
With tractor the area normally
turned on the average farm can cas-
lily be quadrupled. Therefore, in a
which might, otherwise take thirty
days could be accomplished. Our
climatic conditions are not likely to
change. At least, those of us who
are interested in the welfare of man
kind do not wish to see them change
VI. g.. l.
prepared with some sort of equip
mont, at least on our larger farms.
by which we can accomplish a vast
amount of work in a short time. The
data collected by this institution in
dicates that whenever the tractor
was substantially built and operated
with a reasonable degree of skill it
was reported to US an investigation
nearly always showed that the own
err was as much to blame as the
machine. It. has never been .estab-
lished to our satisfaction that the
tractor intelligently used has packed
hand, it has been shown that large
areas can not only be plowed but
cultivated and seeded to advantage
by the use of this machine AS a
matter of fact, it can be used as q
source of power for many necessary
purposes on the average farm. 1t
may even be used for transport of
the harvested crops to more or less
distant markets. In other words, the
tractor is not an implement for SIM
ply breaking the land but it serves
variety of purposes on every farm
which is intelligently handled.
In the scheme of agriculture which
this institution advanced some years
ago one-third of the land was to be
dnN tnI fA IL, L
er crops and one-third to the mainte-
nance of live stock. We must do
this if we would maintain the fer
tility Of our land and have a bal
anced agriculture. The following
out of this practice will call for the
construction of silos, for the shred
ding Of corn fodder and other coarse
forage, possibly at times for the ar
tificial light. Under all of these
conditions the farm tractor may. he
made to play desirable and serv-
iceable part. My feeling, therefore,
under existing conditions is that we
must use more power machinery on
our farms in order that we may pro-
duce our quota of the food supply of
the world at a reasonable cost. With
machinery of this type at our COM
mand we can more thoroughly and
IN climate which is essentially
humid and where rainfalls are ex-
cessive at times and deficient at
other periods, thereby necessitatins
frequent and insistent cultivation at
certain seasons of the year in order
crops.
Farm machinery will, I think, ep
able us to deal adequately with the
labor situation by which we are now
confronted and which is likely in my
opinion to constitute more or less of
q nc M x
tural operations. Undoubtedly we
must establish crop rotation in or
der that we may control or fight the
boil weevil intelligently. diversity
our agriculture successfully, feed
ana maintain the ever-increasing
mum per of live stock which the state
must possess and maintain our DO
s1tlon as cotton-producfng state. J
believe the tractor must be regarded
by all MISUNDERSTANDING people MS
oHerlng US on eof the best mediums
which has yet been available to aid
US US IN n .nrlnglng about the early or
Sanlzatlon OF our agriculture along.
constructive lines. Until we attain
this end we will soon be unable to
meet successfully the legitimate de-
mands which may be made upon us
10 supply our own people and the
world at large with the essential
crops which our soil and climatic
condltlonS enable us to produce un-
der intelligent MANAGEMENT more
anundantly and proftably than any
other section of the world
OUR CROP pRoDUr TON REcoRn
~ L.. Lexington. KY, writes: 1 would
c mKe information lorna as to the production of
crops suiting for raising hogs in the
SIate OF Georgia I would also like to
e e the relative value of the different
farm products for feeding swine,
ord The production of various farm
1913 is set forth in detail Glow eiS year
Cotton, 100000 ba7es,
Corn, $3.50 )00 bushels.
Velvet beans, 30S,OS9 tons.
Wheat 1881, 900 bushels.
Oats, 100000 bushels.
Rye, 176,O0N bushels.
Peanuts 1915, 200 bushels.
Hay, 615,000 tons
,. Potatoe 11,960,00O bushels.
j. 00O hnc