The Mena weekly star. (Mena, Ark.) 1904-1977, 1920-12-09
URGES THE RAISING
IF FOOD And FEED
Representative Alexander Says This
System Would Prevent Present
Trouble-Tells of His Own
Success.
From the Arkansaa Gazelte.

FROM the ATkdNHaS 1ttItk te.
Before leaving on the tour of agri-
cultural colleges with other members
of the Legislature, Representative
James r. Alexander, Of Pulaski coun-
ty expressed the hope that every Ar
kansas farmer would plan to raise his
own food and feed stuffs next season.
Mr.. Alexander made his statement
in expressing his approval of the
statewide meeting of farmers, bank
ers and business men to be held in
Little Rock January and 6. The
meeting was called By Governor
Brough, who placed arrangements in
charge of the Committee on Agricul-
ture of the Arkansas Bankers Asso-
citation.
Mr.. Alexander, who is one of the
largest and most successful farmers
in the state, declared that if every
farmer would do this there would be
no danger of a repetition of the pres
ent financial distress due to the low
price of cotton. If every farmer had
raised his own food and feed, he said,
keted gradually and the price held up
to a point where it would at least
equal the cost of production.
Mr.. Alexander practices what he
breaches. On his own 3,500-acre plan
tation near Scott he has for many
years made it rule never to plant
more than half the land to cotton. BY
following this system and by rotation
of crops and building up the soil by
blowing under soy beans, he has been
able to produce as much cotton from
his plantation as he did from the err
tire place when he followed the all
cotton system.
Advice as to Amount of Feed.
In estimating the amount of feed
that the farmer will need to keep his
live stock in good shape, Mr. Alex
ander said the farmer should figure on
10 bushels of corn and three tons of
hay per mule as years supply. He
said that Arkansas farmers should
next year figure on raising not more
than 10 acres per mule. The present
average. he saws. is between 16 and II
acres. The system that he recon-
mends is for the farmer to plan on
raising 10 acres of cotton, 10 acres of
corn and two acres of hay per mule.
This, he says, will make it absolutely
certain that the farmer will not have
to buy feed, provided that he gives
proper attention to his corn and hay.
Should Raise Food.
As for hay, Mr.. Alexander says
that lespedeza may be raised SUCCESS
fully on any low, damp land. For up
lands, he recommends oats which
should be cut early for hay and also
sorghum and corn fodder.
One of the best food crops that the
Arkansas farmer can raise is sweet
potatoes, Mr.. Alexander says. He be-
lieves that every family should plant
from one-eighth to one-quarter acre to
sweet potatoes. Mr.. Alexander has
very efficient system of inducing the
tenants on his plantation to have gar
dens. He furnishes each family with
land enough for garden that will be
sufficient for the family's needs. If
the tenant has a garden, the use of
the land is free. If the tenant will
not raise a garden, Mr.. Alexander
charges rent for the land Needless to
say that most Of his tenants have
gardens.
Also he encourages his tenants to
raise one or two hogs so that they can
have their own meat supply. He says
that it is foolish not to have one or
two porkers because they can be fed
on things that otherwise would be
sheer waste.
His Success With Corn
For the last 20 years, Mr.. Alexan-
der never has failed to have good
corn crop, in wet seasons and in dry.
The secret of his success, he says, is
that he plows his land early and ..hii.essii ,
works it frequently before he plants
his corn. He works 1t with tandem
disc harrow. The result Il that when
he plants his corn he has seed bed
that will store up and hold moisture |
1t is this seed bed that has saved his
corn many times during drouth when |
that of other farmers was burning up. |
Mr.. Alexander, who is president of
the Arkansas Division of the Amer
lean Cotton Association believes that |
building warehouses to store cotton is |
the hope of the south.
"At present we are at the mercy |
of the Eastern financiers," he says. |
"But if our farmers will raise their |
own food and feed and will combine