Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-01-18
- H. l5>.:.n EDUCATIoN
-gN1-yn= AND SUCCESSFUL FARMING
-n=7A= By ANDREWM SOOEE
TEE AGRICULTURAL PROGRESS
OE A DECADE

TEE AGRICULTURAL PROGRESS
OF A DECADE
Georgia has made splendid prog
ress along agricultural lines during
the last decade. 1t has been impossl-
bic to obtain as yet the percentage
of our rural and urban populations.
AS there was a loss in the popula-
ton of forty-five counties, it would
appear that our rural population has
not increased as rapidly as in the
previous ten-year period. Inc IN
crease in the population OF the
state as a whole is 10 per cent as
compared with III per cent Tor the
last decade. This is a gratifying re-
suit because a large number of ne
groes are known to have gone north
during the war. In the previous
census period there was an increase
of 43.2 per cent in urban population
and an increase of 12.5 per cent In
rural population. Georgias present
population is approximately 2'9Oo'-
900. I am inclined to think that the
figures will show at least 2,lOO,U0u
of our citizens still live in the open
country. This would allow for an
increase in the urban population OIL
around 100000.
The NUMBER of farms in the state
at the present time is 31O,737. rms
renresents an increase of 6.S per
cent ept There was nothing like as
large an increase in the number OF
farms in the last decade as IN ;t IN,
period from 1900 to 1910. sun,
it is gratifying to find that our farms
increased in number by approXllnale-
ly 10000 at a period in our nlstolS
when a very considerable peft t5r ir
of our men were engaged eltner IA
the business of fighting, preparing ~
be soldiers or in industries c0nnect-
ed with our war program. Inc ils
ures would indicate that lheie nc
been more diversificatlon IN 1eoi {, 10
than was witnessed In the previous ~,
decade, that some of our farm OPP
erations were conducted on smaller
acreag e basis than in the previous
In the gross production OF grams
we made good progress ana ala ouL
full share toward SUSTAINING ou1
part of the population OF the Oni oea
States. In 1900, our gross acrea age
in corn. wheat and oats was 4,429,9oS
acres, The yield of these three crops
was 46.13O.703 bushels. In l9z0, we
devoted 100000 acres to the cult
walton of these three crops anu LaL
vested S3.210,000 bushels OF grain
mis- represents a gain during inc
Let twenty wears of 80 per cent IN
Grain production or an increase over
fhe WELD of 1907 of 27.5 per cent;
Roth of these gains were nlarheu a..o
show that grain growing IS recelv.
ing more and more attention from
our people. This is as 1t snouio G gn
for two very definite reasons. IN
- at r1oce we can only expand
o1r animal industries through an IN
creased cultivation of grain crops.
Tn the second place, we should raise
ALI the grain We need for the muir
ton of our own people ana our IAN IN
animals. To do this we must not
oniv increase acreage yields, but the
total output as well. 49, .,uo
The figures show also that IneTe
were 4,973,000 head of farm anlnn aan
ON our plantations in 1920 In l9Vu'
we possessed only 2,653.O36 anlmals,
The percentage of gain IN i've stoch
therefore, 81, per cent. Our in
crease since 1907 along this line has
heen 80 per cent. These figures Woulo
indicate that the greatest develop
ment of our animal Industries mas
taken place in the last ten to thlr-
teen years. This IS goou evioeii on
to my mind of the fine influence on
the DEVELOPMENT and progress or our
erTicuiture which the educational
work originated and promoted
through the agency of the Georgia
state College of Agriculture has ex-
ercised.
In the matter of corn cultivation,
we have made commendable progress
since 1900. At that time, we devoted
S411,953 acres to this crop. the
Weld was 34.119.530 bushels. In 1920
we cultivated 4,220000 acres of corn
with a yield of 69.S90,0O0 bushels.
This represents an increment over
1900 of 1O4 per cent and gam
over 1907 of 21.4 per cent. The acre
age increase since 1910 has been ap.
proximately per cent. 1t was, OF
course, much larger for the twenty
year period dating from l9OO to
In the case of oats, our gain over
neriod beginning with 1907 lis per
cent. Last year we devoted 54O,oOO
acres to the oat crop and harvested
1O.8OO,O 900 bushels. This represents an
acreage enlargement of per cent
over 1907.
The cultivation of wheat in Geor-
Since 1900. This, from my point of
view, is a misfortune. In the year in
Dictated we cultivated 550,674 acres
of wheat. The yield was 5,OO1 ,l33
bushels. In 1907, the area devoted
to this crop was $4,000 acres with
a corresponding depreciation in the
total yield. In 1910 the acreage de-
voted to wheat was 141,00O acres, in
1920 100000 acres. Even then the
yield was 100000 bushels. or only
half of what it was in 1900. The in
crease of 1920 as compared with 1917
no doubt reflects some effort to meet
the war requirements of the country
for wheat Just the same, it is dis
couraging to think that crop so es-
sential to the nutrition of our own
people and to mankind at large
would have been so generally neg
lected. Facing the facts as they are,
we find that wheat production in
Georgia has decreased since 1900 by
practically SO per cent. I am sure
the consumption of white bread has