The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-11-25
sTp AwRERRIEs

There is an unusual inquiry to The Age-Herald for information about strawberry culture, when and what variety to plant The subject in- dealt with at length in these col umns but a brief summary here given may be of help. Plants should be set out right away. Various meth ods are advocated but the writer Is Tn clined to the opinion that it's best 10 plant them in single rows, very much the same as you would set out cap- bage plants and the same distance Tn drills and rows. The question or variety is really important because there are more frauds pulled off an nually with highly advertised sorts than with most any other plant. A lot of catalogs in discussing straw berries, give out plenty of bunk and buster and charge a big price for something utterly worthless for the south. The varieties that do succeed in the south are such well known standard commercial sorts as Aroma, Klondike, Lady Thompson and mis- sonary. Most of the socalled ever bearing sorts, some advertised at ex, trayagant prices, are bare-faced frauds and are not worth taking home. If you want to succeed better stick to Commercial sorts.
 u "A
 Will the people of the south ever learn that it does not pay to specu- late in farm products or any thing else, for that matter. Nearly every cotton grower is potential specula- tor in his product and nine times out of ten he gets swindled when I,, n ne e enters any such a graft game. Why is it that the price of cotton IS fixed in New York and generally among a bunch of highwaymen who never saw a cotton bloom? It is a discredit to the south that certain traders will send their money to 1ake bankers and brokerage concerns in New York city who promise inn mense profits on all moneys remitted but whose business is simply to pocket the suckers remittance ana live off the cupidity of the remitter. There are, of course, exceptions, put the amount of money the southern grower is swindled out of annually runs to many millions. Here is an example,: Some northern firm will furnish seed potatoes, cantaloupes, bean seed, etc, and agree to pay a certain price for the resulting crop Many southern farmers grab such a bait and ship their entire crop to the brokerage or commission mer- chant and never receive penny Tor their product. The game is worked consistently and is still flourlsh1ng.
 
 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
 o. When is the best time to plant oats, what variety and amount to an acre? T. A., Cordova, Ala.
 A. Oats should be gotten in right away. The best sort would be native as two bushels should be sown to the acre. It Is important that the soil be well broken and in good condition before planting.
 
 sorghum, which, as you know, is ex- haustive on the land, and would now like to plant something that would build the land up to make It produc~ tive another season? P. R. Troy, Alabama. 4a
 A. See letter on subject.
 Q. In growing tulips in water and pebbles, how often should the water be changed and should they be kept in a warm place? Mrs. T.
 A, We cannot recommend the grow ine of tulips in water. They are es- sentially soil plants and while pos- sible to grow in pots of dirt, they really do better when set out In the open ground.
 O, What is the best thing to plant now for the production of pasture for chickens to graze or COW? F.. A., Warrior. Ala.
 A. Any of the winter grains such as oats, rye, wheat ana Darley, eltner by themselves O. in combination, would serve the purpose. They should be planted as soon as pos sible.
 Q. We are interested in improved cotton seed. Can you tell us what we should do? O. w., Jemison, Ala.
 A. This question is too indefinite to answer. Improved cotton seed is, of course, to be encouraged, but there are so many frauds perpetrated in the sale of cotton seed, especially