The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1923-07-17
COVER CROPS GREATLY
IMPROVE THE LAND
BUYING FEED IS REFLECTION
ON SOUTH. PAPER WHICH
DREW FIRST PRIZE.

The following article, written by B.
B. Henderson, Barlow, Ga, won the
first prize offered by the Southern Ku-
ralist, and will be read with interest
by the people of this section. He en-
pbasizes the fact that if the best re-
suits are to be expected from the cul..
tivation of crops a better system OF
looking after the land is absolutely es-
sentia1. His article follows:
Statistics show that we used about
275000 tons Of hay in Georgia from
other states in 1920. Since that time
the live stock and dairy business has
grown very rapidly which all goes. to
prove that we farmers are not living
M to our opportunities Northern
farmers think they are making money
raising hav at $500 and $1,000 per
ton Whv can't we make money when
we can sell our hay at more than
twice that amount, and IN many IN
stances the market is our own 1--we
stock?
When | was quite a yOungster l
became thoroughly disguised with the
practice of facing the sun for III and
IL hours per day and then working
into the night hours pulling and tax
ing up fodder to feed my stock, ms
is one Of the most disagreeable JOBS
on the farm. | never could see where
| could make decent wage tor the
time expended; then, too, IT injured
my corn. So l just swore OFT | lived
in the Piedmont section OF Alabama
at that time. | began growing soy
beans for hay and for grazing, too;
on good land the soy bean is great
crop, think; it is especially adapted
to the Piedmont country.
I plant in narrow rows and give one
or two civilizations, leaving the land
fat | have never had any trouble IN
getting a stand. | cover the seed Just
about like cotton. | have made two
tons per acre Of as good hay as can
be found.
Since / have been living in the
coastal plains | have depended more
on cowpeas for hay. The soy bean
doesn't seem to be quite as depend
able at my place as the pea. | have
never seen anything thrive better than
the cowpea in this sandy land. | see
farmers going on planting corn on
thin land year after year, many times
not planting any peas or beans with
the corn. | have found that If the land
is very thin it pays to plant peas alone
in very narrow rows and in this way
YOU can grow much more feed with
less labor and at the same time be
improving the land There are entirely
too many people farming without any
definite purpose in view. After one
L: he CHI
get fixed in his mind what class OF
farming he is going to do and then
stick to it. One thing you want to
get fixed in your mind is that II you
do much at farming you will have to
have at least part OF your farm on
good land The way to make land
good is to grow lots OF peas and
beans, make lots Of pea hay Tor forage
so YOU won't have to spend money for
it, grow lots OF peas and beans in your
corn rows and middles so you can
carry your stock through most OF the
winter months in the fields, thereby
saving the expense of cutting and bal
ing.
had about 65 acres of corn last
wear. | had beans in every row and
a row of peas in every middle. had
a good big grain crop and was SO,
pushed with my other work that l
did not get all my grain land sown
till in July-some of it late in the
month. 1t did not make quite as good
as the early hay but it paid well for
the time spent in sowing. This hay
followed a crop OF rye. had the same
land in rye this year and it was much
better than last and besides ! grazed
it closely up till the first of March:
To some it may seem like lot OF
trouble to have beans in every corn
row and 10 SOW peas in the middles,