The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-04-27
By GEORGE B. M'vAY, sR.

large section of south Mississippi and Alabama and on every hand there was persistent complaint from land owners about farm labor shortage. Hands were not available and simply could not be secured, were the words of many farmers, truck growers and other farm. operators This was the farmers side of the labor problem but what about the other side It was my business to find out and my investigation led me to the cities and villages where was found plenty of farm help, many of whom were out of employment and seekiuga job. asked a great many why they did not go to the farm and while many answers were different, the following were the burden of the complaints {: Very few farmers are. in position or will under take to, board and room hired help, They expect farm laborer to look out for himself at wage rarely eyer ex- ceeding $1.50 per day and often less. There. are no boarding houses in the country, but should one be able. to; ind a place to room and board, the cost would be no less than $I per day, thus leaving 50 cents for hard day s work of 10 hours. One farmer did offer the writer $1 per day and board for pick lIE ssSLEdNDCITKcb auu utkSAAS up PtAiC stumps, but the sleering quarters were in an old abandoned pine pole shack in a swamp at least a mile away. Farmers can get all the labor they want if they will only provide decent living conditions and wage barely sufficient for actual existence.
 <. Economical Use Of Fertilizer
 A great many years ago some wise Englishman or was it Scotchman2 wrote in an early treatise on fertilizers that work was tie best fertilizer. There is just as much truth today in this philosophy as the fact that fertilizer is the lazy. mans refuge. There is prob: ably more money annually wasted in the south through indifferent and igno- rant use of fertilizers than the sum total destroyed by the boil weevil. The average farmer expects too much from commercial .fertilizing, iniagines it great ly reduces the necessary amount of la bor, whereas, a. liberal use indicates more labor if economical results are to obtain. The more you cultivate any plant the more food it will consume and those indifferently or poorly culti- vated will consume but little, no matter how much is provided, thus millions of dollars worth of commercial plant food is wasted, and finds it's way through teaching to creeks, and rivers There can be no set fule as to the proper amount of commercial plant food to ap- ply to any given crop because too much depends on the land itself. but it. is safe to say that the amount can be economically increased or decreased through rational system of intensive cultivation. Fertilizing is an invest ment and its work that will bring in the dividends. e
 Corn Pone And Greens
 This is the standard daily ration with large per cent of the southern farm laborers, renter and even land owner. It's good grub alright, providing there be an ample supply of fat bacon as an appetizer, but too often is, it the case that the farmer only has the greens, often buys the corn meal at the supply store and in nearly every case must buy the bacon al. ruinous time prices. City folks are not the only ones that live out of paper sacks. The average farm house in the south is cluttered zup with tin. cans of every conceivable nature. Fancy cartons and paper sacks occupy every nook and corner, in short, the premises often have the appearance F of the city garbage dump. One Is led to wonder where the farmer finds the money to buy all of this, store-bought junk. If you stick around long enough you will soon find out, that the bulk of is is bought on credit at credit prices, but that payment must be made sooner or later in some growing cash crop, most likely cotton. Cash or sale, crops are essential but careful investigation maintain that at least two-thirds of the farm ought to be devoted to food and feed crops. thus leaving at least DOT. ton of the, cash crop untouched as q reward for industry.
 Questions And Answers
 c. What sort of dahlias are those that are round and blossom like a snowfall? They are compact and come in various colors?-Mrs. l., Wylam, Ala. y
 A. The type yoti refer. to are known as ball and double dahlias and you win find them so listed in catalogs. They can be planted now. OF even as late as, June. si te f+5
 @. What causes my radishes grown for market to have so many misshaped bulbs and side roots asqto render them dnsalabie? Does the soil or fertilizer have anything <to do with it and is there any remedy ?--P P, R.. F. D. 6. { A. Soil and fertilizer has but little eo do with it. Change in weather condi- tiens is one factor but the seed thema selves is the more frequent cause. Good radish seed, grown only from select or transplanted roots, do not behave in the manner stated.
 70. When use Bordeaux mixture in spraying my. trees and plants, 1t gets on my hands, arms, the wind frequently blows it in my face and causes irrita- ton. Is there something | can wash this off with and counteract .-B. L., Athens, Ala Gs
 'A. Vinegar, lemon juice or any acid will countAract the caustic effect of Bordeaux mixture or the lime sulphur spray and ought to be applied freely before trying to wash off.
 o, have a fine crop of cabbage but large number of the plants are now going to seed. did not know that cabbage was an annual and made seed the first year. What causes this and is there some way can prevent another. .year?-M J., Blocton, Ala.
 A. Cabbage is not an annual plant but;a biennial. The seed that produced the plants you, have going to seed must have been planted last fall and were rather large or old when set out. Gold weather and severe check in normal growth will cause such condition. There is mo. remedy except to SFoid setting out old or very large plants.
 @. There is an ornamental grass that II want that produces long slender