Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-07-01
Planting Alfalfa in North Georgia

4
w. u. A, Macon, Ga, writes:
/ have q field Of Is acres from
which l have cut oats and wheat.
l wish to know how TO prepare
this land for seeding to alfalfa
this fall The LAND is above the
average in pro0uctiVeneS5.
Remove the oats and wheat from
the field you propose to seed to al
falfa as soon as practicable. IT there
is a very good season in the ground
shortly thereafter, you may disc IN
coWpeas. We suggest that you plant
either the Brabham or the Iron We
riety If weather conditions are not
satisfactory, you may find 1t neces'
sary to break the land with a turn
ing pillow, harrow and falloW it for
few days, and then seed to COW
peas. These peas should be ready
to turn under as q green manure
crop about the first to the fifteenth
of September. They should not be
turned down until the lower leaves
begin to show yellow appearance
and the ends Of the pods are rlpened.
Turn the whole mass Of vines under
as deeply as possible. For this puf-
pose, it is desirable to use a disc
pillow, as it Will bury the mass more
effectively than any other type OF
implement you can employ. The
land should be Immediately rolled
and then narrowed Stir the surface
of the ground once a week there
after until the fifteenth Of October.
If seasonal conditions are at all IA
vorabIe, sow the alfalfa at that time.
Sometimes it is necessary to want
week or longer before seeding the
alfalfa on account of a drouth perlou.
We have found it the best practice,
however, to get our alfalfa seed INTO
| the ground as near to the 1lTteenth
of October as possible.
Before you SOW your coWpeas, we
suggest that you scatter at least TWO
tons of crushed, raw, lime rock over
the surface of the ground. You can
obtain this material at q very reason
able cost from Gainesville. The cow
peas should be fertilized with 5Oo
pounds of acid phosphate ana wv
| hounds Of manure salts AS soon
as YOU pillow the coWpeas uhoef' pun
on two tons more or cruSneu' raw
lime rock. Harrow this into the sur
face of the ground When you a,e
reodv tn seed the alfalfa. Apply L.
900 pounds Of "a formula contallllle
d ner cent nitrogen, IL per cent phos-
|
The seed should be sown on dark
day You should inoculate them very
carefully with a special culture. You
can secure the material for TINS pur-
nose from any reliable SEED uealer
or from the state department Oh az
ricufture, Atlanta, Ga.
The Future of the South Dairy IN
dustry
r A. T.. Hollins, Va, writes:
7 would appreciate some susees
lions from you as to the Iullie
of the dairy industry in the
south. I believe that the one
thing the south most needs at
| this time is dairying. 1t Wouiu
not only provide another casn
cron. but it would increase all
the other crops and reduce the
cost Of their production.
T fully agree with you that our
nor canita use of dairy products Is
very low. [ had occasion the otneL
dav to look into this matter, ana
found that here in Georgia, we Were
probably producing the equivalent VI
one small glass Of milk per Gay per
canita of population. Many OF the
children are undernourished because
thew are not receiving enough mllh
or consuming enough butter Ias.
They are therefore deprived or a SUI
ficient amount of vitamines, Whlcn
we now know to be fundamental 10
the maintenance of health, partlcu'
larly in children.
Your belief that there is a great
future ahead for the dairy industry
in the south is well-tallen. We have
demonstrated the fact here in Geor-
gia that a first-class quality of Ched'
dar cheese can be made throughout
| tbe Piedmont section of our state.
Our work in this field has resulted
in the development of factories III
the last two wears that will turn out
more than a million pounds OF cheese
a wear, which is finding ready sale
| in the cities of our own state at
prices equal to those prevailing Tor
| the finest grade Of cheese made IN
Wisconsin. Thus, we have found
new and acceptable outlet for the
| milk produced by our farmers on
a basis that is insuring their secur-
| ing fifty cents per pound for their
butter fat We think we have rem
dered our state a very fundamental
and essential service along this par
! ticular line. This is an enterprise
put across entirely through the
| agency of our institution.
Moreover, We have taken an active
! and sympathetic attitude towards the
establishment of creameries. we
now have about twenty-five of them
in our state that will make several
million pounds of butter this year
| Their output will be worth at least
| five million dollars. We are increas'
| ing the number of our dairy cattle
and the output of milk for the use OF
our urban population / am sure
| that / am conservative in stating
that our dairy production gains last
year added ten million dollars to
| the income of our farmers, kept that
amount Of money within the state.
put it back into circulation, added
materially to the income Of the in
dividual producer, helped to clear
away the m ortgage that hung like
| shadow over his home, and made him
| feel that the birds were singing and
| the sun was shining once more.
| Our college farm here at Athens
was a worn out cotton plantation
| seventeen years ago. IT Is a beaut{-
full place now, even though you may
credit me with unduly Boosting in
making that statement. During the
| seventeen years which have passed
since the college was established, we
| have made and sold from this farm
about $215,000 worth Of products.
OF this amount, $3.50, 900 was derived
from animal sources, and, by far the
| larger part, from our dairy We
have excellent herds Of dairy cattle
| here now and farm that is compare.