Evening star., 1927-05-15

of the most interesting of the expert
mental farms maintained by the
United States Department of ASri-
culture. This is the foreign plant and
plant experiment station at Bell,
where new varieties of plant life are
developed for American agriculture.
The economic life of Prince Georges
County is based largely on tobacco
culture. The soil, sandy loan with
considerable natural phosphate, is es-
pecially adapted to tobacco. which
Yields return of $500 to $1,000 an
acre. One man can cultivate from D
TO 10 acres without hiring labor.
The Tobacco Industry.
The Prince Georges County tobacco
is used extensively in making popular
brands of cigarettes. IT has the ad-
vantage of burning slowly and stead
ily--a quality due in large part to the
IStash content OF the soil. This, of
course. must be renewed constantly.
In recent years this tobacco has
brought a top price. between 80 and
so cents, while the average of the
State is only about 80 cents.
But the crop has not got the best
reputation 1t drains fertility from
the soil rapidly. Some very good farm
land in southern Maryland has been
ruined by lack of attention to proper
crop rotation. This bad repute. say
the Prince Georges County farmers,
is not entirely deserved. Tobacco Is
not so bad a thief of phosphates as
corn or rye. 1t runs about even with
wheat and potatoes. The customary
rotation is as follows: Tobacco, wheat,
hay. pasture, then tobacco again.
This gives an interval of three years
@ratC
between crops. which. experiments
have shown. is sufficient. o.
The county has more than '.ooo
acres i'm tobacco and approximately
| 200 growers. The productloh iast
wear was approximately half million
mounds. Ten years ago so per cent of
the crop was sold in France, whlch
maintained a government monopoly
on cigarettes. Now only about Az per
cent is sold abroad. the rest going 10
American cigarette manufacturers
The tobacco shipping point ls Balti-
more. The Popes Creek branch OF the
Pennsylvania Railroad cuts through
the heart of the tobacco section. start
ing at Bowie. The leaf is packed In
O-pound hogsheads, the same type OF
container used in colonial days.
The tobacco farmer is little depend
ent on Washington. His historic SHIP
ming point is Baltimore. There the
State maintains a tobacco warehouse
for his benefit. But it is different win
the second most important branch oL
Prince Georges County agriculture
This is truck farming ana market
gardening 1t has driven out TOBACCO
from the districts adjacent to WASH
inoton and is spreading East and
South ia pidly. Truck crops and to-
bacco are interchangeable so far as
soil requirements are concerned.
There are 5000 acres in white po-
tatoes. all within 15-mile radius or
Washington. producing nearly nan
million bushels annually.
Large strawberry tracts are being
developed in the Suitland and Chllium
districts and about 100000 quarts a
year are reported.
All the common vegetables ana
small fruits are raised. most or them
being disposed of through the Farm
ers' Market in Washington. although
many Of the truck men sell from door
to-door. This requires intensive cuiti-
vation of the land and is resulting In
more and more subdividinG of farms.
Truck produce is considered Inc
most profitable of all agricultural
products. and Prince Georges County
RIGHT sort of soil next door TO one OF
the finest markets in the United
States. Montgomery County and near
nv Virginia. with their heavy clay
loan. cannot hope to compete In TINS
field.
Production of Milk
The dairy COW is essentially dones-
tic. The whole county is well WITHIN
the range of the Washington milk
district. but less than 1000 gallons
.tav are sent to the National Capital'
Hardly any of the milk goes to Baltl-
more. The herds are widely scattered
-proba bly the best being found south
of Washington. in the Brandywine and
Surratts districts. where dairy farmers
have come I'm the past few years.
The soil of the county is not Ideally
dapted to cattle. and the roads up
to a few years ago, were hafdiy sun
able for shipping milk. The state
AGRICULTURAL college has long stressed
the desirability of keeping dairy hefds
for the sake of the land. and 1t is en-
pected that more and more farmers
will come to this in time. The desira'
biIitv of beef cattle also is being en-
phasized.
COW puts back almost so per cent
-.
of the fertilizer she takes out or the
soil in the form of fertilizer. Tobacco
and corn put back nothing: Ihe
dairy farmer can keep up his lsnd
without going into his pocket often
to buy commercial fertilizers. There
are about Is milch herds in the county
which produce for Washington. About
so dairymen in the Brandywine and
Auuasco district, furnish cream to
cooperative creamery in Charles Coun'
ty. The prevailing breed of mich COW
is the guernsey. The black and white
Holstein, so familiar In MONTGOMERY
and Frederick Counties, is hardly to
be found.
Good tobacco land in Prince Georges
County brings from $500 to 5000 an
acre depending on locality. But there
is a great deal of marsh land and hui
side covered with Grub pine and oak