Southern world : journal of industry for the farm, home and workshop. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1882-18??, February 01, 1882, Image 4

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4 THE SOUTHERN WORLD, FEBRUARY 1,1882, AGRICULTURAL FACTS. Nninll Farm*.—• Dairy Farmlnf.—Ber nt uda tirau.->910,000 a year from italic tjr Acre*. Crawlordvllls, On., Democrat. On a recent visit to the Exposition we met Mr. Frank P. Jones, of Bufke. Having known him in his own county, we were fa- iniliar with his reptitution as a man of fine practical sense, and as a farmer of extend ed and successful experience. In conver sation with him on matters of farming, he gave us some ideas which we briefly give: I own about one thousand acres in Burke county. That land I have divided iuto a number of small farms, placing tenants on each. One hundred und forty acres I have reserved for myself. Forty acres were planted this yearin corn, peas being planted between the rows; forty acre were planted in oats, and after that peas on the same ground; forty were devoted to cotton, and the remaining twenty to melons. You will sec from this that I am not ail advocate of large crops of cotton to the exclusion of other things. I think our farmers givo TOO MUCH ATTENTION TO COTTON and too little to other products. My plan is much the more profitable from several points of view. In the first place there are other things which pay better. Take wa termelons for instance. My twenty acres of watermelons have paid me as much as iny cotton this year witn less than half the labor. During a previous season they paid morethan twice as much. I have a cousin farming in the same county—Dr. W. B. Jones—wlio devotes great, attention to them and makes a fine profit simply from the seed of the melons. They pny him an av erage of from ten to fifteen cents a head in that way. He runs a farm of thirty acres, devoted solely to the rasing of seeds of va rious kinds, which pays him a profit of about $700 u year. The seed of the old fash ioned collard puid him $360 an acre this year. “But is there not trouble in finding a market?" we asked. "None, whatever. He FINDS A HEADY MAHKKT not only in the South, but in the North and West. Of course he udvertiscs, but outside of two or three agricultural journals he does little in that line. There is nothing that keeps back our Southern farmers more than this idea of all cotton. My plan is to * BA18E EVERYTHING I NEED AT HOME, as far as possible. I have followed this plan, and liuve tried to impress it upon the negroes who work for me. The result is that some of them arc more independent by far than the majority of white farmers in Qeorgiu. I had one man with me who stayed on my plucc until lie had accumu lated about $000. This he put into a piece of land. By following my plan he is to-day worth $3,500, and is out of debt. He bought his place five years ago. This man lives as well as I do myself. There arc many ways in which our far mers can make more money tlian by devot ing their whole attention to cotton. One thing I have great fuith inis DAIRY FARMING. I expect to give it a good deal of attention henceforth. I am starting to clear 100 acres of swamp land and put it in Bermuda gross for that purpose. Men of experience in that line say it will maintain from five to ten head of cattle per acre. At a low esti mate this much land will maintain 500 cows' But suppose you put the figures down to one cow to tho acre, it will keep up a herd of 100 cows. Say that each of those will givo three gallons of milk ora pound of butter per day. At twenty-five or thirty cents a .pound, you have twenty-five or thirty dollars a day. It my take four years to bring it to its full capacity, but I expect the time to come when it will net me about $10,000 A YEAR. Then a a good deal can be made by the man ufacture of cheese, if one chooses to go into that line. It is one of tho most profitable industries of this country; and yon always have a good market. I expect no difficulty in getting a market for anything on my farm. I can easily dispose of every pound of butter I make to an advantage. As to labor very little help is needed. Four or five men and about ten girls will be ample. But I don’t expect to stop at that. Each cow will give say two gallons of sour milk. Let that be fed to a pig. Give the pig a pint of meal a day, and at the end of twelve months you will have about 300 pounds of net pork. {At seven cents a pound it will bring $21. Then take the calves of a hundred cows. They ought to bring $20 a head in beef at a year old. Then you have four or five tons of manure a year from each cow. This manure is better then any commercial fertilizer you can get." “According to your idea then the much abused BERMUDA GRASS MAY BE MADE A BLESSING after all?” “Oh, yes. And it not only makes fine pasturage, but you can plow it up and use the roots for hay. Suppose you have fifteen or twenty tons of roots to the acre. If you plow it up ami put it into a barrel of water, or a small stream, the dirt will readily sink to the bottom, and you can dry it and lay it by. When you do this you have all the hay you want. Then the plowing up of the land will do it good. I could go into greater details and give you figdres to show I make my system pay in other ways, What 1 said t however, will give you a good general idea, The farmers around me begin to see its advantage. Several have tried my plan and will testify to its good results. My theory is summed up in a few words. Cultivate a small quantity of land, and cultivate it well, raise your own supplies, and keep out of debt. In my opinion this is the truest secret of success ful farming." Orchard Grass. This valuable grass ranks next in im portance to the tali meadow-oat gross for hay mid winter pasture. It succeeds very well at the South on drained and dry bot tom land, or on rich upland. There is a peculiarity about it. The writer lias never observed it to spread from the scattering of its own seeds. From some unaccountable reason, the shattered seed does not vegetate; if, therefore, it be sowed too thin, it does not fill the gap, and presents an unsightly appearance, and gives inferior grasses a chance to occupy the vacant space. Orchard grass, for hay, should be cut as soon ns it begins to blossom; if cut then, the hay is sweet, tender and nutritious; but if the cutting be deferred until the seed has formed, the hay will be hard and valueless. After cutting, orchard grass springs rap idly, and the aftergrowth is heavy. This should not be pastured during the summer or fall, but should be reserved for winter grazing. It should be treated as above di rected in the cose of the tall meadow-oat grass. The seed of orchard grass is also very light and chaffy, and therefore two bushels should be sowed to the acre. This grass was introduced into England, from Virginia, in 1764. It is very highly valued in that country, and in the Northern States it holds a high rank as a hay and past tire grass. But its chief benefit is lostat the North, as it cannot be pastured there during the winter. Orchard grass is not suited to wet bottom land, but thrives in a rich upland. It grows well in an orchard, or in thinned woodland. With the exception of meadow-oat grass, orchard grass stands a drouth better than any other of the cultivated grasses. Where lmy is an object, these two grasses, meadow-oat and orchard grass, should be sowed with red clover and white, as each of the four blossoms at the same time, and is, therefore, simultaneously ready for the scythe. They answer also to mix with clover in a rotation, where the clover is to stand two or three years, as they mature rapidly, and assist in giving a compact sod. The farmer should remember, that a sod of good gross and clover turned under is quite equal in value to a costly application of either putrescent or purchased manures. The cultivation of these two grasses at the Soutii can not be too strongly recommended on soils adapted to them.—[Howard’s Man ual of Grasses. Mr. G. W. C. Munro, of Marion county, Ga., made over 1,000 bushels of potatoes, averaging 150 bushels to the acre, on laud that would no have made over six bushels of corn to the acre. After the potatoes had been dug he turned his hogs in the field. With what potatoes they got, one acre of ground peas, the gleanings of the pea field, and fifteen bushels of corn he has fattened six thousand pounds of meat. He feeds po tatoes to his stock. Since the laying by of the crops he has kept six head of mules and liortes in good condition, and has fed to them only ten bushels of corn. That is the way to make money farming.—[Buena Vista Argus. jwi Jftoch jjeyarimnt. BMSdlnc Male; Hock. Forest K. Moreland says if a young man, just starting in life, say at tho age of twenty- one, and wishing to stock his farm, were to procure two thoroughbred Jersey cows of different and well known butter-making families, by careful attention to the breed ing of his herd, and ordinary industry in his business, he would, before reaching the prime of life, become the owner of a first- class herd of valuable stock, that would be far more profitable than the same number of scrub or native cattle. Laying the founda tion of a herd of thoroughbred Jersey cattle in a small way like this is not beyond the means of a large proportion of the young men just starting in life. A farmer wishing to start a herd of thor oughbred stock by producing two animals of different breeding, will have this advantage —his herd will consist of two different strains of blood, or rattier, he will have two different families, which is always an advan tage. Young breeders, just laying the founda tion of what they hope will, in time, become a valuable herd of thoroughbred stock, can not be too careful, in selecting stock, to see that tliefr pedigrees are well authenticated; and not only that, but to criticise well the character of their ancestors referred to in tlie pedigree. An animal that combines, in a suitable degree, the good qualities of his or her ancestors, is more valuable for breed ing than one that was not. This point is determined by the pedigree; and for this purpose alone tho registering of on animal is very important. Registering stock is the breeder’s safeguard in purchasing. If he lias no experience, as is often the ense, or lias no definite knowledge of the points of the animal in question, he should seek the advice of a friend; or, if he is dealing with a breeder of established reputation, he may safely trust the matter entirely with such breeder. And he should also consult his own taste and intentions. Having decided on the type of animal which he fancies, he would be unwise to fill up his herd with ani mals of different types. Withoutadvocating one color more than another, or large size more than small size, it is proper to state that uniformity cannot be too strongly recommended. In selecting animals from which to breed the question arises—is it desirable to breed large animals? Too much importance is generally attached to size. Tiiere are many reasons in favor of a small-sized Jersey. There is a certain class of men who have a strong liking for agricultural pursuits, and yet are not farmers. Very many profes sional men live on small country places, and like to keep a cow, or perhaps two or three cows, to furnish their own milk and butter. Small farmers cannot keep many cows. La boring men, as well os the richer classes, always keep a cow whenever they are able to do so. With all these men a small cow is more desirable than a large one, and very often men of this class, unable to keep a large cow, would keep none at all, if they could not procure a small one. A Jersey that has a disposition to take on flesh rapidly is apt to prove unprofitable for the dairy. The beef producer’s occupation is distinct from the butter-makers. In the production of beef, large stock is desirable; not so in the dairy. Experience teaches that here a small or medium-sized cow is, as a rule, more valuable in converting grass into milk and butter. The form of a Jersey is her most impor tant characteristic. The ability to select a good animal from a number of others, with any degree of certainty, is a peculiar and valuable kind of knowledge that comes only after long and expensive experience in handling stock, and experience isuseful only in persons who have a natural aptitude for observing the characteristics of animals. Any animal, no difference what the breed is, always looks well when in good flesh. But when the production of flesh is not the important end of an animal's existence, and it certainly is not that of a Jersey’s exis tence, one may well sacrifice looks to utility. The one important point in which the Jer sey excels, is in the disposition to produce a good flow of highly-colored rich milk. They do not excel in the production of beef; in fact the animal is naturally so much inferior to other breeds in size as to render it impos sible that she will ever become a successful competitor in the production of beef, and is, therefore, lean and misshapen, judging by the universal Short-horn standard. A term of years’ breeding and handling Jersey stock will greatly modify a man’s ideas of what the form should be. He will, in time; attach less importance to the color of the animal and more importance to the quantity and quality of milk and blitter. The question of constitution is of great importance. If. at any period in the gene alogy of an animal; there was an ancestor that was unhealthy, or of bad form, there Is certain danger of these bad qualities being reproduced in offspring. The crdcial test of the quality of a male is the best quality of his offspring. His progeny should possess an evenness of character due to the sire. « Jersey Cows. s The Island of Jersey is small) if it Was square it would be OX miles on each side. However, this little piece of land suffices to keep 12,000 head of cattle; that is to say, in round numbers, supports one animal for each two acres of its territory, this including rocks, roads, barren land, and the building lots necessary to the housing of 60,000 inhab itants. And it has been thus for the last twenty years, at least, indeed, the census of 1861 gives 12,837 as tiie number of cattle in the Island of Jersey. What is still more remarkable, it exports each year about 2000 head (the average cf exportations, according to the custom house reports, being 2040, for the last eighteen years) nearly one head for each ten acres. Now the total number of cattle in England gives only one for ten acres; it follows, then, that in proportion to its extent, the Island of Jersey exports, each year, more cattle than England contains. In other words, if England should export at the same rate, all her cattle would be gone in a single year, and she would not have left a single hoof. THEIR WORK. The work of the Jersey is to convert grass and roots into butter and not into beef. She is not raised to be eaten; she has more value as a machine to produce butter. Then why should she be larger? And far from being a luxury for the rich man, she is more than any other race the dependence of the poor, the best aid of small farming. This is very easily and simply proved (in a general way) by the experience of the Island of Jersey. We have seen that they keep their 12,000 head of cattle on six miles square, there where the rent averages $45 per acre; there where the farms are smaller than they are anywhere else; there where each farmer works with his hands, and is face to face with the wolf that he needs must keep from the door. And what do we see ? An island eaten up by cattle, and the farmer begging ? On the contrary, all the island is like a gar den, everywhere sown with improvements and comfortable houses, and of which the aspect shows the wellbeing. One finds every where comfort and plenty, and nowhere poverty, misery, or beggars. I do not claim that all this is the work of the cows, but I say that these farmers who have so serious a struggle to live, and yet who obtain so marvellous a success, should know their business, and not keep 12,000 head of cattle at a loss. If the Jerseys are profitable there, with the land at $45 per acre, will they not give a profit in England, and everywhere else where there is a market for the butter? But we will go farther. We claim that the Jersey cow is the handsomest of all cows, as well as the most profitable. THEIR MERITS. We will state them in as few words as pos sible. We claim that the Jersey is the most profitable of all cows for butter; that she will give more butter (relatively to her weight and the feed she eats) than any other race whatever; that o.good Jersey will give half her weight in butter per year. She rarely weighs more than 800 pounds, the av erage weight being 700 pounds, and cows giving half of that in butter, per year, are found in every herd ; that the milk is richer than that of any other race, six pints often giving a pound of butter, giving less water to milk, carry, and set; that the butter is of better color, of better texture, of better fla vor, and of higher price; that she becomes profitable earlier, usually having, her first calf at two years, and often sooner; that she is gentle and docile, easily cared for (in the Island of Jersey, at least) by the women and children of the house who lead her to the field, tie her, take her back to the barn, milk her, and have the whole care of her, without help from the men, who are occupied with other work. Finally, she is equally at home in the cold climate of the Canadian winters, and the tropical heat of the gulf 8tates. I have now before me, letters from the Secretary of the exhibition of Jersey cattle at Mobile, where they succeed perfectly, and from Mr. Burnham, (who has bought the famous Coomassie), of Connecticut, why