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PAGE TWO
Federal Farm Board
Member Gives Talk
To Cotton Meeting
Carl Williams Discusses The
Federal Farm Board And
The Cotton Situation
On May first the National Association
of Cotton Manufacturers, at its annual
meeting at Boston, heard an address by
Carl Williams, member of the Federal
Farm Board, on “the harm Board and the
Cotton Situation." , . . „
After tracing the history of American
agriculture to the present time, Mr. Wil
liams told of the resasons for the
tion of the Farm Board and the methods
which it expected to use in its l J™’*:
Similarity Os Farming re-
Speaking of the close and int ™ at ® r ?
lationship between agriculture and J*™ 1
ness he pointed out that while farming
prices were just as subject to severe fluc
tuations there were not the
in and help in emergencies in commodities
that there were in stock panics. I e wen
On, ‘For *a time the loan operations of the
Federal Farm Board were enough to pre
vent the industrial panic from seriously
affecting commodities. Ultimately, ow
even American unemployment, restricted
buving power, decreased consumption of
textiles and bad business conditions in the
world at large, forced the Board to step
k. again, th* time with stabilization ope
rations on wheat and, to avo ? d a c ? a,s
the cotton trade, with support for the cot
ton cooperatives on their future hedges and
their spot cotton. The effect of these op -
rations cannot yet be properly measured by
either friends or critics. Time will tell that
“It is not my purpose to discuss here the
Immediate operations of the .cotton coope
ratives. It should be emphasized, however,
that these cooperatives are now
through a necessary readjustment Period,
that their present activities are considered
by them to be solely for the purpose of
self-preservation, that those activities are
of an emergency character, and that tney
are not to be taken under any circum
stances as an indication of permanent co
operative policies.
Makeup of Cooperatives
“So far as permanent policies are con
cerned, it is inevitable that the cooperatives
shall be cotton merchants," operating on the
cotton markets of the world as cotton mer
chants do and meeting the needs of the
mills and the textile trade on a basis of real
service. It is inevitable also that, regard
less of the permanent success of the cot
ton cooperative movement, a large part of
the American cotton crop will always re
main to be handled by private merchants.
The fundamental attitude of the coopera
tives themselves and of the Federal Farm
Board toward these merchants is an essen
tially friendly one and in my opinion, fol
lowing the readjustment period through
which the cooperatives are now passing,
that friendliness will develop working meth
ods that are pleasing to both.
“The job of the Federal Farm Board,
however, is infinitely larger than that of
attempting to meet emergency situations
or even that of encouraging the organiza
tion of farmers into strong, self-controlled
and self-financed marketing institutions.
Under the agricultural Marketing Act the
Federal Farm Board is essentially an agri
cultural planning board. It must look ahead
as best it can. It must keep abreast of
production and consumption in all nations.
It must pass its information along to the
farmers of America so that they may not
only intelligently market their crops but,
and more important, so that they may pro
duce the qualities and quantities of crops
that are demanded by the consumers of the
world.
One Project
"One specific Farm Board project, for
instance, is the improvement in the charac
ter and staple of American cotton. We
recognize the excess costs of production in
some parts of the belt. We know that on
the average the man who produces less
than one-third of a bale of lint to the acre
does so at a loss. We know that the South
. does not feed itself and that more acres
planted to food and feed are essential to
financial independence. We recognize no
difference between a profit gained by an
increased price and a profit gained by a
lowered production cost, except that the
latter method of gaining a profit is better
for the land and causes less labor for the
man than the former. We recognize that
one of the most serious handicaps to cot
ton farmers and to the cotton South is the
annual fluctuation in the acre income of
the cotton farmer. How it is possible for
a farmer to be permanently prosperous
when the value of lint cotton in 1920 was
but 46 per cent of that in 1919, or when the
value in 1922 was 180 per cent of that in
1921, or when the value of lint cotton in
1926 was but 65 per cent of its value in
1925? A widely fluctuating price for cot
ton has done much economic harm to the
cotton South. The need of the cotton far
mer is a stable price at a fair level which
will return a profit to the efficient farmer.
“I venture to suggest that the need
for this stable price is just as great on
the part of the textile manufacturer as it
GEORGIA FARMER & FRUIT GROWER SECTION
CALENDAR OF WORK FOR THE FARM
GARDEN AND HOME GROUNDS
By ROBERT SOULE
Editor, Georgia State College of Agriculture
The Year Round Garden
Keeping the year round garden going re
quires constant attention. Remember that
plantings must be made at definite inter-
vals of sufficient length
to bring a new crop into
bearing as the old one
reaches maturity. Fail
ure to plant on the right
date means that you will
have an interval in your
harvest and disappoint
ment in your garden.
Preserve moisture in
your garden soil. It is
estimated taht for every
pound of growth put on
I '
R. M. Soule
by vegetable five hundred pounds of mois
ture are evaporated into the air, through
the leaves. An equal amount is probably
lost through the capillary action of the soil,
and this does not take into consideration
the run off after a shower. From this it
will be seen that the conservation of mois
ture is absolutely essential to the success
ful garden.
New Sprays
The names of two new sprays which
give much promise are cryolite fluosilicate
and barium flusosilicate. These materials
are comparatively low in solubility and are
therefore reasonably safe on foliage. They
can be obtained in commercial quantities
at about the same price as arsenate of
lead. They are both highly toxic to in
sects. In small quantities such as might
usually be found on plants after spraying
fluorine compounds, So far as known,_ are
not dangerously poisonous to man. This of
course is quite an advantage over arse
nate of lead or calcium arseijate which are
deadly poisonous if taken into the body
in sufficient quantities.
Georgia’s Forest Nursery
The Forest Nursery, located on the cam
pus of the Georgia State College of Agri
culture is the only one of its kind in the
State. It is operated in cooperation with
the State and Federal Forestry Depart
ments.
Beginning as an experiment it has grown
until last fall and winter one half million
seedlings were shipped. This year the pro
duction will be tripled.
The species grown are the ones con
sidered most valuable for reforestation pur
poses. They are slash pine, long leaf pine,
loblolly pine and black locust. The slash
and longleaf are the turpentine pines and
are in great demand for South Georgia
plantings. The loblolly because of its rapid
growth is the best pine for the Piedmont
section.
Since the nursery was established it has
supplied enough seedlings to reforest ap
proximately one thousand acres. This
year’s supply alone will reforest two thou
sand acres and plans call for further ex
pansion from year to year. When we con
sider that every acre of idle land planted
to slash pine will in fifteen years have a
crop of timber worth from seventy five to
one hundred and fifty dollars, we have some
idea of the monetary value of the Forest
Nursery to the State.
For adult insects, barium flosilicate is
more toxic than cryolite. Both materials
have given excellent control of the Mexi
can bean beetle when used as a spray
at the rate of one pound to fifty gallons of
water. When using as a dust at the rate
of six pounds per acre, neither cryolite or
barium fluosilicate caused foliage injury
on beans. Both materials when used in
the dust form at the rate of six pounds
per acre gave good control of the bean
beetle. These materials were used suc
cessfully when mixed with two parts of
lime.
Boys and Girls 4-H Club Camps
June second will see Camp Wilkins, State
4-H Boys’ and Girls’ club camp open its
doors for twelve weeks.
Approximately 3000 boys and girls from
all parts of the state will be in attendance.
At camp their time will be divided into
study and play. Instruction will be given
by the various department of the Georgia
State College of Agriculture whose facili
ties are available to all camp members.
Recreation will not be overlooked, however
as the outdoor play ground, open fire place
for weiner roasts, and lake furnish enough
types of play to appeal to any boy or girl.
This year’s camp will be divided into four
weeks for 4-H Girls, one week for Farm
Mothers, one week for vocational education
boys, the remaining six weeks for 4-H club
boys.
One of the most valuable enterprises on
the average farm is the home garden. It
can be made to furnish a variety of vege
tables the entire year and thereby giving
an economical and healthy diet. Now that
the gardens all over the state have been
started let us see what will be best to plant
now for the coming summer season.
People in the southern part of the state
are doubtless well up with their spring
gardens and I presume have planted many
of the tender vegetables such as beans and
corn, and have set out tomatoes, peppers,
egg plant and the like. In North Georgia
is on the part of the cotton farmer. It can
never be achieved except by farmers them
selves with the aid of Government,”
the season is not quite so far advanced but
in the latter section we should find plenty
of the hardy vegetables growing off nicely
in the garden while the ground has been
prepared for the early tender vegetables
such as beans and tomatoes. Early vege
tables are usually more highly prized than
those that come later and for this reason
we should endeavor to have a variety of
crops. And after starting the job off so
nicely it would be a pity to allow the work
to be neglected later in the season when
the sun is beaming down just a little too
intensely for our comfort in the field.
Hardy Vegetables
Notwithstanding the rather severe weath
er in winter, we have had gardens in most
sections of the State that have been fur
nishing quite a variety of late hardy vege
tables, such as English peas, mustard, rad
ish, onion, lettuce, cabbage collards, beets
and spinach. Properly arranged succession
plantings of these crops would continue
their supply until spring. In the moun
tainous parts of the state these hardy
crops may also be grown extensively during
the summer. As a matter of fact they
offer splendid possibilities for summer
shipping.
Besides the hardy crops mentioned which
have been furnishing vegetables for the
winter, we should also find planting of
some of the tenderer vegetables, snap
beans, sweet corn, okra, Irish potatoes, and
a planting of field corn; and in South Geor
gia cucumbers, cantaloupes, watermelons,
etc. Should also be planted while in the
hot bed and cold frames we should find
egg plants, peppers, and tomatoes ready
for the field, when danger from the late
frost is over. No time will be gained by
setting these plants in the field before the
ground warms up a bit. Os course the
sweet potatoes were beded late in Febru
ary or early March and will soon be going
into the field. Remember that the earlier
you plant this crop the greater is the yield.
Use of Fertilizer
If your soil is not naturally very rich,
make it so by broadcasting several loads of
manure over the ground before plowing.
If this is not available use a liberal appli
cation of a complete fertilizer at planting
tir ” e - ® oth should be well mixed with the
soil. Some of the longer growing crops
such as . tomatoes should also have a side
application later. Use plenty of seed. It
is easier to thin to a stand than to replant.
Seed planted early while the ground is still
rather cool are sometimes rather slow in
germinating and this should be taken into
account when making the first planting.
Do not plant too deeply. My observations
convince me that deep planting is a fault
of most gardeners. The small seeded
plants, such as radish, mustard, or turnips,
should rarely be planted more than one
naif inch in depth* and never more than
an meh. Such crops as potatoes and as
paragus are exceptions, the former being
planted about four to five inches in depth,
while the latter is planted slightly deeper
than that. We must remember that these
tiny seed must furnish enough food to keep
the plant growing until it becomes estab
lished in the soil. That is, a stem with
at least two leaves must be developed from
the seed, in addition to a root system suffi
cient to gather from the soil food enough to
furnish a continuous growth after this sup-
P'Y Within the seed coat is exhausted.
The amount of space devoted to a single
planting of any vegetable will depend upon
the number of appetites to be satisfied and
their ability to consume that particular
y^n tabIe ,i And so jt should be with prac
tically all our vegetables that are being
grown for home consumption.
PAPER MULCH PROMISING
FOR GROWING OF TOBACCO
A favorable response of tobacco to paper
mulch was indicated in trials throughout
t"® Ea ® te 7 l States, says Dr. L. H. Flint,
of the United States Department of Agri
culture, commenting on last year’s experi
mental results from the use of paper
mulch. This response, he says, has indi
cated more rapid development, increased
yields, and superior quality of the mulch
grown product.
“In a number of trials with tobacco the
application of fertilizer was reduced suffi
ciently to defray the entire cost of the
paper without reducing the yield. Although
such results are suggestive, they may be of
very limited significance. The trials were
largely confined to open culture tobacco,
and nothing is known regarding the influ
ence of paper on shade-grown tobacco.
In most cases soil has been used for
holding the paper. Laying the paper by
machinery in connection with planting has
received attention, and appears essential
to the general usefulness of paper in to
bacco culture. As a whole the adaption
of paper mulch to the production of this
crop seems to offer sufficient promise to
warrant the serious attention which is be
ing given it by growers.”
Further work will be required, however,
P oc tnr Flint says, to determine the prac
ticability of the mulch for tobacco, and the
problem is still in the experimental stage.
Peanut Growers Elect
Officers Os Recently
Formed Cooperative
J. E. Ladson, Moultrie, Elected
President, W. A. Shiver, M. L. I,ee
W. E. Aycock, Other Officers
The Peanut Growers who recently incor
porated the Peaunt Growers Cooperative
Marketing Association with headquarters
at Moultrie, at their organization meeting
elected J. E. Ladson, of Moultrie, president,
Mr. W. A. Shiver of Cairo, Vice-president,
M. L. Lee of Moultrie, Secretary,Treasurer
and W. E. Aycock, of Moultrie, Assistant
Secretary.
A large meeting of farmers, and especi
ally peanut growers will be held in Moul
trie early in June, at which time a member
of the Federal Farm Board is expected to
deliver an address and will tell just what
the Farm Board is doing to help the farmer
solve his marketing problems, and just
what assistance the peanut growers may
expect from the Board.
Senator Walter George, who will also be
on the program, will confer with the Farm
Board this week and will wire Assistant-
Secretary Aycock, of the Association, the
exact date that will be convenient for him
and a member of the Farm Board to be in
Moultrie.
Dr. Andrew M. Soule, President of the
State College of Agriculture, is expected
to be on the program. Senators and rep
resentatives from peanut producing states,
farmers, directors of extension work, Agri
cultural college heads, agricultural com
missioners, bankers and others in the states
of Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina,
and Florida, which comprise the market
growing peanut area of the Southeast, will
be invited to attend and participate in
the meeting, at which time directors from
these states will be elected.
J. E. Ladson, the President, is one of the
largest farmers in Georgia, and is also a
very successful business man. He was
raised on a farm in Montgomery county,
Georgia, but came to Moultrie twenty years
ago and engaged in the wholesale lumber
business, and while still a large lumber
merchant, the major portion of his time is
devoted to his extensive farming interests.
Mr. Ladson operates 150 plows, all on a
share cropping basis. Each tenant must
follow the diversified plan, which Mr. Lad
son has adopted, scale of crops and acre
age to each as follows:
Tobacco—2 acres to the plow; Cotton—
-7 1-2 acres; Corn and Velvet Beans—lo
acres; Peanunts—3 to 5 acres; Sweet pota
toes —2 acres. In each group of farms
enough oats followed by peavine hay is
grown to more than feed all the work ani
mals. Each tenant is furnished one or
more milch cows, and is encouraged to raise
plenty of poultry for the table and a sur
plus for market, and must have a home
garden. Each tenant is also furnished
bred brood sows, which he must care for,
and the pigs are raised on a 50-50 basis.
It was one of Mr. Ladson’s ideas to make
his share of the hog crop pay insurance,
upkeep on all farm buildings, as well as all
taxes, and to date the system has more
than taken care of these fixed expenses.
Another plan of Mr. Ladson’s is to make
all advances to his tenants on a monthly
basis, and thus encourage thrift. There are
two general superintendents of the Ladson
farms, Mr. Geo. Ladson, a brother, who
supervises those located North of Moultrie,
and Mr. Ben T. Galloway, those South; and
Mr. Galloway is the tobacco specialist on
all the farms. Tobacco from the Ladsoi.
farms sold for $3.75 per hundred pounds
above the state average last year, reflect
ing the intelligent direction under which
the Ladson tenants worked. There were an
aggregate of 255 acres planted to tobacco
last year with an average yield of 1140
pounds per acre; 960 acres to cotton which
ginned 534 bales grading more than 50%
middling. 99% of Ladson’s tenants paid
all their indebtedness last year and had
credit balances, which they are either al
lowed to draw in cash or use for financing
themselves this year. Mr. Ladson states
that some of his tenants, with this year’s
savings added to last years will be in posi
tion to purchase their own farms, which he
is encouraging them to do.
Mr. W. A. Shiver, the Vice President, is a
large farmer of Grady county, Georgia, was
one of the organizers of CANE GROWERS
CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION, with
headquarters at Cairo, Ga. This is one of
the oldest and most successful co-opera
tive organizations, having a large mem
bership throughout South Georgia, S. E.
Alabama and North Florida. This organi
zation has been successfully marketing
syrup for the growers for several years.
Mr. Shiver brings a wealth of experience
in co-operative marketing to the Peanut
Growers Co-operative Marketing Associa
tion and will therefore be of great benefit
to the organization.
M. L. Lee, the Secretary-Treasurer, is
vice president, and cashier of the Moultrie
Banking Co., having been connected with
this powerful financial institution for mere
than 20 years, and has been farming for
more than 15 years. j
Graceville, Jackson County .annually
ships more watermelons than any other
point in the world.