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» t THE ATLANTA SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL, aTLANTA, GA., TUESDAY, JUNE 24, 1913. agricultural ,fgg Education ^—**> Successful Far>mn<%- , Sssfe # An^ew tx Soule I fltg department win cheerfully enaeatm to jurnisn any information, l.ettcrs should 6e addressed to Dr. Andrew M. Soule, president Stats Agricultural College, Athens, Oa. DEVELOPING GEORGIA’S AGRICULTURE C > EORGIA has 'made great strides T agriculturally in the past deo- * ade. Many influences have contributed to this result, but no one factor deserves more credit than that of education as ap plied to the solution of the problems of the farmer. Within the period men tioned the whole scheme of instruction in agriculture has been reorganized and directed along modern scientific lines to -the end that some of the more im portant principles which research has brought to light might be made avail able to a considerable proportion of those who till the soil. The growing appreciation of education as applied to agriculture has been amply demonstrat ed by the growth of* the State college of Agriculture which now has nearly 140 men studying for degrees as com pared with 25 five years ago. The in crease in attendance on the long cours es has been approximately 33 and 35 per cent for the past two years. The enrollment in all courses up to the present time is 200,’ and promises to be 300 before the end of the present college year. It is doubtful if a larg er body of young men has gathered to gether in any southern state for the purpose of specializing along the line3 of scientific agriculture. While the state has not made large appropriations as compared with many others in the south, enough money has been provided to erect a suitable build ing and gather some very excellent equipment for the instruction of stu dents. It has been a difficult, and at times discouraging task to overcome the opposition and prejudice which has existed towards agricultural education, but U would seem that substantial progress'is being made in the right di rection and one of the problems which the state now faces is the im mediate provision of additional build ings and facilities in order that the young men in Georgia may not be de prived of the advantages which edu cation with reference to modern agri cultural practice insures. The awakening of intellectual facul ties as applied to agricultural devel opment is the most gratifying occur rence within the past ten years. For fifty years men went hungry, though there was an abundance of land throughout the world to produce all the bread needed. For reasons nard to understand, however, no attention was given to * the utilization of this land and the evolution tnrougn invent ive genius of types of implements by which- it might be worked with econ omy. During this period men dreamed about the moon and endeavored to es tablish false standards of philosophy and living. There were a rew ex tremely rich and millions in abject poverty and distress. Civilization was stagnated and industrial progress at the lowest ebb. With the advent or the mowing machine and the reaper a change came over the face of affairs which few men of this day ana genera tion are able to appreciate; for it made bread available to every one at a rea sonable price. In 1830, ror instance, it took three hours of a man’s time to produce a bushel of wheat. By ma chinery in 1912 this was accomplished in less than ten minutes. With an abundant supply of bread for every one the standards of living have Deen raised, intellectual advancement has been witnessed on every hand, and our modern industrial development and civ ilization owes its existence largely to the fact that man through the applica tion of his intellect to the problem of u^lizing the natural gifts of the soil has been able to provide for himseir an abundance of ’cheap food and raw materials. This illustrates the power of the train ed intellect as applied to the advancement of the nation through the utilization of its latent potentialities. One example must serve in this instance, but as great progress, has been witnessed in the evolution of cotton, tne development or corn and the promotion of our live stock industries as with wheat. From the foregoing we may justly conclude that while the state of Georgia is making great advancement, her future is to be determined by the degree to which she promotes education in agriculture so that the mind of the youth of the state wno are to be her leaders may be perfected along this line, and those living In the country and cultivating the soil so direct ed that they will be able to use the nat ural gifts af their special environment to the best advantage in the development of a type of agriculture which may be regarded as permanent, economic, and therefore constructive in its purpose ana scope. . The power of the application of a few principles in redirecting the energy of a people is best illustrated by what has been accomplished through the boys’ and girls' clubs, which were Organized through the agency of the University of Georgia in 1906. To Chancellor Barrow is due great credit for the wisdom and foresight he exercised with reference to the promotion of these organizations. To day Georgia has 15,000 boys and girls in her industrial clubs, and they are teach ing a lesson to young and old alike which has already borne fruit of the greatest importance and which is des tined to revolutionize our point of view with refeernce to farm practice and in dustrial advancement in the near future. In 1906 when the clubs were started, Georgia was producing about ten bush els of corn per acre, and the crop for that year approximated 45,000,000 bush els. In 1911, the average yield was 16.5 bushels and the state produced about 75,000,000 bushels of corn. The increase in a period of six years wa3 30,000,000 bushels, equal to a money value of $30.- 000,000. The additional corn produced has enabled the purchase and mainte nance, of more horses and mule^ of a l'arger and better type. Henc* it has been possible to use more modern agri cultural implements and cultivate the soil* to better advantage. The $30,000,- 000 annually sent out of the state for foodstuffs has been kept at home, and in fact, commission merchants in Chi cago and St. Louis have complained about the falling off in the shipments of corn to this state. Surely, the cap italization of a few elementary princi ples of modern agriculture through the receptive minds of the boys and girls of Georgia has brought an economic profit of startling proportions. What may be anticipated when 100,000 boys enter these clubs and a new vision ana purpose in life is brought Into the heart of every community-, no matter how isolated? The girls have done magnificent work along the lines of canning and domes tic science, yet this work has c^nly be gun. The writer viSited a school fair in Oconee county recently, and saw the product from one girl’s tenth-acre plat, which had been cultivated under the directon of the college In co-operation with Professor McWhorter, superin tendent of public instruction for that county. This little girl had made a net profit of $68, which was probably as much as was obtained from any acre of land In the county last year. This profit was on the basis of $680 per acre, yet this little girl dislpayed a record showing evefy phase of the work she had performed in the production of this crop and just how she had earned so much money. There are some who decry the type of education portrayed in this article because it smacks too much of com mercialism and the economic side of life; they fear it lacks cultural value. The writer does not believe it is pos sible to erect a ten-story building with out a good foundation. No one has yet accomplished such a wonderful engineer ing feat. Neither is it possible to de velop a love for the aesthetic and the ar tistic until people have been given an opportunity to earn a sufficient amount of money through the development of their intellects along certain lines to make them appreciate the value of highr standards of living and an advanc ed civilization. It is not possible to build beautiful roads, in the country, erect fine consolidated rural schools, re construct the country churches, and build palatial homes with modern improve ments until the man living on the land has learned how to so utilize It so as to double, treble and even quadruple Its earning power. It will be admitted by many that suc cess in any line of Jife is bound to bring a measure of culture and to give a force to character which may otherwise be lacking. The little girl who works out in nature’s garden under the canopy of heaven with the birds singing in the tree tops and the flowers of the field in riot about her is certainly not so situated that her labor should be at all degrading or lack opportunity for cul ture and an appreciation of the finer sentiments which make life most worth while. The little girl who is learning how to take some of God’s best gifts and mold them through her will arid through the application of certain well known scientific principles into a vital ized energy which they did not possess before is certainly drinking deeply at the fountain of knowledge, and is going to be a bigger, better and broader woman because of this experience. The fact that she has learned to do her work from an economic standpoint will not limit her vision, but will fit her better in the crisis of life to meet each new obstacle successfully and to grasp op portunity when it presents itself at her doorway. Only one phase of the extension work being carried on by the State College of Agriculture has been touched on In the foregoing paragraphs. Work of equal importance with reference to soils, live stock, poultry, plant production, chemistry, horticulture, farm mechanics, veterinary medicine and forestry is be ing prosecuted. More than 100,000 white farmers in the state of Georgia were reached last year through >he extension services of the college. Petitions and requests are daily being received by the Institution asking for aid and advice in solving some local problem which has been baffling the community for many years. Responses have' been made to these as generously as possible but Georgia is a big state, and when her population becomes aroused along agri cultural lines, it is impossible for the College of Agriculture to handle these requests satisfactorily unless mo’re lib erally endowed by the state in the im mediate future than has been the case in the past. The time has evidenly ar rived when new buildings and equipment must be provided for the care of the young men who are coming to Athens to receive the training which will in deed and in fact constitute them leaders in agricultural development throughout the length and breadth of Georgia. Certain ly the people, non-resident at the col lege are entitled to receive the vital facts of agriculture as they are now known and appreciated. The state can not afford to withhold from its citizens the power which knowledge brings to them for increasing their earning ca pacity, the improvement of their social and financial status and the enlarge ment of their vision as it pertains to all that makes for the welfare and ad vancement of humanity and civilization. It will be necessary, therefore, for the board of trustees of the State Col lege of Agriculture to ask for a consid erable increase in appropriations for the enlargement of the teaching faculty and for the maintenance of the extension work organized so inauspiciously a few years ago, and which has now grown to the proportions indicated in this article. Brains and money constitute the in vestment of every business man. In the same way they constitute the most im portant and essential investment of the state. Georgia stands at the threshold of a development along agricultural lines which is destined to revolutionize her industries. The future depends on the liberality with which the state en dows those agencies capable of taking the plastic mind of youth and increasing its power ten, twenty, yea, even one hundred fold, through educational pro cesses. PLANTING COWPEAS ON STUBBLE LAND. E. W. B., Madison, Oa., writes: I have some ground that was in wheat that was in good condition and w»at to plant it to sorghum and peas. What would be the cheapest and quickest way to do this? Heretofore I have been sowing the seed, turning them under and then harrowing level and smooth, but thought probably there was a quicker way. How would it do to sow the reed and then run a cutaway har row twice across the field at right angles? Would this put the seed in the ground? Two mules cduld by this irieaus do the work of six. The Need of a Rural Finance System For the Benefit of Georgia Farmers By J. C. McAuUffe, Milledg-eville, Otu WHEN TO APPLY NITRATE OF SODA TO THE CROPS Co-operative finance is one of the greatest needs of the nation at pres ent. National and state governments are devoting attention to this urgent necessity and nowhere else is this course so badly needed as in the cotton belt. The credit system, involving the crude loan arrangement made necessary by inadequate protection, has caused an exorbitant interest rate to devolve on those who work and pay their debts. Operators of these cpncerns have made no more than a legitimate rate of in terest in the way of dividends, conse quently no direct attack could be made on them as business men, but the hard ship worked on the deserving people is at once apparent. There is something radically wrong with the system. That is the whole story. Financiers and farmers who have devoted a life time to the problem of rural economics are thoroughly con vinced that there must be an evolution of financial character in the cotton belt before the progress commensurate with the resources of the section is reached." In Europe the Raffeisen sys tem of farm finance has revolutionized agricultural life and caused develop ment of the most notable character. In America there 1b probably no man more interested in national rural wel fare than Mr. Herbert Myrick, head of the Orange Judd company and pub lisher of many agricultural newspa pers and farm journal^. Intensely in terested in this questioTi are dozens of other men, including Mr. Harvie Jordan, of Georgia, and both of the gentlemen named are in Europe now studying the question of rural finance. The Georgia legislature can hardly do anything better than evolve some improvement on the present banking system and while this is yet in the em bryo stage its importance is growing each day, many states already planning state land banks and it will be only a land is cut up by what we call “slushes,” bottom places enriched with the washings of the hillsides, and rank with vegetation, such as maple, berry bushes, swamp grass, etc. It has occurred to me that this would make good litter for our horse and cow stalls because I have understood that more nitrogen exists in green leaf than In dry vegetation. What do you think of this plan for enriching our land? A cutaway harrow may be used to advantage *n preparing stubble land for seeding to cowpeas. Seasonal con ditions will have much to do with the success attending this practice. It ia also important according to our experi ence to prepare the land fairly well for the pea crop. We have had excellent ‘success from the use* of the cutaway harrow and the method of planting sug gested in your letter as well, but our greatest and most permanent success has come from the use of gang plows which turn the land fairly shallow but rapidly and enable the farmer through the use of the harrow and grain drill to prepare and plant *his peas under the most favorable conditions. Of course, your long experience in the cultivation of this crop has impressed you with the importance of so preparing the land as to secure a uniform stand as quick ly as possible after seeding, and, there fore, plowing the land as in your former practice or with a gang plow, as has been suggested, will in our judgment be more likely to insure securing the best results. * * MAKING MANURE FROM LITTER. H. E. P., Sylvester, Ga., writes; Our There is no reason why the litter and trash growing in the draws or slushes to which you refer should not be used to advantage as a substitute for othvr forms of bedding in the stalls or sta bles where various classes are main tained. On the eastern shore of Vir ginia where they grow sweet and Irish potatoes almost exclusively the pine areas on practically every farm are used as sources of vegetable matter, the pine needles and other trash being raked up carefully each year and placed in the bottom of the furrows before the planting is done. This has been found very beneficial to these crops and is now an almost universal practice with the farmers in that section. In Georgia thousands of pounds cf nitrogen and other desirable forms of fertilizing material might be utilized to excellent advantage, as you have suggested, and we are doing all in our power to encourage this practice. It is shown beyond question of doubt that yard manure or the nearest substitutes therefor can be used to the greatest advantage on our Georgia land, one of the main defects of which is its defi| ciency in vegetable matter. It is true that nitrogen is likely to be found in larger quantities in living plants be fore they reach a stage of maturity and before the grain or. seed has ripened. Nitrates in a living plant are fixed and those in a dead plant or leaf hot fixed and are therefore liable to be washed away by rains. SUPPLEMENTED FERTILIZERS FOR COTTON. Jj. E. S.. Wetmnpa, Ain., writes: I hnve nine aeres in cotton tlmt was in truck early in the spring which were well fertilized. I put 500 pounds of 10-2.25-5 on the cot ton. The cotton has been choped out. What fertilizer shall I use now? I also have three acres planted in melons in rows 12 feet apart, with beets between the rows. Used 1,000 pounds of 8-5-10 fertilizer. Will the fertilizer put on the beets help the melons? I put .800 pounds under the melons when planted and 800 pounds as side ap plication when bunching. Would nitrate of soda be helpful now? The cotton on the lands described in your letter will be benefited to a considerable extent by the fertilizer used under the truck crops, and the use of 500 pounds of a 10-2.25-5 as an ini tial application at the time of planting the cotton was certainlly a good formu la to use in view of the previous fer tilization of the land. We would sug gest now that you use about 300 pounds of a 10-4-5. This side application may be put on any time in the next two or three weeks and you may scatter it broadcast or put alongside the drill rows which ever you consider most con venient. Personally, we would prefer to have it distributed over the ground so the feeding roots of the plants will traverse a larger area of land and thus have an opportunity to gather a larger proportion of plant • food. Nitrate of soda may be needed on this crop as a final application. Thfct can only be determined by the character* of growth the crop makes and seasonal conditions. The melons have been well fertilized and we doubt whether it is advisable to use any more plant food at this par ticular time. If so, nitrate of soda would oe the only thing to use and it should be applied at the rate of 200 pounds per acre, putting it in a circle around the hills but not In contact with the vines, ff the land is low in vegetable matter and the plants do not vine as freely as Jeslrable to insure the largest yield, we would use the nitrate. * * * TURNING COW PEAS FOR SOIL IM PROVEMENT. K. L. C., Cuthbent, Ga., writes: What is the best method of plowing in peas for the improvement of land; that is, at what stage should they be plowed under for the improvement of land? The time to plow under cow peas depends much on seasonal conditions. In a very wet year when the ground is full of moisture the crop should not be turned under until it has reach ed a much more complete stage of ma turity than in a season when there has only been a fair amount of rain. The pea .crop contains a tremenaous amount of water; in fact, the green crop may weigh as much as 40,000 to 50,000 pounds per acre. To plow this mass of green material under when the land is surfeited with water might cause the land to sour, whereas, if the turning under were deferred until the lower leaves and pods were beginning to ripen and the peas were in good condition to cut for hay no such dif ficulty would be experienced. In a comparatively dry season when this crop is turned under the land should be immediately rolled so as to bring the moisture to the surface and cause the decay of the vines. As a rule, the lar gest amount of plant food will be se cured to the land by turning the crop under when the lower pods and leaves are beginning- to turn yellow. short time before the states and the nation are ready to aid every agricul tural undertaking. The enormous vol ume of business that may be trans acted by the land banks and rural sys tern of credits as applied to co-opera tive finance can hardly be estimated, but the farmers of the tJnited States are now producing close to ten billions of dollars worth of stuf^F and to do this they operate oil borrowed capital amounting to over three-fourths of the value of their farm produce. They pay an average interest of probably 10 per cent, statisticians say a little less, an-1 it is interesting to know that barring the people of Alabama, that is the farmers of Alabama,. Georgia farmers pay he highest rate df interest. Busi ness men pay ordinarily 6 to 7 per cent in the south. In European countries where rural co-operation finance is in operation the rate of interest is less than half that paid in America. Real estate is the basis of ail wealth and agriculture is the founda tion of commerce and yet, if I am cor rectly informed, not a single national bank can extend loans to any of the holders of real estate In the nation. They can not extend credit on growing crops, or upon any of the greatest as sets of the nation, including live stock and kindred property. Oontrast this to the situation existing in other coun tries, Brazil being a notable Instance, in addition to the other countries men tioned Brazil has its Agncola bank and from it radiates a financial system that are becoming the most valuable In the dize the coffee planters to such an ex tent the farms of the Amazon country ar becoming the most valuable in the world and the cities of Brazil, together with those of the Argentine, just to the south, are becoming the richest imaginable. With conditions of this kind exVit ing elsewhere and the avenues of commerce and industry opened to the wide world, with distance eliminated, we can hardly hope to compete # with producers of any kind unless we adopt different tactics from those how In use. Only a few instances v can be cited in which any one will suffer from the establishment oT the rural system of co-operative finance, includ ing the land banks. In a short while even those who feel they would suffer will find it different. The Georgia legislature has been importuned from several sections to revise the monetary laws of the state and the bankers of Georgia are even divided on how this shall be done. However, everybody realizes that it is time something was being done to pro test the interests of the people an* when this is done everything else is accomplished. The establishment of a modern system of rural co-operative finance solves .the problem. Illustrating this in a *homely way. vet demonstrating beyond the shadow of a doubt the feasibility o fthe plan, numerous instances may he tnentioned In which even the negroes of commu nities in Georgia are organized. They have a local batik of their own.'con ducted without the protection of the law. save if be the law of their own band, in which all the farmers of the community take part and they have a common treasury from which supplies are purchased for cash in proportion a« everv man wants it. In a Georgia town this business is of immense vol ume and is much sought after b'y the wholesale dealers and the community at interest Prospers, f Of course, this is very much d4fferent from the opera tion of the land hank and co-operative finance svstem. but it serves to show the effectiveness of the plan. Let the Georgia legislature get busy and pave the way to real rural progress. pnv* nc pRontc? fjnivq AFTER NEW CORN RECORD QUITMAN, Oa.. June 21.—The Brooks County Bovs’ Corn club is working with the intention of lowering its own record or last year and is going out after the south Georgia record. There are only twenty-nine members of the club, but they are all working hard. There were twelve in last year’s club and ail of them are in the work again this year. J. O. Lucas won last year’s prise, with 112 bushels, and he intends lowering this record himself this year. Prospects for a good corn crop are much better in the county this season than they were last year, and there is no doubt but that the average yield produced by the club last year of sixty bushels per acre will be greatly increased. The members of the Club are: G. L. Joyce, Shelly Shearer, Clarence New- some, B. J. Morris, Lester Johnson, B. L. Johnson, John Huffmaster, J, M. Johnson, T. W. O’Ltff, Henry Crosby, A. G. Toole, John Dewey Blalock, Tlnley B. and Flavius Young, Tallie Green, J. O. Lucas, H. D. Ramsey, Jim Hutchinson, W. J. Rast, Dan Groover, Joe Miller, James Hutchinson,, Kennetth Holloway, James Davis, Frank Hinson, Ezra Webb, Reese Webb and Earl Scruggs. To Corn Club Boys and Girls Home and Farm, Louisville, Ky., is told that there are In Georgia 10;000 boys and 2,500 girlfc enrolled in the Corn Clubs. That Is good; all of you go in to win. To win In this contest, and in the greater contest of life, you should be reading Judge Dearing's articles entitled The sub- j«ct is treated In n a r ratlve form. "P ran- nan’ and Saunders ” New Method vs. Old §2* wTo discuss the sub ject, and they are just like your neighbors. These articles are one of the features of Home and Farm, Louisville, Ky. Another feature is the re publication 6t Corn Culture and Soil Preservation Farish Furman's Letters These are plain to plain people. Who some years ago took a farm of 65 acres, and in five years in creased the prod ucts of cotton from seven bales to a bale an acre. talks by plain men Subscribe now for Home and Farm, Louisville. It will help you to win the corn prizes and the prizes of life. It is made by farmers for farmers; po litical climbers have nothing to do with it. Only 50 cents a year; in blocks of three $1.00, or three years $1.00. Home and Farm, Louisville, Ky. By Prof. J. p. Dugg-ar, Alabama Experi ment Station. Not enough experiments have yet been made in any state to determine posi tively under all conditions of soil and season just what is exactly the best stage at which to apply to cotton or corn the nitrate of soda so generally used, nor at what stage to apply any other fertilizer which may have been omitted at the time of planting. These questions are still being investigated at the Alabama Experiment station, and d9ubtless at other stations. The recom mendations made below are based part ly on results of tests made at a number of stations, and party on observation of ordinary practice. I believe that there is on the aver age but little difference in the results from applications . made to the corn plant at any time when it is between two and four feet high. Indeed, where the growth is rapid and the seasons are favorable it may be safe to conclude that there will usually be but small dif ferences from applications made from the time the corn plant is about two feet high until it is nearly ready to bunch for tasselling. The more favorable the latter part of the season, the later, is it practicable to apply nitrate of soda or any other fertilizer. We are more concerned, however, with th6 time of- application that is best for those years when the seasonal condi tions are not favorable during the pe riod of vigorous growth of the corn plant. It Is reasonable that when dry weather follows the application of ni trate of soda, or any other 'fertilizer, there is need for a longer period to elapse between the time of application and the time of full development of the ear than under favorable weather condi tions. This is true, both of corn and cotton. To avoid having & large pro portion of the nitrate of soda ineffective in years when the late season is quite dry, it seems to me advisable that ni trate of soda, when applied in ordinary amounts, should be supplied not later than the period of bunching for tassel- ing; and that the results would be even more certain if the application were a little earlier than this period. More farm ers make the mistake of applying ni trate of soda too late than too early, to both corn and cotton. Undoubtedly ni trate of soda may be effective if applied even after silks are showing plainly, but it cannot be so completly utilized as it the plant were given a longer period in which to manufacture grain from the ni trates and from the other constituents of soil and air. If dry weather should occur after late application, a considera ble proportion of the nitrate may not be utilized directly or indirectly in the pro duction of grain. Our experiments have indicated clearly that oats make the best use of nitrate if it is applied at least two months before maturity- With the cotton plant, too, there are several stages Of growth at which nitrate of soda is highly effective. My preference is to apply it when the plants are ’between eight and twelve inches high; and yet there are cases in which it may pay to apply it a little earlier or a little later than this. For example, if the young cotton plants are late and small, their growth will be greatly hastened if at least a part of the nitrate of soda is put in early, or as soon as the plants are well rooted and have enough leaves, say four or six, to utilize the fertilizer rapidly. Early application would seem to be especially in place in the presence of the boll weevil, and when for any cause the crop has made a rather late start, since a moderate amount of nitrogen applied early tends rather to 1 hasten than to delay maturity. On the other hand, it may be ad visable to apply nitrate of soda to cotton when it is more than twelve inches high, if for any reason enough nitrogen had not been applied prior to that stage of growth. Late ap plication, however, tends to late ma turity and hence should be es- ecially avoided where the boll- weevil is present. A number of ex periments made under the writer’s di rection in a number of oounties in Ala bama indicate that nitrate of soda, unless applied reasonably early, may result in the later maturing of the cot ton plant than from the use of equal amounts of nitrogen applied in the form of cotton seed meal before the seed are planted. The late applications do have the effect of keeping the plant green, and to some extent, perhaps, of decreasing shedding; but this practice also results In a compensating, loss in yield of lint through the destruction of many immature bolls from frost. A man who is working for a prize yield of either corn or cotton can, of course, afford to continue to apply nitrate of soda later than can one who Is farm ing under ordinary conditions; for the grower of the. prize acre does not ex pect to get as complete utilization of his fertilizer &^ does the man wh ap plies moderate amounts. The case is still stronger for the early application of cotton seed meal. We must constantly remember that before meal or any other nitrogenous fertilizer can be taken up by plants, its nitrogen must be changed first into the form of ammonia, then into the chemical com pound known as nitrites, and then to the form of nitrates. AH of these stages are processes brought about by micro scopic organisms in the soil, and all of them require a fair amount of time tor operation. This is not true of nitrate of soda, Which may begin to effect the plant without any notable chemical change. ' ^Equally important is it to apply acid phosphate to the plant in its early growth. Even under conditions in which experience has proved it advisable to “feed the plant,” that is, to hold back a part of its fertilizer to be applied after growth has proceeded vigorously, intercultural applications of fertilizer should be made relatively early in the plants’ life. The plant must have time in which to fully utilfee phosphates and potash- Doubtless, all phosphates should be applied either 4 before planting or by £he time corn is two feet high; and to cotton preferably before planting, or soon after active growth has begun. SOME GOOD REASONS FOR CROP ROTATION There is prevalent all over the south an idea that land gets tired, and that it is a good thing to let a field 11 eand grow weeds and grass a year or so. Of course this Js better than keeping it all the time In a r clean cultivated crop. But land does not get tired, for nature will not allow it to rest. The land Is just as busy at work growing grass and weeds as It would be in growing something better. The whole Idea In a rotation of crops Is to keep the land at work between sale crops growing something for its improve ment. Many have asked if It will nbt be bet ter, in growing grass or clover, to turn it all under for the improvement of tlje soil. Of course this would rather more rapidly get the humous into the soil, but it is hardly the best farm economy, es pecially in most of the southern soils. The peas and cloyer are valuable feed crops for live stock, and we can feed the pea hay and save the manure carefully and can recover fully 80 per cent of it maturial value for returning to the land,, and also get a profit from the feeding. Much has been written in regard to what icalled green manuring. Turning under green crops in summer may not do as much damage in the clay soils of the north, but in the south the turning under of a green crop in hot weather is apt to cause such an acid fementation that it may do moue harm than good, by sour ing the soil. Then there is another rea son why I would not turn under these crops in midsummer, as so many advise. I want the peas and clover to do all the nitrogen-fixing they can, and they do more of that in the later stages of their growth than in the early ones, and if the crop is to be turned under, it is better to wait till it is mature and the weather more favorable. The main thing, aside from the hu mus-making work, that the legume crops do for us is the fixation in or ganic matter in the soil of the nitro gen, which is the most costly material in a purchased fertilizer. The farmer who farms in a good rotation and grows and feeds the legume crops, can avoid entirely the "purchase of nitro gen in a fertilizer. In the best wheat-growing section of eastern Maryland, where crops of forty bushels an acre eft more are not un common, the best farmers have for years abandoned the purchase of am- moniated fertilizers and buy only the phosphate and potash, or even the phosphate alone. But they practice a short rotation and have clover on their land often. One Maryland farmer, who was an enthusiastic farmer to his death at the age of eighty-five, wrote to me some \ime before his death, that for twenty years he had averaged forty bushels of wheat an acre on his farm, and that during that time he had used no commercial fertilizer except acid phosphate for the wheat, and made his corn on the clover sod on which his manure was spread, so that every field on his farm was covered with manure once In three years. The clover and the manure maintained and actually in creased the humus in his soil, and kept up its productiveness. The clover was made Into hay, and with the corn stover and straw was fed to stock and the manure returned to the land. A similar practice will restore the soils of the south, and what is needed more than the fertilizers, im portant as they' are in the right hands, is good rotative farming. An engine* „ best adapted for your work iatbe^ engine you can depend on—capable of beary and ^ steady work every day and with lesi) upkeep in cost. Cole’s Engines are the result of more than 6(7" years experience and success. Their wonderful dur ability-actual economy of fuel-their high grade mater-" lal*0ki)led workmanship--their constant and reliable per- c.tsnmrst.. formance gives you the utmost In power and the greatest valued ooitf on a genuine guarantee i n engines your money can buy. Compact and have balanced valves. ’ If yon will make a companion with any other engine, you ^ Will find its superiority at once. All these are things to loo for-that count in buying an engine. Don’t buy an engine until you have investigated the Oole. Write today for catalogue and full information regarding out special engine offer. Do this now. «• P. COLE MANUFACTURING CO., Box K NEWNAN, GA. . m.<*. : BOOK name guarantee i neng i, inn KIDNAPERS ARE GIVEN- TWENTY-FIVE YEARS SALEM, Ill., June 23.—Frank Sul- lens and Ernest Harrison were found guilty today of kidnaping Dorothy Holt last March. The jury fixed the penalty of each at twenty-five years in the penitentiary. The state had asked the death penalty. Important evidence in the case was a confession by Sullens that he had kidnaped the girl and taken her to an abandoned mine where he was to turn her over to Harrison. For this, he said, Harrison was to give him $5. The girl was found in a critical con dition. Sullens was arrested and- a mob demonstration against him re sulted in the calling out of several companies of state troops. TRY OUR RAZOR- SEND NO MONEY. $ 3 UPVALUE N0WONLY*ies THINKS STROP and *192 HONE FREE 25YEARS GUARANTEE USE OUR RAZOR 10 DAYS—-Test Its quality yourself. Yon will get the easiest and smoothest shaves you ever had, f<>r a better shaver could not be made. You will agree with us this Razor is worth $3.50. If you don’t, send Razor back and we will charge you not a penny. If you are pleased, pay our wholesale factory price of $1.65 and the Razor, our Cor- rugo Strop and our Escher Hone are all yours. When you see the goods they will prove their value. The MIDDLEBROOKS RAZO R is Hollow Ground, made of the finest steel. Guaranteed for 25 years. It la a beanty. The Corrugo Strop and the Escber Hone are included free to introduce them. They are alone worth the spe- cia! price for razor. If you purchase razor, you may, if desired, earn through handing out a few cards, the mirror and the brush shown. SEND COUPON NOW—You cannot lose. Onr products are fully guaranteed. MIDDLEBROOKS CO., Dept. H„ ^ 162 N. Dearborn St. Chicago, IlL COUPON «. Middlebrooka C d ., Chicago. Gentl e men: I accept your Razor, Strop and Hone offer. If razor is satisfactory, I wf.ll send you your special wholesale factory Price of $1.65. If not satisfactory, I will return it after ten days, and no charge is to be made for trial. / NAME \ooof.7o P. 0 St. or R. F. D. No Box State New Parcel Post Map and Chart of Horse Remedies We have just bought a large number of New Four Leaf Charts, which we are going to give with The Semi-Weekly Journal. This Chart contains a 1913 Calendar, Pictures of our Presidents from Washington to Wilson, a Chart of Horse Ailments and Remedies, giving Symptoms of Diseases and How to Treat Them; a Parcel Post Map of the United States, with instructions; a large State Map of your own state, besides other in formation and statistics, valuable in every household. We are giv ing a Chart to each person sending us One Dollar for the following papers: The Semi-Weekly Jour nal 18 months, Farm Life 12 months, and Every Day Life 12 months. Use coupon below. THE SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL, Atlanta, Ga. Enclosed find One Dollar, for which send me The Semi-Weekly Journal 18 months, Farm Life 12 months, and Every Day Life 12 months, and mail me absolutely free your NE.W Ready Reference Parcel Post Chart. ■NAME P. 0 R. F. D STATE