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ir No. 13. | Third Series. } MONTHLY TALK TO THE FARMERS. CROP REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST, 1891. RETURNED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF AgRICUI.TURE, AUGUST 1, 1G01. State of Georgia, Department of Agrtculturf, \ Atlanta', Ga., August 7, 1891. ’ j CROP NOTES. hie reports show the outlook to be very encouraging for corn and , hut only moderate for cotton. Some criticize these results be- s they do not conform to what they see at home. Such should iember that these figures are the result of averaging nearly 400 orts. This season the crops are quite spotted. In small areas they Ive been injured by dry weather or rust, or grass or caterpillar, or lllworm or shedding. But these areas are not generally spread per the State. THE COEN CROP. lis crop is practically assured by the recent rains, and is very ie in most of the State, averaging 93. North Georgia shows 98 with |reat promise from the rains that have recently fallen; Middle Georgia Lverages 90, the lowest on account of dry weather in early part of July; Southwest Georgia shows 97; Southeast Georgia 109, and East jrgia 95. In these sections the crop is made and fodder saving is jgressing. Owing to the present low figures on cotton the corn cop assumes unusual importance. COTTON. This crop is in the stage of greatest uncertainty, and owing to the many mishaps which may befall it, cannot now be forecast with any degree of certainty. The present average is: 85 North Georgia averages 79 Middle Georgia averages 85 Southwest Georgia averages 90 I Southeast Georgia averages 94 ^ East Georgia averages SO No accurate estimate can be made sooner than 20th to 25th of KAugust. But it will require a coworking of all the best elements Rul'd an absence of all calamities to make a full crop. This state of ^things is not likely to occur. OTHER CROPS. Hay, sorghum, potatoes, sugar cane and rice all promise well. Much may be done to relieve the pressure on account of low price of cotton by saving every available hay crop. Look to this, fellow farmers, with unusual diligence. %e take occasion to say that these Reports are published in the Interests of the farmers entirely, and not, as some suppose, in the interest of speculators. They get these figures up for themselves, whether we do or not. Our reports are made up by farmers for fcnners, and are studied and corrected by every means we can use, and represent the status of the crops at the time. In some sections the heavy rains have caused rapid shedding, which could not be foreseen by the correspondent when he sent in l,;g report. So of rust and caterpillars. Much of the young cotton has as yet no fruit upon it. It is simply a water weed. What H, fl future may enable it to develop we do not know. The outlook Is not for a large cotton crop in Georgia. But in Texas, Louisiana, ftrfrnnggg, and some parts of other States it is very fine. We can, therefore, offer no encouragement to hope for good prices in the falL If our farmers were in condition to hold their present 1 a d plant no cotton for the next year, then the relief would ad come in time to do good. A little concert of action can a in this condition. Plant largely of every food crop, raise «ad colts, set your lands to grass, plant lightly of cotton, and endence,’thrift and prosperity, will soon come, and stay when sonie sections there have been excessive drouths in the latter of Jdne and early in July. In many places excess of rain is ,rted for the last half of July. The full effect of these heavy cannot yet be estimated. Georgia.... i Georgia-..- iwest Georgia.. ___ Georgia—. , Georgia .—1 average, 1891 ieral average, loJU £ 1 8. £ „• 8 & e £ © a> 426 1 a. II £ o > 6* 98 90 97 109 9o 481 ©. . II o > u CS 2 O > s* u£ p w 94 90 112 76 ...l 96 93 94 111 88 372 482 74 94 2 a 8 §> OS £ £> « « P 3 I* ro 92 91 95 110 92 480 tc >» B ° a a — S3— 2 g te « £ § — . «! o 6* o p 20-31 23-31 25-30 20-25 S3 i 20-25 267 fa\ 1- 1- 1- 1- Acid Phosphate Nitrate of Soda Muriate of Potash. Sulphate of lime... For Grass and Pastures. Acid Phosphate..... Nitrate of Soda Muriate of Potash. Sulphate of Iron— GEORGIA EXPERIMENT STATION. At the risk of being considered tiresome, I must reiterate what I have so often advised, viz.: That the farmers consider seriously the important problem of producing an abundant food supply at home. Let us, after careful delibera tion, settle on aline of policy, which will eventually assure our independence and then adhere to it, undismayed by the many difficulties which loom up whenever a change from the “ all cotton ” system is attempted. Now is the time to make this decision, for September is the month in which much of the small grain, rye, oats and barley in North Georgia should be sown. It is true that the corn harvest will, in all probability, lie an abundant one; but weshould not allow this to prevent our making “ assurance doubly sure,** by putting in a large small grain crop. I have recently taken observations in the different sections of the State, and what I have seen but confirms my previous statements, that the majority of Georgia farmers are making a grand mistake in pursuing the cotton myth, when they could gain from the substantial provision reality the competence to which they are entitled and which they deserve. Under stand me, as advocating, not the abandonment of cotton, nor even its restriction to 6uch a degree as to bring other countries with cheaper labor into ruinous competition with us; but I do advise that this question he adjusted on a strictly business basis, and that the farmers, having the light of reason and past bitter experience to guide them, lift themselves out of their present diffi culties. Last week the first bale of cotton from Dougherty county, classed middling, sold in New York for seven cents ! The price of corn in Georgia is $1.00 • The grain crops of Europe are reported almost a complete failure. Now should our farmers provide for abundant supplies at home, we are not only fortified against probable high prices, but will have an opportunity to bring hack from Europe some of the gold which has flowed there in such large quanti ties. We must not, therefore, be satisfied with our large corn crop, but resolve at once to sow a large small grain crop. A winter oat from North Carolina, sowed in the cotton fields of North Georgia in August, will, unless we have an almost unprecedented winter, result most favorably. If killed, sow again in the late fall or early winter, and supplement this crop with as much rye as you can afford to buy, and have the time to put in. It will protect your land from leaching and washing, fill it with the vegetable matter so much needed, and give an abundant forage supply. CLOVER AND ORCHARD GRASS. Prepare a few acres thoroughly this fall, by breaking deeply and harrowing until all clods and lumps are broken; apply any good commercial fertilizer in such quantities as to assure an abundance of plant food; if you have lot manure, nothing is better. Sow about one peck of red clover 'seed and two bushels orchard grass to the acre; you will thus have a pasture which can be made to last for years, by simply giving a spring and fall top dressing of some good fertilizer. To the farmer, who has once done this, it is an easy matter to raise a colt or two, and whe» this plan becomes general, the big leak, which now flocks to the west for our mules and horses, will be checked, and one source of prosperity wi 1 be established. It is through these apparently trivial reforms that our farmers must work themselves to a higher plane. We must learn to produce our cotton at less cost, a maximum production con trolled by a minimum cost. I have never tieen so thoroughly impressed with the great advantages resulting from deep preparation, careful seeding and then rapid and skillful cultivation, as the present crops show. Where these conditions exist, the outlook without exception is encouraging. IVhere men have prepared on the broad acre plan, have been harassed in obtaining labor or by unpropitious seasons, the result is most unsatisfactory. Radical changes to be effective must be made gradually and admitting that a change is needed, let us start at once to make these necessary reforms. Start with the fall crops, make a beginning if only a small one. if from any cause the stand should fail, don’t give up but try again. The farmers of Holland now own one of the richest grass and grain countries in the world, the lands are worth anywhere from $200 to $590 per acre, and yet these same lands were wrested from the great sea itself, and the farmers in gaining a foothold had to fight, not only the usual difficulties, hut to struggle against the encroachments of wind and wave. The great dykes have been built at immense cost of time, money and labor, and once established must be watched day and night lest one Little break destroy the work of years. As with liberty, so with success in farming, “ eternal vigilance ” is the price of both. A man must first be sure that he has chosen farming as the business best suited to his tastes and capacity, and having decided this, he must use every means and bend every energy to making his special branch of agriculture the greatest success. R. T. Nesditt, Commissioner of Agriculture. We earnestly advise that all the fruit possible be dried or evap orated. The apple crop is large and should not be lost. RECIPE FOR PICKLING BEEF. Take 6 pounds of salt. 2 pounds of brown sugar. J pound of saltpetre. 6 gallons water. Boil and skim as long as any scum rises. Cut vour beef in suitable pieces; salt highly; lay out separately to cool When cool wipe with a dry towel and pack very closely in a clean vessel, pour over it the above mixture,'which is enough for 100 pounds beef. Put a weight on to hold it under the pickle. • HOG CHOLERA. It is claimed that hog cholera may be cured by the following treatment: Take well matured peach leaves and feed them to the hogs as soon as they show sickness. Or take wild cherrv bark, boil it to a strong tea, turn the sick hog on his back and pour down liis throat one pint of this tea, when it gets cold. The above recipes are furnished by one of Georgia’s best farmers, Mr. Robt. Dasher, of Effingham, who has tested them thoroughly. FORMULAS FOR COMPOST, OR HOME-MADE GUANOS. Fob Corn. Acid Phosphate 500 pounds. Nitrate of *Soda -125 “ Muriate of Potash 100 Sulphate of Lime - 275 * For Cottox. * Acid Phosphate 500 pounds. Nitrate of Soda - 106 “ Muriate of Potash 100 Cotton Seed Meal - Jo “ Sulphate of Lime '• 1-n For Turnips. Acid Phosphate 500 pounds. Nitrate of Soda - -00 Kainit „ Sulphate of Iron - 100 Fob Fruit Trees. Acid Phosphate 350 pounds. Nitrate of Soda... , Muriate of Potash Sulphate of Lime 155 Fob Yixeyards. BULLETIN NO. 12J—SPECIAL, JULY, 189L ... 400 pounds. ... 225 • “ ... 300 “ ... 75 “ ... 440 pounds — 350 “ ... 160 “ -50 “ To the Farmers of Georgia: This special Bulletin is issued by direction of the Board of Directors of the Station to call the attention of the farm ers of the State to the purposes of the Station and to excite their interest in its work. This Bulletin will be sent to every farmer in the State whose name and address can be secured by the Director, and it is hoped that each one receiving it will sufficiently appre ciate the objects of the work of the Station and the value of its publications to himself, personally, to provide that all future Bulletins be also sent to him. So far as possible the Station will endeavor to ensure that its Bulletins shall reach the farmers of the State generally, but each individual can absolutely secure this for himself by sending his name and address on a postal card to the Director of the Station, Ex periment P. O., Spalding Co., Ga. In order that the purposes of the Station may be clearly understood, the following brief statement is presented of its foundation, its organization, its methods of support, its ob jects, its work and its intentions : FOUNDATION OF THE STATION. In 1837 the Congress of the United States passed an Act, appropriating $15,000 per annum, from the proceeds of sale of public lands, to each State and Territory for the support and maintenance of an Agricultural Experiment Station. Under this Act, the Station was to be conducted in connec tion with the Agricultural College in each State and Terri tory. In Georgia, accordingly, preparations were made to carry on a Station at the Agricultural College in Athens. In 1888, however, the Legislature of Georgia passed an Act taking the Station from the immediate control of the College authorities and creating a Board of Derectors for its manage ment, consisting of one practical farmer from each Congres sional District, the State Commissioner of Agriculture, the Chancellor of the State University and one member of the Faculty of the Agricultural College. The same Act gave the Directors power to locate the Station at any point in the State which, in their judgment, should offer the best induce ments for its location. Acting under this authority, in May, 1889, the Directors removed the Station from Athens and located it within one mile of the city of Griffin, the citizens of Spalding county having’offered a fine farm of 130 acres (the present Experiment farm) and $4,000 with which to erect buildings. In due season officers were elected, build ings were erected, or arrangements for their construction made, and the farm was prepared for experimental work. PRESENT CONDITION AND ORGANIZATION. The present Station is located upon the farm donated by Spalding county, about one mile north of Griffin, at the ex act point of meeting of three railroads, the Central, the Geor gia Midland, and Savannah, Griffin and North Alabama. It is a flag station of each of these roads and has its own post- office (Experiment P. O). It is connected by telephone with the city of Griffin and the street-car line of the city extends to within a short walk of the Station. The farm contains about equal areas of woodland and cleared land, is sub stantially fenced and is accurately laid off into permanent experimental plots. A portion of it has been underdrained by various kinds of drains. A stream of water runs through the property and, by means of a ram, supplies water to all necessary parts of the farm. The buildings comprise three dwellings, a fine, large stable and barn, a chemical laboratory, a general office and six laborers’ cottages completed and fur nished and a ginnery and dairy-house in process of con struction. The officers are a Director, Vice-Director and Chemist, an Agriculturist and Dairyman, a Horticulturist and an Assistant Chemist. MAINTENANCE OF THE STATION. The Station is maintained exclusively by the fund re ceived from the United States government (together with the proceeds of sale of such of its crops as may be marketed). The State of Georgia pays nothing for its regular support. The State has twice made small appropriations to the Sta tion, for specific purposes, as detailed below. The cost and revenue of the present Station stand as follows: 1. Donated by Spalding Co., Farm, valued at . . . I $10 000 Cash for buildings 4 000 2. Appropriated by the Legislature, In 1888, for establishing the Station (mainly expended for buildings), .... 6 000 In 1890, for year 1891, 6 000 In 1890, for year 1892, . . . . . 5 000 These last two amounts were given especially for erection of buildings, as the United States law per mits only $750 per annum of the annual Congres sional appropriation to be used for this purpose. 8. Annual United States appropriation, For support of the Station, ... $15 000 4. Sale of farm products, Gqngral purposes (approximate and varying), „ 600