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A REDUCTION IN THE COTTON AREA COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULT URE STEVENS ESTIMATES A 15 TER CENT REDUCTION. GOOD WHEAT BUT POOR OATS Farmers Urged to Utlllsa Every Avail able Acre of Lead By Planting It la Cowpens. Department of Agriculture, Atlanta, Jane 80, 1899. Slnoe oar last letter many changes have taken place on the farm, and much good work has been done in most all sections of the state. The harvesting of wheat and oats began some weeks since in South Oeorgia with a fairly good yield of wheat, bnt the oat crop will be short, owing to the fact that the weather conditions for both fall and spring were anpropitions for seed ing, and many sections have suffered for the want of rain in May. From our crop reports it will be seen that the acreage in corn has been very materially in creased this year, amounting to 24 per cent over last year. Wheat shows an increase of Ilf per oent. It wonld have been muoh higher had the weather conditions for seeding laBt fall been fa vorable. We are encouraged to believe that in the future Georgia will raise hey own corn and wheat and have this grain ground into meal and flour by u/ills within the borders of our own state. Why not? Oan we afford longer not to do so? Now, when you have harvested your small grain crop, we would urge the farmers to utilize every available acre of land by planting it in cowpeas. The cowpea is the salvation of oar wornout and wasted lands, it is the salvation of our uplands, our lowlands, our rich lands and our poor lands—we believe, too, that it will be the solution of the fertilizer question. Plant one-half your land in peas and in five years you can curtail your expense for guano one-half, and your crops will yield as muoh as they do under the present system. After trying this plan for ten years we believe that you would And it necessary to buy very little of the high priced ammoniated guanos, if any at all. In some way we mnst de crease the purohase of commercial fertil isers, and this, in our judgment, can be done by planting large pea crops and making your own guano at home. This cannot be done at once, bnt could be accomplished in a few years. Won’t ybh' begin now—this season—and plant your lands in peas? We can only hint at these matters, and cannot take space to elaborate them. Won’t yon make this a memorable year for a large pea crop, and thereby not only improve your lands, but obtain a splendid forage crop besides? REDUCTION OF COTTON ACREAGE. We are glad to announce a redac tion of thb cotton acreage, not only in Georgia, but throughout the entire oot- ton belt. There has also been a redaction in the amount of com merciol fertilizers used. While the reduction of cotton acreage has not been as large as we might have wished, still we have made a good showing. For the season of 1807 and 1898 Georgia used np to June 1, 1898, about 483,000' tons of oommeroial fertil isers. For the season of 1898 and 1890 Georgia used up to June 1, 1899, abont 885,000 tons, or 21 per oent less than last season. last season Georgia spent the enormous sum, in round numbers, of 88,500,000 for oommeroial fertilisers. For this season Georgia spent abont 88,750.000 for commercial fertilisers. Thus about 81,760,000 have been saved to the farmers of this state. We mnst not forget that a considerable amount of the fertilizers for this season was used in the increased acreage of wheat, and other crofce than cot ton, for by reference to our crop re ports it wfll be seen that the wheat and corn acreage has been very materially increased. Henoe we can safely esti mate that the amount of oommeroial fertilizers has been rednoed 85 per oent as applied to the cotton crop alone. We note with pleasure that other states have also rednoed their ootton acreage. In our judgment, the rednotion of the ootton aoreage in some of the states is greater than is shown by the reports of the United States Agricultural Department and those issued by Latham, Alexander A Co. We have been in direct onmmnni. cation with the Departments of Agri culture for the various ootton producing states, and from the information re ceived from suoh sources we are led to believe that the ootton acreage for the entire cotton belt has been rednoed at least 15 per oent this season. We are mindful that other souroea jIrot this reduction at only 10 per oent. but we believe that time will prove that wean right in this estimate. The Georgia State Board oUSatopud- WILL THEY Five Prospective Railroads. Outlets. Norh, East,Southeast, South and West. CO! c: 7?\ oi & O i 3 : o.; f JiSin^LKS“Uw^f\CLAYTOIV •It a ogy has reoently Issued a buIletlFdeil- ifig with the inseot peats and fungous diseases, designated as dangerously in jurious to plants, with suggestions for remedial work, for distribution among the farmers and fruit growers of the state. This publication will be sent free to all inch interested persons who make application for it to W. M. Scott, State Entomologist, Atlanta, Ga. The bulletin should be of great interest, not only to those who are already troubled with these pests, but alio to those whose premises are at preseat apparently free. O. R. Stevens, Commissioner. Subscribe For The TRIBUNE And keep POSTED THE VALUE OF PEA& Interesting Article on This Crop Wl| Practical Suggestions For Plant, log and Cultivation. Much bat been written in su slve years concerning the preservati and npbnilding of the farming lands the south. Necessarily this quesl Is one of great importance, as have for years been growing cotton the exclusion of other useful or, paying so much attention to what called “the moneyed crop of the south 1 and giving hardly any attention to wear and tear of oar lands. Of ne6essl the cultivation of a cotton crop is one clean oulcnr , which lets the summer' cun and winter’s rains bleaoh our lam of the elements of plant food that ■acessary to the preservation of tl land thus cultivated. The best informed and the m scientific farmers understand that preserve their lands they mnst fur- 1 nish such quantities of plant food as will replace that which been taken from them by the oro] grown dnring the year. It has been a favorite method to try to repair the drain npon the land by furnishing to the orops an artificial plant food com monly known as '‘Commercial Fertil isers.” We are willing to admit that the nse of these "Commercial Fertil isers” benefits the growing crops, bnt as above stated, tho clean culture lets the summer’s sun and winter’s rains bleach out the remainder, so that we are obliged to depend upon artificial means to glvo oar crops the supply of plant food necessary for succeeding crops. Each year requires more and more fer- tilizer per aero iu order to supply the demand made by nature. The question arises how can we hope to keep our lands iu a high state of cul tivation; how can we give in return more than wo have taken away? Year by year our land degenerates, and as a consequence we become poorer. What shoaid we do to remedy thie evil and fill oar barns? The only answer is, save what you al ready have and lay by somethihg for posterity. This can bo done on the farm to far better advantage than in most any other profession. This question must be looked squarely in the face, as any other bnsinesa profession. My advice to tho fanners at this sea son of the yeur is to plant peas, not only for feeding purposes, but os a ren ovator of tbeir lauds. Plant enough peas in your corn for seed for another year and sow the rest of yonr corn, oat and wheat lande broadcast for manuring purposes. Our common peas are mostly on air I plaut They absorb the nitrogen from , tho air and deposit the same in their . roots, so that they furnish ammonia tar another season. The vines or woody 1 matter furnish potash and loam, j as well us prevent the washiag I of tho soil already mado. Years of ex- ! pat ience shows that this plant hot oalv i renovates ike land, but is an m ns I lex I ! forage crop. Now as to the cultivation of thie vai- j cable crop I wonld suggest, for the pur- i pose of raising seed for another season, ! that peas be planted in the middle of i the rows when yon lay by your oom at the third plowing. When the peat are about 6 inches high take a short scooter or ripper with an 18-inoh sweep and ran on either side, thns giving the peae one plowing, which will besnffleient, as the corn will shade the ground so as to pre vent the grass from growing too froely. Or if you desire not to molest your corn, then when you cut off your grain plant your peae in 3-foot rows and cul tivated you do corn or ootton. Two plowlngs will make them. Gather them and let your vines rot on the ground, thus building np j onr land and gathering enough to plant another year and for feeding purposes. For manuring purposes sow broadcast in the corn when yon lay by, also over the small grain lands, thoroughly break ing same. Sow from 3 peoke to 1 bushel per acre. Allow the peae to get thor oughly ripe end turn same under during the late fall. f If yon desire to out them for hay it should be done when the pea-pods be gin to ripen. I will write an article later oonoern- ing oaring pea bay, as this article is in tended only to urge the farmers to see the necessity of bringing up their leads and at the same time filling tbeir barns. If we will only use the menu we have at hand and work with energy ' and petienoe we oan truly make this the garden spot of the world*.- I advise the nee of the following peas; The Unknown, the Olay, v Bad Ripper sad Whippoorwill. Again let me urge every farmer to plant largely, and if ha oan procure the •ead'eow every foot of available land la this (nature’s) subeoiler.—State Ip rioultaral Department.