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KOTES FROM CORRESPONDENTS.
north Georgia.
Banh: late r. r. -l.t <■ yr>- -tiy mh o ;ra.-ed thf* (armors; apple and grape
ero(>» fine. <,. w.i, /; ■ tarn: Poor -mol' of eottoa and corn; some
rust on wh*-at, Out r,>.t injured. J. F. I- Ov u; I)ry wr-ather baaprevented
corn from growing; cotton h:i- been plowed up in some instance*, and corn
and millet p anted; thirty-three [>er cent, of the cotton never rarne up;
grasa and clover very short. \V. J. W. Continued drouth in April and May
prevented the planting of a large per cent, of land in corn that would other
wise have Is-en planted ; oata and -lover very short—almost a failure*; partial
showers in theeounty on 27 th and 2iith .May.—J. R. If. Jkvle: Very small acreage
sown in wheat; what there is looks well; oata looking poor —too dry for
them; hay crop almost a failure; melon crop is the largest ever known in
the county; toh;e-co is grown only in small patches.—G. A. R. B. Damon:
Farmers are behind with their work ; wears having good weather now and
work is being pushed ; no sign of rust on wheat or oats. Corn has fallen
from $ 1.00 to lfO cents. It. J. C. We are now having good seasons, which is
benefiting corn and cotton. Wheat and corn look well. Farmers behind
with their work. A. J. L. Fannin: latte spring made us late in planting;
we are now having good seasons, and the farmers, as a rule, have their crops
In good rondith i. —F\ H. Floyd: Late planting of corn and then dry weather
prevented a full stand ; excepting this, corn is up to the average; dry
weather has cut off the oat crop; cotton is looking well where we were able
to prepare the land properly ; peaches in low lands 80 per cent.; on mountain
lands not more than 10 per cent.; grapes could not he surpassed.—F\ C.
Cotton stand not so good; corn small; oats and clover very short; oats
sown in fall very good ; fruit in some parts of the county all right; in others
it was killed hy the cold in April; wheat ami clover being cut now.—J. W.T.
Fortyth: ( orn late hut looking well; cotton just now coming out since the
late rains; oats saved by last rains; no rust on oats; some found on wheat. —
W. J. I’. Franklin: Late rains have brought up the cotton so we now have
fair stand; corn looking well on upland; low lands, not much of it planted
yet; small grain looks well. —J. K. 8. Cotton two weeks late, hut good stand ;
corn and wheat looking well; oata are coming out since the rains; work
very well up,—J. R. I). McW. Gilmer: Prospects favoruhle fora good crop;
apples will be light; very fair peach crop.—N. I*o. Gordon: Corn healthy
btttsmdl; wheat looking well; some rust on blades; spring oats injured hy
dry weather; cotton poorer than it has been with us for a long time.—o. 11. D.
Wheat good; some rust on blades; oats short; cotton poor; clover poor.—
A. R. Hurt: Cotton prospect not good; oats have come out considerably
since the late rains.—R. It. P. Mtulison: Prospects for a cotton crop gloomy;
wheat good; a little more rain will bring the oats out.—J. F. P. Murray:
late rairiH have made the prospects a little brighter in this county. —H 11.
J'anliling: Oats cut off hy dry weather; cotton ten days late; wheat good.—
P. P. Melt. Unhurt: Corn crop not all planted yet; wheat crop almost a
failure; oats too low to cut; rye is better.—Fl 8. Melons are only
on » small scale; tobacco raised only in small patches; wheat and rye is
coming out; farmers generally have a good stand of com.—F. A. B. Toma:
Coin looking well; full crop of fruit except grapes; stock of all kinds in
go« d condition : some cholera in hogs, but it is in a very mild form. Farmers
an well up with their work. A. W. T. Dry weather has damaged wheat and
oats and corn to a considerable extent.—J. N. G. Walker: Corn ami cotton
small on account of the late, cold spring.—F. M. Y. White: An unfavorable
spring has made all farming operations backward. J. 11. N. Crops looking
well since the late showers. J. R. \V. Whitfield: Crops rather late; corn
■till being planted ; about 26 per cent, of a hay crop in prospect—W. C. K.
MIDDLE GEORGIA.
Baldwin: Crops are milch Improved since late rains.—J. D. M. Bibb: All
crops late; condition not good on account of dry weather.—W. D. 11. J. Labor
scarce and wages high ; outlook for a good crop gloomy.—J. If. Butin: Crops
four weeks late; season has been unfavorable.—W. S. 11. Campbell: Late
rains have improved the looks of crops; corn glowing nicely.—T. E. I). Pros
pect as a whole encouraging ; health good; more economy than in years past,
consequently they are becoming more and more independent.—F. 11. S, CVsr
»o//|: (hops late, hut much improved hy tin* recent rains.—M. R. It. Cotton crop
and oat crop short, corn fair.-S.C.C. Clarke: Cotton one month behind,—G F
11. Columbia: Corn irregular; cotton thirty days late; farmers behind some
with tlielr wotk—i 8. C. L. All crops much improved since the late rains.—
J. Q. 8. Coweta: Good rains; corn and cotton growing.—VV. F. 8. DeKatb:
Cotton twenty-live days late; acreage diminished thirty percent.; much land
intended for cotton planted in corn.-T. J. F. Wheat and corn looking well •
more planted than usual; cotton poor, hut all looking better since the lata
rains.— W. U. U. Elbert: Bpring oats a failure; cotton lata by three waaksi—
J. B. G. Fayette: Cotton two to three weeks late- M rir _ . . , ~
taftrrorableneai of the early of the *
pact is encouraging.—J- «• Oreene: Poor standT* “"t ’i
wtll; oats gaod; ve
grass flourishing since late rains.-J. T . J/flrK| ; £ Hancock : Cotton and
Mar, greatly improving crops; farmers behind wi.» J"™ [. j « P
Heard: Corn crop rather small, owing to the l a te, t w 1 ?'
. ■ • n vpp- k-*h ‘ateneas of the «eason ; eariv
cotton looking well; work very well up.—j. B M ’ -
cotton since the recent rains.-G. E. \\\ j .' 11 Br V : ‘ lOO,l . stan,i of
late • oats poor.-J. II- /*"«•• Crops have lWent r to thlr,y
deomy -J W. B. Cotton late; oats OUtk> " k
improved everything.-R. T. R. J^
and cotton onejnontb late. Hundreds of acres of co,m n 'J 7up ; seasons
coil 'crop of oats', but they are To ‘v^
Fiarly cotton worker] over and looking well; much could n'. t be planted till
f -rains
off finely.—J. J- 0- Fike:<i<M seasons since the W irn*
stand; early planting, good stand and looking well.—J. Putnam ■ In
creased interest in stock-raising; much interest being pai d to good trotting
stock ; sorry their is not more gives t farm how*. Dairy business
is on a “boom” in tins locality.-0. \\. R j M:dnlf:
well since late rains; more German millet sown in this countv than ever
before; more attention given tea kinds of forage crops, which, I think, is a
move in the right direction. . 11. M. Spalding: Recent favorable seasons
have greatly unproved both cotton and corn.—B. N. B Taltjol: Cotton
twenty days late; recent rains have greatly benefited all crops; prospects
now brighter.-L. B. MeG. late rains have improved everything; prospects
more encouraging; farmers are brighter and more cheerful.—Wm. 11. E. Corn
irregular; everything looking better since late rains; have been troubled
some with bud worms.-D. G 0 Troup: Prospects much brighter since late
rains; everything was behind fhteen or twenty days on account of the late
and unfavorable season.-H. H. C. Oats injured by dry weather; corn and
cotton backward. J. I. Halloa: Cotton has come up nicely since the late
rains; work progressing ntcely.-W. 11. G. Warren : Crop prospect poor,
especially cotton, poor stand and grassy.-D. W. R. Seasons now good;
cotton chopped out; corn small, but looking well, fully twenty days late.—
J, A. 8.
SOUTHWEST GEORGIA.
Baler: Rains light; crops small.-H. L. P. Dry since 2.1 of April; crops
late.—lt. J. Berrien: Rains light; season needed; some cotton yet to plant;
hogs dying of cholera.-J. J. P. Calhoun: Rain needed; 20 days late; worst
outlook I ever saw.-W. P. P. Corn bunching for tassels and not waist high ;
stands of cotton not good.—J. L. B. Chattahoochee: Ilesskn fly injured wheat
and oats; not a full season yet. \\ .F. C. Cobjuilt: No season since (he 24th
of March, yet the crops look fairly well. Heaven’s artillery sounding now.—
F. J. W. Decatur: Plenty of rain now, and everything growing finely.—H.
W. McT. Outlook for not more than half crop.—W. B. McD. Dooly: Cotton
poor stand; oats seriously damaged by drouth.— 8. P. 0. Dougherty: Dry from
28th of March to 27th of May. Stands poor; no chance to make over §of a
crop. Almost a total failure in oats. J. L. D. Houston: Fallouts good; spring
oats poor; good rains 27th and 28th.—J. 1). T. Iru-in: Six weeks’ drouth;
crops late. Cows dying with something like hydrophobia.—J. P. Tm : Melons
ten to fourteen days late.- It. P. J. Macon: Rains partial; preparation poor;
crops sorry.—A. J. C. Where preparation was good stands are good, but rest
poor. Bud worms did great damage. Stock in poor order.—L. 8. G. Marion:
Wheat good ; fall oats good ; spring oats failure; melons, potatoes, etc., prom
ising—G. W. C. M. Miller: Rains general; crops late but in fine fix.—J. S. C.
Muscogee: Cultivation good; crops small; rains timely.—G. F. H. Randolph:
Bad stands; crops late. Grapes and pears fine.—R. T. C. schley: All crops
late. E. 8. R. Sumtir: loor stands; rains spotted; crops improving where it
has rained.—o. C. S. Terrell: Oats failure; stands bad.—T. J. S. Thomas:
Dry; crops ruined. I). U. M. Webster: Outlook unpromising, especially lower
part of county. Blackberries good.—J. I>. W. Worth: Stork looking well;
crops very poor.—W. A. 11. Wilcox: Forward planting doing well ; late not
yet up. Bix men raising melons. Oats badly off'.—A. B. C.
SOUTHEAST GEORGIA.
Charlton: Considerable damage from bail and from drouth. Corn small;
cotton very backward.—A. G. G. Clinch: Rain at last.—M. T. Coffee: No
raiu yet; sugar cane and melons looking well.—J. B. I'. Effingham: Farm
labor scarce and high; health good; hog cholera vary dsrtjurtir*; ground
mice and insects very damaging.—lT. <l. W. / .• Ncv-t saw a better
prospect'lor a| l crop* in twenty years. Good ras J. aM K II •
Farmers in better condition each year. Tin y sell |«.rk, e.»rn and v, _ - ,
Syrup is plentiful; men, women and children ail g> w fat on tin- cane. >. nth
Georgia surpasses all other sections in farming. Turpentine and lumber mill
men give us a market at home, land verv da :p; t2.im to f4.uo per acie.—
J. M. 8. ' 1
tOT GEORGIA.
B’tUrich: Drought has set crops back twenty days. Rains good now. Crops
in good condition.—R. p\ G. C. Burke: Corn small. Cotton laic and poor
stands. Oats sorry.—T. Q. Dodge: Rains partial. Crops late. D. M. R.
(H>jnn :No rain. Prospect gloomy.--J. R. D. Jiffersu i: Verv dry. Cotton not
up. No potatoes planted.—F'. 11. Isturetis: Raiu spotted. Some cotton not
yet planted.—J. T. C. Pulaski: Corn promising. Fall oats turned out well.
Spring oats not so good.— L. B. \Y. Richmond : Prospect for corn. (lots
better than exacted a few weeks ago. No peaches. Not nearly so much
planted in melons as formerly.—C. D. H. Flvcrythiiig looking brighter aim e
the rains. Farmers working hard. Many tine colts are being raised bv the
farmers.—J. M. Me. Screven: Crops three weeks late. Nothing except Irish
potatoes were materially injured by the freezes last winter.—D. W. C. R. Tut
imll: Corn very promising. Oats fine. More corn and oats and less cotton
seems to be the rule.—J. L. L. No peaches. But few apples. Blackberries
still survive. All field crops backward but well worked.—J. 11. Telfair:
Crops looking healthy but small and backward. Needing rain.—W. K. \V.
Tudggs: Outlook very unpromising for crops generally.—ll. 1.. \V. Washing
ton: Heavy hail storm latter part of the month ; injured the fruit crop ma
terially in several sections of the county. —11. N. 11. Wilkinson: Still dry.
Much cotton still to come up. Corn small. Fruit a failure. Very good crop
of smaller fruits. Farmers well up w ith their work.—J. A. M.
HOG CHOLERA.
Hogs fed freely on turnips, cabbages, sweet-potatoes or dm fas, w ill rarely,
if ever, have cholera.
Sleeping in lousy or dusty hods kills as many or more hogs than cholera.
Plenty of pure water, frequent change of food and clean stalls w ill contribute
greatly to the health and thrift of all farm stock.
FERTILIZERS IN GEORGIA.
Fifteen years ago Georgia passed her present fertilizer law. During those
fifteen years great changes have taken place in the fertilizer business of the
State. Georgia is now probably the largest consumer of commercial fertilizers
among the States of the Union. She is also one of the largest manufacturers of
such goods. Every large city in the State now has several extensive plants, and
smaller factories are located in almost every section. The amount of capital
invested reaches an enormous sum, the taxes upon it adding largely to the
income of the State.
In 1876 the average cash price of ammoniated goods was a little over $17.00
a ton, and of acid phosphates about J 65.00. Prices now are just one-half of
those figures. Before the institution of the Department of Agriculture the
State was flooded with low grade fertilizers at high prices, ordinary worthless
dirt being in some instances one of the ingredients. The Department of Agri
culture soon broke up such concerns with their tremendous profits and miser
able goods, and now, thanks to the bright light shed by the laws of the State
upon the manufacture of chemical manures, they are all compelled to
stand upon their actual merits; each maker appears to be striving to
make a more excellent goods than his competitor. Only good materials are
used ;no one cares to risk putting in worthless dirt. While the profits are cut
down tremendously they are still large enough to be remunerative. In evi
dence of this the quantity of fertilizers made in Georgia is steadily increasing.
New plants are being constantly erected. With South Carolina phosphate rock
on one side and Florida phosphate on the other, and deposits within her own
borders, Georgia is peculiarly well located for the manufacture of phosphatic
manures. Phosphate rock and sulphuric acid mixed in nearly equal propor
tions form “acid phosphate,” which is the chief ingredient in nearly all
manufactured fertilizers. Until quite recently nil the sulphuric acid made in
this country w 7 as obtained from sulphur imported from Sicily. Excellent
sulphuric acid is now’ procured in this State from iron pyrites, a combination
of iron and sulphur containing about 42 per cent, of sulphur. This is a much
cheaper source of sulphuric acid’than the imported sulphur. Iron pyrite*
exist in large quantities in Georgia, and will soon he furnishing the acM
makers a cheap raw material from their own State. It is probable that far
tiiiaara will costiaua to grow cbeapwr, aa.4 as fraigkt bacemaa more and ai*r«
ont of proportion to the value . f tho goods. manufacturers will bestir thcrn
p vet" '.l ; i'ir nt put f .ill inert Hi.ite> .il |- i’ ■ !>>. By this tin ans a huge
thl
s.. \. :r* _ : . m>»rc than pax t->r the expense of» omvntratiun. Bv the
iiso of pr. ;«>r nu .ms it is jmssible to run the amount of available phosphoric
a ; i in an acid phosphate to almost any point desired. High grade fertilizer!
and plenty of them, at low prions, is one of the needs of the time. When
taniu i's ran at! rd to broadcast their fertilizers and give up s wing them in the
drdl, they will then fertilize the soil as well ns the crop. With sm h fertiliza
tion the vigorous rots push strongly in every direction, feeding as they
g o and the plants are aide to ear up bravely in unfavorable weather, when a
crop nourished by a mass of short roots crowded in the drill would languish
and die, or only produce a miserable result.
As fertilizers are usually inspteted, a small sample of front two to four
ounces is taken to represent lots of from live to hundreds of tons. In this
bulletin there occurs sometimes as many as from three to five nnalvs 's of the
same brand of g Is, vet so well are most of them mixed, that in spite of the
s a.I samples taken, their variations are quite small. In some instate os, how
ever, the analyses show that this mixing at the factory has been very imper
fect. Ibis IVpartincnt desires to give a fair average analysis of each maker’*
goods. Anything higher would he unjust to the farmer, and anything lower
would bo unfair to the manufacturer. One small sample taken hv an inspector
may. in the maj >rity of instances, fairly represent the average cottqsisition of a
fort ilizer; vet < ases do occur where the sample is eon si. local >lv 1 icttor than tho
usual output of the factory ; and on the other hand some samples run t >o low
to fairly represent the goods in question. It would be better if tho inspections
were so arranged that the chemist could secure from three to five samples of
each brand of fertilizer sold in the State, the samples to be taken in different
parts of the State, and at different times; these samples to be all mixed
thoroughly and an made from the mixture. This would give a fair
average and he just to all parties.
No State enjoys better fertilizers, nor lower prices for them, than the St site of
Georgia. There are several reasons fur this: The enterprise of her citizens,
her proximity to the phosphate fields, her splendid railroad svstems, the
accessibility of her ports to foreign vessels, and her tremendous production of
cotton seed, which is used so largely as an anunoniato in manures. Adjacent
States charge the small fee of twenty-live cents a ton for inspection; other
States charge a license of s.‘>oo.oo for each brand. One of the New England
States charges s>o.oo for each analysis of ammoniated superphosphate with
potash, and SIO.OO for those of a single ingredient. But Georgia only charges
the tiny stun of ten cents a ton for inspection. Often n five-ton lot is
inspected, for which the maker pays only fifty cents to the State, for which
amount the Department sends an inspector to him at an expense of several
dollars on the railroad and makes an analysis worth $-0.00. The tax of the
State of Georgia upon the manufacture of fertilizers amounts to almost noth
ing, the smaller the manufacturer the less he has to pay. The business is fire
to all. Small as the inspection fee is, it enables the Department to save hun
dreds of thousands of dollars to the fanners of Georgia each year. The Depart
ment with its analyses reveals the true composition of all goods ottered.
There is no opportunity for fraud; each brand is thrown squarely on its
merits; there is hut little chance for the big concerns to squeeze out the little
ones. Tho usual complete fertilizer of the market averages to-day in economi
cal Connecticut, $33.80 a ton, cash. The same goods are selling in this State
at from $5.00 to SIO.OO per ton less. Taking the ditlerence at only $5.00, and
multiplying it by 300,000, the number of tons sold in the State this season, we
have the enormous amount of one million and a half dollars saved to the
farmers of Georgia by the straightforward, open manner in which the fertilizer
business is compelled to he carried on under the laws of this State. And at au
e spen.se of only $30,000 is this one and a half million saved to the farmers; or,
simply stated, every dollar paid to the Department by the manufacturers is
saving Georgia farmers $150.00, and of each dollar one-third goes back to tho
State Treasury to be applied to other purposes. The Department of Agricul
ture is doing a great work, and with more means al its command could achieve
still more. No State in the Union can show such a record. Three hundred
thousand tons of fertilizers inspected, over sir hundred analyses made, and all
expenses of commissioner, clismist, inspectors, clerks, printing and postage
not exceeding S'JO,OCG.
Geokoe F. Pxyne,
State Chemist.
CHICKEN CHOLERA.
It is claimed that the residuum left in soda fountains will cure chicken
cholera. But it in the watering troughs and feed a small quantity to the fowls
is dough.
This U cheap ib4 warthy at a trial.