Funding for the digitization of this title was provided by R.J. Taylor, Jr. Foundation.
About The Rockdale banner. (Conyers, Ga.) 1888-1900 | View Entire Issue (June 2, 1898)
«f w fe-.-i jgs; ft m 1 / m 1 A ft ■ o 1 i a&«LSs%s' VrW I J , XXII. ' ;0E CROPS THi iPE OF FARMERS |o e ^ leans of Supplementing food Supplies. L [XT GIVES POINTERS !tural Commissioner on the As r 1 to Pursue In View of the Co. ■e High Wheat Prices and With the ppect of a Continuance of Such p, , l: :,.-t Conditions. 1)]-;paetjient of Agriculture, Atlanta, June 1, 1898. Wit* wheat Quoted ut an almost un ced uted figure and prices of other jm advancing, and with the food crops market conditions be prospect of such J,g rt ainedforat prudent farmers least some are now months cast t0 c0 fne, of supple¬ aboui ’ or practical means There is menting their food supplies. nc section of the world in which a , greater variety of FORAGE CROPS may b grown than in the south, and as a me,' re of safety it would be well for Oeov ia farmers to put in such of these crops e. our surroundings and opportu uitie render possible. First and fore¬ most comes FORA a: CORN AS A FODDER CROP OR FOR SILAGE. As to ihe best methods of managing this crop here are somewhat conflicting opin-om. but these result from a mis¬ apply . nsion rather than from any real difference in the proper plans for plant¬ ing, cuhi rating, etc. It depends upon tk j ;u poise for which the crop is in¬ tended, as to which method should he adopted If the crop is intended for foddo:, that is, to be cut and cured, the ohjec ... is to secure a large yield of small and am sized stalks, having an abundance of leaves and little grain. ' The plants therefore, he planted may, in nan ow rows and crowded in the drill. In curing this crop the surplus moisture is dr out and we have a nutritious forage, which, supplemented with grain, mala ; ood and complete ration. But in p*. mg corn for the silo, the object is to secure a good yield of well de¬ veloped Gaiks, each one bearing at least one v oil rown ear upon it. The plants must not be crowded too closely to¬ gether. 0 he rows should be at least 8 to 4 feet ap rt, and the plants should stand from 15 to 20 inches in the row. If the plant- stand closer than this the stalks do nut l.:.?e room to mature sufficiently and the c onsequence is watery stalks, and tiie cars which form are not well filled with grain. Silage made from such corn as this is apt to be very unsat isfactory—sour and innutritious. From this ex .nation we see that fodder com should be crowded as close as the strength of the land will admit, while a corn crop intended for the silo should have ku> cient distance to produce a heavy y ield of stalks and ears suffi cien % matured to be cured into good, avreet silage. the pea crop. Bi* d peas give us another crop for °rage of which too much cannot be this Among the many advantages of cr T s the fact that it can be sown from k; until July, and also that it can b; Ut ‘zed as a three-fold food, for man, ios I east and for the land. No matter i what way we decide to use it it wifi urn with interest whatever amouiG; wa have invested in it. millet. Mil ? r j so may be seeded at any time from S3 to August, and though it Quire?. re _• i er land and more thorough Prepare n than corn or peas, it is a good in - ■ttneut where forage promises be s - ri. One bushel of German millet f 11 on an acre of land, well Prepa • • ■ ud the seed harrowed in, will make a ‘ aty yield, and when cured at J P- time, that is before the seeds toatui g make a most acceptable ad dition 1T forage supply. feorj SORGHUM. i is a crop which should find • pla • very Georgia farm. It is aot ai by drouth the degree ■ to ruinous the our corn crop often is and end fU CONYERS, GA., THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 1898. ■ W1B - M mi n t \ % I^I-vX^TUIIINI jO CJ xc ! War Briefs. T3CJ V. Meagre detail s IV, The great battle of the bombard¬ m ' a j th was yesterday ment at Santiago > »'Ay rep- rted to have is.'. bees fought show loss of Span¬ I i a t iards, and forts re¬ Jt-SPll Sun iago, was CH¬ duced to dust. The ' v* * I' a preliminary St. Paul is report¬ brmh and great ed amaged. The rswA M 1 / ed evu o ts fotiew. are expect Spaniards claim a m/h victory. Mm ’ he Christobal Secretary Alger 58 ia Colon tried to rv n has submitted to the laoohade into congress plans of <q en ssei, but was campaign for inva¬ or vep back by sion of Spanish V Schley’s fleet. possesssions and IT Hon William J. asks for large ap~ m Bryan will com bropriations to car¬ mm a regiment of Ne ry them out, WtBM braska volunteers. U-! Fred Grant took 35 Bull on the back the oath at Chicka- of Spain makes mauga yesterday 4 the financial out¬ as brigadier gen¬ look rather dark eral. rr i for that country. ^§*§ UNCLE SAM'S DEFIANT EAGLE. Head Our Bulletin E2? $ • OQ t For the Latest War News. Then read about the Low Values we are offering you just now in all fin s, and hnv before this war forces prices too high. Our claims a. rv-* c 'Soliable and subtantial. We’ve cyi done business among you for a long time. It lias grown every year— is still growing. False promises wmvdn’t received .such a reward; tricky methods wouldn’t meet the approbation and encouragement of the best and most conservative class of our population. Our stock in¬ cludes everything usually carried in a General Merchandise Store and our prices are right. REMEMBER THE NAME”J J. C. Stephenson. cellent food for cattle and hogs, besides which there is usually a good demand for the syrup. With the improved sys¬ tem of evaporating, now in general use, the syrup has become a desirable article of food in most farm households. Dur¬ ing the hot season the man who is for¬ tunate enough to have a sorghum patch is assured of green food for his stock when every other crop is drying up, while the cured fodder makes a nutri¬ tious and appetizing feed for the winter months. It is not too late to plant any of these four crops—indeed, all may be planted later than this date, and under favor able conditions will be very satisfactory. Though there are other crops, which in time may supersede them, we would advise, as we have, these four forage crops of such well known value, and with the cultivation of which we are so thoroughly familiar, that of we do not venture, except by way experiment on a small scale, on the culture of new and untried crops. It is well for each farmer to give his attention to these new crops and to thoroughly satisfy himself as to their merits before under¬ taking their culture to any large extent in these days, when inquiries aro constantly being received at this de partment as to the value and efficiency of certam insecticides, and when Pans green is coming into such general use, the following cheap substitute for Paris green, , , thoroughly ., ,, tested . . , at , the Ohio Experiment fetation, may be of service m reducing the cost m cases w her e large quantities are used. TV hite arsenic, m a soluble form, costo about oik* third as much as Pans green, and unlike the latter gives no trouble in the way of settling. Pane green does not dissolve readily and needs constant agitation to keep it from set tling. Here is the formula: Dissolve 2 pounds of commercial white soda (washing soda) in 2 gallons of wa ter and use \% pints ot this mixture to 50 gallons of Bordeaux mixture. This will be found sufficient for any purpose instance, potato blight (fungus), and potato bugs (insect); apple scab (fun gus). and apple worms (insect). the bulletin, to ' The easiest way, says mak^ the solutior* is tr> p-i? bo b rhe >r • in a gallon or boiling water, Deep boil mg about 15 minutes, or until a clear liquid is formed, and then dilute to 2 gallons. This is the season when it is neces sary to wage an unceasing warfare against all kinds of insect and fungus pests, and the above combination of Bordeaux and white Arsenic is effective destroying a large proportion of these most annoying and destructive enemies. The horticulturist or farmer, indeed any man, who looks to the products of the soil as the reward of his labor, would do well to study the diseases and insects which are liable to attack his special crops and at the first indication of their active ’ and prompt presence use meas ures to prevent serious injury. Some times a few days’ delay in using proper remedies is fatal, more especially in the rapidly maturing crops. Personal ob¬ servation in the different sections of the state confirm the reports of promising crop tions conditions, although in some sec the dry weather has retarded the satisfactory development of the young plants and cut off the oat crop. R. T. Nesbitt, Comissioner. INFORMATION ON FARMING. State Agricultural Department Re¬ p ii e8 to a dumber of Inquiries, ^ QuBST10N ._ Please advise me about co pogting For several years I have com p OSted sta ble manure with cot tonseed, chemicals, rich earth, etc., but it is a heavy job and requires so much extra work in handling that I have been debating m my own mind whether some otber pi an would not pay better. Re cent iy m y attention has been called to articles iu agricu ltural journals on this subject, in which the writers say this p ] a h will soon become a thing of the £ gt p> 0 y 0U a gree with this view, or hat wotdd you J advise? Answ er.—- A is n advisab.e to , han die a heavy article like manure any more than is absolutely necessary, and where .^ - g t 0 haul the manure directly to the land, we ba ound that it pays better than the more costly plan of ccm posting. But often the hauling cannot ^ (j one when in the busy season every m«lc and fnm h.nd i»- eo^g.d in .h. different crops. Bnder such circum- 6 ta nC es, rather than allow the manure to accumulate in the stables, to the mac- 1 ™ ^ injure " of the animals, or to waste ► nv thsov.'.ng . vt :e r.v. ui cue stab i e y^ds, we would select wet days, when rl lfc .* • nofc . osslble -w,,, to work , . tho ., . 18 „ P m fields, and put the manure in compact compost heaps, when its valuable con gtituents will be held until such time as we can utlllze „ them .,______ ’ ^ he \ e a fariner „ kas a large number of cattle, which he I is feeding for market, which practice ( j s be coming quite extended since cotton seed meal and hulls afford such a cheap and certain means of fattening beeves, (it is a good plan, except in severe wea ther, to pen the cattle directly on the land to be improved. Near Atlanta | there are 25 acres of most magnificent i oats, sown the last of May, nearly ready j f or cutting, which are a striking and Wonderful object lesson as to the wis dom of this policy. The manure from feeding the hulls and meal contains ele ments of fertility in the highest degree beneficial to both la#id and crop. The following on this sub ject from Professor Massey is both op¬ portune and practical, and outlines an economical plan not only for utilizing farm manures, but for obtaining at a comparative small cost, a part, at least, of that expensive element, nitrogen, which is an absolute essential to sne cessful farming. Of course we cannot expect to feed cattle enough to enrich the entire farm each year, but by pur¬ suing this plan, even on a limited area, one will be surprised at the results, iu the increased yield of crops: “No matter how carefully the manure is handled while in the stable or barn¬ yard there will be a constant loss, and there is less of loss when it is spread on the . , land , than , anywhere , else^ , _ Ut . one haulmg do for the homemade manure and let that be to get it out and spread it broadcast on the land where A the corn crop p is to be planted. v . Then „ if the corn is followed by a crop of winter oats, as it should , ,. . be in . the cotton belt, ’ there ., will ... , be found , , enough . A to the oat , carry crop / through ,, h , to . success. Then after the oatsarecut give . ail the land . a ... liberal . dose rif Die ^-irerai pkitit f oods that the 1. •j i ;'"‘ f NO. 2 Spread this also broadcast, for the broadcast rise of manures and fertili¬ zers is what tends to the improvement of the land, and its building up for im¬ proved crops. Then sow the land in peas, and by the usa of the previous dressing of :.00 to 400 pounds of the phosphate and potash mixture you should got a, crop of hay that will ena¬ ble you to feed more stock than ever and thus raise more manure to put out broadcast. “But what we especially wanted to oppose was the laborious hauling of earth, manure, cottonseeds and all sorts of rubbish to make a pile, and to turn and mix and r ile and repile the mix¬ ture, thinking that by this process the whole will become stable manure, is a great waste of labor. If there are valu¬ able accumulations of wood and mould handy, haul it and spread it on the land and haul and spread the stable manure and put your cottonseed down in a fur¬ row deep between the cotton rows, where after it has rotted the cotton roots will find it just y ;hen they need it most—at fruiting time. “Acid phosphate aud potash, spread broadcast on the land for si big crop of peas, will leave nitrogen, enough in the land for Use cotton that is to fellow, and you will need to buy, if anything, only the same mineral fertilizers, vltiio the great crop of peavine hay Bleu* . able you to feed more stock and to add a profitable industry for tho winter in selling beeves or milk and butter.”— State Agricultural Department. Wliat Should Farmers Do to Itaiiso Cotton at «v Profit? Question.—I have seen tho unjust criticisms which have been spread abroad in regard to the experiment car¬ ried on at tho Georgia Experiment Sta¬ tion as to the cost of raising cotton. I remembor the manner ‘ in which your words wero at the time perverted, aud also the Effort Which has all along been made to get political capital out of what was really a most sound piece of advice to farmers. This was six years age, and if this advice had been gener¬ ally heeded Finch of the subsequent hardship consequent on '.he lew price of cotton would have been avoided—in¬ deed J, with many others, believe that the price of cotton would have been maintained at a reasonable figure, be¬ cause, under your system, it would have been impossible to so overcrowd the markets as to make our staple crop al¬ most valueless, as it has been, except to farmer cotton buyers being and speculators, the not “in it.” Reviewing the past six years, and all that has been said, pro and con, as to tho low price of cotton, cost of production, etc., what is your present opinion as to how we shall meet and combat conditions, which so far have too much for us? Answer.— My position on this ques¬ tion is the same today that it was six years ago, namely, that when a farmer has made ample arrangements to raise a full supply of tread and meat for his family and food for his cattle, mules and other farm stock, then he is at lib¬ erty, and not until then, to cultivate in cotton all the land which he can suo cessfully manage. And just here I would emphasize the fact that at pres¬ ent low prices no cotton crop can be a, success where it takes 3 acres of land to make one bale of cotton. We must, by a system of terracing, to hold the fer¬ tility of our lands, by deep plowing to hold the moisture and to utilize hereto¬ fore unsuspected elements of plant food, by planting renovating crops, by rota¬ tion and by manuring, intelligently managed, change the results from acre# to the hale to bales to the acre. I am aware that many, who have not studied this question, will maintain that this system is not justified by the ex¬ tremely low prices which hav# ruled during the past season, but it is just here that the rnistak® comes in. If by this careful and judi- 1 cions management the yield can b« j doubled or trebled, I am satisfied, from observation and personal experience, that instead of being a loser the farme# will be a gainer and that instead of ■ b#» ing ^ it is the most econom . &g ^ ag ^ mo£t intelli ^ | metbod thac ,^ n followed . Tbe most . universal , practice .. of ... forcing a few . more pounds , of , cotton from our hard _ run fields by the simple application of - 100 or ^ 200 pounds ______# of commercial „ . , , fertill . ... bringing lands , . - zer is ____„ our to poverty . aN our farmeas , to . want—State Agricult o;; . ; , A ,.. art >C ‘. V * •• D-fe Early Risers, - IT CD little pills.
