The Lancaster news. (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, April 06, 1915, Page 7, Image 7
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OVERPRODUCTION IN I
^1' 4?
A Convenient Rack foi
(Prepared by the United States Depart- d
ment of Agriculture.) p
In order to make the small farm T
profitable. It 1b. in most cases, neces-1 si
sary for the farmer to devote himself j a!
to some Intensive type of agriculture i it
such as truck farming, poultry, fruit' w
growing, intensive dairying, etc. Be- r<
fore any of these can be successful, n
the market demand and transportation f<
facilities must be adequate. When st
perishable products are grown far v
from their markets not only are the n
freight and commission charges apt to It
be prohibitive, but in the period be- p
tween the shippiug of the comn >dity n
and its sale on the market, p. ices I1
which were attractive at time of ship- f<
ment may have dropped with results fl
disastrous to the grower. e;
Intensive crops such as garden a
truck, fruit, etc., have a much wider t<
range and more rapid fluctuation of si
prices than staples like wheat or corn, si
A comparatively small acreage is suf- is
flcient to Hupply the demand for the fi
intensive crops. It is very easy therefore
to increase this acreage to a c
point where the market is flooded and s
prices drop immediately. Taking th? n
country us a whole, vegetables, includ- b
lug potatoes, occupy only two and one- tl
half per cent of the crop area, and this tl
acreage, under present conditions, fur- e
nishes about all that tho market can o
absorb at a price that will be profit- C
able to the grower. q
If the farmer is ill-advised enough to P
undertake the production of garden e
^ truck at a time when the supply Is j 1
greater than the available markets re- j t?
quire, it is a comparatively easy mat- I P
ter for him to correct his mistake. In tl
the case of fruit, however, it takes a
longer to produce a crop, and a similar
mistake is therefore likely to be a
A Good Buncl
more serious. The acreage devoted to t
fruit is even smaller?one and three- I
fourths per cent of the country's crop <
area?than that devoted to vegetables, t
Until there is increased consumption | 1
euner in tnis or other countries ac- <
cessible to our growers overproduction t
can easily occur. t
Sorghums for Southern Live Stock. >
Every southern farmer who is producing
beef or milk should grow the ]
sweet sorghums. These are not rec- 1
ommended as money crops, but as a t
fodder they are practically equal in <
value to corn while as a rule better 1
yields can be obtained. They should I
be consumed for the most part on the t
farm where they are grown or at least t
at points within hauling distance.
The sorghums are particularly nse- |
ful as silage, which is essential to the
live stock owner and particularly to |
the dairy farmer. The various southern
states report yields of from 16 to
20 tons of sorghum silage per acre,
which is an average of from 2 to 4
tons more than the yields of corn,
while the relative value pound for
pound of the two feeds has been found
to be much the same by experiments
conducted at the Kansas agricultural
experiment station. In fact for beef
cattle these tests showed that sweet
sorghum silage was, If anything, superior
to corn silage. The sorghums
intended for silage, however, should
not be harvested before they are fully
motured. If cut when the seed is hard :
there will be no trouble from spoiling |
or from excessive acidity. Prom 20 to
30 pounds per day is considered a full
feed, but this should always be supplemented
with 12 to IB pounds of dry
roughage and some ooncentrate like
corn or cottonseed meaL Cottonseed
meal combines particularly wen with
sorghum silage, and slnoe this meal
Is always abundant In the South, this
Is another reason for growing the sorghum.
For forage ta the South the sweet
Sorghums will be found better than
the grain sorghums, such as mllo,
kaflr and fetertta, which suffer from
.the attacks of the sorghum midge. Of
the various varieties the 8umec,
Orange. Amber, Oooeenech and Hooey
are probebly to bo prefemed. The Amber
and Orange are the farller kinds
end two cuttings can often be obtained
r, *? aii ? ikA*. '---i...? ?
MVMI MiVIU* ?M< VB IU1BII ?f W IWMW IfT |
a pond MMllntlr to good doil, bat they |
succeed on many different types; n
rich, loose, well-drained clay loam soil
In the beet. A water-logged clay or
extremely sandy soil will not afford <
* profitable returns. Fertilisers strong i
in nitrate applied to poor soils will i
produce good results and the free use ]
of barnyard manure is always adris- 1
able.
Sorghums may be planted as soon
as the ground becomes warm in the
spring, usually from one to two weeks t
later than Indian corn. When the sea- i
a^&soq is favorable, the planting may be] I
,1<B
NTENSIVE FARMING J
2
r Hauling Fodder.
one at any time until it is too late to a
ermlt the crop to mature before frost.
he land should be plowed in the ^
prlng for surface planting and then a
llowed to lie rough until about seedig
time when it should be smoothed ^
ith a drai? harrow or disk. For fur. ?
3\v planting spring plowing is not
ecessary. A lister like those made ; ^
>r planting com can be used on |^
tubble or cotton land without pre- I
ious preparation. If the farmer does {^
ot have a lister thp furrow can be ^
ild out with a plow and the seed
lanted with a one-horse drill after the ^
lanner of planting cotton or com. ^
lanting in furrows is recommended
ir western Texas or Oklahoma, and ^
at or ridge planting for all the region ^
ast of this where the rainfall is more ^
bundant. When planted in rows 36
3 44 inches apart 4 to 6 pounds of a
eod to an acre are sufficient. Sorghum
eed is usually cheap, but the farmer ^
} urged to buy only standard varieties ^
rom a reliable dealer. ^
When planting in rows, thorough Q
ultivation is us essential to the ^
orghums as to corn. This method
roduces larger yields and the crop is 9
otter prepared to withstand drought A
hun if brondrast or drilled. Where j
lie latter method Is followed, howver,
the practice is the same as for
ats or any other small-grain crop. !
lowpeas or soy beans are also freuently
mixed with sorghum to im- I
rove the quality of the hay. This is
specially frequent on dairy farms. I
'hree parts of cowpeas or soy beans j
> one of sorghum seed is the usual
roportion. From 60 to 90 pounds of i
lie seed mixture Is required to the
ere.
As pasture, sorghum Is safe only 1
fter It has become fully matured; ;
h of Feeders.
hat is, after the seed has become
lard Hefore this time, especially aft;r
a period of drought, a poison someimes
forms which is fatal to stock, j
iV'here there are two growths the secmd
Is considered more dangerous
ban the first, and any stock allowed
;o pasture on it should be carefully
vatched.
In feeding the hay, from 18 to 25
lounds a day will be found sufficient
or milk cows and work horses, If It Is
iccompanied by the ordinary amount
>f grain. Heef cattle, however, should
)e fed all that they will eat clean.
Stock cattle and horses can be carried |
hrough the winter on a liberal quanity
of sorghum without any grain.
INCREASING SOIL FERTILITY
~ IV
Farmer Can Secure More Cotton by |
Planting on Area Where Legumlnoue
Cropa Have Grown.
Inasmuch as green crops suitable
'or hog cholera can be maintained In
ho South practically every month In
he year. It Is possible for the southern
farmer to make more money than
:he northern farmer upon hog-proluclng
operations, and the profits
nade are In proportion to the amomt
jf green food used. But in addition |
to making ready money on the hogs {
themselves the farmer who grows le- j
numinous crops and grazes them off
with hogs has a fertilizer factory on
lis own farm. In a test at the ArKansas
station, hogs grazed npon areas
>f peanuts, chufas and soy beans. The
Following two years the land was
planted In cotton, and data were colected
to determine what effect this
p-astng might have upon the cotton
rleld.
The effect wan remarkable* for toitance,
in the case of soy beans and
peanuts the Increased yield of cotton
ras 44.6 and 61J. per cent, reepectlvey.
The effects of growing these crops
u?d grating them off does hot atop
with the cotton grown the year 1mnedlately
following the erasing. The
lata show that the Increase over the
?rn lot was still considerable to the
leeond year. It le therefore apparent
hat the fanner can get more cotton
shea It 1s planted on an area where
logs have grated or where peanuts,
toy beans, or other legumes bane been
frown.*
Cottonseed Meal ae ProteHi.
If some mill feed mash be puribased
as a source of protein, cottonteed
meal Is at present the cheapest
tonrce. A still better solution of the
protein question Is to grow It In si
alfa or clover hay. ^
Duck Raising. ^
Ducks are very easily raised and ^
rood layers or good market fowls,
will thrive In any climate, with a dry A
ihed for shelter. ^
THE LANCASTER NEWS, APRIL 6
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