EXPERIMENT STATION RECOI^vD. 



Vol. III. ISSUED JULY, 1892. No. 12. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



The diniinisliing' profitableness of cotton culture has drawn i^nblic 

 attention to the necessity for the diversification of agiiculture in tlie 

 South. Social and economic conditions hav^e thus far powerfully retarded 

 the chan<;e which is inevitable. Cotton is the money crop. The land 

 is largely worked by tenants. The merchants make their advances of 

 money and j^oods on cotton. The landlords insist that cott(m is the 

 only crop furnishing a sufficient security for the payment of rent. Add 

 to this the fact that the ao-ri(!ultural information of the tenants is 

 almost entirely confined to their knowledge of cotton culture, and it at 

 once api)ears that it will require influences strong as necessity to bring 

 about the substitution of other crops for King Cotton. In considering 

 the work of the experiment stations in the States where cotton is the 

 chief crop, it is well to remember that it will not be sufficient for them 

 to demonstrate that this or that crop can be profitably grown. Labor 

 must be educated. The laudholding and the trading classes must be 

 convinced that new crops will furnish a stable basis for commci'cial 

 l)ai)er and rentals. 



Among the agricultural problems of the greatest importance to the 

 future success of the Southern farmer are those connected with the 

 growth of grasses and forage plants. This Ue])artment and the sta- 

 tions, working in many instances in cooperation, are making numerous 

 twists of old and new species and varieties. Sufficient i)rogress has 

 already been made to show that while different species are required to 

 meet the varying conditions of soil and climate, an abundance of pastur- 

 age and of green fodder can be produced in all parts of the South when 

 an intelligent effort is made to do so. That there ai-e still large regions 

 where the feeding stuffs required by the farm animals used in raising 

 cotton are imported from the West and North, only emphasizes the 

 extreme folly which characterizes the i)resent system of agriculture. 



Under such conditions the educative function of the stations comes 

 into ])eculiar prominence. The ordinary methods of distributing inlbr- 

 mation through bulletins and the press will not suffice. Personal 



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