THE GRASS CROP 5 
coming into general use as a hay crop in recent years. 
In the vicinity of Augusta, Georgia, on both sides of 
the Savannah River, considerable hay is grown for the 
local markets. The same is true in restricted local- 
ities in northern Florida. In general, however, the 
prevailing system of farming consists of growing cotton 
and corn. This system has thoroughly worn out the 
soil except in the richer alluvial sections, so that good 
crops are seldom produced, even with the stimulus of 
commercial fertilizers, which are universally applied— 
at least, to cotton—in all the older settled sections. 
Regarding the profit from hay farming in the 
South, Mr. F. A. Quinett, who operates two large hay 
farms near New Orleans, says, in a letter to the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture: ‘‘ Formerly we found it difficult 
to sell our hay. We now have the best patronage, and 
are unable to meet the demand. One hundred acres 
last year gave about four hundred tons of hay, which 
we sold at S1o to $14 per ton. We consider the hay 
business decidedly more profitable than any other style 
of farming.’’ 
The next group consists of the States of Tennessee, 
Kentucky, and Virginia. In these, the grasses are 
largely confined to certain localities ; in Virginia, to 
the valleys between the mountain ranges in the west- 
ern part ; in Tennessee, to the mountain valleys of the 
east, and to the limestone soils of the central part of 
the State; in Kentucky, largely to the northern border 
and the north central part. In these three States the 
percentage of grass-lands ranges from 5 to 6.3. 
The third group consists of those States in which 
agriculture is most widely diversified, and the agricul- 
