GARDEN MANUAL FOR THE SOUTHERN STATES. 97 



GRASS ANB FIELD SEEDS. 



For Price List see Red Pages in Back of Book. 



As if weather conditions and the boll weevil were not enough to discourage 

 the Cotton Planters of Louisiana, they are now threatened with another evil, 

 whereby there io a suspension of operations due to the introduction of a form of 

 .•awiessness that has ruined many tobacco growers in Kentucky and Tennessee. 

 Reference is made to that intolerable and criminal nuisance which seeks to fasten 

 itself upon the South — the Night Riders. Whether such an organization really 

 exists in the Cotton States, and even if the notices to gin owners is the .work of 

 individuals, the result is the same. There is a cessation of operation^ that is 

 proving ruinous to what little the boll weevil has left the planter to send to 

 market. 



Under such discouraging and demoralizing conditions, the planter is casting 

 about' to determine whether, after all, it is worth while to continue devoting his 

 time to a crop that presents so many difficulties' in its cultivation. 



In some Parishes planters are preparing to substitute sugar cane for cotton 

 and there is no doubt that the tall green stalk will next season appear in places 

 that have, for many years, known only the white tops of the cotton flower. 



But what will those sections cultivate where the cane cannot be grown to 

 advantage? It has often been suggested that the Cotton Planter should not 

 devote his entire time to raising cotton. Upon this crop, he has succeeded or 

 failed for years. Diversified farming has been urged repeatedly, but several years 

 of good prices have driven away all idea of giving up an inch of ground to the 

 culture of anything else but cotton. Louisiana was free for a number of years 

 from the blight of the boll weevil, which had found its way from Mexico into 

 Texas, but slowly and surely the dreaded pest crept towards the soil of the 

 Pelican State. Every effort was made to shut it out but without avail and finally 

 its ravages came to add to the discouragement and loss of the planter. 



In deciding upon a crop to replace cotton, the attention of these planters is 

 directed to Alfalfa. This grass is a native of Europe where, as in the United 

 States, it is extensively sown. While considerable care is required in the early 

 stages of its growth, when once it is well established, it will produce a greater 

 amount of green forage and hay than almost any other plant, and the quality is 

 unsurpassed. It is perennial and is cut several times in the season. 



There are other grasses, such as Crimson, White Dutch, Red, Alsike, Japan 

 and Burr Clovers, Red Rust Proof Oats, Dwarf Essex Rape, Awnless Brome and 

 Guinea Grass, Oregon and Hairy Vetch, and in fact all the grasses listed in these 

 pages will flourish in the rich soil of Louisiana, free from the disturbing elements 

 that seem to inflict the cultivation of cotton. 



Until the boll weevil can be destroyed, it would be well for the planter to 

 plant less cotton and take up some form of planting that will give him a good 

 living and restore his peace of mind. 



The following letter will be of interest to planters in the Cotton Belt: 



THE BOLL WEEVIL. 



Ferriday, La., October 27, 1908. 

 To the Editor of the "Times^Democrat:" 



I have just read the letter of Mr. J. B. Goode upon this pest, in which is 

 expressed the clearest and most correct view I have seen published. Our people 

 are much demoralized and scared about this pest, and I am sure unnecessarily so, 

 for in Texas, where they have had to contend with them for the past fourteen 

 years, the people are more prosperous to-day than they were fifteen years ago. I 

 do not mean to be understood that the weevil Is not a damaging pest, for it is, 

 and in some cases it is very destructive; but the existence of the pest has forced 

 the cotton planter to do what he ought always to have done; that is, to make his 

 farm self-sustaining. Do that and the boll weevil scare will be minimized. I give 

 'here an extract from a letter just received from an old citizen of Texas, whose 

 view I know to be true, for I have spent much of my time in Texas for the past 

 fifteen years. Here is what he says: 



"Remember that fifteen years ago the weeviL appeared in Texas, and at that 

 time the value of all the property in Texas was less than $900,000,000, and the 

 best lands were only worth $25 per acre. In fifteen years, with the weevil, the 

 property of Texas is assessed to-day at $2,200,000,000, and the best lands are 



Plant Tall Meadow Oats, Meadow Fescue, Orchard, Timothy and Texas Seed Rye. 



