Here©s Georgia! LIBRARIES - the Digital Library of Georgia

Georgia's resources
for truck farming are
peculiarly rich. In
Chatham county alone,
according to a recent
survey, there are ninety
thousand acres of land
excellently suited to
this branch of agricul
ture; ana there are
equally inviting oppor
tunities in many other
parts of the State. De-
Kalb county is probably
the most important
truck producing coun
ty in the South. The
latest official reports
show only ninety-five
thousand acres in truck
farms in Georgia. With
an area as large as Eng
land and Wales com
bined, and only thirty-
two per cent, under cul
tivation, Georgia can
'become one of Amer
ica's great centers of
food production.
158 FACTS ABOUT GEORGIA
while he has built a good house and barn, keeps cows and hogs
and chickens, and grows everything needed for the food of the
household, and sells $2,000 worth besides. He follows corn with
wheat and peas, cotton with oats and peas, picks his peas and
plows the vines under. Such farmers are a credit to the State.
Good Demand for Cane Syrufi
Sorghum cane is a luxuriant crop in at least half of the State.
H. L. Ware of Coweta County grows it extensively, and uses a
gasoline engine for grinding. He makes from 250 to 275 gallons
of syrup from an acre of cane, and sells at from 45 to 60 cents a
gallon, a good bit of it locally.
Three Bales of Cotton to Acre
Three bales of cotton to an acre is a big record, but it has been
made in Georgia, although not always do the bales weigh the full
standard 500 pounds. W. F. Collier of Cherokee County is one
who has accomplished it with bales averaging over 450 pounds
each. His soil is the same as can be found all over the Pied
mont region—dark and loamy, with plenty of rocks. He plows
twelve inches deep with a disc plow, and cultivates 25 acres with
two mules and the help of a fourteen-year-old boy. His three-
bale land had been planted in wheat followed by cowpeas, the
previous year.
Buying a Farm With Profits
That a Georgia farm can pay for itself and support a large
family at the same time, is being proven every day. J. B. Hunter
of Spaulding County is one who has done it, and also created a
liberal surplus. He bought 68 acres seven years ago at $33 an
acre, paid for it all in three years, made many improvements,
richly fertilized the land, diversified and rotated in all the ap
proved styles, and now has a splendidly paying property to show
for the investment of his labor.
A/ore Money in Dairy Farming
Dairying and truck farming make a good combination in
Georgia, as the commercial truck crops are nearly all off in time
to grow silage for wintering cattle. The sizeable towns and cities
of the State are so well scattered that nearly every county has a
near-by market for milk and truck. Dairying is such an attractive
proposition in the State that many farmers have given up cotton
entirely and gone to cattle grazing. J. H. Hooks of Washing
ton County, is one of these. He has gradually reduced his cotton
acreage, and having started with a few scrub cows, and systemat
ically improved the stock, he now has 225 registered and grade