George Washington Carver: A National Agricultural Library Digital Exhibit

1936

National Agricultural Library

I am confident that no other time has been more favorable than the present for every farmer in Alabama to think seriously and constructively along this line, asking himself the following questions. (I feel equally sure that with the facts before him he will have little or no trouble in deciding what course to take.)

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

No. 1. Is live stock necessary to successful farming?

Yes, absolutely. For centuries a good, well-cared for cow was recognized as half of any family’s living, by:

a. Furnishing all the milk, butter, cream, etc., the ordinary family, can use, and if properly cared for a surplus can be had to sell.

b. In addition to the above she should produce a calf every year.

c. According to Brooks, this cow will consume 25 pounds of dry matter per day, which means as a by-product, 96 pounds of manure daily, having an average composition per 1,000 pounds…

It is easy to see that our farm animals are great fertilizer factories, turning out the cheapest and best known product for the permanent building up of the soil. In addition to this farm yard manure there are also many' thousands of tons of the finest fertilizers going to waste all over the South in the form of decaying leaves of the forest and the rich sediment of the swamp, known as “muck.” Every idle moment should be put in gathering up these fertilizers.

Can Live Stock Be Raised Profitably in Alabama?

Second Edition