Show DIXIE I 1 in as much as farming of some hind or in some of ita phases la the chief occupation of the great majority of the people of dixie it Is very important that we pursue it in such a way as to get from it the greatest returns and also ectro from it the greatest amount ot human happiness our climata and soll conditions being somewhat different from those of the other portions of utah our agriculture must needs vary to some extent from that in other places but of course the general principles of that science apply in dixie as in all other parts of this state J would not presume nor is it necessary tor my purpose to discuss the general principles of farming but there are some phases of the subject that are specially applicable to dixie and some lines of farming that can be followed here with such evident advantage that I 1 feel it a proper thing to call to the attention of oar people some which might very easily work to the great advantage of our people owing to our favorable climate and abundant sunshine of course fruit growing should be and doubt less will be always one of our most important branches of farming in the matter of peaches grapes pome gradates gra nates and figs our climate la so pro eminently adapted to the growth of these fruits that they outclass the came kinds of fruits grown in other places and there will doubtless always be a demand for our products wherever their qualities become known in addition to the above fruits which may be and should be grown in commercial quantities all other fruits may be produced here almost if not quite as well as in other parts of the state for that reason every family has it within ita power to have all the fruits and vegetables which nature baa provided and thereby make life richer and eleeter ewe eter the superior flavor and color of our peaches has won tor utah gold medals in many of the important exhibits and fairs which have been held in this country and in the markets of the country they have only to be known to be appreciated this of course presupposes that they fire properly and properly for but while fruit growing Is am and will always take a prom anent place in our agriculture there is another branch of farming which can and must claim equal or greater attention and that is some phase of general farming which gives to alfalfa a prominent place and makes it really the most important crop to be grown in this vicinity the coming of alfalfa into dixie marks as epoch in its history and without it today our people would be helpless in the matter of forage it la in fact practically our only forage crop and this la as it should be because of its importance in maintaining and restoring the fertility of our soils without alfalfa fruit growing itself would be doomed to final failure but alfalfa finds its proper place in a regular rotation of crops and should occupy about two thirds of the time in the rotation for example in a 9 year rotation alfalfa should occupy about six years followed by corn or cane and small grain one or two years but in as touch as our climate lends itself to the production of early vegetables aich could be sold in quantity on the northern markets it would be well to include one year at least of some kinds of vegetables in the rotation but if alfalfa is to form so large an element of our agriculture as above indicated it remains to enow in what manner this crop can be utilized so as to make it profitable to the producer as well as helpful to his soil fortunately tor our purpose it can be used in a great variety of ways and may be the means of providing us an important part of our cash income alfalfa forms the basis of all livestock taming and lends itself admirably to dairying poultry hag raising sheep raising and beet growing but to my mind dairying and poultry are the two forms of of live dock farming which offer the greatest regards to the men and women who can lovo these forms of farm activities tivi ties let ua first consider dairying for many years I 1 tried to work into the dairy business but I 1 was met with the condition of no market just at the time when I 1 had tho greatest amount of produce to dispose of so I 1 was obliged to limit my production to what could be dig 1 posed of in the local market but later on a cheese factory was established in at george and while it continued to operate it afforded a market tor all that could be produce ed but after a few years of opera high prices of feed so reduced the amount of milk produced that he factory could not operate at a profit and waa forced to suspend thosa who iad gone extensively ten into the dairy ouch theia eely suddenly without a local market and so it became necessary to so outside to sell the product fortunately by this time the roads had been improved aid trucks made regular trips to and from the railroad the shipment of cream to salt lake city began and has since grown fo be an important branch of industry this summer it has been demonstrated that cream can be shipped out even in the hottest weather and the railroads mae special rates tor cream and milk and the farmer therefore can rest secure of a market but you may eay the dairymen of dixie are at a disadvantage because at the expensive truck haul to the railroad and while this Is true it la just as true of all other products we have to ship out and the shipment of cream Is not more expensive than are other products but let us look at some of the advantages that go to offset this matter of freight expense in the first place the dairy cow gives you a cash market for your hay this Is fed out on the farm and the fertility remains with the farmer and if be takes proper care of it and uses Is at the time and place where most needed it will constantly tend to build up and enrich his land so that his crops will be increased and he will have each year more bay to feed to more dairy cows but dairy cows do best on bay alone even though it is good alfalfa bay they need a more nearly balanced ration and this is provided tor la the crop rotation referred to above at the end of five or six years ot alfalfa growing corn or cane or mangels should be grown and these things fed with the alfalfa hay make nearly a balanced ration to secure the greatest advantage from corn or cane it Is necessary that the dairyman have a silo and with corn or cane dellage to go with bis bay be Is well provided with the foundation feeds for a good dairy it is true that for any high production some grains or some form of concentrates must be fed but it Is still 9 fact that a very great amount of dairy products are produced without the use of graan and using only hay and silage or pasture dellage in winter and pasture in summer and here it may be well to eay that an alfalfa field may furnish a good deal of pasture even when used for making bay after each cutting it may be pastured a few days and in the I 1 fall and during the greater part of greater part ot the winter very great benefits may be derived from pasturing it if alfalfa is cut at the proper time four cuttings may be had and this will be followed by a good pasture crop in case the dairyman or the farmer has no silo be can make bome use of corn and cane by cutting and shocking it and very much help in ahli ration may be obtained by planting mangels and feeding them with his hay where cream is shipped from the dairy the skim milk forms a valuable feed tor poultry and hogs and calyes may be fed on skim milk after they are five or six weeks old in addition to the in come from abo dairy product direct and from the fertilizers fertilisers the dairy calves may prove to be an important source ot revenue by the use ot high class purebred sires the dairyman may constantly improve hla herd and the increased production of his cows will make an ever increasing profit in hie business besides this benefit to bis own herd he will be helping the community by bringing into their midst high class purebred sires and by having tor sale high quality cows which will macce tor better dairying n the community the dairy cows ot dixie while not so numerous as we wish they were are yet of good quality many years ago some purebred jersey cows were imported and pure bred bulls have been imported from time to time so that the jersey cow has obtained a good start in the community nearly all the dairy cattle imported and practically all the purebred bulls imported for dairy purposes have been jerseys and we bare therefore tho possibility of making this an important center for the production of jerseys in recent years several bulls of Sop hies tormentor breeding have been imported and a large number of promising heffers heifers of this strain hare been secured Sop hies tormentor jerseys are among tho most famous of the breed being descended largely from sophie esth of hood farm athe first cow in the world to produce approximately 1000 ibs of butterfat in a year it we think it advisable to follow up thia line of breeding it would be possible to make dixie the center of production of high producing jersey cattle and thus bring to a most important dource ot revenue there are many other phases of farming in dixie which I 1 desire to discuss and particularly poultry raising but the length of this article reminds me that I 1 have already trespassed too upon the pa tience of the public and K I 1 shall eay more it will have to be in a future article T |