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Jeffei^soii County and 
 Sipmiixgliaixt^ Alabama 
 
 PUDLISHED BY TUG 
 
 Farm Movement Department 
 
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BIHMINGHAM. ALA. 
 
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INTRODUCTORY 
 
 This publication issued by the Birmingham, Alabama, Chamber of Commerce deals 
 with the agricultural possibilities of a district, the great industrial importance of which has 
 been more and more realized within the last few years; and the marvelous industrial growth 
 and development of which during the past decade have been the wonder of the world. The 
 vast mineral resources of the Birmingham District created in its midst, as if by magic, a 
 wonderful city of 140,000 people. But otherwise the development was mainly on industrial 
 lines. As a consequence the City of Birmingham and the Birmingham District with its 
 50,000 working men must buy most of the foodstuffs they consume from other sections of 
 this country and Birmingham sends away three million dollars annually for vegetables alone, 
 all of which could be raised on the thousands of acres of lands now lying idle in the vicinity 
 of the city and in Jefferson County. 
 
 To remedy such a condition, and at the same time materially aid the development and 
 progress of its city and county, the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce — an aggregation of 
 1,200 prominent business and industrial men — established a special department, with a com- 
 mittee of its own, whose sole aim and purpose is the agricultural development and settle- 
 ment of the Birmingham District and Jefferson County. 
 
 This publication represents the first efforts of the committee in the carrying out of 
 its plans. It is a message to homeseekers to come to a section where the climate is superb, 
 where land is cheap and of great productiveness — a section of vast agricultural and indus- 
 trial resources — teeming with opportunities for every man who is industrious and ambitious 
 to have a home of his own. This publication furthers no special interest; it is not a real estate 
 propaganda for the benefit of any land company. The expenses of its make-up and pro- 
 mulgation are paid from a fund subscribed to by patriotic citizens, with no other benefit or 
 reward in view than the progress and development of their city and county and every word 
 printed within its columns and every picture shown upon its pages is guaranteed by the 
 Birmingham Chamber of Commerce to be facts, and nothing but the absolute truth about 
 the district. 
 
 No attempts are made to mislead the readers with elaborate descriptions, extravagant 
 claims or fine literary style of language. Plain facts of what this section offers are stated 
 in plain language, and written by responsible officials and authorities. 
 
 The climate of Birmingham and vicinity is briefly yet very ably discussed by Mr. Wm. 
 Lehman, the local official of the U. S. Weather Bureau. 
 
/ 
 
 The articles upon the agricultural conditions, possibilities, etc., of the Birmingham 
 District and Jefferson County are written by Mr. O. L. Ayrs, Agriculturist of the Tennessee 
 Coal, Iron and Railroad Company, formerly of the Bureau of Soils, U. S. Department of 
 Agriculture; and Mr. G. B. McVay, a high authority on all subjects of agriculture and a 
 frequent contributor to the literature of State and U. S. Department of Agriculture. 
 
 Besides these articles, we reprint verbatim a part of the U. S. Soil Survey of Jefferson 
 County — published this year — a verification of all we claim for our section by an indisputable 
 authority. 
 
 The illustrations shown are from photographs taken on various farms, gardens and 
 fields in our section and they are, together with the few letters from local gardeners, which 
 we had room to print, bonafide evidences of the productiveness of our soils and the great 
 opportunities for every kind of agricultural pursuit in our district and county. 
 
 Yet while the facts related through the following pages show the marvelous resources 
 and unsurpassed possibilities of the Birmingham District and Jefferson County, the reader 
 must bear in mind that it requires industry, intelligence and perseverance to develop these 
 resources and possibilities. 
 
 Here, as elsewhere, success means intelligent activity and thrift. When these are ap- 
 plied, however, the homeseeker from the North, West, or East will find a section here where 
 his tasks are easier to perform, where the man of limited means can do more on a small scale 
 with less cost and expense and where his industry will bring him quicker and larger returns 
 than in any other section of this country. 
 
 In conclusion, we want to say to all who are looking for better opportunities, than what 
 they have at present — who want to live in a healthful climate where they can follow their 
 various pursuits twelve months in the year — that we extend to every newcomer not only 
 our welcome, but that we will assist them in every possible way to be advantageously located 
 in our district and to make the right beginning. 
 
 Birmingham, Alabama, January, 1911. 
 
 The Committee of the Farm Movement Department of the Chamber of Commerce. 
 
 A. H. FORD, President, Chamber of Com. 
 
 JOHN H. ADAMS, Chairman. 
 
 G. B. McCORMACK. 
 
 SID W. LEE. 
 
 JAMES BONNYMAN. 
 
 S.IIECHINGER, Secretary. 
 
Jefferson County, Birmingham and the Birmingham District, 
 What They Offer to the Home-Seeker. 
 
 BV S. HECHINGER. SECRETAR"!' FARM MOVEMENT DEPARTMENT, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 
 
 When the homeseeker and man of 
 family who is striving to better his 
 condition seeks a new location, he 
 will as a matter of course give pref- 
 erence to a section which has a thriv- 
 ing and progressive city in its midst. 
 
 A city in almost every instance is 
 a sure indication of the district in 
 which it is located. A growing, 
 prosperous city is always identical 
 with a section of great natural re- 
 sources, and nowhere in this country 
 is this truth more clearly demonstra- 
 ted than it is in the case of Birming- 
 ham and the Birmingham District. 
 In fact, so closely identical are these 
 two, that it is impossible to describe 
 the one without speaking of the other. 
 
 The history of the city of Birming- 
 ham, its magical growth from a vil- 
 lage to a great industrial city of 
 140,000 people, is the history of the 
 development of the marvelous re- 
 sources of its district, a district where- 
 
 in, and tributary to it, are coalfields 
 estimated by geologists as bearing 
 68,000 million tons, and known 
 iron ore deposits, which will supply 
 all the furnaces now in blast in the 
 district for a period of 360 years. 
 As the district is now producing two 
 million tons of pig iron and 700,000 
 tons of steel annually one may get 
 an idea of the magnitude of the 
 mineral resources of the Birmingham 
 District and the great future in 
 store for it, the more so when it is 
 considered, that the total known ore- 
 supply of other regions in the United 
 States is estimated to be exhausted 
 within the next fifty years. 
 
 Yet these great deposits of iron 
 ore and coal do not represent the 
 entire mineral resources of the dis- 
 trict. Within its borders, associ- 
 ated with the ore deposits and coal 
 measures and in separate layers are 
 found immense quantities of lime- 
 
 stones, sandstones, clays, dolomite 
 and marble. The limestone, besides 
 its other uses furnishes the important 
 material for fluxes in the iron fur- 
 naces and the others yielding the 
 material for the manufacture of 
 building stones, bricks, lime, cement 
 and pottery. 
 
 The term "Birmingham District," as 
 herein used applies to the immediate 
 industrial district, in Jefferson Coun- 
 ty of which Birmingham is the center, 
 not only by location, but industrially 
 and commercially as well. 
 
 For while many of the iron fur- 
 naces, steel mills, rolling mills and 
 other industrial plants and of course 
 all the coal and ore mines of the dis- 
 trict are outside the city limits, the 
 great corporations operating these 
 mines and plants have their head- 
 quarters in the city; and the 50,000 
 men employed in the district spend 
 most of their wages, amounting to 
 
 THREE OF THE BUSINESS STMJETS OF BIRMINGHAM 
 
 Am 
 
$4,000,000 monthly, in the shops and 
 business houses of Birmingham. 
 
 Birmingham Proper 
 
 Birmingham, the city proper, has 
 rapidly expanded during the last 
 few years, until now it covers an 
 area of 48 square miles. At the same 
 time it has fully responded to the 
 demands of its environments and 
 moulded itself into a metropolis able 
 to fill any requirements which its 
 growing industries and commercial 
 importance may exact besides offer- 
 ing all the advantages which are ex- 
 pected of a modern 
 progressive city. 
 
 It is a city of 
 beautiful streets. 
 There are a number 
 of residential sections 
 which for originality 
 and beauty of archi- 
 tecture vie with the 
 best in the land, and 
 the principal avenue 
 of which has the 
 reputation of being 
 the most beautiful 
 thoroughfare of any 
 city in the South. 
 
 Fifty-six miles of 
 its streets are paved, 
 and large appropria- 
 tions have been made 
 for further improve- 
 ments in that direc- 
 tion. The main high- 
 ways are straight as 
 an arrow and of 
 unusual width. 
 
 Birmingham is one 
 of the most healthful 
 cities of the country. 
 Favored by an un- 
 surpassed climate, 
 and located upon an 
 elevation r a n'g i n g 
 from 700 to 1,000 
 feet it has added to 
 these natural advan- 
 tages, one of the 
 finest drainage and 
 sewerage systems in 
 the country covering 
 practically the entire 
 county; and an in- 
 exhaustible water 
 supply adequate for a city of 
 1,000,000 population, the water being 
 filtered and unsurpassed as to purity 
 by that of any other city. 
 
 Birmingham is a city of home 
 owners. As an evidence of its growth 
 it can be cited that more than 20,000 
 homes have been built within the 
 city Hmits since the census of 1900. 
 While many of these residences can 
 be called pretentious, a vast number 
 of them have been erected as com- 
 fortable modern homes for those of 
 moderate means. 
 
 5«i 
 
 The business section of the city 
 has also been shaping itself to keep 
 pace with the commercial and in- 
 dustrial growth, and the improve- 
 ments in this respect are truly most 
 wonderful. In the past six years 
 seven steel construction office build- 
 ings, from ten to sixteen stories in 
 height, have been erected, one of 
 which is the largest building of its 
 kind in the South. 
 
 Besides these, a large and handsome 
 terminal station has recently been 
 completed at a cost of $2,000,000 to 
 
 RESIDENCE STREETS, BIRMINGHAM 
 
 accommodate the ever-increasing pas- 
 senger traffic of the nine trunk rail- 
 roads entering the city, a list of 
 which will be found in another article 
 in this publication. 
 
 While coal, iron and steel represent 
 a major portion of the industrial 
 interests in the city and district, they 
 by no means monopolize the indus- 
 tries. *,To begin with, Birmingham 
 leads in the manufacture of cast iron 
 pipe and heavy machinery. Within 
 the city limits there are large iron 
 pipe works, machine shops and foun- 
 
 dries, cement plants, a cotton mill, 
 fertilizer plants and a great number 
 of diversified industries. 
 
 The latter include such factories 
 as automobile, cracker and candy, 
 coffin, carriage and buggy, furniture, 
 harness, mattresses, sash door and 
 blinds, sewer pipe, gins, soil pipe, 
 brick, etc. 
 
 To finance its extensive industrial 
 and commercial enterprises and to 
 supply the means for the conversion 
 of the natural wealth of the district 
 into marketable products, Birming- 
 ham has nineteen 
 banks with a total 
 capital and surplus of 
 $3,130,000 and de- 
 posits amounting to 
 $20,000,000. 
 
 While the commer- 
 cial interests of the 
 city and district are 
 not as great as the 
 industrial, they are 
 quite extensive and 
 constantly growing. 
 Its wholesale and job- 
 bing trade amounts 
 to $60,000,000 per 
 annum. 
 
 Birmingham is also 
 the center of the 
 lumber trade in Ala- 
 bama. It is the sec- 
 ond largest market 
 in the country for 
 yellow pine. While 
 the growing of cotton 
 is not carried on 
 upon an extensive 
 scale in Jefferson 
 County, yet 125,000 
 bales of that staple 
 commodity are han- 
 dled annually in the 
 Birmingham market. 
 It is self evident 
 that a city with such 
 large industrial and 
 commercial interests 
 is not lacking in great 
 stores. The retail 
 trade of Birmingham 
 excels in volume of 
 business and in the 
 number of handsome 
 stores that of any southern city; 
 among the latter being the largest 
 department store south of the Ohio 
 River. 
 
 A city's growth and development 
 would be incomplete and lacking in 
 essential points, were it only of a ma- 
 terial character. Birmingham rush- 
 ing forward with tremendous strides 
 to the front ranks of American cities, 
 has not neglected the spiritual and 
 intellectual welfare of its fast growing 
 population. Over 100 churches of 
 all denominations, 66 public schools, 
 
OFFICE BUILDINGS IN BIRMINGHAM 
 
five of them high schools, eight private 
 schools and nine colleges including 
 medical, dental, and business col- 
 leges and four public libraries are an 
 eloquent and living proof to the 
 city's progressive spirit of education 
 and uplift. 
 
 Nor has Birmingham in its 
 triumphal march to industrial 
 and commercial greatness for- 
 gotten the care of her sick and 
 helpless. It has two large public 
 hospitals, a number of private 
 sanitariums, two orphan asy- 
 lums, and various other charita- 
 ble institutions to care for the 
 ag,ed and infirm. 
 
 The population of Birmingham 
 and its district is cosmopolitan, 
 including a great number of 
 Europeans and people from 
 almost every state in the Union. 
 It naturally follows that Birm- 
 ingham is a cosmopolitan city 
 in all its aspects, chiefly 
 amongst which are its places 
 of amusements and its social 
 life. 
 
 Five big theaters and a num- 
 ber of smaller show places cater 
 to the play and music-loving 
 public. Eight parks, one of 
 them a large amuse- 
 ment park, provide 
 recreation, entertain- 
 ment and healthy 
 exercise to young and 
 old. 
 
 The social side of 
 the community is well 
 represented by a score 
 of clubs, four of 
 which have handsome 
 homes, and by many 
 social and fraternal 
 associations; amongst 
 them are several Ger- 
 man and Italian 
 societies. 
 
 This birdseye view 
 of Alabama's metrop- 
 olis — a metropolis in 
 the broadest sense — 
 would not be com- 
 plete without men- 
 tioning its splendid 
 civic institutions for 
 the protection of its 
 citizens, its excellent 
 newspapers and its 
 great public utility 
 system of street-rail- 
 ways, light and power 
 facilities, with its 133 
 miles of track, reaching in every 
 direction and knitting city and dis- 
 trict within a radius of fifteen miles 
 so closely together, as to make 
 them almost one. The potency of 
 this factor in the development of 
 this city and district will be better 
 
 BilM 
 
 realized when it is cited that 
 within the territory and along the 
 lines traversed by the Street Railway, 
 comprising about 100 square miles, 
 there are located eighty large plants, 
 exclusive of those which are located 
 in the central part of the city, and 
 
 CITY HALL BUILDING, BIRMINGHAM 
 
 merce 
 
 HILLMAN AND ST. VINCENT HOSPITALS, BIRMINGHAM 
 
 fifty-one coal and ore mines, all 
 together employing 40,000 men. 
 Among the plants are the immense 
 steel mill with a capacity of 2,000 
 tons per day of the Tennessee Coal, 
 Iron & Railroad Company at Ensley; 
 the Dimmick Pipe Works with a 
 
 daily capacity of 250 tons at North 
 Birmingham; the Birmingham Ma- 
 chine & Foundry Company, manu- 
 facturers of heavy machinery; the 
 Hardie-Tynes Manufacturing Com- 
 pany and many of the iron furnaces 
 and rolling mills of the Tennessee 
 Coal, Iron and Railroad Com- 
 pany, the Sloss-Sheffield Co. 
 and the Republic Iron and 
 Steel Company. 
 
 Agricultural Opportuni- 
 ties of the District 
 and County 
 
 As pointed out elsewhere in 
 this publication, the growth 
 and development of the Birm- 
 ingham District and Jefferson 
 County have been entirely on 
 industrial lines. In this respect 
 the history of this section 
 during the last twenty-five 
 years does not differ materially 
 from that of the whole South. 
 The pioneers who during the 
 last quarter of a century built 
 up an empire in the North 
 and West, were the tillers of 
 the soil; the builders of the new 
 South were the men of com- 
 and industry. Of the 
 great stream of home- 
 seekers from the 
 East and Europe, the 
 South received but a 
 small share and there- 
 fore was far outstrip- 
 ped in agricultural 
 development by sec- 
 tions which can not 
 compare with the 
 South's marvelous 
 resources — her mil- 
 lions of acres of fertile 
 lands, her unlimited 
 water power, her un- 
 surpassed climate and 
 her mineral wealth. 
 
 Many causes can 
 be assigned for this 
 lack of agricultural 
 development in the 
 South, which so 
 strongly contrasts 
 with the wonderful 
 and rapid growth of 
 her industrial and 
 commercial interests. 
 One cause however, 
 stands out pre- 
 eminently: the South 
 has never made any 
 strong efforts to in- 
 crease her agricultural population. 
 She has been too busy building cities 
 and railroads and factories and ex- 
 panding her commercial interests, to 
 come to a realization of her matchless 
 agricultural opportunities, and she 
 contented herself to spend 75 per cent 
 
of the money produced by cotton, 
 her great staple, abroad for 
 foodstuffs, all of which and 
 more could be raised within her 
 own kingly realm. Recently, 
 however, the awakening came, 
 as it was bound to come, has- 
 tened perhaps by the present 
 high cost of living and the 
 ever-increasing scarcity of effi- 
 cient white labor in the southern 
 field — a condition which is per- 
 haps more acutely felt in 
 industrial centers like the 
 Birmingham District than in 
 other portions of the South, 
 and which can only be gradually 
 remedied by a substantial influx 
 of settlers. 
 
 Of all the sections in the 
 South today inviting the home- 
 seeker and settler, there is none 
 which possess such a rare com- 
 bination of favorable conditions 
 towards every kind of agri- 
 cultural pursuit, than Jefferson 
 County, Alabama. Fertile lands 
 and mild climate are found in 
 every section of the South, but 
 none has the prerequisite to 
 agricultural development in such a 
 high degree as Jefferson County — a 
 large and ever-increasing home market 
 for all products of the farm and garden. 
 
 A GROUP OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS, BIRMINGHAM 
 
 High School at Bottom 
 
 Wages Paid in the District 
 
 Birmingham and its district con- 
 sumes more than five million dollars 
 worth of foodstuffs annually, not 
 
 A GROUP OF CHURCHES IN BIRMINGHAM 
 
 including meats, most of which are 
 shipped in from other sections of 
 this country. Thousands of carloads 
 of hay and grain are also brought in 
 each year from the western states. 
 This enormous amount of consump- 
 tion of farm products is due largely 
 to the great number of laboring men — 
 skilled and common labor — employed 
 in the Birmingham District, all of 
 whom receive the highest scale of 
 wages paid anywhere in this country 
 and who are consequently able to 
 buy, and do buy, plenty of good 
 food. As an example of the scale of 
 wages prevalent in the district, it 
 will not be amiss to mention here, 
 that coal miners are paid 52 1-2 cents 
 per ton for pick mining and 31 cents 
 for machine mining, based upon a 
 four foot seam; furnace men receive 
 from $2.50 to $7.00 per day; ma- 
 chinists from 20 to 37 cents per 
 hour, and helpers in furnaces, pipe 
 works, miners, etc., from $1.50 to 
 $2.00 per day. And large as the 
 number of men now employed in the 
 district is, a great many more are 
 needed. Various new industries are 
 constructing extensive plants, which, 
 when finished, will employ an ad- 
 ditional 5,000 men. A model in- 
 dustrial town, adjoining the city 
 limits of Birmingham is being built 
 at a cost of $1,500,000, and the Ten- 
 nessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Com- 
 pany, the largest industrial factor in 
 the district, recently appropriated 
 $7,000,000 to be expended immedi- 
 ately in the construction of new 
 plants and the general development 
 of its immense properties in the 
 
 Nine 
 
district. 
 
 The great industries of the Birming- 
 ham District with its thousands of 
 laboring men not only constitute the 
 major part of the large home market 
 for foodstuffs, but they greatly add 
 in other ways to the value of the 
 agricultural opportunities of the 
 county. As a matter of fact, the 
 industries and the thousands of acres 
 of fertile lands around and near Bir- 
 mingham, supplement each other and 
 create a field for the homeseeker, the 
 equal of which no other section in 
 the South can offer. . The home- 
 seeker coming here for the purpose 
 of cultivating lands, or the man of 
 family coming here with the view of 
 working in our industries can, if he 
 chooses, together with his family, do 
 both — cultivate land and work in 
 our industries. This is made possi- 
 ble by the close proximity of the lands 
 to the industrial plants and mines 
 in the District. 
 
 Lands for Rent 
 
 Near the city and stretching over 
 ten miles in every direction 200,000 
 acres of land are waiting to be con- 
 verted into farms, gardens, orchards 
 and pastures. A great deal of this 
 land is cleared and will give the set- 
 tler very little trouble to put in shape 
 for cultivation. Its topography, its 
 wide range of soil, its fertility are 
 all fully discussed in other articles 
 of this publication and need not there- 
 fore be dwelled upon here. 
 
 The bulk of this land is owned by 
 the great coal and iron companies of 
 the district. Some of the companies, 
 realizing the great importance of a 
 
 movement to bring a good class of 
 settlers to this section, offer to rent 
 their land for $1.00 an acre per 
 annum, give a five years lease and 
 build a home for each family free of 
 cost. 
 
 The value of this offer will be better 
 understood and appreciated, when it 
 is considered that the land under 
 discussion being near and within easy 
 reach of a large city with an almost 
 unlimited market for its product 
 would in any middle or western state 
 be worth from $150 to $300 an acre. 
 
 The man with limited means -who 
 possesses but a few hundred dollars 
 to start with — will not find such an 
 exceptional opportunity in any other 
 section of the South and, it is per- 
 haps not too much to claim, not in 
 any part of this country; in fact, the 
 farme or gardener who comes here 
 and leases from ten to forty acres 
 of land and who does not make enough 
 money in five years to buy a good 
 farm is not the man we want to set- 
 tle here. 
 
 Lands for Sale 
 
 Jefferson County, as stated else- 
 where, contains 719,360 acres. Ac- 
 cording to the United States soil 
 survey of the county only 24,640 
 acres of them are not adaptable to 
 cultivation. They are designated as 
 24,320 acres of rough stony land and 
 320 acres rock outcrop. Of the re- 
 maining 694,720 acres the United 
 States soil survey speaks in the high- 
 est terms of being adaptable to the 
 profitable growing of every variety 
 of garden truck and domestic fruits — 
 such as strawberries, peaches, apples, 
 
 plums and grapes — grain and all the 
 standard forage crops. Of this great 
 area of productive land only about 
 150,000 acres are improved, the main 
 crop being cotton and corn and not 
 all of them are at present under 
 cultivation, due to the fact that many 
 of the native farmers, owning lands, 
 but lacking the essential qualities of 
 a good farmer or gardener, have left 
 their farms and have gone to the 
 city. For this reason quite a number 
 of improved farms are for sale at low 
 prices. The country is traversed by 
 over 1,100 miles of wagon roads, 220 
 miles of which are macadamized. Be- 
 sides these public roads the county is 
 practically covered, as will be seen 
 by the map on the back of this pub- 
 lication by a net work of railroads, so 
 that almost every region of the 
 county is easily accessible to local 
 markets and shipping points. 
 
 Notwithstanding all these favorable 
 conditions for agricultural pursuits — 
 advantageous location, great fertility 
 of soil, splendid market facilities and 
 high prices for farm products — lands 
 in the county can be bought for $5.00 
 to $50.00 an acre. 
 
 The price of these lands bears no 
 just proportion to their real intrinsic 
 value, as a comparison of them with 
 the price of lands and their crop 
 value in the North and West will 
 easily prove. For instance, in Il- 
 linois the average land value is 
 $38.65 per acre, the average crop 
 value being $7.81. In Indiana the 
 average land value per acre is $45.66, 
 the average crop value $8.23. In 
 Iowa the average land value per acre 
 is $23.52, the average crop value 
 
 Ttn 
 
 NEW TWO MILLION DOLLAR TERMINAL STATION, BIRMINGHAM 
 
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 SCENE AT EAST LAKE, BIRMINGHAM'S BIGGEST 
 AMUSEMENT PARK 
 
 $6.75. According to these statistics, 
 it is a fair estimate to say that 
 for instance in IlHnois it would 
 take the proceeds of five to eight 
 years to pay for a farm of twenty 
 acres, while here, according to the 
 United States Soil Survey of Jefferson 
 County, Alabama, it is not unusual 
 for a farmer to buy land and sell 
 enough truck to pay for it in from one 
 to three years. 
 
 Dairying and Hog Raising 
 
 In summing up the unsurpassed 
 agricultural opportunities offered to 
 the homeseeker in the Birmingham 
 District and Jefferson County, a few 
 things in regard to two important 
 branches of agriculture, the raising 
 of hogs and the dairying industry 
 might be of some interest to home- 
 seekers. 
 
 In Jefferson County and, for that 
 matter, in the entire South a greater 
 variety of forage plants can be pro- 
 duced, than in the North; two and 
 often three crops per year can be 
 raised. Early fall planting of rye, 
 oats, hairy vetch or bur clover will 
 provide excellent winter pasture, and 
 give a decided advantage for the 
 feeding of cows over the North, where 
 cows in the winter, instead of pastur- 
 ing in the open air, have to be housed 
 in warm buildings and fed upon 
 ground feed and dry hay. 
 
 Milk sells in Birmingham at 25 
 cents a gallon wholesale or ten cents 
 a quart retail the year around. What 
 a dairy man can do here is very aptly 
 _ answered by Prof. Alford, Chief of 
 the Dairy Division, U. S. Department 
 of Agriculture, in an article upon 
 Dairying in the Southern States. 
 Prof. Alford, of course, does not refer 
 to any one section, but what he says 
 exactly describes conditions and what 
 
 a dairyman 
 can do in the 
 Birmingham 
 District. 
 
 He says, 
 among other 
 things: "The 
 branch o f 
 dairying 
 which offers 
 the most im- 
 mediate and 
 surest profit, 
 in the South- 
 ern States, is 
 undoubtedly 
 that of pro- 
 ducing milk 
 for the sup- 
 ply of^nearby 
 cities and 
 towns. Al- 
 though al- 
 most every 
 locality has some sort of milk supply 
 already, the business is, as a rule, very 
 unsystematically and insufficiently 
 done. There are in the South hundreds 
 of places, if not thousands, where the 
 supply is unsatisfactory in quality 
 and uncertain and irregular in quan- 
 tity. The whole .service is susceptible 
 of very great improvements, and it 
 is morally certain that a rich re- 
 ward awaits the man or men who will 
 intelligently and energetically occupy 
 this field and really satisfy the wants 
 of the community. 
 
 "The greatest profit will accrue to 
 those who go at once to the top and 
 aim to secure the cream of the trade 
 by adopting the most approved 
 methods, and offering consumers, at 
 fair prices, better milk than they have 
 previou sly 
 been able to 
 procure, uni- 
 form in its 
 high quality, 
 safe because 
 pure, deliv- 
 ered in at- 
 tractive form 
 and in con- 
 dition to in- 
 sure good 
 keeping prop- 
 erties. The 
 large cities 
 and towns 
 offer the 
 promise o f 
 healthy 
 growth and 
 the steady in- 
 crease of a 
 population 
 ob'.iged tobuy 
 its food sup- 
 ply and with 
 money to pay 
 for it. A 
 
 man who will locate within easy 
 reach of such a town and make mar- 
 ket milk, prepare it and sell it, ac- 
 cording to the best modern methods, 
 is about as sure of success as in any 
 line of agricultural effort anywhere 
 in this country. 
 
 "There are, besides, many places, 
 both large and small, where by moder- 
 ate effort and without any radical 
 change of system, the local milk 
 supply can be vastly improved and 
 consumption greatly increased, by 
 simply making this business a spec- 
 ialty, offering good, clean milk, regu- 
 larly and well delivered." 
 
 In regard to Hog-raising the opinion 
 of an expert may again be quoted, 
 which reads as follows :- - 
 
 "Some of the more important rea- 
 sons why swine husbandry should 
 prove especially attractive to South- 
 ern farmers are summed up in the 
 following paragraph: First, there is 
 a mild climate so that the hogs require 
 but httle housing. There are springs 
 and running streams of water every- 
 where, a splendid natural range and 
 an abundance of mast in the large 
 forest areas still existing in the 
 states. Corn and other cereals so 
 commonly and successfully used in 
 the production of pork are easily 
 and cheaply produced, and a variety 
 of forage crops, including the clovers 
 and many other legumes, thrive re- 
 markably well. Rape, the plant 
 which has been successfully used for 
 hog production throughout the North- 
 ern States, but whose qualities we are 
 only beginning to appreciate, takes 
 kindly to our soil and climate. Red 
 clover finds in our red clays a natural 
 heritage. Sorghum, soja beans, hairy 
 
 STREET SCENES AT ENSLEY, A PART OF BIRMINGHAM 
 
 EIntn 
 
vetch, artichokes, the 
 velvet bean, the cow 
 pea and Spanish peanuts 
 all thrive well singly 
 and some of them in 
 combinations, produc- 
 ing as rich and fine 
 mixtures for hog pas- 
 tures as can be produced 
 anywhere. 
 
 "At the present time 
 the South is paying a 
 heavy tribute to the 
 farmers of the Central 
 West for hog products, 
 and this in the face 
 of the finest natural 
 environment for pork 
 production, in spite of 
 the possession of a splen- 
 did home market and 
 the ability to produce 
 the highest quality of 
 pork at a very low 
 cost. Surely the out- 
 look for the develop- 
 ment of swine hus- 
 bandry in the South is 
 very bright. The popu- 
 lation of the United 
 States, in round numbers 
 is 76,500,000 and rapidly 
 increasing. The market 
 for pork products at 
 home and abroad never 
 was better than it is 
 today. There is less 
 than one hog held on 
 the farms for each 
 citizen, and especially 
 is it true of the South. 
 The Southern farmer 
 ought to supply his 
 home markets with their 
 meat; he ought to 
 have more hogs to sell, 
 and keep at home the 
 millions of dollars now 
 annually sent North for 
 hog products." 
 
 Jefferson County has the climate 
 and the springs and running streams 
 of water. It has the home market 
 
 A GROUP OF FURNACES IN BIRMINGHAM 
 
 and the forests and the soils which 
 will easily produce abundance of 
 cereals and forage — it has everything 
 but sufficient men to develop the 
 
 bountiful natural resources with 
 which it is endowed and to help to 
 get these is the purpose of this article 
 and this publication. 
 
 Twelve 
 
STREET SCENES AT BESSEMER, ALA. 
 
 Bessemer is a growing city with 12,000 population, located a few miles from the city limits of Birm 
 ingham. It is closely connected with the latter by varions electric and steam railroads and the 
 territory between the two cities is so thickly populated as to form almost one. In Bessemer are 
 located a number of large furnaces and other industrial plants and a great many business houses. 
 
 STEEL MILL OF THE T. C. I. 86 R R. CO. AT ENSLEY, 
 2000 TONS, EMPLOYS 3500 MEN 
 
 DAILY CAPACITY 
 
 Thirteen 
 
BIRDS-EYE VIEW OF DIMMICKS PIPE WORKS, BIRMINGHAM. EMPLOYS 800 MEN. 
 
 DAILY CAPACITY 250 TONS 
 
 SCENES FROM A GROUP OF MINES IN THE BIRMINGHAM 
 
 DISTRICT 
 
 Fourteen 
 
The Climate of Bii*miiigl 
 
 ond ^^icliiity 
 
 ItV \V>I. I.KH>IA>-. l.tX'AI. IIKI'K lAI. l'. S. MK ATHKR KL'REAL' 
 itlK>ll>'«illA>l. AI.A. 
 
 »°M. I.KII>IAN 
 
 This article was written upon the 
 request of the Birmingham Chamber 
 of Commerce to be used in a pubHca- 
 tion issued by them for the purpose 
 of inducing thrifty people, especially 
 those following agricultural and horti- 
 cultural pursuits to settle upon the 
 vacant lands in the Birmingham Dis- 
 trict and Jefferson County. It is 
 obvious that an article upon climatic 
 conditions, written by an official of 
 the U. S. Weather Bureau, must be 
 based upon facts. He is responsible 
 to his department for every word he 
 writes. Fortunately 
 a treatise on the cli- 
 mate of Birmingham 
 and vicinity is an 
 easy and agreeable 
 task, as it will, in its 
 essential points, be 
 merely a repetition 
 and confirmation of 
 what has been pub- 
 lished about it be- 
 fore. The superiority 
 of the climate in this 
 region has never 
 been exaggerated. 
 Railroad, commercial 
 and other associa- 
 tions, however, in 
 advertising this sec- 
 tion, have always 
 limited themselves in 
 regard to climate to 
 simply showing of- 
 ficial tables of tem- 
 perature and rainfall. 
 These tables while 
 conveying a clear idea 
 to the homeseeker of 
 the mild weather and 
 even temperature prevailing in this 
 section, yet do not give sufficient 
 information to the man coming here 
 for the purpose of farming and gar- 
 dening. It is not enough for him 
 to know the normal weather con- 
 ditions. The intelligent tiller of the 
 soil in choosing a location must take 
 into consideration the unusual and 
 abnormal meteorological phenom- 
 enons, as they are apt to appear 
 in any region. He has to count 
 with wind and hail storms, late 
 frosts, droughts, or a strong and con- 
 
 tinuous rainfall, all of which will 
 naturally have a big influence upon 
 the failure or success of his crops. 
 Every intelligent person, of course, 
 knows such meteorological disturb- 
 ances make their appearance more or 
 less in every section of this country 
 and for that matter all over the world 
 and it would be a false policy to 
 claim an entire absence of them for 
 this section. But these disturbances, 
 with the exception of late frosts, hap- 
 pen here so seldom, and are of such 
 light nature, that it is scarcely worth 
 
 FARMfHOUSES IN JEFFERSON COUNTY 
 
 while to mention them. Losses 
 through wind or hail-storms are al- 
 most unknown here. Late frosts in 
 March or in the first half of April 
 happen oftener. In spite of the latter 
 fact, however, very few of the native 
 farmers think it necessary to provide 
 against such frosts as they do in the 
 North and West as the losses accruing 
 from them are proportionally small 
 in most instances. The average tem- 
 perature of the short winters from 
 December to February is 47 degrees, 
 therefore is a little higher yet than 
 
 the April and October temperature of 
 the Northern frontier states. Freezing 
 weather changes with mild tempera- 
 ture in proportion of three days of 
 cold weather to six warm days. The 
 monthly rainfall in winter is five 
 inches, during an average of ten days 
 in each month. Snow is almost un- 
 known. March in this section cor- 
 responds with the month of May in 
 the Northern States with a middling 
 temperature of 56 degrees and a 
 normal rainfall of 5.76 inches. Con- 
 siderable less rain falls in April and 
 May, while the tem- 
 perature rises to 63 
 and 73 degrees res- 
 pectively. 
 
 From the foregoing 
 it will readily be un- 
 derstood that the 
 prevalent meteorolog- 
 ical conditions during 
 the winter months 
 here are very favor- 
 able towards the 
 maturing of a bount- 
 iful spring crop. The 
 reader might ask 
 however, "How about 
 the tropical heat 
 down there during the 
 summer?" We can 
 answer this question 
 by saying that our 
 summer is a season 
 of great beauty; and 
 we can remove all 
 doubts of this asser- 
 tion, by mentioning 
 that roses are in 
 bloom here yet, during 
 the months of July 
 and August. Roses, as it is well 
 known, need cool nights, and the sum- 
 mer nights in this section are delight- 
 fully cool. Experienced travelers, 
 well acquainted with the climate and 
 weather conditions as they exist in 
 other states and sections of this 
 country, will and frequently do select 
 Birmingham as their choice for a 
 summer residence in preference to 
 large cities in the North, such as 
 Pittsburg, New York and Chicago. 
 
 The intermediate temperature rises 
 from 75 degrees in the beginning of 
 
 Fijtftn 
 
June to[|81 degrees at the end of July 
 and then falls again to 75 degrees by 
 the middle of September. Rains 
 during this season are merely thunder- 
 showers of short duration, which flow 
 off quickly and moisten the air just 
 enough to preserve plant-life without 
 causing'any inconvenience to men or 
 animals. Summer is followed by a 
 
 mild, pleasant, sunshiny fall with oc- 
 casional warm showers, lasting until 
 the beginning of December. Now 
 and then there are light frosts as 
 early as October; but snow or hail in 
 the fall are absoultely unknown here. 
 From the foregoing it will be seen 
 that the climate of Birmingham and 
 vicinity is pre-eminently suited for 
 
 and very favorable toward every kind 
 of agricultural pursuits. Those of 
 our readers who desire further and 
 more detailed information about the 
 climate and conditions of this sec- 
 tion, such as statistical tables, etc., 
 may address the Local Office U. S., 
 Weather Bureau, Birmingham, Ala. 
 
 
 FIELD OF PEAS 
 
 These peas were raised by children in the Birmingham District, who are encouraged in their endeavors with prizes 
 
 for the best products of peas, corn, etc.. by prominent business men. 
 
 Sixteen 
 
Agricultural and Horticultural Possibilities 
 
 in Jefferson County, Ala., Including the 
 
 Birmingham District 
 
 BY G. B. McVAY 
 
 G. B. McVAY 
 
 Birmingham is noted for its mining 
 and manufacturing industries, iron and 
 steel making and a great many other 
 industries consuming iron and steel 
 but the possibilities of development 
 along the lines of Agriculture and 
 Horticulture have not been appre- 
 ciated. It must be plain to anyone 
 that not only the greater City of 
 Birmingham, but the entire county, 
 will be inhabited by an enormous 
 population in the near future. The 
 most conservative citizen will place 
 the popula- 
 tion of Jeffer- 
 son County 
 at half a mil- 
 lion people 
 by 1920. 
 
 Now it fol- 
 lows that 
 such a com- 
 munity and 
 class of pop- 
 ulation must 
 be large con- 
 sumers o f 
 farm prod- 
 ucts of every 
 character. It 
 must be ad- 
 mitted that 
 in the past 
 but little at- 
 tention has 
 been paid to 
 Agric u 1 1 u r e 
 in Jefferson 
 County. But 
 s :nce the 
 enormous 
 amount o f 
 farm prod- 
 ucts c o n - 
 
 sumed daily in Greater Birming- 
 ham and distributed throughout the 
 district, is now known and estimated 
 at fifteen thousand ($15,000.00) dol- 
 lars a day (which the writer thinks 
 too low) enterprising men have begun 
 to wake up and see if these products 
 cannot be produced in Jefferson 
 County instead of being shipped in 
 from long distances as is the case at 
 present. It is popular belief that 
 since Jefferson County is in fact a 
 hilly and rather rugged country that 
 
 Eighteen 
 
 little opportunity exists for agricultur- 
 al development and it is the purpose 
 of this short article to relate not only 
 what is being done in a farming way, 
 but call attention to what is possible 
 through rational management of the 
 soils of this county. 
 
 SOILS. — It is probably not incor- 
 rect to say that Jefferson County con- 
 tains within its boundaries and in 
 close proximity to Birmingham a 
 wider range or more different and 
 distinct classes of soil than any county 
 
 FIELD OF NAVY BEANS ON TRUCK FARM IN JEFFERSON COUNTY 
 
 in the South. The predominant soil, 
 however, may be said to be what is 
 known as red lands, although there 
 is plenty sandy lands, chocolate 
 loams, sandy loams, grey loams, and 
 a great quantity of a complex char- 
 acter not easily defined. Most of 
 these soils are under-laid with a 
 porous red clay giving them a good 
 foundation, thus rendering them ca- 
 pable of high development under 
 proper management. I will not at- 
 tempt to discuss the most rational 
 
 methods of treatment of the different 
 soils to bring them into a high state 
 of cultivation because it would lead 
 to confusion as so much depends on 
 the class of crops to be undertaken. 
 But it is enough to say that our soils 
 are naturally rich in a number of 
 mineral elements so essential to the 
 proper development of plant life. 
 The most important of these salts 
 is potash, in which the red lands are 
 especially prolific. The deficiency 
 where it exists at all is usually con- 
 fined to the 
 phosphates, 
 nitrogen and 
 their com- 
 pounds. 
 These defici- 
 encies are 
 easily rem- 
 edied through 
 the applica- 
 tion of barn- 
 yard manure, 
 commercial 
 fer t i 1 i z e r s , 
 deep cultiva- 
 tion, rotation 
 of crops and 
 through the 
 use of soil 
 renovati n g 
 plants such 
 as cow peas, 
 clover s , 
 vetches and 
 other legum- 
 inous plants. 
 TOPOG- 
 RAPHY.^ 
 Much has 
 been said 
 about the 
 hills, mountains and rugged charac- 
 ter of Jefferson County. And one 
 who passes through the county by 
 railroad is easily led into the error 
 in assuming that the area of 
 tilable land is small. As a matter 
 of fact the amount of untilable land 
 is very small when compared to the 
 total acreage of the county. Broadly 
 speaking, Jefferson County is made 
 up of a series of hills or high plateaus 
 and beautiful fertile valleys. These 
 valleys range in width from a half 
 
mile to five miles or more. Most of 
 the farming is carried on in these val- 
 leys although some of the most fertile 
 lands are on the high table lands, a 
 great deal of which is in cultivation 
 and furnishes no small percent of the 
 county's farm products. These facts 
 as to soil and physical conditions are 
 given to correct possible error in 
 forming hasty conclusions. This sub- 
 ject should not be left without calling 
 the attention of prospective settlers 
 to the splendid public roads already 
 in service and those being built. 
 
 And another thing of great im- 
 portance is the fact that the county 
 is abundantly watered by numerous 
 
 celled railroad facilities ought to 
 distribute a large surplus to Northern 
 markets. 
 
 BEANS. —Boston is not the only 
 city that consumes beans. Taking 
 into consideration the size of the two 
 cities it is safe to say that Birmingham 
 is as far ahead of her as the modern 
 aeroplane is ahead of the old hot air 
 balloon. It cannot be said, of course, 
 that all commercial beans can be pro- 
 duced as cheap here as in some other 
 states or as profitable but owing to 
 the enormous local consumption and 
 high freight rates the growth of all 
 varieties is well worth trying. What 
 the writer knows to be profitable is 
 
 be harvested within forty to fifty -five 
 days after planting and that a suc- 
 cession of plantings may be made 
 around Birmingham up to the first 
 of October. It can be seen from 
 this, the possible profits from an acre 
 in beans during a single season. An- 
 other profitable bean is the small 
 lima or butter bean, both the dwarf 
 and pole. These planted in the 
 proper rotation produce money-pay- 
 ing crops until November frosts. The 
 large commercial limas are not grown 
 with any considerable profit. 
 
 CABBAGE.— Cabbage is pretty 
 generally considered the truck farm- 
 ers' main money crop and the average 
 
 FARM IN SHADES VALLEY NEAR BIRMINGHAM 
 
 streams and no end of great springs. 
 In fact, there is scarcely a farm of 
 any size in the County that does not 
 contain one or more excellent springs. 
 VEGETABLE PRODUCE. — It 
 would not be an untruth to say that 
 Jefferson County affords every class 
 of soil for the profitable production 
 of all classes of farm products but 
 it is the purpose of the writer only 
 to point out the most profitable, tak- 
 ing into due consideration the ad- 
 vantages of the best home market 
 for produce in the South. This 
 County not only ought to produce a 
 sufficient quantity of vegetables for 
 its home market, but with its unex- 
 
 Twenly 
 
 what is commonly called snap beans. 
 The green podded sorts, both dwarf 
 and pole, are in greatest demand. 
 Some of our best gardeners report 
 yields on good soil of one hundred 
 to two hundred bushels of green pods 
 to the acre. The price, of course, 
 varies widely but it is probably Safe 
 to put down the average in a season 
 at seventy-five cents per bushel. Now 
 all this crop is marketed locally so 
 there is no expense for crates or 
 packing for shipment. No uncertain- 
 ties usually attending shipments by 
 express or freight to commission 
 houses, etc. It should be borne in 
 mind, too, that a crop of beans may 
 
 citizen has but a remote idea of the 
 enormous consumption. The great- 
 est demand lies with the laboring 
 classes, both skilled and unskilled, 
 consequently Birmingham with its 
 thousands of workmen consume a 
 hundred times more cabbage annually 
 than is produced in her district. 
 Notwithstanding this, there is gener- 
 ally a period in early spring when the 
 market is glutted with cabbage and 
 oddly enough some few cars are 
 shipped away and mostly to New 
 Orleans. Of course, cabbage being 
 a perishable vegetable, it is not pos- 
 sible for any one section to supply 
 its own wants the year around, except 
 
CORNFIELD ON R. N. BELL'S FARM, FtTLTON SPRINGS NEAR BIRMINGHAM 
 
through the use of cold storage. But 
 if our truckers would plant at proper 
 intervals crops could be harvested 
 from April to December. The writer 
 has seen the cabbage at its best in a 
 number of southern and northern 
 states but has never seen better crops 
 than is produced on the red lands of 
 Jefferson County. W. T. Burrows, 
 formerly of Louisville, Ky., and Cin- 
 cinnati, Ohio, a local truck farmer, 
 makes a specialty of cabbage and his 
 crops have averaged him the past 
 few years two hundred and fifty dol- 
 lars per acre. Some e.xtra good crops 
 have been so'd by him for as much 
 as five hundred dollars per acre. 
 Others can do as well when they have 
 had the experience and become ac- 
 quainted with the proper knowledge 
 when to sow the seed, the proper 
 management of 
 the plants and 
 how to feed the 
 crop to obtain 
 the greatest 
 yield. 
 
 ONIONS.— 
 But few dry 
 commercial on- 
 ions are grown 
 in the Birming- 
 ham district. 
 The consump- 
 tion, of course, 
 is large. To be 
 sure a great 
 many onions are 
 planted but 
 mostly in the 
 shape of sets. 
 This crop is not 
 allowed to ma- 
 ture, but are 
 pulled up when 
 almost grown, 
 bunched and 
 marketed when 
 green. That 
 there must be a 
 
 good profit in it is evident by the 
 increasing acreage every year. To 
 grow good dry commercial onions 
 it is necessary to plant seed instead 
 of sets. This involves a great deal 
 more time, work and pains to pro- 
 duce a merchantable crop. Sooner or 
 later some one will take up the growth 
 of matured commercial onions on a 
 large scale, as experiments already 
 conducted on a small sca'e show that 
 plenty of soils exist capable of pro- 
 ducing two hundred and fifty to 
 four hundred bushels to the acre. 
 Taking seventy -five cents per bushel 
 in the local market as a low average 
 price it can be seen that the business 
 will prove most profitable. 
 
 POTATOES. - Greater Birming- 
 ham spends every day in the week 
 almost a small fortune for potatoes 
 alone. This includes sweet potatoes 
 
 Twenly-Two 
 
 as well as white or Irish potatoes, and 
 it is really a reflection on our farmers 
 to say that probably more than 
 ninety per cent of this money is sent 
 away to line the pockets of farmers 
 far away. These conditions ought 
 not to obtain, because it is absurd 
 that we must rely on Florida, Georgia, 
 Mississippi, Virginia and Kentucky 
 for the bulk of our sweet potatoes 
 when they can and should be grown 
 in Jefferson County. It is nonsense 
 to assert that our soils are not adapted 
 to sweet potatoes because a consider- 
 able acreage is planted every year 
 with splendid yields. The trouble is, 
 the acreage is trifling compared to 
 the needs of the community. Farmers 
 seem to be satisfied with a little 
 patch mostly for their own use and 
 seem to overlook the fact that a 
 
 SNAP BEAN FIELD ON MR. JACKSON'S TRUCK FARM, JEFFERSON COUNTY 
 
 wagon load of potatoes can be sold 
 as readily as a bale of cotton or a coop 
 of chickens and with decidedly more 
 net profit. There are plenty of soils 
 in Jefferson County without even the 
 aid of fertilizers that will produce 
 one hundred and fifty bushels of 
 sweet potatoes to the acre. The 
 average price of yams in the local 
 m.arket will easily average year 
 around seventy-five cents per bushel. 
 It is easy to see from this that proba- 
 bly no other crop would afford the 
 same net revenue per acre. It should 
 be borne in mind also that sweet 
 potatoes can be planted in our climate 
 as late as June, after a crop of cabbage 
 or white potatoes has been harvested. 
 Birmingham is a large consumer of 
 white potatoes commonly called Irish 
 potatoes, and a considerable acreage 
 is planted not only in early spring 
 
 but in July and August for fall crop 
 but it is probably safe to say that 
 less than five per cent of the potatoes 
 consumed in Jefferson County is 
 locally grown. This county pos- 
 sessing a wide range of soils as has 
 been pointed out, should produce at 
 least one-half of the potatoes that 
 the Birmingham market needs. The 
 yield possibly cannot be said to equal 
 certain sections in the west or east, 
 but one should remember that the 
 local grower has a difference in his 
 favor of from twenty-five to thirty 
 cents per bushel, account of freight 
 charges, that must be paid by the 
 public on every car of potatoes 
 shipped into Birmingham. It re- 
 quires good soil to produce potatoes 
 profitably i n this county and 
 the yield on go od soil is al- 
 most the same 
 that is expected 
 or gotten in the 
 north-we s t . 
 The writer has 
 seen crops of 
 potatoes h a r - 
 vested in Jef- 
 ferson County 
 that would run 
 on an average 
 one hundred and 
 fifty t o two 
 hundred bushels 
 to the acre. 
 Even greater 
 yields are not 
 impossible and 
 when you take 
 into account 
 the fact that 
 there is an un- 
 limited demand 
 locally it can be 
 easily seen that 
 there is unques- 
 tionably much 
 profit in grow- 
 ing potatoes for 
 the Birmingham market. In esti- 
 mating the pDssible profits in growing 
 potatoes in this section one should 
 not lose sight of the fact that two 
 crops a season are easily made so 
 that where a short crop might occur 
 sometime one has two chances to 
 make a profit showing on the same 
 piece of ground. The early or 
 spring crop is generally planted 
 in February and is usually ready 
 to harvest in June. Fall crops 
 of potatoes are planted in July and 
 August and are generally harvested 
 about the first to middle of Novem- 
 ber. 
 
 ENGLISH OR GARDEN PEAS 
 
 A considerable acreage of garden 
 
 peas are planted in the Birmingham 
 
 district, but it is a well known fact 
 
 that probably eighty to ninety per 
 
oent of the peas consumed in this 
 market are shipped into Birmingham 
 from distant points. A careful in- 
 vestigation covering a period of three 
 years has developed the fact that the 
 average price of garden peas has 
 been close around one dollar per 
 bushel. To be accurate, statistics 
 will show that the price has been 
 ninety-four cents per bushel. A care- 
 ful investigation of the yield has 
 proven that local growers have aver- 
 aged one hundred and twenty-five 
 bushel hampers to the acre. Now 
 when it is figured that the crop of 
 garden peas is harvested in about 
 eight weeks time, the profit in grow- 
 ing such a crop for this market is 
 thoroughly apparent. 
 
 LETTUCE.— But few farmers ap- 
 preciate the possibilities of profit- 
 showing in the production of one acre 
 of lettuce. Figuring the average 
 distance twenty thousand plants to 
 the acre is possible. If the crop 
 is properly grown and well fer- 
 tilized it is not unreasonable to 
 expect as much as 239 cents 
 per head — this gives an income 
 of $500.00 off of an acre and 
 when you figure that the crop 
 is marketed within ninety days 
 after the plant is put out the 
 profit is easily figured. There is 
 almost an unlimited demand for 
 such crops as lettuce in Greater 
 Birmingham, and it is really a 
 reflection on the farmers 'of Jeff- 
 erson County that possibly eighty 
 per cent of the lettuce consumed 
 in this distrcit is shipped into 
 Birmingham by express from dis- 
 tant points. 
 
 -TOMATOES. There are three 
 specialists in Jefferson County 
 who are making good profits out 
 of the production of tomatoes 
 for the Birmingham market. The 
 writer has investigated methods 
 employed by these tomato men 
 and finds that they are getting an 
 income of from $175.00 to $250.00 
 per acre and this on land that 
 they are renting for $5.00 per 
 acre per annum. In fact, they 
 are getting a revenue off each 
 acre of land cultivated per annum 
 a sufficient amount of money to 
 buy the land. It is not possible 
 in this article to dwell on their 
 methods of cultivation, but it is 
 sufficient to say that those who 
 are devoting their time to the 
 culture of the tomato are reaping 
 splendid profits from their efforts. 
 
 MELONS.— Jefferson County 
 contains almost one hundred 
 thousand negroes and it is a well 
 known fact that they are the 
 largest consumers of melons of 
 any other class of people. Con- 
 
 Tuenty-FouT 
 
 sequently, the demand on tha 
 Birmingham market for all classes 
 of melons is practically unlimited. 
 Jefferson County could easily pro- 
 duce her own melons but it is a well 
 known fact that practically all the 
 melons consumed in the Birmingham 
 district are shipped in here by car- 
 load lots from far distant points. 
 The early markets are generally sup- 
 plied from Florida points. The de- 
 mand in September and even as late 
 as October is supplied by northern 
 states. The climate in the Birming- 
 ham district is such that if melons 
 were planted in succession they could 
 be had from early spring until the 
 latter part of October. A melon crop 
 is usually grown with very little 
 expense and those who are giving their 
 attention to the production of melons 
 in the Birmingham district are reap- 
 ing splendid profits. Reference is 
 made here not only to watermelons 
 
 CABBAGE FIELD ON TRUCK FARM IN 
 JEFFERSON COUNTY 
 
 but cantaloupes as well, and the 
 writer must say that for quality no 
 section of the United States produces 
 better cantaloupes than the red hills 
 of Jefferson County. 
 
 _ MISCELLANEOUS GARDEN 
 TRUCK. — It is not possible in this 
 short article to go into detail about 
 every different class of crop that can 
 be grown in Jefferson County profit- 
 ably, but a few will be mention- 
 ed here that are being grown and 
 at considerable profit. The main 
 trouble is that they are not grown in 
 such quantities as the local market 
 demands. There is almost an un- 
 limited demand for what is known as 
 greens, including such vegetables as 
 collards, spinach, kale, mustard, rape 
 and turnips. These are quick grow- 
 ing crops, meet with ready sale and 
 are grown with considerable profit. 
 These crops, of course, should be 
 grown in connection with others so 
 that one is able to take care of the 
 demand for this particular class 
 of crops. As an illustration of 
 what might be done with this 
 class of crops the writer knows 
 of a truck farmer who sold 
 $1,270.00 worth of spinach last 
 fall or winter from five acres of 
 ground. Most anyone can repeat 
 the same thing year in and 
 year out. Another very profit- 
 able crop that is grown locally is 
 okra, and it is probably one of 
 the most profit- able minor crops 
 that is grown in Jefferson Cou- 
 nty. The demand is practically 
 unlimited and as the growing 
 period extends from June until 
 the middle of November, it is 
 easily seen that the opportunity 
 with this particular crop should 
 not be overlooked. There is a 
 splendid local demand for such 
 crops as radishes, beets, squash, 
 carrot, cucumbers, arsnipps and 
 pepper. And while these crops 
 are grown very successfully in a 
 small way the majority of such 
 vegetables are shipped into Bir- 
 mingham in car load or mixed 
 carload lots from distant points. 
 A careful investigation of the 
 needs and the enormous con- 
 sumption in the Birmingham 
 District of all classes of farm 
 products would lead any investi- 
 gator to the conclusion that the 
 business of growing produce for 
 the Birmingham market would 
 afford a fine return for the effort 
 and money invested. 
 
Agricultural Conditions and Possibilities in The 
 
 Birmingham District 
 
 O. L. AYRS 
 
 The Birmingham District is known 
 chiefly for its many mining and manu- 
 facturing industries. Because of the 
 unprecedented natural advantages 
 which the region offers these in- 
 dustries, all the activities have cen- 
 tered around them and little attention 
 has been given to the agricultural 
 possibilities. The country, however, 
 possesses many advantages which 
 should appeal to the farmer. The 
 large population assembled here has 
 created an exceptionally good market 
 for a 1 1 food 
 product s . 
 Thousands of 
 carloads of hay 
 and grain are 
 shipped in from 
 the Western 
 States each 
 year. The 
 Northern States 
 send in thou- 
 sands of bushels 
 of potatoes, and 
 large quantities 
 of poultry, eggs 
 and meat are 
 brought in from 
 neighboring 
 states. In fact 
 the region does 
 not furnish 
 enough of any 
 single commod- 
 ity to meet its 
 own needs. 
 Hay, according 
 to kind and 
 quality, sells for 
 $14 to $25 per 
 ton, com 75 
 cents to 90 
 
 cents per bushel, Irish potatoes 60 
 cents to $1.00 per bushel, sweet 
 potatoes 75 cents to $1.25 per 
 bushel, peaches 75 cents to $2.00 per 
 bushel, strawberries 8 cents to 15 
 cents per quart and other crops at 
 corresponding prices. 
 
 Because of these facts the general 
 impression has gone out that the 
 soils are so poor that farming is not 
 profitable here. This is incorrect. 
 The region possesses a variety of 
 soils, some of which are suitable for 
 
 Ttcenly-Six 
 
 BY O. L. AYRS 
 
 almost every crop grown. The Bir- 
 mingham District lies at the extreme 
 Southern end of the Appalachian 
 province, and many different geo- 
 logical formations are exposed here, 
 each of which exerts a modifying in- 
 fluence upon the soil. 
 
 Birmingham lies in a broad lime- 
 stone valley (Jones Valley) some thirty 
 miles long. The soils here are mainly 
 yellow to brown and red loams and 
 clay loams. Like all limestone soils, 
 these produce good yields of corn, hay 
 
 SNAP BEAN FIELD_ON TRUCK FARM, JEFFERSON COUNTY 
 
 and general farm crops when properly 
 cultivated. Within the valley and 
 along its sides, are many small 
 gravelly and stony ridges. These pro- 
 duce fine peaches and other fruits. 
 
 Red Mountain lies to the South- 
 east of this valley. It is rich in iron 
 and is one of the district's chief 
 sources of wealth, but is of no agri- 
 cultural importance. Beyond the 
 mountain is a second broad valley. 
 Here the soils are derived from shale 
 and sandstone rock and vary in char- 
 
 acter from sandy loam to silt loam. 
 These soils are not as strong as those 
 in Jones Valley, but are more easily 
 cultivated and produce fine yields of 
 truck and garden crops. A portion 
 of it lies quite low and is good grass 
 land. Northwest of Birmingham the 
 country consists of a series of rough 
 broken ridges with deep narrow in- 
 tervening valleys. These valleys, ex- 
 cept for narrow areas at the bottom, 
 are usually too rough for cultivation. 
 The tops of the ridges consist of 
 nearly level 
 areas one-eighth 
 to one-fourth of 
 a m i 1 e wide. 
 The soil here 
 is a fine sandy 
 loam to loam. 
 Good yields of 
 fine Irish and 
 sweet potatoes 
 are produced. 
 Strawberries 
 and other small 
 fruits do well, 
 and melons and 
 other truck 
 crops are profit- 
 able. 
 
 The long sea- 
 sons here make 
 it possible to 
 grow two crops 
 per year o n 
 nearly all land. 
 The rain fall is 
 usually so dis- 
 tributed that no 
 trouble is expe- 
 rienced from 
 drought, except 
 for a short time 
 in September or October. 
 
 A truck farm with a well selected 
 rotation of crops can have produce to 
 put on the market eight months out 
 of the year. In the valley near Bir- 
 mingham about one-half of the agri- 
 cultural land is under cultivation. 
 In other parts of the district less 
 than one-fourth of the land available 
 for agriculture is being made use of. 
 Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, to- 
 matoes, cabbage and beans are among 
 the more profitable crops at the pres- 
 
JO 
 
 c 
 o 
 
 •I) 
 
 > 
 
 o 
 
 > 
 d 
 d 
 
 o 
 
 X 
 
 2; 
 
 w 
 > 
 
 ts 
 
 2 
 O 
 
 > 
 
ent time. Many are beginning to 
 plant small areas to these crops and 
 there is a period of ten days to two 
 weeks at the height of the season 
 when the market is well supplied, 
 but the successful grower who man- 
 ages his crop so as to bring it on the 
 market a few days ahead of the rush 
 or better yet, two weeks later than 
 the main crop, always finds a ready 
 market. 
 
 Irish potatoes are planted from 
 February 20th to May 1st. The 
 earliest ones are ready for market 
 June 15th. These may be followed 
 by a second crop of potatoes, a crop 
 of June corn, sweet potatoes, cow 
 peas, or soy-beans. The yield of 
 potatoes ranges from 80 to 175 
 bushels per acre. It is thought by 
 many that the crop cannot be kept 
 and an effort is made to rush them 
 on the market at the earliest possible 
 moment. This usually gluts the 
 market for a short time. By plant- 
 ing the later varieties the careful 
 grower can hold his crop back until 
 after the rush is past and with the 
 average season he can leave the ma- 
 ture potatoes in the ground four to 
 eight weeks before digging. Pota- 
 toes may also be stored for several 
 weeks by spreading them in thin 
 layers in a dark well ventilated place. 
 This can be done at a small expense 
 
 and a better price will be realized 
 by selling the crop slightly out of 
 season. 
 
 When a second crop is planted the 
 seed is taken from the small potatoes 
 of the first crop and planted during 
 July or the first week in August. 
 This crop continues to grow until 
 late fall and may be stored during 
 the winter for the next season's 
 seed or sold on the winter markets. 
 The yield of the second crop is 
 usually about two-thirds that of the 
 crop. 
 
 Sweet potatoes are started in beds 
 and the plants transferred to the 
 field during May and June. This 
 makes it possible to follow the earli- 
 est Irish potatoes with sweet pota- 
 toes. A few sweet potatoes reach 
 the market in August and they con- 
 tinue to be harvested then on dur- 
 ing the fall. The bulk of the crop 
 is dug in October. They can be 
 stored on the market at any time dur- 
 ing the winter. The yield is usually 
 about 100 bushels per acre. 
 
 Tomatoes are set out here as soon 
 as danger of frost is passed, usually 
 about the first of April. They do not 
 continue to bear through the entire 
 season here, as they do in the North. 
 The earliest ones begin to ripen in 
 June and in a few weeks the entire 
 crop reaches maturity and the plants 
 
 FARM SCENE. SHADES VALLEY NEAR BIRMINGHAM 
 
 die. This difference in the habit 'of 
 the plant can be overcome by con- 
 tinuing to set out new plants every 
 ten days or two weeks up to August 
 first. This will make it possible to 
 have a continuous supply of fruit 
 from June until late fall. 
 
 Cabbage being more hardy is 
 placed in the ground earlier than to- 
 matoes and the earliest is ready for 
 market the latter part of May. The 
 bulk of the crop reaches market in 
 June and by July 15th very little of 
 the home-grown product is to be 
 found . 
 
 This is essentially a cool weather 
 crop and cannot be grown through 
 the entire season as successfuly as 
 tomatoes. However, by selectinlg late 
 varieties and setting the plants out 
 late in protected places, a portion of 
 the crop can be held back until 
 August 1st or 15th, when it will 
 command a better market than the 
 early crop. A second or late crop 
 can be put out in August. This will 
 reach maturity in November when the 
 market is usually good. 
 
 All varieties of beans do well here. 
 The first string or snap bean are 
 ready for use in May and by making 
 frequent plantings one can have beans 
 for market from then until the first 
 frost late in the fall. They are a 
 favorite vegetable and are always in 
 
 demand. 
 
 While the 
 crops just 
 considered 
 are probably 
 the ones 
 which would 
 be the most 
 profitabl e , 
 practically all 
 the crops 
 grown in the 
 middle and 
 North e r n 
 States can be 
 raised here 
 successfully. 
 Grain and 
 forage prod- 
 ucts always 
 command a 
 good price. 
 Compara- 
 tively little 
 live stock is 
 kept at pres- 
 ent and i n 
 order to have 
 the best suc- 
 c e s s there 
 must be an 
 increa se 
 along this 
 line. 
 
 Tw^nty-Eigftl 
 
Extract From the U. S. Soil Survey of 
 Jefferson County, Alabama 
 
 1910 
 
 Jefferson County, named in honor 
 of our third President, is located in 
 north-central Alabama, on the south- 
 em extension of the Appalachian 
 system and in the center of rich iron, 
 coal and limestone belt of the South. 
 The county contains 719,360 acres, 
 or 1,124 square miles, and is an ir- 
 regularly shaped parallelogram, with 
 its longer dimension, 46 miles, from 
 east to west, and its shorter, 38 miles, 
 from northeast to southwest. 
 
 The surface of the country is 
 mainly mountainous to hilly and the 
 drainage is well developed, as shown by 
 the numberless rounded hills, valleys, 
 and the much 
 dissected s ur- 
 face. 
 
 In 1817 Ala- 
 bama was or- 
 ganized as a 
 territory, and 
 in 1819, admit 
 ted as a State. 
 At the first 
 session of the 
 legislature Jeff- 
 erson County 
 was formed from 
 the southern 
 portion of 
 Blount County. 
 Since 1890, how- 
 ever, as part 
 of Jefferson has 
 been annexed 
 to Walker, and 
 a portion o f 
 Shelby joined 
 to Jefferson. In 
 1815 a fort had 
 been erected 
 near Old Jones- 
 boro and a col- 
 ony o f Ten- 
 
 nesseans had settled near Woodlajvn. 
 Most of the early settlers were from 
 Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Caro- 
 linas. The '.and was then in forest. 
 Jones and Opossum Valleys were 
 ;Iearcd fiisl and necessaries like 
 corn, oats, wheat, beef, and pork 
 were produced. 
 
 The mild climate, fertile soil, and 
 river communication caused the pop- 
 ulation to increase rapidly. The fol- 
 lowing table shows the remarkable 
 development since 1880 — a develop- 
 ment due mainly to the commercial 
 exploitation of the great deposits 
 of limestone, red and brown ore, and 
 bituminous coal. 
 
 Thirly 
 
 Population of Jefferson 
 County, Ala., 1880 to 1910 
 
 1880 „ 23,272 
 
 1890. 88,501 
 
 1900 140,420 
 
 1910 235,000 
 
 At present the population is chiefly 
 in the cities. The inhabitants are 
 cosmopolitan, including Europeans, 
 most of whom labor in mines and pub- 
 lic works, and people from all states 
 who have been attracted by the 
 varied industries and rich possibilities 
 of the county. Birmingham, the 
 county seat, has now an estimated 
 
 SWEET POTATO FIELD, OPOSSUM VALLEY NEAR BIRMINGHAM 
 
 population of 150,000, while Bessemer 
 and Ensley are flourishing cities that 
 have doubled their population during 
 the last few years. 
 
 At present there is no water com- 
 munication to the sea, but the trans- 
 portation of the county is carried on 
 by nine main railroad lines that cover 
 all the county except the extreme 
 western portions, in the mountain- 
 ous districts. The following rail- 
 roads enter Birmingham: Alabama 
 Great Southern; Atlanta, Birmingham 
 and Atlantic; St. Louis and San Fran- 
 cisco; Central of Georgia; Mobile 
 and Ohio; Louisville and Nashville; 
 Seaboard Air Line; Illinois Central; 
 
 and Southern. A well-developed sys- 
 tem of street and interurban freight 
 and passenger electric lines connect 
 all points between Birmingham and 
 Bessemer. There are many jobbing 
 and wholesale houses that import 
 foodstuffs and the varied necessities 
 of a densely populated industrial 
 center. It is asserted that about 
 28,000 carloads of alfalfa and other 
 classes of hay are annually shipped 
 in from a dozen near-by states. In 
 spite of the fact that two good crops 
 of Irish potatoes can be raised an- 
 nually, these and other vegetables 
 are shipped in from Wisconsin and 
 other Northern 
 States. These 
 fruits and vege- 
 tables necessari- 
 ly bring high 
 prices and could 
 be more cheaply 
 grown at home. 
 Nearly all the 
 county has ru- 
 ral free delivery. 
 There is a good 
 system of rural 
 schools, high 
 schools, and 
 several colleges. 
 The county is 
 traversed b y 
 over 1,100 miles 
 of wagon roads, 
 220 miles which 
 are macadam- 
 i z e d . Other 
 roads are being 
 rebuilt, and 
 this work will 
 b e continued 
 until all the 
 main roads are 
 improved. With 
 the abundance of limestone for 
 cement, and accessible sandstone and 
 chert, road improvement is easily 
 and cheaply carried on. 
 
 The industrial development in Jef- 
 ferson County has been so rapid that 
 agriculture has not kept pace with 
 it. In spite of the extremely high 
 prices paid for all farm products, the 
 county produces but an insignificant 
 fraction of its foodstuffs. At present, 
 even with the increasing prices for 
 land, it is not unusual for a farmer to 
 buy land and sell enough truck to 
 pay for it in from one to three years. 
 Notwithstanding this and the abun- 
 dance of truck soil, the industry is in 
 
^^SP'^SS&v. 
 
 «^ 
 
 '^^,. 
 
 % 
 
its infancy, the bulk of the vegetables 
 coming from outside the State. 
 
 During the last five years the mar- 
 ket-gardening industry has become a 
 leading feature on the soils within 
 driving distance of Birmingham. The 
 gardens are from one to five acreas 
 in extent, and while not farmed as 
 systematically as in older localities 
 where the industry has been long 
 established, in proportion to labor 
 and capital invested they are extreme- 
 ly profitable. Truck land can be 
 rented for from $1 to $5 an acre. The 
 demand for sweet corn is great and 
 two crops can be produced, the first 
 being sold in June and the second in 
 the fall. 
 
 Watermelons are a general crop on 
 many farms, where the owners make 
 a practice of having something to sell 
 whenever they go 
 to thecity. Melons 
 are extremely 
 profitable and 
 succeed best on 
 the sandy soils, 
 though heavy ap- 
 plications of fer- 
 ilizers are re- 
 quired, and but 
 one crop can be 
 grown in the same 
 field without ro- 
 tation or a rest of 
 several years . 
 Two crops of Irish 
 potatoes can be 
 grown in seasons 
 of sufficient rain- 
 fall. The first crop 
 averages 125 to 
 175 bushels an 
 acre ; the second 
 i s expected t o 
 yield about 100 
 bushels. Only one 
 crop can be pro- 
 duced from south - 
 em-grown seed. 
 
 Sweet potatoes succeed well on all 
 the lighter soils. The yield ranging 
 from 150 to 250 bushels per acre. 
 Although prices are never less than 
 75 cents a bushel, and often more than 
 $1, only small patches are planted. 
 The "Bunch Yam" and Dooley are 
 favorites. There is room for the 
 farmer who understands the crop and 
 soil adaption to grow both kinds of 
 potatoes on a large commercial scale. 
 
 Tomatoes do well on all soils, but 
 succeed best on well-fertilized heavier 
 types. In July and August, during 
 market gluts, they may sell as low 
 as 30 cents a bushel, when some may 
 be shipped south. Even at this 
 price they should be profitable, as 
 yields of over 200 bushels per acre 
 are often reported. Very early or 
 late tomatoes often bring $1 a basket 
 of less than one-half bushel capacity. 
 
 Thirty-Two 
 
 Cabbage should be more generally 
 grown, especially on the Decatur, 
 Upshur, and Hagerstown soils. In 
 July and August there is often a 
 scarcity, large consignments being 
 shipped from the North. 
 
 The Dekalb and limestone soils 
 are well adapted to strawberries and 
 blackberries, although few are grown, 
 and berries are imported from the 
 South and from Cullman County. 
 The price is always high and the 
 culture of these fruits would prove 
 profitable. Large quantities of can- 
 taloupes are grown and marketed at 
 profitable prices. Beets, peas, pep- 
 pers, cucumbers, kale, spinach and 
 cauliflower find a ready sale and are 
 well adapted to the lighter sandy 
 Dekalb soils. Turnips are universally 
 grown as a winter crop. 
 
 COUNTRY ROAD IN BIRMINGHAM DISTRICT 
 
 The culture of tree fruits is in a 
 neglected condition. Several years 
 ago many pear orchards were planted. 
 These did well for a time, but have 
 lately been damaged by blight. The 
 Kieffer and the Garber seem most 
 resistent to this disease. Peach cul- 
 ture has been tried, the prevailing 
 opinion being that peaches are not 
 adapted to the soil or climate. Judg- 
 ing from the present lack of care, 
 past failures have been due more to 
 a lack of knowledge concerning the 
 culture and care of the trees than to 
 soil or climatic conditions. The soil 
 survey reports of Blount and Tal- 
 ladega Counties, where the climate 
 and soils are similar to those of this 
 county, state that success has been 
 had in growing the Elberta peach. 
 There is little doubt that when the 
 proper cultural methods are under- 
 
 stood it will be found that the slopes 
 of the Dekalb shale loam and the 
 phases of the silt loam and sandy 
 loam will produce well. Healthy 
 growing trees were often seen on 
 these types. The Clarksville stony 
 loam will also produce a high quality 
 of fruit. 
 
 Climate and elevation do not adapt 
 the county to the growing of long- 
 keeping winter apples, but they can 
 be grown and kept until January. 
 Hackworth is a favorite summer fruit, 
 while Ben Davis on the Clarksville 
 and Winesap on the Hagerstown 
 stony loam should do well. 
 
 Judging from the abundance of 
 wild plums and grapes, certain of the 
 tame varieties should do well, es- 
 pecially at higher elevations. Few 
 cultivated grapes are seen, but the 
 vines were thrifty 
 and productive. 
 The stony, gravel- 
 ly, and shaly 
 phases of all soils 
 will produce scup- 
 pernongs and 
 muscadines o f 
 good flavor. 
 
 On the whole, 
 Birmingham with 
 its increasing pop- 
 ulation, furnishes 
 one of the best 
 markets in the 
 South for all soil 
 products, and the 
 soils are so we'l 
 adapted to truck 
 and other s u b - 
 sistence crops that 
 many times the 
 area now devoted 
 to their production 
 could be profitably 
 utilized. 
 
 Although the 
 soil will produce 
 all the standard 
 forage crops, the dairy interest are 
 not extensively developed. The 
 farmer keeps one or two cows for 
 family use. Near Birmingham 
 numerous small dairies of six to 
 twelve cows supply milk for city use. 
 The dairies are frequently examined 
 by a sanitary inspector and the milk 
 is of good quality and meets a ready 
 sale at 25 cents a gallon wholesale or 
 10 cents a quart retail the year round. 
 
 Soils 
 
 The great diversity of the soils of 
 Jefferson County, with their accom- 
 panying variations of elevation, slope, 
 drainage, etc., adapting them to a 
 considerable range of agricultural use, 
 results largely from their formation 
 from these rocks of widely varying 
 textural and mineralogical character- 
 istics. The resulting soils range in 
 
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 w 
 
 p) 
 z 
 
 X 
 
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 c 
 
 M 
 
 p) 
 o 
 
 o 
 n 
 
 2 
 
 CO 
 
 O 
 
 tJ) 
 
 S 
 
 z 
 
 o 
 
 > 
 
their texture from the excessively 
 stony members of the Dekalb and 
 Clarksville series, which contain in 
 many places from 50 to 75 per cent 
 of sandstone and chert fragments, 
 through the light textured Dekalb 
 fine sandy loam, to the heavy Wabash 
 and Conasauga clays. The depth of 
 the soil material varies from a few 
 inches in the rougher portions of the 
 county to many feet in the case of the 
 Himtington,_ Decatur and Hagers- 
 town soils. 
 
 [ In topographic position the soils 
 range from the level Huntington silt 
 loam to the mountainous rough, 
 stony land and the knolls and ridges 
 of the Clarksville stony loam. As 
 already stated, the Dekalb series is 
 derived from the Carboniferous rocks, 
 the silty and sandy members occur- 
 ing where the to- 
 pography is 
 smoothest and 
 conditions for the 
 accumulation of a 
 com parative ly 
 deep, fine-textured 
 soil most favorable. 
 Among these 
 Carboni f e rous 
 rocks are found 
 irregular knobs, 
 narrow droughty 
 ridges and long 
 trough-shaped val- 
 leys. 
 
 The Clarksville 
 loam owes its 
 origin mainly to 
 the Fort Payne 
 chert formation of 
 the lower Sucar- 
 boniferous and to 
 the cherty inclu- 
 sions in the Knox 
 dolomite formation 
 of the lower Silu- 
 rian. The greater 
 proportion of this 
 
 type occupies the cherty hills and 
 ridges northeast of Birmingham 
 between Red Mountain and Sand 
 Mountain, ending in mountains of 
 rough stony land farther north. •= if 
 
 The Upshur stony loam is derived 
 from the Clinton iron ore of the 
 Red Mountain formation, which, up- 
 on weathering, gives rise to a soil 
 along the exposed narrow ridges. 
 
 The Conasauga clay and certain 
 phases of the Hagerstown soils are 
 derived from the flatwoods or Coosa 
 shales of Cambrian age, which are 
 characterized by shales and inter- 
 bedded limestones of nearly vertical 
 inclination. 
 
 The Knox dolomite and the Tren- 
 ton limestone contribute most largely 
 to the formation of the Decatur and 
 Hagerstown soils occupying the Jones 
 and Opossum valleys, though in the 
 TUrly-Fvur 
 
 case of Hagerstown stony loam more 
 or less of the stony material comes 
 from the cherty formations giving 
 rise to the Clarksville stony loam. 
 
 The Huntington silt loam, Hunting- 
 ton gravelly loam, and Wabash clay 
 are alluvial soils derived from sedi- 
 ments deposited by streams at times 
 of high water, and are still in process 
 of formation. 
 
 Summary 
 
 The Jefferson County Area lies 
 in the north-central part of the State 
 of Alabama and comprises 719,360 
 acres, or 1,124 square miles. It is 
 the seat of the most extensive coal, 
 iron and limestone deposits in the 
 South. 
 
 The county has two main topog- 
 raphic divisions — the Cahaba Valley 
 
 A $600 COTTAGE 
 
 and the valleys of Jones and Opossum 
 creeks, and the much disected upland 
 to the north and west of these val- 
 leys. The elevation varies from less 
 than 240 to 1,400 feet, with an aver- 
 age of 500 to 800 feet above sea. 
 
 The important rivers are Little 
 Cahaba, Warrior and Locust Fork. 
 
 Transportation facilities are good. 
 In addition to nine main railroads, 
 there is an excellent system of 
 macadamized roads. 
 
 The principal cities and towns are 
 Birmingham, with its numerous sub- 
 urbs, and Bessemer, Ensley, Leeds, 
 Trussville and Warrior. 
 
 The climate is exceptionally mild 
 and favorable to a wide variety of 
 staple and special crops. Snow is 
 rare, and freezing weather seldom 
 lasts for more than a few days each 
 winter. The rainfall is ample for 
 
 crop growth and generally well dis- 
 tributed throughout the year. 
 
 Industrial development has stimu- 
 lated trucking and general produce 
 farming. The staple crops in general 
 are corn and cotton with some forage 
 crops. Dairying interests are being 
 extended. 
 
 Farm labor is chiefly colored and is 
 well paid owing to competition with 
 the mines and other industrial enter- 
 prises. 
 
 Deeper plowing and more frequent 
 tillage should be practiced. Winter 
 cover crops should be sown on all 
 cotton and corn fields in order to 
 prevent erosion and leaching, and at 
 the same time to add humus to the 
 soil. 
 
 Systematic rotation should be in- 
 troduced. 
 
 More hogs and 
 farm stock should 
 be kept. Goats 
 and sheep will do 
 well in forested 
 portions and no 
 non-agricultural 
 land. 
 
 Thirteen soil 
 types, representing 
 eight series, were 
 mapped in the 
 county. As re- 
 gards manner of 
 formation, these 
 soils are of two 
 broad classes, 
 namely, alluvail 
 and residual. 
 
 The alluvial 
 soils are the Wa- 
 bash clay, Hunt- 
 ington gravelly 
 loam, and Hunt- 
 ington silt loam. 
 The first two are 
 important soils, 
 but of limited 
 extent. The last 
 named is a very strong soil and is 
 a favorite for the growing of corn 
 and truck. 
 
 The residual limestone soils include 
 the Decatur clay loam, Hagerstown 
 stony loam, Hagerstown loam, and 
 the Clarksville stony loam. 
 
 The Decatur clay loam is a strong 
 soil, but the bulk of the type is located 
 close to growing cities, and is held 
 at high prices for building sites. It 
 is naturally suited to a wide range of 
 crops, and with careful tillage and the 
 use of manures can be profitably used 
 for trucking. 
 
 The Hagerstown stony loam is well 
 adapted to fruit growing^and to the 
 usual farm crops. 
 
 The Hagerstown loam is a good 
 general farming soil and its use for 
 market gardening is increasing. 
 The Clarksville stony loam is the 
 
best soil for the growing of tree and 
 bush fruits. Systematic orcharding 
 would be very profitable here. 
 
 The Dekalb shale loam, residual 
 for shale, occurs in the rougher up- 
 land country. Hillside areas have 
 many of the physical characteristics 
 of the grape soils of the Northern 
 
 States. The famous scuppernong 
 grape grows especially well on the 
 hilly ridges and slopes. The type 
 is susceptible of improvement and 
 under modern methods is a profitable 
 farming soil. Where the slope per- 
 mits, Irish potatoes will succeed. It 
 is better adapted to Irish than sweet 
 
 potatoes. 
 
 f, The Dekalb silt loam is of very 
 wide extent and has certain variations 
 of texture that make it a favorite for 
 general farming and trucking. Mar- 
 ket gardening will prove more profi- 
 table on this type than any other form 
 of agriculture. 
 
 REGISTERED JERSEY COW AND CALF RAISED ON R. N. BELL'S 
 FARM, FULTON SPRINGS NEAR BIRMINGHAM 
 
 Thirly-Fitl 
 
Letters From Local Truck Farmers to The Farm Movement 
 
 Department 
 
 From a Florist and Gardener 
 
 A. J. KOENIG 
 
 Mr. Koenig's Greenhouses will found on 
 another page 
 
 Woodlawn, Ala., July 29 1910. 
 Mr. S. Hechinger, 
 
 Birmingham, Ala. 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 In reply to your question, "What are the 
 possibilities of success in the Floricultural, 
 Horticultural and vegetable growing line, 
 in the Birmingham District, and Jefferson 
 County, Ala." I will state that I have had 
 30 years' experience in the business, south 
 of the Ohio River, and of the several places 
 where I have been located, I consider the 
 Birmingham District superior to some lo- 
 calities which are reputed to be ideal. The 
 greatest drawback here it seems to me, is 
 that we have not got the men here who 
 thoroughly understand the Horticultural and 
 Gardening business and who are capable and 
 willing to devote their best efforts in that 
 line. But a few here seem very successful, 
 and they are men who are not what we 
 might term professionals in these lines 
 either. I have in mind several who had 
 other trades and who drifted into the gar- 
 dening and vegetable growing line, and 
 are very successful. 
 
 As to myself, with my life experience in 
 the florist and gardening business, I have 
 been able to grow as fine a stock of flowers 
 and vegetables as can be grown anywhere 
 in the United States. 
 
 My experience with roses, carnations, 
 chrysanthemums, bedding plants, etc., etc., 
 is, that we can compete with any part of 
 the country. 
 
 As to vegetable growing, this locality will 
 compare favorably with such noted districts 
 as Louisville, Ky., and parts of Indiana 
 and Ohio, and the demand and prices are 
 certainly far better here. I am confident 
 that experienced men who thoroughly under- 
 stand gardening could make Jefferson County 
 one of the garden spots of the South, and a 
 man's chances of making money would only 
 be limited by his capabilities of producing 
 the goods. In certain localities I also find 
 that fruits such as apples, peaches, plums, 
 
 Thirty-Six 
 
 etc., do exceptionally well; while small 
 fruits, such as strawberries, raspberries, 
 blackberries, etc., make excellent crops. 
 Having had the chance of seeing almost 
 every part of Jefferson County for the last 
 five summers, and having noticed the grow- 
 ing crops very closely, I found that certain 
 localities are far superior for some crops 
 than others, the cause of this is that we 
 have so many different kinds of soil here, 
 in some places the soil being a very rich 
 red loam, some places sandy, some clay, and 
 also limestone soil. A great many times 
 all the different soils can be found on a ten 
 acre tract, some of the mountain sides are 
 cherly and stony but make excellent orchards 
 and vineyards. 
 
 Of course we have our troubles here just 
 the same as in other states, sometimes a 
 little too wet and sometimes a little too dry, 
 but taking it altogether it is God's country 
 anyway. 
 
 Having had the wanderlust very badly 
 in my younger days, I traveled through 
 almost every state in the Union several 
 times, looking for an ideal place to settle, 
 and I found that even the ideal places have 
 the same drawbacks that we find here, only 
 very often worse. I would like to dwell 
 en several other subjects, such as our very 
 fine climate, pure water, etc., but time 
 prevents. 
 
 In conclusion, I would like to say that, 
 in my estimation, anyone settling in Jefferson 
 County and devoting their energy and brains 
 to any line in agriculture or horticulture, 
 would undoubtedly be successful beyond 
 their fondest dreams; at least that has been 
 the experience of 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 A. J. KOENIG. 
 
 $418 worth of Strawberries 
 from one-quarter of an acre 
 
 Ensley, Ala., June 29th, 1910. 
 Mr. S. Hechinger, Secretary, 
 
 Farm Movement Department, 
 Chamber of Commerce, 
 Birmingham, Ala. 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 In view of the movement of your Chamber 
 of Commerce to induce farmers and truck- 
 gardeners to come to our county, perhaps a 
 bit of information in regard to the fertility 
 of our soils may be useful to you. I am 
 cultivating a forty acre farm, three miles 
 from Ensley, which brings me an income of 
 $1,800.00 a year, besides making a living for 
 two other families, who work for me on 
 half shares. We raise all kinds of vegetables 
 and have two acres in strawberries. Per- 
 haps you will think I exaggerate, when I 
 tell you that I sold this spring $418.00 worth 
 
 of strawberries from one-quarter of an acre, 
 and my land is no better than most of the 
 lands in Jefferson County. There is no 
 trouble for any man who has grit and un- 
 derstands farming and gardening to make 
 money here. We have the lands and the 
 climate and the market — a combination 
 which cannot be found in any other region — 
 and if once the people in the North will 
 realize these great advantages, they will 
 flock down here as fast as the railroads can 
 carry them. 
 
 Yours for success, 
 
 W. L. RICKLES. 
 
 rom a Lierman 
 
 Gard 
 
 ener 
 
 FRITZ BOCK 
 
 A Picture of Mr. Bock's Farm will be Found 
 on Another Page. 
 Powderly, Ala., July 16th, 1910. 
 Mr. S. Hechinger, Secretary, 
 
 Birmingham, Ala. 
 Dear Sir:— 
 
 I immigrated to this country from Germany 
 three and a half years ago, and after living 
 in New Jersey for a little while, I came to 
 the Birmingham District, in the fall of 1908. 
 I had only a few dollars left when I arrived 
 here, not enough to begin anything with 
 and although I am a professional gardener, 
 I first worked in coal mines and succeeded 
 in saving about $300 from my wages in the 
 course of 18 months. In April of this year 
 I leased a five acre truck farm about two 
 miles from the center of the city for which 
 I pay $15.00 a month rent, including the 
 house. The land on this place had been 
 cultivated before, but was in a sadly neglected 
 condition. It responded nevertheless very 
 quickly to the proper handling — thorough 
 plowing and a plentiful supply of manure — 
 and in June, scarcely two months after I 
 took hold of the place, I had a generous 
 crop of vegetables, such as cabbage, toma- 
 toes, radishes, lettuce, snap-beans, peas, etc., 
 the proceeds of which amounted to $30.00 
 a week. I have one mule and with the ex- 
 ception of hiring a man for a couple of days, 
 I did all the work myself. I sell my vege- 
 tables direct to consumers in my neighbor- 
 hood from a wagon, and never had any 
 
trouble with disposing of all I carry with me. 
 This is a fine country. The summer 
 heat is not greater here than it is in New 
 Jersey and the winters are very mild; I 
 have plenty of good water on my place and 
 smce coming here my family, as well as my- 
 self, have been in excellent health. I re- 
 gard the Birmingham District as a good 
 section for people to settle, especially for 
 farmers and gardeners. There is a great 
 demand here for poultry and eggs, as well 
 as vegetables and fruits and with the cheap 
 lands for rent and sale I do not see why more 
 people do not come down here to live. It 
 must be that they do not know the oppor- 
 tunities which are here for every man who 
 is willing to work and use the advantages this 
 section offers. Birmingham is a great town 
 and from all I see it will greatly develop 
 in the next few years. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 FRITZ BOCK. 
 
 rom 
 
 Successful 
 Gardener 
 
 Market 
 
 B. C. CARMAN 
 
 Farm Movement Committee, 
 
 Chamber of Commerce, 
 Birmingham, Ala. 
 Gentlemen: — 
 
 My three years' experience in vegetable- 
 gardening in the Birmingham District and 
 the results I have obtained certainly prove 
 that there is not any section to be found 
 anywhere in this country, where a practical 
 farmer or gardener can succeed quicker 
 than he can here. The man with 
 plenty of money can of course 
 make a success anywhere, but I 
 speak of the man, who has only a 
 few hundred dollars to start with, 
 and who is intelligent, thrifty and 
 knows his business. He cannot 
 select a better location. The 
 soils are fertile and readily yield 
 to an intelligent handling. The 
 climate is mild; we have one of 
 the healthiest cities in the country 
 and Birmingham is the best mar- 
 ket in the South. I rented my 
 place three years ago. The land 
 had not been cultivated for several 
 years and was overrun with 
 weeds. Notwithstanding this, I 
 succeeded in raising during the first 
 year a crop of vegetables which 
 brought me $1,800. This year 
 
 my crops on five acres 
 were about as follows; 
 One and one-half 
 acre English peas, one- 
 half acre turnips, one- 
 half acre beets, one- 
 half acre carrots, 
 three-quarters acre 
 lettuce, one-half acre 
 spinach and the bal- 
 ance t o mustard, 
 radish, Swiss onions, 
 kohl rabi, etc. I 
 also have 1,800 feet 
 of hot-bed that I use 
 for starting early 
 plants. 
 
 Part of my spinach 
 and onions I planted 
 last fall, also a few 
 turnips and some cel- 
 ery that I marketed 
 in January and Feb- 
 ruary. 
 
 On January 12th I 
 planted one acre to 
 English peas; on Feb- 
 ruary 1st to 10th I 
 planted beets, carrots, 
 lettuce, turnips, rad- 
 ish mustard, spinach and parsley. I 
 planted my peas in rows 4 1-2 feet apart and 
 on March 15th I planted a row of corn be- 
 tween each row of peas. I planted my let- 
 tuce, carrots and beets in rows 12 inches 
 apart with every fourth row 16 inches. On 
 March 21st I planted early com in the 16 
 inch rows. I mixed a few radish seed with 
 the carrot seed; the radish came off first and 
 were sold before the carrots were large 
 enough to need work. 
 
 I also mixed radish seed with parsley seed 
 and got a crop of radish before the parsley 
 needed work. I sowed mustard in beds, 
 also some turnips and sold greens which was 
 off the ground by first of April and I set 
 this ground to egg-plants and pepper. My 
 
 THIS 
 
 $40.00 
 
 WAGON LOAD OF VEGETABLES BROUGHT 
 IN THE BIRMINGHAM MARKET. IT IS FROM 
 THE TRUCK FARM OF B. C. GARMAN 
 
 TOMATOES AND TURNIPS FROM B. C. GARMAN'S 
 TRUCK FARM IN SUBURB OF BIRMINGHAM 
 
 spinach v/as ready to market in time to set 
 the ground to tomatoes. I also planted 
 okra, squash and cucumbers between my 
 turnip rows. On the 8th of March I sold 
 radish, on the 19th of March I sold mustard 
 and turnip greens, on April 5th sold first 
 beets, sold the first head lettuce on April 
 7th, first spring spinach March 9th, first 
 carrots May 1st, first tomatoes June 4th, 
 first com June 21st. By August the first 
 all the crops mentioned except egg-plants 
 and pepper had been sold and the ground 
 being planted to fall crops such as snap 
 beans, beets, carrots, salsify, kohl rabi, 
 endine, lettuce, spinach and celery. 
 
 My help in making and marketing this 
 crop cost me $120.00 and my son helped 
 morning and evening before and 
 after school. I have sold to 
 August first, $1,503.68, and 
 expect my fall crop to bring me 
 as much as the spring crop. 
 
 The foregoing description of 
 my work this year gives a fairly 
 good idea what can be accom- 
 plished with the soils here; and 
 what I am doing every one can do 
 here, who thoroughly understand 
 gardening and applies the neces- 
 sary industry, patience and 
 perseverance. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 B. C. GARMAN, 
 
 201 Canal Street, West End. 
 
 Thirty-Sewn 
 
From an Amateur Chicken 
 Raiser 
 
 The following letter was written by a 
 young man, holding a position in the city. 
 He lives in a beautiful little home, owned by 
 him — the reward of a few years of thrift 
 and economy. 
 Mr. S. Hechinger, 
 
 Secretary Farm Movement Dept., 
 Chamber of Commerce, B'ham, Ala. 
 Dear Sir:— 
 
 We have a small home in one of the pret- 
 tiest spots in our beautiful city and besides 
 our little garden, which furnishes us all the 
 vegetables we can eat the year around, we 
 raise chickens. 
 
 We have demonstrated to ourselves, at 
 least, that chickens may be most profitably 
 raised and kept in a small space if one is 
 willing to pay attention to details, as is 
 necessary to make a success of anything. 
 Our actual chicken yard is only 20x50 feet. 
 Two seasons ago 
 we started with 
 one male and three 
 females of the 
 B u ff Orpington 
 breed — the most 
 desirable, we think, 
 of course. We se- 
 Qure quality in 
 our stock in pref- 
 erence to quantity, 
 going to a leading 
 breeder for our 
 start. Later w e 
 added three hens, 
 making six in all. 
 On January 1st of 
 this year, after 
 having kept a 
 strict account of 
 a 1 1 expenditures 
 and income, they 
 showed a profit of 
 8.40, plus the value 
 of eggs consumed, 
 of which no account 
 was kept. How- 
 ever, no eggs were purchased by us 
 during the entire year. This year 101 
 chickens were hatched from March to May. 
 Fifteen were lost through accidents which 
 could have been avoided, about the same 
 number have been served upon the table, 
 leaving us about 60, the largest being only 
 four months old. 
 
 Early in the spring, the yard was spaded 
 and planted in rape and sun-flower. The 
 rape grew quickly and furnished green food 
 for them; the sun-flowers have furnished 
 good shade, and now each morning a few 
 stalks are broken and bent to the ground, 
 the leaves and seed of which the chickens 
 eagerly devour. Our garden which is 27x50 
 feet, supplied more lettuce, radishes, Swiss 
 chard and other green stuff than the family 
 of two consumed, so a quantity of that has 
 also been fed the chickens. The poultry 
 houses provide summer and winter quarters. 
 In winter, the house boarded on three sides, 
 
 Thirly-EiqU 
 
 and practically open in front on account of 
 large window and door, is used, and the wire- 
 covered house is closed at the back to knock 
 off the direct north wind, and the floor, 
 covered with alfalfa hay or straw, into which 
 the grain is thrown so the chickens will 
 scratch for it, thereby obtaining necessary 
 exercise. In summer, the closed house is 
 used only for laying purposes, and the chick- 
 ens roost in the wire covered house, which 
 is naturally cooler. Trap nests are used in 
 October and November when the pullets 
 start laying. Of course, the experienced 
 poultryman knows that there are numerous 
 instances of pullets laying at four months, 
 but with the average amateur and average 
 flock, they are doing well to lay at six and 
 seven months. For the benefit of the un- 
 initiated will say that trap-nests are nests so 
 arranged that one can determine which hens 
 are laying and which are not. The non- 
 layers are served on the table, while the 
 layers are kept and used as breeders. 
 
 food may be raised. A truck garden and 
 poultry farm go well together, and when to 
 this is added the fruit that may be grown, 
 and to top it all, the good market that Bir- 
 mingham affords, a most inviting field is 
 here presented for thrifty and industrious 
 families. Everyone knows that other States 
 are constantly supplying our markets with 
 poultry and farm products, which would 
 not be the case had we more poultrymen and 
 gardeners within our own borders. 
 Yours very truly, 
 CHAS. A. FITZGERALD. 
 Birmingham, Ala., Aug. 2, 1910. 
 
 Another 
 
 Successful 
 Farmer 
 
 Truck 
 
 POULTRY FARM OF CHAS. A. FITZGERALD 
 
 In this way, one does not make the mis- 
 take of killing the laying hen and retaining 
 a non-producer. There are a number of 
 good trap nests on the market, but if one is 
 energetic, practical satisfactory nests may 
 be easily made with a piece of wire, a few 
 nails, a hammer and some boards. Absolute 
 cleanliness of house and yards is, of course, 
 preserved. 
 
 All this is attended to in the one or two 
 hours before breakfast, and should convince 
 the most skeptical that chickens can be 
 raised on a large scale when one can give 
 his entire time to it and the necessary room 
 secured. In this district, where we have 
 such mild winters as compared with our 
 Northern brother, chicks may be hatched 
 so much earlier in the season; in fact, there 
 is no reason why they may not be hatched 
 satisfactorily every month in the year with 
 a minimum of care. The soil is fertile, and 
 plant life makes vigorous growth, so sufficient 
 
 A View of Mr. Maddox's Farm will be Found 
 On Another Page. 
 East Lake, Ala., July 6th, 1910. 
 
 Farm Movement Committee, 
 
 Chamber of Com- 
 merce, 
 Birmingham, Ala. 
 Gentlemen: — 
 
 I have been 
 raising vegetables 
 on the lands in 
 the Birmingham 
 District for the 
 last sixteen years. 
 My experience has 
 shown me that al- 
 most any kind of ' 
 vegetable can be 
 profitably grown 
 here. I have raised 
 every variety, such 
 as tomatoes, aspar- 
 agus, squash, cab- 
 bage, cucumbers, 
 beets, lettuce, spin- 
 ach, mustard, tur- 
 nips, carrots, okra, 
 peas, snap-beans, 
 egg-plant, peppers, 
 onions and pota- 
 toes, all of them 
 will bring a fair profit n the market. 
 
 For instance, 200 bushels of tomatoes can 
 be raised to the acre, which will bring an 
 average of $1.00 a bushel. Peas, one of the 
 most saleable crops, will average from 75 to 
 100 bushels per acre, worth $125.00. Tur- 
 nips, another popular and most sought for 
 vegetable, make a profit of $150.00 per acre. 
 They are very easily grown. Spinach make 
 an average profit of $200 per acre. Swe:t and 
 Irish potatoes, for which there is always a 
 large demand, are a very profitable crop, 
 the price paid for them in the Birmingham 
 market varying from 75 cents to $1.50 per 
 bushel. 
 
 I generally have two crops of Irish pota- 
 toes, which average 150 bushels an acre on 
 my land. Sweet potatoes yield a somewhat 
 larger crop; I have several times made as 
 much as 250 bushels of sweet potatoes on 
 one acre. 
 With one of the best markets in the South 
 
for all soil products; with our easily cultivated 
 lands and the mild climate, I know of no 
 superior section in this country for a farmer 
 or gardener to settle, than Jefferson County, 
 Alabama. We have room here for a thousand 
 truck-farmers, dairy and poultry men, all 
 of whom, if they are the right kind of men, 
 will prosper here within a few years. Of 
 course one has to be industrious, understand 
 soil culture and persevere. 
 
 With best wishes for the success of your 
 undertaking, I am. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 M. F. MADDOX. 
 
 peach-trees. As you will notice this tree 
 is covered with peaches to the breaking point 
 and there are many more like it on my place 
 out at East Lake. Are the lands around 
 here fertile? Do they yield good crops? 
 Well, I came over from England 25 years 
 ago and was around the country a good bit 
 before I settled here. I have lived in Il- 
 linois and other Northern States and I have 
 never seen lands which equal ours. Why the 
 soils in this section are so rich, that some- 
 times people contrary to "As thou shalt 
 sow, so shalt thou reap" will actually reap 
 without sowing. Take my case for instance. 
 
 spring I planted some com and tomatoes and 
 a few other vegetables on two acres. But 
 the trees are entirely neglected, yet a good 
 many of these trees bear fruit year after 
 year and in abundance at that, as you will 
 notice by the photograph. 
 
 This surely proves the great productive- 
 ness of our lands; and with our beautiful 
 climate, with plenty of good water and a 
 city which soon will be equal in size and im- 
 portance to the great iron and coal city of 
 the North, Pittsburg, Pa. I do not know of 
 
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 PEACH TREE IN BLOOM ON R. BLACKBURNE'S FARM AND ORCHARD 
 IN SUBURB OF BIRMINGHAM 
 
 Reaping Without Sowing 
 
 Norwood, June 24th, 1910. 
 Mr. S. Hechinger, Secretary, 
 Farm Movement Department, 
 Chamber of Commerce, 
 Birmingham, Ala. 
 Dear Sir: — 
 
 I send you a photograph of one of my 
 
 I have 19 acres out at East Lake with 1,000 
 fruit trees upon it. Being in the contract- 
 ing business and living in the city I have 
 very little time to attend to them. There 
 is a fine house on the place and no one to 
 live in except that my family stays out 
 there occasionally for a few days. Now 
 and then I have the weeds cut off and this 
 
 a better section in this country for people 
 to move to, especially agricultural people, 
 than the Birmingham District. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 R. BLACKBURNE. 
 
 Thirty- Nine 
 
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