nces up and buy as many cattle as
you can handle, because the she-stuff is going to be higher. This is
particularly true of the she-stuff which has been selling at the values
of Florida primitive cattle.

FORAGE CROPS FOR FLORIDA.

(_Address delivered before the Florida State Live Stock
Association, January 9, 1918, by Prof. C. V. Piper,
Agrostologist, Bureau of Plant Industry, United States
Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C._)

For many years I have been interested in the problem of more and better
forage for the South, because it has long been evident to students of
agriculture that sooner or later there would be an important live stock
industry developed in the South. The present greatly increased interest
of Florida, and, indeed, of the entire South, marks, I believe, the
beginning of this epoch. Several economic incentives have conspired to
bring about the present active interest and development. Chief among
them, perhaps, were: First, changes necessitated by the spread of the
cotton boll weevil; and, second, the present high range of prices for
live stock--prices that in all probability will be little, if any,
reduced for many years to come.

Another incentive that must, however, be recognized was the desire of
enterprising men to develop the latent resources of the South, not only
as an attest of their economic faith, but also from the patriotic motive
of helping the nation in this period of stress.

As an indication of the extent of this movement I may state that within
the past two years over thirty extensive live stock enterprises have
been launched, all in the piney woods region of the Southern States.
Most of these companies have ample capital, and most of them are
proceeding along conservative lines.

The future development and prosperity of this industry must rest upon a
thorough knowledge and proper utilization of the forage crops adapted to
the region. In very large measure these forages are quite different from
those used in the portions of the United States where animal husbandry
is most developed. From a practical standpoint we cannot use in the
South the forages of the North and West, with the important exception of
corn. The other great forages--timothy, red clover, alfalfa, blue grass
and white clover--can never become important in Florida. This fact needs
emphasis, because the newcomer in Florida is often carried away with the
idea that these forages ma