The news in this publi
cation is released for the
press on receipt.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
NEWS LETTER
Published Weekly by the
University bf North Caro
lina for the University Ex
tension Division.
APRIL 1, 1925
CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
VOL. XI, NO. 20
1’' lit.>riiil oar ft I B. C. Braoaon, S. H. Hobbs, Jr., L. R. Wilson, B. W. Kalgni, D, D. Carroll, J. B, Bollitt, H, W. Odaoj.
Enttrod a» ec«!id-cl»8.mati«r Noi.mbot 14. 1914, «t thePo^tofflcsat Chap,]Hill. N. C,. undM the act stAnanat 24, 1912
OUR WATER RESOURCES
2. STREAM FLOW DATA
Inlthe last issue of the News Let
ter there was described the need for i
line continuously on a piece of paper
indicating the gage height. Such
i stations are required when there is no
' observer accessible, or where there are
, . - . , sudden variations in the flow, as when
streams and Its relation to municipal ^ development
water supply, cheap power, and safe the station.which may'shut [off
sewage disposal. The question may be at night and let loose more
asked, why cannot any engineer make daytime,
his own stream How measurements on Manifestly two readings a day of -
Staff gage would not indicate the true
average height of the water in the
stream. The automatic recorder
shows the gage height every instant
and the averages for the day can be
any stream in which he is interested,
and why burden the state with the
cost of collecting this information?
The ans^ver is threefold:
(a; Because individual or isolated
measurements of stream flow are of > determined,
relatively little value. When an in- j n u
vestigation is being made to utilize a} Durham Wants Facts
stream for water supply,'water power, j The actual use and need of stream
or waste disposal the flow in that flow data ma^ be illustrated by/some
stream may be neither maximum, ! recent typical cases which have arisen,
minimum, nor average. It is very ne- : The city of Durham had to invest over
cessary to know the extreme low flow in , one million dollars in a new water sup-
the driest period, the maximum flood J ply development, which was to utilize
which may ever occur, and the average . surplus flow for pumping. How much
flow which may be expected each week of the time would water be available
over a period of years. To learn these for power purposes, and would the ex-
a gaging station must have been es
tablished on the stream, or on some
nearby similar stream, years before
the data are wanted, and operated con
tinuously. The Water Resources Di
vision of the State Department of
Conservation and Development acts in
cooperation with the United States
Geological Survey, State Highway
Commission, municipalities, ;j power
penditure for hydro-electric equipment
be warranted? No stream flow meas-
IDEALISM IN COOPERATION
The interesting thing about coop
eration in both Ireland and Denmark
is the emphasis placed on the in
tangible, idealistic values. It is
precisely this thing which is so sadly
lacking in our cooperative efforts in
the United States. Too many of our
cooperative endeavors are different
in no essential respect from old-line
business. We have no one in the
United Stated to-day who is con
tinually holding up before us the
beauties of an agricultural civiliza
tion that can holdjjts own against
the attractions of city tinsel. In
order.to get the kind of a life we
want on the farm, we"should do our
best to get a sq'uare deal in both the
business and political worlds, but
even more than that we must make
sure that the farming of the future
ministers to the spiritual life of the
farmer and this family.—Wallace’s
Farmer.
urements had ever been made on the I Southern States
stream to be used, or on any similar i Texas ' 31.‘7
streams in the vicinity. The best that ' Virginia 8.9
could be done was to estimate the, Tennessee 8.7
probable flow from rainfall data, a very ! I^lorida 8.1
unsatisfactory expedient. Realizing ' Arkansas 8.0
the value of stream flow data for fu-; Qeorgia 7.7
ture 'developments and in connection ; Alabama 7.4
companies, and' others, to determine , with the operation of the new plant, | Mississippi 7.3
where gaging stations- may be strate-' the city contributed two thousand dol- Louisiana 7.1
gically installed to collect data that' lara to the State Department of Con-' Oi^lahoma 7.0
will be needed in the’j'future. ^.‘Funds
from the state and from all of these
interested agencies are,|contributed to
the State Conservation Department,
which attempts to expend them on
locating and operating gaging stations
where the data will be of most value.
Best Done by Experts
the measurement of
1 a highly specialized
(b) Because
stream flow i
branch of engineering, requiring ex
pert services if accurate data are^to be
, obtained. The United States Geologi
cal Survey has maintained a very ex
pert staff of engineers for many years
which has done nothing but this work,
and has brought the science of stream
gaging to a state of great perfection.
While the location of gaging stations
in the state is largely directed by the
State Department of Conservation,
the actual work of stream gaging, and
the collection of records of stream
flow is carried on by the engineers of
the United States Geological Survey
operating from the district office in
Asheville. •
(c) Because records of stream flow
to be of greatest value should be col
lected by a central agency, should have
an official status, to be accepted in
court, and should be published so that
they may be available to everyone.
The State Conservation Department
will shortly issue a new bulletin giving
pionthly and weekly stream flow for
the entire period of record at every
stream gaging station ever operated in
North Carolina. This bulletin is being
prepared by the Water Resources Di
vision, which is located at Chapel Hill
and cooperates with the Engineering
School at the University, utilizing the
highly trained hydraulic engineering
staff in making these studies. • The
bulletin when issued will be the most
comprehensive of its kind ever issued
by any eastern state.
servation for the establishment of
from two to four gaging stations on
the streams tributary to the plant.
Another large city in the state dis
charges its sewage into a small
stream. The far-sighted city engineer
realized that in the future law suits
might be brought against the city by
property owners below. He arranged
for a gaging station to be., established
on the stream so that actual facts re
garding the amount of dilution afforded
the city might be collected against
a future day of need, ''and that data
might be available to indicate the de
gree of treatment of the sewage that
might be needed in the future.
Data Eagerly Sought
The great water power development at
Badin would never have been construct
ed, officials of the company state, had
not long term stream flow records been
available. New gaging stations on the
Deep, New, and Fisher rivers have been
in operation from only a few months to
three years, but the data from them are
being eagerly sought by engineers en
gaged in designing water power de
velopments on these streams. —Thorn
dike Saville.
Stations of Two Kinds
Standard gaging stations are of two
kinds, staff gage stations and auto
matic recording stations. Staff gage
stations are merely metal strips gradu
ated in feet and tenths located above
a control point on a stream where
measurements are made. The engi
neer visits the station at different de
grees of flow and measures the dis
charge by an instrument known as a
current meter. The local observer
twice each day reads the height of
the water surface on the staff gage,
sending the results each week to
the Asheville office of the United
States Geological Survey. There, by
.appropriate methods the gage heights
;are converted into discharge. The
automatic redording station is equipped
^ith an instrument which draws a |
FARMS TOO SMALL
The Progressive Parmer says that
southern farmers must use more horse
power and machinery and thereby en
able themselves to cultivate larger
acreages if they are to prosper.
Quoting Dr. Branson the Progressive
Farmer' says: “In Nebraska 187,000
farm workers cultivate 23,000,000
acres, while in North Carolina 478,000
farm workers cultivate only 8,000,000
acre^. Which means that in Nebraska
about one-third as many farm workers
cultivate nearly three times as much
land as in North Carolina. They pro
duce small values per acre, only $9.09,
against $38.82 in North Carolina; but
they produce large values per person,
$2,778, against $1,053 in North Caro
lina.”
The following table, based on the
1920 Census of Agriculture, shows
how twelve southern states compare
with eight mid-western states in acres
of improved farm land per person liv
ing on farms. The table is derived by
dividing the total acreage of improved
farm land by the total farm population.
Mid-Western States Improved Acres
per Farm Dweller
North Dakota 62.1
South Dakota 60.2
Kansas 41.6
Nebraska 37.8
Iowa 29.0
Illinois 24.8
Minnesota 23.9
Wisconsin : 13.5
South Carolina 5.7
North Carolina 5.5
North Carolina ^cultivates fewer
acres per person living"on^farms than
any other .state inlthe Union. In other
words, we come nearer approaching
the -European conditions of Jhand and
knee farmingjthan any other state..j*It
is necessary to farm intensively in
Europe becauseJ of dense ^popula-
tion. But in North Carolina 23 million
acres, or three-fourths of the^land area
of the state, are uncultivated, and
practically idle for the most part.
The Progressive Farmer says: “Un
questionably our failure to cultivate
larger acreages is one/of the chief
reasons why southern farmers jihave
not been as prosperous as western
farmers.”
HOME-COUNTY SURVEYS
For a decade theJ^Department of
Rm;al Social-Economics at the *Uni-
versity has been amassing a consider
able collection of facts about counties
and county affairs in North Carolina.
Students during this time have pre
pared and citizens of the home county
have published twelve county surveys.
A large edition of each survey was.
printed and distributed free of charge
all over the home county. “A unique
service”, Mr. French Strother calls
this in the November, 1924, is^ue of
the World’s Work.
The counties for which surveys have
been printed are as follows: Buncombe,
Rutherford, Pitt, Gaston, Rockingham,
Forsyth, Randolph, Durham, Wake,
Johnston, Sampson, and Halifax. Is
your county included? If not, then
get behind your home county students
at the University and urge them to
prepare a county survey. Data and
materials are available for every county
in the state.
What a Bulletin Contains
1. Historical Background.
2. The County’s Towns.
3. Natural Resources.
Geography—Climate—Soils—
Minerals—Forests
4. Industries and Opportunities.
General Statement—Details of
Individual Plants.
6. Facts About the Folks.
Population Statistics—Density-
Rural and Urban—Color and
Nativity^IIliteracy—Birth and
Death Rates—Marriages—Di
vorces-Church MembershipT-
Statistical Table.
6. Wealth and Taxation.
Total Taxable Property—Agri
cultural Wealth—School Finances
—Banks—Automobiles—Inheri
tance Taxes—Farm Mortgages—
Taxation—Statistical Table.
7. Schools.
Organization—Teachers—School
9.
Terms—Attendance and En
rollment-Consolidation—Buildings
— Finance—Statistical Table.
Farm Conditions and Practices.
Idle Lands—Size of Farms—Farm
Tenancy—Rural Credits—Crops—
Farmers’ Organizations—Statis
tical Table.
Food and Feed Production.
Surplus or Deflcit—Livestock
Status—Poultry and Egg Pro-
duction—The Local Market-
Statistical Table.
). Evidences of Progress.
-4 Problems and Solutions.
An Ohio Opinion
Commenting on a North Carolina
county survey. Professor. G. Walter
Fiske of Oberlin College, Oberlin,
Ohio, author of The Challenge of the
Country, writes, “It seems to me' the
most intelligent and thorough piece of
survey work done by students that I
have known. It gives a most illuminating
and informing picture of the actual
life of the county.”
The students at the University are
organized into county clubs, and there
is a club for practically every county
in the state. Many clubs have „under-
taken and published, with the aid
of the home folk^ ^ social and
The
the world, becomes a member of every
family he visits, loves and is loved as
few men understand endearments, and
we can imagine no more hearty greet
ing than that which he receives when
he reaches the gates of heaven and
hears, “Well done thou good and faith
ful servant; enter thou into the joy of
thy lord.” If service to humanity is the
measure of our worth, surely the coun
try doctor . outranks us all.—Raleigh
Times.
economic survey of their county,
members of every county club can do
this and they will if local leaders
and citizens let them know that they
are interested and call on their stu
dents to turn out a social and economic
study their home county.
The library of the Department of
Rural Social-Economics has a vast col
lection of information about every
county in the state. For this informa
tion to be of value it must bejproperly
assembled, interpreted, edited and pub
lished. This is the function of the
home-county students, and'they will do
it if they are urged to do so by the
home-folks, and receive their backing.
THE COUNTRY DOCTOR DIES
Death is a tragedy that sickens all of
us, we can’t get used to it. It visits
all of us alike, othose of high and of low
degree. But there is that about the
passing of our friend, the physician,
which hits us a little harder than death
usually does. Here is a man who has
stood at the bedside of many, watching
them die; he has stood by the bedside
when babies of whom he keeps no
count came into the world; he has lis
tened sympathetically to countless
stories of family sorrows; he has gone
night and day to relieve distress, and
never got a cent for his services. The
typical country doctor is one of the
world’s choicest spirits. Usually little
is said of him. He is no famous spe
cialist who operates and .charges thou
sands; he issues no bulletins about his
humble patients; he says little or noth
ing; but he does a very real work in
THE COUNTRY DOCTOR
They are not all gone. “lam proud
of ye, ’’said the great Edinburgh surgeon
to the best type of the country.doctor.
But they are fewer and the coming
of the specialist and the hospital evi
dences that change in life is seen in the
practice of medicine. There are still Wil
liam McClures in all countries, winning
the gratitude of the rich and perform
ing operations under adverse circum
stances that would do credit to even a
Mayo. Deploring the dwindling group
of country doctors, the Vass Pilot
pays high tribute to the late Dr. Gilbert
McLeod, of Carthage, whose recent
death is deplored. We quote:
Dr. McLeod has done his work, in
a way that adds credit to the name of
the country doctor, a man now almost
as extinct,as the other types that were
of the rural past and that have fall
en under the exactions of modern
progress. The country doctor was
the warden and the adviser and
the healer and the friend of the
neighborhood when a neighborhood
was bounded solely by the distance a
man could ride and get back in time to
ride somewhere else before another
call came from another direction.
When Dr, McLeod commenced his
work in the county it was nothing for
him to set out at any hour of the day
or night for any point in the county or
the adjoining counties, the one thing
being that he was wanted by some fel
low creature in distress, and his field of
work had no bounds, no hours, and no
limits in any way. •
He was unequivocally a man who
lived to serve others, as the country
doctor has always been. That he lived
to serve is evidenced by the fact that
he, like all other country doctors, for
got his collections, for it has been
known that Dr. McLeod’s benefactions
in this respect have been enormous.
If a man could pay and did pay it was •
acceptable. If an ailing human crea
ture could not pay or did not pay it made
difference in the service. Dr. Mc
Leod’s religion was that the sick bed was
never the plaqe to consider the size
of the fee or the likelihood of bad
bills. His one purpose was to see that
health should be regained. Then if
anything else came up that something
else could be discussed in its proper
place.—News and Observer.
PATENTS GRANTED IN THE UNITED STATES
By States for the Year 192/1
^ The following table, based on data released by the United States Patent Of
fice, and compiled by Paul B. Eaton, Attorney-at-law, Winston-Salem, N. C.,
ranks the states according to the number of inhabitants per patent granted to
residents of each state for the year 1924. The accompanying column shows
the total number qf patents granted for that year.
Patents granted to citizens of the United States totaled 40,520, or one patent
for every 2,700 inhabitants. Patents granted to North Carolinians numbered
194, or one patent for every 13,191 inhabitants. Only four states rank below
North Carolina. However, 30 more patents were granted in 1924 than in 1923.
Rank States
Connecticut..
8 Ohio
Wyoming.
Oregon.
Nevada.
Maryland.
Delaware.
Total
Inhabs.
Rank States
Total
Inhabs.
Patents
per
Patents
per
Granted
Patent
Granted
Patent
. 1,276
1,082
26
Arizona
83
4,023
. 2,630
1,302
26
Utah
. 110
4,086
. 2,328
1,356
27
Nebraska
.i.. 311
4,168
. 6,907
1,503
28
Kansas
J.. 390
4,538
.. 4,222
1,536
29
South Dakota ..
... 139
4,680
. 2,320
1,660
30
Idaho
89
4,852
.. 362
1,669
31
•Florida
.... 195
4,966
. 3,230
1,783
32
Vermont
66
6,339
.. 1,671
2,195
33
West Virginia..
... 272
5,381
.. 416
2,264
34
Oklahoma
... 370
6,482
. 572
2,372
86
North Dakota...
.... 116
5,566
. 1,109
2,373
36
Texas
787
5,925
. 3,439
2,636
37
Maine
199
73
2,663
38
New Mexico ....
45
8,007
. 167
2,822
39
Virginia
.... 287
8,046
. 817
2,922
40
Kentucky
9.70
. 264
2,967
41
Louisiana
197
26
2,977
42
Tennessee
... 241
9,700
. 1,064
3,229
43
Georgia
233
12,428
. 442
3,279
44
North Carolina..
... 194
13,191
. 164
3,347
45
Arkansas
... 130
13,478
. 864
3,391
46
Alabama
.... 172
13,673
64
3,481
47
South Carolina..
.... 101
16,671
. 656
3,664
48
Mississippi
92
19,463