Newspapers / The Carolina Times (Durham, … / March 26, 1955, edition 1 / Page 3
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Negroes engaged in tobacco manufacturing are traced to 1760 when P. Lorillard Com pany, makers of Old Gold cig arettes, established the first to bacco factory in the U. S. Here at LorilUyrd’s Bronx River Mill, N.Y.C., above, smoking tobac co was manufactured for the first time in the U. S. These are BROWN SKIN AND BRIGHT LEAF The Story Of The Negro’s Role In The Tobacco Industry Mroum Skin and Bright Leaf Chapter IV-Education For To morrow If there is one sure ground for the optimistic tone, of this report on the future of the Ne gro tobacco farmer, it i« the nuignificent work that i« be- ing done in agricultural educa tion by the Negro agricultural, colleges and the various bran ches of the VJS. Department of Agriculture Extension Service. What’s a Negro tobaccp far mer to do when his beds of pre cious seedings are attacked by weeds or insects...when his new tractor fails to perform as pro- mised...when sudden storms threaten his lush midsummer crop? Chances are he’ll call on his local county agent for the U.S.D.A. Extension Service. In his isolated rural area, how's he going to learn the latest me thods of waging chemical war fare against plant and insect pests...draining heavily flooded soil...buildlng new barns for curing- and storage? Chances are his local county agent has already arranged a demonstra tion of these techniques...or will do so on short notice. To the Negro (or white) to bacco farmer, ti^ county agri cultural agent is many things: friend, helper, teacher, and ad viser on everything from tobac co cultivation and marketing to home Improvements and domes tic relations. His influence, per haps more than any other, is re sponsible for the independent Negro tobacco farmer’s strides, of progress in the past thirty years. Trained in every phase of tobacco growing, with an ap proach at once scientific and friendly, he is able to teach and assist the farmer from the first seeding of the crop to its mar keting and the management of his finances. Of the more than 5,000 coun ty agricultural agents employed by the U. S. Department of Ag riculture in the South, nearly four hundred are Negroes. Federal, state and county ap propriations, in that order, share the support of the agri cultural extension work. Planning and supervision of the Extension Service’s grow ing national program rests with experienced men of the USDA’s Washington office. A former county agent, a Negro is a na tional leader of the South’s ex tension program and directs the policies to be carried out by many agents in tobacco-produ cing regions. , ___ For an accurate measure of the value of the Negro county agent’s work, you might ask a among the many facts revealed in Old Gold cigarette’s "Brown Skin and Bright-Leaf’’-the story of the Negro’s role in the to bacco industry. typical Negro farmer of Lex ington, Ky. The farmer happily credits 'the soil improvements suggested to him by his Negro county agent with improving the yield of bis tobacco acreage 100 percent. “I got started on the right track” he says, “when my coimty agent encouraged me to send samples of my soil to the State laboratory for testing. When the report came back, I knew for the first time what my land really needed.*’ Today, by seeding winter - cover crops, tur ning them under in the spring, and applying the proper quanti ty of the right composition of fertilizer, this farmer harvests 1’800 pounds of burley tobacco per acre from the same land that once yielded a scant 1,000 pounds. Then you might visit another prosperous Negro farmer-of Bryantown, Md., who would tell you that his county agent encouraged him to install flou- rescent lights approximating “daylight” illumination to aid him in the accurate stripping and grading of tobacco. You might make a short tour of mobel_ . \-s:py - cleaners sit WASHINOTON 8T. tl7 rOSTIB STmSR PBONV 1171 FOR THE BEST BAKED FOOD IN TOWN VISIT Or Can 7-4231 DAVI§ BAKING CO. Oj^ All Day On SnqnUys, 9:00 A. M. UntU 9:30 P. iL 2022 CHAPEL HILL BOAD EUITTIHB Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky $J..30 ^4 /5 QT. $2-70 PINT MPmI EARLY TIMES DISTILLERY COJVIPANY Louisvill* V Keotucky Nadt Coimtjr, N. &, gro tobacco farmers, under the •upervision of their county agent, voluntarily donate their land to ’ soil conservation de monstrations so that they may learn from each other. Or you might visit "Charlotte County Va., where some forty veteran' bright tobacco farmers are go ing back to school tb leam .the’ newest methods of controlling suckers with mineral oil and de stroying insects with DDT. Everywhere you would see yoimg and old Negro tobacco farmers taking to modem ideas and equipment like ducks to water, becoming more conser- vation-minded and profit-mind ed—and hence more prosperous. And everywhere the figure of the Negro coimty agent looms as the major influence behind this great change. Consider five typical mqnths in the active life of a busy Ne gro county agent for Wayne County, Va. Here in the heart of the flu-cured tobacco regions, where some 18,000 acres of to bacco are grown on 75 i>ercent of the county’s farms, the agent made nearly 6,000 contacts with farm families in the months from December to May. He made 70 visits to farms, con ducted seventeen meetings and demonstrations, and taught at two schools. One of these “schools” was attended jointly by more than four hundred white and Negro farmers, who came together to leam new me- 'thods of nematode (destructive worm) control. In this same period this specialist also in structed groups and individual farmers on the following subr jects; tobacco variety, tobacco barn construction, soil samp ling, fertilization, plant bed pi^^lMntion, aoil fumlgitioii, ^lant spacing and Its eff^ on crop quality, and various typas of pest control. Whlla only 154 of the 1,465 Negro farmers ved by this agent own their forms, it is safe to say that his emp&usis on profitable fpming methods will encourage—and liable—a few more tenant far mers to become independent every year. When the time comes fpr the cured crop to be taken to mar ket, the Negro tobacco special ist also provides invaluable help to the farmer. Outstanding in this field is one specialist, who la employed by the Agricultural SSarketing Service of the USDA to instruct tobacco farmers in the latest market news and prices and in the preparation of tobacco for market. With head quarters at A. and T. College in Greensboro, N. C., his work of teaching the Negro farmer to be a better businessman covers the extensive flue-cured tobacco re gions of Virginia, North Caro lina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. The agricultural marketing specialist’s connection with A. and T. College and the scope of his work, which includes co operation with agricultural ex tension agents and college teachers of vocational agricul ture for the instruction of 4-H Club members, high school and college students, and veteran farmer trainees, shows the close linkage of the many branches of agricultural education in the South. The state agricultural col leges, like Greensboro's A. and T. and Orangeburg, S. C.’s A. and M. College, provide the knowledge, the research, the specialized teachers, and the SATPIPAT. MABCai 2$. IHS THE CaUMUPfA rmcAmmM most promising orop of stu dents. The extension agents and marketing specialists of the USDA provide cooperation to ward a common end: better farming, better tobacco, and en lightened, proq>erous fanners. And the youth organizations, like the Extension Service's 4-H Clut» and the U. S. Health and Welfare Administration's New Farmers of America, pro vide the hope of the future- alert, ambitious youngsters who aspire to successful farming ca reers. Some 50,000 Negro boys are enroUed in the NFA and some 337,000 Negro children are members of 4-H Clubs in the seventeen Southern states. While the NFA is more specifi cally directed to Negro youth studying vocational agriculture, both organizations teach child ren and teenagers sound agri- aultural and business methods and good citizenship—and both have excellent tobacco training programs. l?he amazing achi evements of these youngsters, encouraged, trained and rewar ded by these organizations, are the strongest promise of a shin ing future for the Negro far mer in Tobaccoland...and for the entire tobacco industry. Editor's Note: Next Week, Chapter V-Creative Craftsmen which reveals, Skilled Negro labor and its role, past and pre sent, in the growth of the A- merican tobacco industry; the skills at which Negroes have di stinguished themselves thumb nail biographies of valued wor kers at P. Lorillard plants. School To Be Greeted By Govt. Officials NSW TOHC TUrty-eae preaidCBti tt rr» eollegea will meet with Mayor Bofcert r. Wtgma UOtm a IwtlMW at Cislia- Ma « vMT to tDlTi beadQoartm to rsfsrt to A* SaeratoilBt Ow ttOagirm vr^ la lnliife« mr iimrwi atf, gacrataty tt Mato, Mb Paster Diril«B wtU aJinw ttw BmI sasrfsa at ife* Wstis Falltaa Opstm Boas*. A COMPLETE ELECTRIC AND TRANSPORTATION SERVICE DUKE POWER COMPANY DIAL 2151 Comer Mangiim and Parrish Sts. LUCKIES ALWAYS TASTE BEHER ARTHUR B. IMcCAW, former Director of the Budget for the state of Nebraska, is cuirently a member of the Tax Ap praisal Board for Douglas County, Neb. jHe is also active in many other organizations. TO ME! "Their taste is the r&ison rve smohM Luckies for many years," says promi nent Nebraskan Arthur B. McCaw. They always taste better-to me" It’s natural that Luckies tast^ better. First of all, Lucky Strike means fine tobacco. Then, this tobacco is toasted to taste better, “ifs Toasted the famous Lucky Strike process—tones up Luckies light, good-tasting tobacco to make it taste even better . . . cleaner, firesher, smoother. So, next time it’s light-up time, light up the better-tasting ciga- ^ rette. Lucky Strike. totosn lUCKIES TASTE BETTER*—C/eoner/ firesher, SmooHierl 0A.T. Co. FSODVOT OF
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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March 26, 1955, edition 1
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