Newspapers / The Smithfield Herald (Smithfield, … / March 11, 1930, edition 1 / Page 6
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Address Of David R. Coker Delivered In Selma Feb. 27 Presents to Farmers Some Essentials For the Restoration of Prosperity to Carolina Agriculture By DAVID R. COKER. Fellow Carolina Farmers, I am very much afraid that many of you have come here today under a misapprehension. Some kind of friend has circulated a report that I produced four thousand bales of cotton on four thousand acres last year. With reference to that story I am very much in the position of the old negro who w?as accosted by a traveling man who asked him to change a five dollar bill. The old fellow took off his hat and bowed politely saying. “Boss. I can’t change your money but I thanks you for the compliment.” During the past two years we have had distress ing conditions in an area of four or five counties in eastern South Carolina. Only one farmer in that area that I know of has suc ceeded in making as much as one hundred bales on one hundred acres in that time and that wa.> on one of oui farms managed o./ Mr. George Wilds, our head plan1 breeder, who produced one hun dred and fifty, five hundred pound bales on one hundred and forty-three acres. My section has been visited by such storms and excessive rainfall in these two years that few farmers have pro duced even half their normal yields. The rainfall at Hartsviiic last year was a little over sev enty-two inches and for the year preceding practically the same. If any of you are here for no other purpose than to hear me tell hew I voiqpri four thousand bales of cotton on four thousand acres you may now retire and look for the man who started that story. 1 to speak to . today upon the essentials of successful cotton production but I am taking the liberty of broadening my sub ject and will attempt to outline to you what I consider the main essentials of agricultural success for this region. Of course as our agriculture is based largely upon cotton and tobacco I must spend a consid erable part of my time in dis cussing these two crops. How ever, I would like to say in the ' beginning that I believe that few farmers can make a conspici ous and permanent success if they devote their time and acre- ! age exclusively, or almost exclu sively, to these so-called ‘‘money crops.” The Trouble. One great trouble with the ag- ! riculture of the eastern South to day is that it is not properly bal anced between food crops, feed crops and livestock on the one hand and the so-called money crops on the other. So I believe that the only sound basis for successful agriculture in this general section lies in a sound and sane diversification pro gram. Such a program will in volve the production of some livestock and poultry on every farm; the raising of practically all of the food consumed by the farm animals; the production of most of the food for the farm family and farm laborers; the im provement of the soil by animal manures and rotation with legu minous crops and the growing of the main money crops only on soils in a good state of tilth. Grain and Forage Crops. I have made during my long experience as a farmer almost as close a study of the grains and legume crops as I have of cotton and considering them as I do. of at least equal importance in the economics of the farm. I have no regrets as to the time ex tended upon them. I will not go into great detail, however in dis cussing Uiese crops. The soy bean which I presume is well known all over this section is. I believe, our greatest combination plant for animal forage and soil im provement. The velvet bean is a close second. iiic i,u« i ra. Most of us have greatly neg lected the valuable cow pea in recent years and should go back to the system of planting a con siderable acreage of our lighter soils in this nutritious food crop. We should not hear so much about destitution and semi-star vation among farm tenants, farm laborers and some farm families as well if every farm owner would see to it that there was attached to each crop a patch of cow peas, one of sweet potatoes and a well kept garden of af least one quarter acre. The Sweet Potato. Although the sweet potato Is universally known throughout this section and was a staple food of the aborigines I do not believe that the majority of our farmers fully appreciate its pos sibilities or utilize it as they should under our present dis tressed agricultural conditions. I have with me a report of the South Carolina sweet potato con test of last year and of the one hundred and seventy contestants who passed in completed record", only two reported a net loss and ■ * 1. 1 the highest yield was six hun dred and seventy-two bushels. Do i you realize that ,this is more than twenty tons of a palatable. ; nutritious and wholesome human food? It is not difficult to raise j three hundred bushels of sweet I potatoes per acre <which is nine tons) if the right sort of soil is I selected and a good variety used and if proper spacing and fertil- ■ ization are employed. It is not ; difficult to keep a crop of sweet j potatoes if they are properly j cured out as soon as dug and nearly every farmer in this sec tion has a tobacco barn which' can be used for curing and stor- j ing. Almost invariably there is a ' good winter and spring market j for potatoes, especially in a man- ; ufacturing section. You need not j fear over production for it is an excellent feed for all kinds of j livestock, including chickens, and l can be produced for less than 25 i cents per bushel. I could take the balance of i my time in discussing the noble | and succulent collard; the hum-j ble but valuable turnip and doz ens of other health giving gar- j den crops which should be grown | on every farm. I cannot leave the subject of j food crops, however, without call- ! ing your attention to the fact I that this general section has the j greatest list of valuable food crops of any section of the j world; that most of them grow! to perfection here but that nev- ! erthelcss a large proportion of our farm population is poverty. stricken and are subsisting on t such a limited and ill balanced! diet that thousands are afflicted j with pellagra. Without knowing' the facts I will venture to guess j that you have several hundred - cases of pellagra right here in; Johnston county (there are only j a few counties in North or South ! Carolina which have fewer than j one hundred cases). Fresh meats, j' milk and vegetables, which every i farmer could produce in abund- , ance, will drive away this curse.:1 The Balance of Trade. Although this country could exist without cotton and tobacco j' and large sections did not only exist but prospered a hundred years ago with only a limited production of either, we are 1 forced to the necessity to produc- i ing these crops under present conditions in order to pay for au tomobiles. gasoline, radios, silk stockings and cigarettes besides | the vast amount of food and feedstuffs which we insist on buying from other sections. The | main reason that our agricultur- ' al sections are so poor today is j that we have exported most of our liquid capital and then mortgaged our farms to pay for | things we could have done with- 1 out or could have raised at! home. North and South Carolina have raised crop after crop which J brought say two million dollars ' per year per county and have sent out for such items as I have mentioned say two and a half million dollars per year. thus Piling up year by year an enor mous adverse balance which is being largely carried on farm mortgages. We have got to re store a favorable balance of trade by the pioduction and con sumption at home of greater amounts of food, by the produc tion and sale of crops which will bring us in more dollars and by refusing to buy things we can get along without and have not the cash to pay for. Produce Acreage. We now come to a discussion of ways and means to produce a better revenue from our money crops. First and foremost we must stop planting lands which are IJOOI 01 in a poor state of culti vation. We have got to reduce our cot ton acreage very materially if we are to receive a profit out of the next crop and we should also hold down tobacco acreage. The simplest way to do this is to cut out all lands which will not pro- , duce over one half bale of cotton or seven hundred pounds of to bacco per acre and plant it in soil improving and feed produc ing crops. The recent average production of cotton per acre in the South is oonsiri'- 1 ably under one third bale per, acre which means that about one-half of the cotton acreage produced from nothing up to one hundred and fifty pounds of lint. You need trv to find any ex pert to tell you how to produce cotton profitably with such yields as these. No farmer with any judgment will plant in cotton lands whose recent history indi cate yields of less than one half bale and bankers and merchants who advance money to produce crops on such lands are simply throwing good money after bad. Planting such lands in cotton is not only foolish and economically Unsound because cost of produc tion cannot be realized but It is responsible for low prices and the general distress of Southern agriculture. Essentials of Production. After providing simple acreage for food and feedstuffs, including a large and fertile garden spot, j the farmer should select as much j (but no more) of his good land | as he can properly fertilize, tend and manage for his other crops, i For cotton the soil should be well | prepared and laid off in rows j about three feet wide. He should ( put down in furrow filty to a j hundred pounds ol phosphoris j acid (equivalent of three to six hundred pounds of acid phos-! phate). fifteen to twenty pounds; of ammonia (equivalent of one! hundred pounds nitrate of soda.! seventy five pounds sulphate of! ammonia or two hundred and fifty pounds cotton seed meal and ; twelve and a half to twenty-five j pounds of potash < equivalent of one hundred to two hundred j pounds kainit or twenty five j to fifty pounds muriate or pot-1 ash. The fertilizer requirements j of different soils vary greatly ac- i cording to the type of soil and j its previous treatment and your \ county agent should be asked to j advise you on this subject. Your i fertilizer should be thoroughly, stirred in the furrow with a small, sweep or shovel before bedding. It! is advisable to put fertilizer down ten days to three weeks before! planting so that the beds may j be settled by rains before plant ing. You should know that per cent of germination of your planting seed and plant not less than one bushel of seed germi nating eighty to ninety per cent — more if the seed are sub >(’Ctiiucti u germination. a ciniy ori liprht harrow should be run over the beds before planting and the] seed put in one to two inches] deep at a time when tempera- j lure and moisture conditions will! insure prompt germination. It is' advisable to firmly pre§s soil upon j I he seed. Two to four stalks should be left on all but the very! richest soils but never leave less -han one stalk per foot on any! »oil. Cotton should be thinned vhcn three to six inches tall and neat care should be taken to cave a sufficient stand. Imme tiately after chopping, an appli cation of fifty to seventy five xninds of nitrate of soda should ' >e made and upon lands inclined ; o rust an equal amount of kain- ' t or manure salts should be add 'd. Two other applications total ng for the three applications one nmdred and fifty to two hundred rounds nitrate of soda (and vhere necessary the same amount )f kainit or manure salts) should >e put down at intervals of ten lays to two weeks. Cotton should j )e cultivated lightly as soon as I practicable after every rain and! ip to the middle of June it is i idvisable to keep down open mid-1 lies in t.he cotton by the use of! hovel plows, for the purpose of | Ira in age. Cultivate Late. The cultivation of cotton should j pe continued as long as a mule! md plow can pass through the j rows without serious damage to! the cotton plant, but never plow] deep after cotton begins to fruit. Weevil Control. We now come to the proposi- i Lion of weevil control. I have de-1 voted a large proportion of my j time and thought during the past I fifteen years to studying this I problem and breeding varieties1 of cotton which will produce maximum yields under weevil j conditions. I have come to a few very definite conclusions on wee vil control. The most important j single item in control is to de-; st-roy as many as possible of the! old over-wintered weevils before \ Lhey have an opportunity to lay, eggs in the young squares. We find that the most useful method ] for this purpose to be the appli-! •alion of a mixture of calcium ar- j molasses and water two i Lo four times to the young cot ion at intervals of five in spvpn I Says beginning when the first I small squares appear. We mix me pound of caleium arsenate ■vith one gallon of water, then I idtl one gallon of cheap molasses, j A piece of burlap wrapped around he end of a stick, eighteen in dies to t wo feet long, and a two I mart bucket, are the only nten-1 uls required. The mop is dipped ightly into the bucket advanced forward two or three inches br ow flic tops of the cotton plants.! he operator then walks rapidly; reward bonding over the cotton I Mauls and smearing the tops and mder sides of the leaves t hus j telling some molasses on every I limit. This is extremely impor tant for the weevils do not move ibout very much as this season uul an unpojsoncd section of a row may harbor several live wee-j oils and allow them to multiply the species. If this poison re mains on the plant until the i afternoon of the day following its application it will destroy practically every weevil in the field. As a rule seventy five to ninety per cent of the total over wintered weevil population will be destroyed by the first application. However, some will come out lat er and most of these are killed by the latter applications of the sweetened poison. A few come out " ’'i-" as the latter pari of June or early July and we have not found the sweetened poison fully effective after cotton begins blooming. Late Poisoning. The few weevils which will sur vive will begin their work three or four weeks late and their progeny will not do any serious damage to crops before early August. Where the early poison program is properly carried out, other methods of control are oft en unnecessary, as the early poisoned crops will frequently show very little infestation until the time of general migration from unpoisoned crops, which in our section usually takes place about the middle of August. After migration sets in it is very diffi cult or impossible to do effective poisoning of any kind. Infestation and Dusting. Every farmer should careful ly keep up with boll weevil con ditions in his cotton throughout the season. After squares appear counts should be made at least once a week in every field to de termine percentages of punctured squares 'your county agent will gladly instruct you as to meth ods of making these counts). If more than ten per cent of the squares are found to be punctur ed the cotton should be imme diately dusted with dry calcium arsenate. We do not usually ap ply more than two or three dust ings 'sometimes none). It will often be found necessary, how ever. even with cotton which has been poisoned with molasses mix ture in early season, to begin dusting in late July or early August. Our experience indicates that frequent dusting with large amounts of calcium arsenate should be avoided where possible as we have often had serious trouble with plant lice after dusting several times with cai man arsenate at intervals of three to five days. If you run into this trouble you should im mediately consult your county itytiu, \vilu win prouaoiy leu you to dust with a mixture of nico tine sulphate, calcium arsenate ind lime, which he can instruct /oil how to prepare and apply. Varieties and Lengths. l)uring the past few years sev eral varieties of cotton have jeon developed which fruit heav ly in early season and usually nake heavy yields, even in bad 3oll weevil years if proper weevil control methods are used. These rottons. besides having fully lemonstrated their ability to yield leavily. have a staple averaging rom a full inch to an inch and me sixteenth, which lengths are ireatly desired by North and south Carolina mills. Circular 'lumber-42 of the Agronomy De jartment of your State College mnounccs that in 1928 seventy line per cent of the cotton pro luced in North Carolina was .even-eighths inch or shorter and hat during that year the mills if the state used only thirty pei lent of these lengths. Only twen y per cent of the cotton produc 'd in the state that year stapled it teen sixteenths ta one and hree thirty seconds while the nills used sixty one per cent of -hese lengths, being forced to im port these cottons from the wes tern part of the belt at an aver age freight rate of seven dollars xu- bale. The production of cot oil averaging from one to one ind one thirty seconds in length iffords a big opportunity to North and South Carolina farmers, es pecially as recent experiments in many places indicate that there ire several varieties producing these lengths which are fully as productive as any of the shorter varieties. Plant Breeding. All of these new and desirable cottons have been produced by scientific plant breeding and wiil Illicitly revert into variable, non descript types unless this breed ing is kept up and reflected i*un stantly into production by annual distributions of the most recent oedigreed strains. The failure by most farmers to ealize the importance of plant preeding as an aid to quality, field, and money value in all 'arm crops has been one of the greatest handicaps to Southern agriculture. There is scarcely a ligli school boy in North Caro inc who docs not understand the 3asic principle of animal breed ng. They all know that the progeny of all animals vary and :hat if you would make .progress in animal breeding the best of each generation must be selected ■ for breeding purposes. Most of those engaged in plant produe i tion. however, have not realized that plant life varies just as much as animal life and that su perior individual plants produce !a superior progeny, just as is true with animals. The plant ■ breeder, however, has a great a’d ! vantage over the animal breeders jin that he can test out thousands of plants each year where the animal breeder is testing out doz ens. The plant breeder therefore has far more opportunity of dis covering valuable new productive strains. Plant Breeding Methods. The scope of this paper will not allow me to go into the details of plant breeding methods, how ever. I will say that the seed of many hundreds of individual plants are tested out each year 111 separate rows, the seed of a ! group of the highest yielding r a.vs are again tested out against each other the following year and several, of these producing high quality and great yield during the two.preceding years are again tested out the third year and the onrfh year the one with the best 1 record during the preceding three years is selected for final increase and distribution. This system with some variations is being applied to cotton, tobacco, r >rn ihe small grains and sev eial other crops with significant n suits. Every intelligent farmer should vac* some plant breeder from time to time so that he may be | ceme familiar with this most, im portant means of increasing farm profits. If you will visit us in May we will show you hundreds of new strains of oats, many of tures and many other strains which are absolutely immune to all forms of smut! In August or September we can show you thousands of rows of cotton of i several varieties; each row plant-! ed from the seed of a separate I plant and also variety tests in which will be found many prom ising new strains. In July we can show you plant-to-row tests and variety, tests of tobacco. Although we' have been carrying on this work for but two years we have dis-! covered tremendous variations in 1 the value of different varieties j and have also found in the best varieties, individual plants which ' produce much better yields and better quality than the average | of the selected plants. In a plant- I to-row test of the seed of differ- ; ent plants from one variety the highest yielding strain produced j fifty five dollars and thirty four | cents per acre more than the I next highest strain. Governor Gardner. You arc fortunate in North I Carolina in having a governor j who thoroughly understands the j underlying principles of success- j fill agriculture and who is exert- j ing himself in seeing that these j principles are applied as widely i as possible. Your cooperative as- j sociation is also extremely for-' tunate in having as its officersj men who understand that net profit per acre is the goal which every farmer should strive for.1 —riding:, strolling:, shopping:—a panorama of beauty streams thru j this famous street of fashion. Thru | Gouraud's Oriental Cream, you ran possess a skin and complexion that : even the most attractive there, would be proud to have. Try it tonight. With the very i first touch a fascinating, clear, 1 pearly appearance of radiant beauty is revealed. Will not rub off, streak or spot. GOU BAUD'S WOilt*. Fleah. Hart,el and Orlrtrul Tan Shade ft r nit 1 Or for Trial Sirr *> Ferri T. Honkir-! & Son, New York Cit> Auction Sale Of Personal Property! Beautiful antiques and other valuable 1 personal property of the late H. 1). El lington will bo offered for sale on Thursday, March 20th, 1930 on the premises of the Oak City Damp Wash, South 4th St. Smit’nfield, N. C. FIRST-CITIZENS BANK & TRUST COMPANY, Administrator Smithfield, N. C. These men realize that standard- ■ ized varieties of high production ! and maximum money value suit- , able for the use of Carolina spin ners are necessary for the sue- j cess of the cotton growers in this | region. They also realize that i with such varieties in general ; production and with gins all over j the state that will turn out a smooth and uncut product, their problems of marketing will be j greatly simplified. Southern Deliveries Contract. I must say before closing that j I believe the present Southern Deliveries New York Contract. 1 which went into effect last fall, is largely responsible for the al most continual decline in the cotton market since last sum mer. This contract lacks two of the four elements which all sound commodity contracts should con tain and I believe that as long as it is in existence in its present form it will keep the market sev eral cents below its legitimate level and will cost the Southern cotton growers many millions of dollars annually. It behooves all who are interested in growing or manufacturing cotton to care fully study this contract and ex ert their influence to having sub stituted for it one that is as fair to the .buyer as to the seller. In closing let me summarize the WOODS SEEPS Mailed free on request Write for it. illustrated and con tains valuable in formation for the farmer tr gardener T.W.WOOD 8-SONS Seedsmen Since 1879 55 Richmond. Va. leather forecast broadcast daily i{ 6:38 P.M. station WRVA.270.1 meters T. C. JORDAN OPTOMETRIST Office in Jewelry Store GLASSES PITTED LENSES DUPLICATED PRICES REASONABLE points I have tried to briny: out in this paper. First.the curtailment of acre age of money crops, planting only such lands as will make good yields. Second—the production of more livestock and the growing as am ple amounts of food and feed crops to supply the farm and town human and animal popula tions and thus curtail the terrific j drain of money exported for, foods and feeds. Third—the use of cm up to date system of fertilization, cul tivation and combating the boll weevil. Fourth—the use and renewal at frequent intervals of the best, strains of scientifically bred seed for all crops. Fifth—the exercise o: a degree of thrift and self control which will enable us to keep our ex penditures inside our revenues. ■M | A Message to S Senator Simmons’ i Supporters In order that we may promptly and ef ficiently organize the many friends and supporters of Senator Simmons in Jchnston County, we desirve an accu rate mailing list of every man and wo man in our County who expects to VOTE FOR SENATOR SIMMONS IN THE JUNE PRIMARY We shall thank every Simmons sup porter men and women to mail us their name and address and the towm ship in which they live. Please also send us the name and address of any of your relatives and neighbors who will VOTE FOR SENATOR SIMMONS. / We shall thank you to attend to this today so we may complete our town ship organizations without delay. Mail your name and address to Simmons Advisory Committee P. 0. Box 516 Smithtieid, N. C. #316 higher crop value TOP PRICES for FANCY PRODUCTS “Significant among recent developments in agricultural marketing is an increased demand lor the higher-qual ity products. Such products bring higher premiums o*er ordinary or low-grade com modities than they formerly did. In fact, the lowest grades of some products are disap pearing from the markets, as no longer worth handling.’* —U. S. Secretary of Agriculture FOR EVERY $1°° spent on fertilizer I K i wh i S of results from fertilizer were . gathered in 1929 from 48,000 farms in 800 counties of the principal agricultural states, fruit anti vegetable growers stated that f«>r every $1.00 spent for fertilizer they got $3.16 higher crop value than they had ever averaged without fertilizer! Nitrogen is the element in fertilizer that promotes growth. ()rt hardists and farmers w ho grow for the highly competitive markets, therefore, are quick to appreciate and apply tlie extra growth element that only a properly timed top-dressing can supply. i t-cry Spring, when the buds begin to swell, they fertilize the m .*! under the lower branches ol each tree with Arcadian Snlnhate of Am Arcadian, used as a top-dressing, supplies an extra amount of nitrogen—the growth ele ment—just when the crops need it most. Arca dian is rich in nitrogen (20.56% guaranteed). All soluble, all quickly usable; It is fine and dry—easy to put out—and one application lasts through any ordinary growing season. To be sure of your supply of Arcadian Sul phate of Ammonia, place your order earlywith your fertilizer dealer. Orchardists everywhere are i nvited to write The Barrett Company for information on nitrogen fertilizer problems; The Company 40 Rector Straer, New York, Ni Y; Atlanta. Ga- Norfolk, Va. _ San Francisco^ Cali/. Memphis, Tenn, Cleveland, Ohio _ Toronto, Out-, Canada V / ARCADIAN Reg U S Pat. Off. Sulphate of Ammonia V » GROWTH ELEMENT growing crops. He sure your crops get plenty of nitrogen-bodt in the complete fertilizer you use at planting time ndtf9 dressing during the growing season**;.,.
The Smithfield Herald (Smithfield, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 11, 1930, edition 1
6
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