Pt0.4 Th?DuelinTim*? Prot?fM?..-i"'">?l, New. -'74,11)82
His Pine Stand Reflects A Belief In
The Land And Lifetime Of Effort
RALPH W. PICKETT
After saying that Pickett
had "one yf the finest stands
of pine timber in North
Carolina." Sullivan added.
"His is an amazing story of
success."
Extension forestry special
ists at NQSU say people like
Pickett will largely determine
the future of the forest
products industry in North
Carolina. While several
companies own large tracts
in the state, about 85 percent
of the state's woodland is
still in the hands of private
owners.
Duplin County Agri
cultural Extension Agent
Snodie Wjlson said although
his county has the highest
gross agricultural income in
the state, the majority of the
land in the county is still
forested. Most of this land is
producing far below its
potential. Wilson added,
opossums and bobcats."
Pickett also spoke as fond
ly of bears living in hi woods
asilth vcre family pets.
Pickett has lived off his
woodland at the same time
he has been improving it. He
purchased an old truck early
in life and started "pulp
wooding." always cutting
diseased, crooked and over
crowded trees first. He has
harvested larger trees for
sawtimber or for poles and
pilings. And all the time, his
woodland has been increas
ing in value.
Pickett sold about a third
of his original acreage many
years ago. He also cleared
250 acres, which his son uses
to grow corn and soybeans.
That's okay with the father,
for he had much rather be a
tree farmer than a crop
farmer.
Amone the lessons that
Pickett says he has learned
from nearly a half-centurv
in the woods are these:
"There's more in the man
than in the land."
"There is no sorry land.
Land is good, better and
best. All it needs is tutor
ing."
Pickett is still robust and
not about to retire. "Sitting
around bores me," he de
clared. And of his accom
plishment. he said, "The
Lord has been good to me."
The spotlight was focused
on Pickett last December at
the Governor's Conference
on Retention of Prime Farm
and Forest Land at North
Carolina State University.
William G. Sullivan, a farmer
and conference speaker from
Mount Olive, singled Pickett
out as "a good example of
what hard woik and deter
mination can do."
pocoson. an old ov.g mat was
too wet to grow anything but
a bramble of briars. Little
grew on it of commercial
value.
Pickett has turned his
thicket into a prized forest
with hard work and sound
forestry management prac
tices.
One of his first goals was
to improve the drainage and
in the early days he did this
with his own muscles, a
shovel and a broadax.
"I'd go in the woods early
in the morning and never
think about the time until the
sun started setting. That's
how determined I was to
make something out of this
place." he said.
Pickett was later able to
hire ditching done with a
backhoe and now his forest is
crisscrossed with about nine
miles of ditches that keep his
pines out of standing water
anc serve as ftrelanes.
Along with ditches. Pickett
has used fire as a forestry
management tool. The value
of fire was demonstrated to
him accidentally when wild
fire once burned for 31 days
on his land. The burned area
came back full of pines.
Now, Pickett uses "con
trolled burping" on a regular
basis to reduce undesirable
hardwoods and "to release"
his Dines. "You use a slow,
creeping fire," he explained,
"and it's like giving the
pines a shot of fertilizer."
Along with stimulating his
pines. Pickett said controlled
burning also aids wildlife.
"A lot of tender, young
vegetation comes in after a
fire." he explained. "Deer
don't bother crops around
here because they can find
plenty to eat in the woods.
And we've got rabbits,
squirrels, raccoons.
Seventy ? three ? year - old
Ralph W. Pickett of Beula
ville can easily show people
what he has done with his
life.
Among other things, he
has grown a fcVrest. It has
taken him 48 years.
Pickett's forest covers
1,500 acres in the Cedar
Forks Community of Duplin
County, and it is filled with
magnificent stands of long
leaf. pond and loblolly pines.
Some people call it one of
the finest, privately-owned
tracts of woodland in North
Carolina.
Pickett's life in the woods
began at the age of 25. It was
on Nov. 2, 1934, to be exact,
during the Great Depression.
Pickett took all the money
he had ? $100 ? and used it
as down payment on 2,325
acres owned by Goldsboro
Lumber Co. The total pur
chase price was $1,600 or
less than 69 cents an acre.
"Times were hard," he
recalls, "and no one could
understand why I would buy
woodsland on credit."
Local folks described
Pickett's purchase in various
ways ? Pickett's thicket, a
A I: a!
nppilCUTIOn
Forms For
Ordering Tree
Seedlings
Available
Application forms for
forest tree seedlings from
state nurseries are now avail
able on request from Direc
tor, N.C. Division of Forest
Resources, P.O. Box 27687,
Raleigh, NC 27611 or locally
from offices of the county
forest ranger or the soil
conservation service. Appli
cations will be filled in the
same order they are re
ceived. Applications must be
at the office of the Division of
Forest Resources at least
four weeks prior to shipment.
Weather permitting,
.shipments should begin Dec.
1. Hardwood species are sold
in units of 100 seedlings;
others in units of 1,000.
Genetically improved loblolly
pine seedlings will be limited
to a maximum of 100.000 per
applicant. Order early.
This report was edited by
the Duplin County AES.
Office Accepting Bids
For Watershed Project
Bids for the second and
? major phase of the Limestone
? Creek watershed project will
he received until 10 a.m.
Dec. 0 at4he Duplin County
? Soil and Water conservation
? . District office.
I Major items of work will be
? 105,435 feet of channel rcs
? toration. b2.l Ih feet of chan
" net excavation. 48 acres of
; clearing, laying 2.83b feet of
? 15-inch corrugated metal
- pipe inlets, digging 20 per
! mancnt sediment basins in
the channel and planting 40
acres of permanent vegeta
tion.
The cost is estimated be
tween S500.000 and $1 mil
lion.
Invitations to bid were
mailed to contractors last
week, said Kenneth Futreal.
Duplin County soil conser
vationist. Five requests for
T further information had been
received by Wednesday. "It
looks like we'll have a lot of
interest among contractors
I for this project." Futreal
said.
Only two bids were re
ceived on the first phase.
Because at least three bid
ders are required on an
initial bid call, the project
was rcaovcrtised. Only one
bid was received for the
second bid opening. Futreal
said.
Phelps and White Con
struction Co. of Windsor
submitted the bid of $74,000
Oct. 20. The initial phase
calls for 21.000 feet of
channel restoration and in
stallation of three sediment
basins, which are deep spots
in the channel to catch
sediment running off fields.
When sediment in the basins
reaches a specified depth, it '
is removed to prevent
channel clogging.
When Phelps and White
completes forms concerning '
bonds and they are verified
by the state Soil Conser- 1
vation Service office, the '
construction order can be '
issued. Futreal said.
"I hope that work can b,e
started bv Nov. 22." Futrekl '
said.
Prospective Phase II
bidders may visit the work
site Nov. 16 and Nov. 30.
They will assemble at 10 '
a.m. on each date at the SCS
office and be escorted on a
tour of the area, which is on
and near Limestone Creek
north and west of Beulaville.
Other inspection arrange
ments should be made with
Calvin R. Mercer, chairman
>f the district and contracting
officer for the Duplin County
Board of Commissioners.
Futreal said 58 land own
ers have applied for long
term land treatment con
tracts for their farms in the
watershed area. Land treat
ment is designed to prevent
erosion of soil into the chan
nels.
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L OFFER GOOD Tl JAN. 1, 1983
Locol Conservation News
Bv
R. Wade Biddix, Soil Conser
vationist, USDA-Soil
Conservation Service
I want to taik with you
today about "soil Sampling"
? a valuable management
tool and the key to reliable
soil test information.
Many of you are farmers
and can readily recognize an
area in your fields that is low
in either lime or fertilizer.
The plants in those areas are
usually smaller, sickly and
often discolored in various
portions of the leaves. When
these symptoms occur, it is
too late to do anything about
that particular crop. The
damage has already been
done and will need tr be
corrected before planting
next year's crop.
You cannot tell how much
lime or fertilizer your fields
will require next year b>
simply giving them a glance
or two. Past experience with
your fertilization programs
may be of some help, but yoi
need to be more scientific. A
carefully selected soi
sample, followed by a labora
tory analysis, will be mos
helpful in obtaining high
profitable yields from your
land.
Before you begin collect
ing samples, you should
outline your farm and field
boundaries directly on an
aerial photograph, which can
1 be obtained from the ASCS
office. Assign a permanent
t number to each field or
management area. This will
enable ><>u to t-ctp accurate !
records of treatment and i
crop yield for each area. i
When sampling, avoid
small areas ? such as i
burned wood piles, wet s
spots, severely eroded spots, \
old building sites, fence |
rows, corner or end-turn |
areas, fertilizer bands and I
old lime piles. A good sample <
should be a composite of t
individual cores ? each t
taken up to seven inches
deep in at least 10 locations j
within an area having these s
three uniform characteris- s
tics: the soil is the same in j
color, slope, texture, surface <
and internal drainage and t
past erosion; the past treat- <
ment has been the same. t
and. the plant material has 2
been the same over the past
few vears. t
Be sure to use a clean \
plastic bucket or container to v
collect the individual cores |<
that .will make up the total t
soil sample, especially if s
micronutricnts are to be de- I
termined. Metal containers. i
such as galvanized buckets. y
will contaminate the soil t
sample with elements such
as zinc and copper and give $
misleading results. Never i
expose the sample to tools. a
containers or floor surfaces r
that may contaminate it with s
chemical or fertilizer ele- i
ments.
You should collect the
samples three to six months
before the crop is to be
planted. This will give you
ample time to get the soil test
back from the laboratory and
enable you to plan your lime
and fertilizer application be
fore the busy planting season .
begins.
Soils should not be
sampled when they are too
wet since it is difficult to mix
the sample cores. One rule to
remember is that if the soil is
too wet to plow, it is too wet
to collect soil samples.
Test results are useful for
several years after sampling.
Sampling every three to five
years usually provides an
opportunity to determine
fertility changes made with
basic treatments and give a
new bench mark for further
improvement. However, the
sandy soils of the Coastal
Plains area will probably
need to be tested every two
or three years because of
their low capacity for holding
nutrients and most drastic ^
effects of nitrogen which
causes soil acidity to de- 4
velop.
Practically all plants grow
best in neutral to slightly
acid soils. Many soils fall in
this range naturally, but the
use of acid-forming ferti
lizers (among them ammo
nium sulfate, ammonium ni
trate and urea) can cause
weak acids to build up. This
calls for the use of lime to
raise the ph or, when soils
arc alkaline, sulfur to lower
it.
Soil ph is a measure of the
relative acidity or alkalinity
of a soil measured on a scale
of 0 to 14. A ph of 7.0 is
neutral, a ph of less than 7.0
is acidic, and a ph above 7.0
is alkaline. The ph unit is
logarithmic, meaning that a
ph of 5.0 is 10 times more
acidic than a ph of 6.0. and
100 times more acidic thar a
ph of 7 0. That means that 10
lbs. of fertilizer applied to a
soil with a ph of 6.0 is
equivalent to 100 lbs. of
fertilizer applied to a soil
with a ph of 6.0 is equivalent
to 100 lbs. of fertilizer ap
plied to a soil with a ph of
5.0. The rest becomes tied up
>r "fixed" by the hydrogen
ons in the soil particles.
Ihrough this explanation, it
s easy to see the value of a
toil test. You should not
vaste your money on ferti
izers when you really need
ime. Stjil testing gives a
>et'ei understanding of a
iite's nutrient deficiencies
ind allows monitoring of
heir corrections.
If you would like further
nformation on soil sampling
ind its benefits or need some
standard woil sample boxes
ind an address as to where to
.end your samples, come by
he Soil Conservation Service
iffice in Kenansville or give
is a call at 296-1958 or
I96-1546.
I also want to inform you
hat the Duplin Soil and
Vater Conservation District
t ill be selling red cedar and
ongleaf pine seedlings again
his year. The seedlings
hould be available around
)ec. 15. so if you are
nterested. you should place
our order soon by calling
he above numbers.
Like all programs and
ervices of the U.S.D.A..
nformation and assistance is
vailable to everyone without
egard to race, creed, color,
ex or national origin.
//*? ; 1
lorth Carolina, often called
Golf State USA," has
ome 330 golf courses.
Christmas Sa/e^{p
November 26-December 24 ..vT
Ladies' Sportswear - Dresses ? Lingerie
<? 20 % Jk
Sunny South ?e?0/) ??s
t Coats, ? Jeans. * Shoes For Men and Ladies
*&?&*** 25% ^3
Off ^
Men's Sweaters - Shirts - Slacks
*sr Off ^
Free Gift Wrapping
EXCHANGES ONLY-NO REFUNDS ^ Clk**
Theresa's
v Fashions ^
\. BeulaviDe Kenansvill
Magnolia Historic
Society Formed
The Magnolia Historic
Preservation Society has
been formed to help preserve
nistoric sites such as the
Magnolia Depot. The So
ciety's chairman is Randy
Drew; vice chairperson.
Marie Quarterman; and sec
retary-treasurer. Terrv Pope.
Thus far the Society has
planned a flea market to be I
held in the Magnolia gym on
Dec. 4, and a talent show to
be held in the Magnolia
Auditorium on Dec. 18th."
Further information on the
flea market and talent show
will be in the local news
papers and radio stations at a
rzz ?r I i t j n
The red corpuscles in the
blood get their color from
iron.
t
later date.
The next scheduled meet
ing is Nov. 2? at 8 p.m. at th
Magnolia Town Hall.
"-Twilitc j
Beulaville
- Open 7:00-Show 7:30
Frl.-Set.-Sun.
i KENNY ROGERS
7 THANKSGIVING SALE**"*
20% - 30% OH
J Dresses, Skirts, Blouses, Sweaters, Jackets, Slacks
V Selected Group - $20 each
A Lay-away now for Christmas
\ . The Belle
Shoppe, Inc.
Hwy. 11, Kenansville
I %
? -4 Hortfi Carolina |
Country ^
rt Sufylag 2><* ^
AT*/ OUNT& Jf
&/4dJS <!
Pv ???*?? ftfl n
g IbjgBimUg $
&* &*uGx.viCU,jStortfi QaroClna |
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^ vted Ckrisin^ta Ornaxenta, JtetlcUifa>