PAGE TWO | Land Stewardship By GUY A. CABDWELL Agricultural and Industrial Agent Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Co. The United State* Department of the Interior, soil erosion service, has a big job to perform. It is trying to check soil erosion. By establishing demonstration projects it is showing how this can be done. To arouse and sustain interest in soil erosion and to secure owner-co operation, and further to have a record of progress, individual soil ero sion experiment stations publish monthly bulletins recording informa tion of real value. I am using a few items copied from October issue of the Bannister River Banner, Chatham, Virginia, where one of the soil erosion projects is under way. Those who read this letter may find the information of interest, and it may cause some land-owners to have a better understanding of their responsibility as temporary stewards, for land remains for the use of fu ture generations long after our stew ardship is ended. America Is At The Crossroads “America has not escaped periods of storm and stress, since white men first landed on the shores. Starva tions, pestilence, and savage forays played havoc with the infant settle-* ments. Wars and panics have visited the growing nations. Time and again no man could say that national in tegrity could be preserved, but none of these misfortunes have menaced the future of our people so much as the deterioration of the soils. Wars end, and nations heal their wounds, panics pass and prosperity returns but the erosion of the soil goes on with the grim persistence of death Hillsides are denuded of trees and rains carry away the top soil, leaving behind raw wounds that grow worse with neglect. Rich bottom lands be come practically covered with unpro ductive soil from the hills and their fertility lessened. In some cases, sands reduce such land to sterile waste. In the valley of the Staunton River there lies the site of an old In dian village, where at one time the red men, attracted by its fertility, established a permanent town. Where in those days were rich com fields, now sand bars cover the area, brought in by the floods and freshets, ano sand burs grow—nature’s last effort to provide a protective cover.” Protection Os Soil Vital “That erosion takes place rapidly on unprotected soil is so well known that it scarcely seems worthy of men tioning. However, the following fig ures from the Statesville, North Carolina, soil erosion experiment sta tion show a marked difference in the amounts of soil carried off of unpro tected land, or land in cotton con tinuously and on land in grass. On a sandy clay loam on a 10 per cent slope, the run-off of water on unprotected soil amounted to 32 per cent of the amount that fell and car ried off 65 tons of soil per acre. On land continuously in cotton there was a 10 per cent run-off of water and loss of 14 tons per acre. On a grass sod the run-off amounted to only 5 per cent of water and .8 of a ton of soil per acre. Bearing in mind that there are approximately 1200 tons of earth per acre, varying with the soil type, in a 6 in. covering, and assum ing a virgin soil of 6 in. in depth, the following interesting facts are apparent. It would take 1500 years at this rate to remove the top 6 Inches of soil from such an area of grass. In the meantime, it would be somewhat offset by the formation of the new soil. Assuming that an inch of new soil would be gained every 400 years, we would gain 3.7 inches new soil during the 1500 year period. Thus, actually losing 2.25 inches of soil dur ing the 1500 year period. Using the same basis of compari son, unprotected land would be strip ped of the top 6 inches in 18.46 years. Theoretically, there might be a fractional gain but it would be safe to say that unprotected land of this soil type on such a slope would lose the equivalent of the top 6 inches in about 18 1-2 years. Os course, this would not be a uniform stripping un der actual conditions, but the land lo3s in tons would be equivalent to it. This may seem hair splitting to a casual reader. We feel, however, that the effort is justified. We pre sent it to you in an attempt to fix in your mind a definite picture of the actual loss that has been and is go ing on around us all the time.” It was Ruskin who wrote: “God has lent us the earth for our line. It is a great entail. It belongs as much to those who are to come after us as to us, and we have no right by anything we do or neglect to involve them in any unnecessary pen alties, or to deprive them of the benefit which was in our power to bequeath.” I OVER 200,000 POUNDS COTTON i CERTIFICATES SOLD IN GATES In both Gates and Franklin coun ties, the farmers are buying surplus cotton certificates to gin their excess production. Over 200,000 pounds of certificates were sold in Gates County last week. ♦ Certificates Transferred Through County Agent Legal traasflenence of cotton tax ! exemption certificates from one grower to another must be made : through the county (.gent’s office, warns Dean i. O Schaub, of State i College. Illegally trtXJiXeirevi certificates ‘ will be cancelled,. he said, and the cotton they were intended to cover i will be subject to the Bankhead tax of five and two-thirds cents a pound. To protect growers from fraud, speculators, or unfair practices in the trading of certificates, provision was made that all exchanges must be 1 made through the county agent and at the rate of four cents a pound. ' Schaub pointed out that it is also 1 illegal to sell a certificate to a person i who is not a cotton grower. How • ever, it is permissible for ginners to , go to the county agent and buy cer tificates for a grower when the grower gives him written authoriza tion to do so. When an illegal transfer is dis covered, Schaub said, notice will- be sent the collector of internal revenue and other persons involved in the transfer, including the «ounty agent. * Schaub also said that every dollar spent for extra tax exemption cer tificates goes to help growers who failed to produce the full amount of their allotments. The sale of surplus gives the un der-producer a form of crop insur ance by enabling him to realize four cents a pound for that part of his allotment he failed to produce. It also gives the over-producer a chance to sell his excess cotton without pay ing the full amount of the Bankhead tax. * —-+ | Timely Questions On j Farm Answered * Question: Should a laying mash be fed to molting hens? Answer: Molting birds require just as much feed of all kinds as the laying birds and, in most cases, they need a little more of the protein ele ments. In addition to the laying t mash the birds should have a plenti- i ful supply of oyster shell or ground * limestone and grit before them at all times. Animal proteins, greens and succulent feeds together with the laying mash will bring the birds in to lay much sooner than if the mash is left out of the ration. Question: What is the best ration for a dry cow during the winter? Answer: No better practical win ter ration for the dry cow can be had than legume hay and com sil age together with three to five pounds of a grain ration containing around 16 per cent protein. For the last two weeks, before freshening the grain ration should be restricted to laxative grains such as wheat bran and oats. Full directions for feeding all dairy animals are contained in Extension Circular No. 193, copies of whieh will be mailed free upon ap plication to the Agricultural Editor, State College. Question: Should lime be applied to sour land in the fall or spring? Answer: As lime is a slow acting - agent fall applications will usually give best results. Broadcast the lime on newly plowed land and then : run a harrow once or twice over the ' field to bring the lime in contact i with the soil. The winter rains will : cause the lime to seep into the soil. ■ The amount to apply will depend up on the acidity of the soil and the , crop to be grown the following year. [ Farm agents will furnish a test and , give directions as to the amount of . lime needed. Trade Reflects Heavy Gains In Farm Income ► The Associated Press reports east ■ ern business interests “considerably > cheered because farmers will ‘dig in’ ■ for the winter with a much fatter i pocketbook than last year.” Farm < income was reported by the Bureau of Agricultural Economics to have I totalled $662,000,000 in September, • an increase of $81,000,000 over * August and an increase of $108,000,- , 000 over September, 193 b! Trade observers find this sharp improve i ment has been reflected in a substan -1 tial increase in retail and wholesale business, better collections than at any time since 1930 and stronger credit conditions in all major agricul : tural regions. 5 Farm income in the first nine : months of 1934 were reported by the > bureau as $4,313,000,000, compared > with $3,479,000,000 in that period - last year, an increase of $760,000,000. : ,The Associated Press financial edi > tor in New York remarks that one of the best business indexes—bank clear ings—have shown consistent increases in farm centers for several months, 5 averaging as high as 44 per cent over a year ago. Standard Statistics Co., Inc., esti s mates total farm income in 1934 will s aggregate $8,019,000,000, an increase f of $1,763,000,000, or 28.3 per cent, r over the total of $6,256,000,000 in the calendqAyear 1933. - . THE CHOWAN HERALD. EDENTON, N. C., THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16,1984. ,Our Ovoft JFee'kly Cf*t\ Silk la Your Sewmf .T-vSIs IC •••• — - .«ini ■i. —— % —A aeverv slept tr\ . IT ' a^' ' r 'S dotue-jbor I hope you don’t share a popular delusion that the Chinese are noted 4 chiefly for chop suey and hand laundries. Several thousand years before they made those two important contributions to the great American scene they gave us silk. Legend has it that about 1700 B.C. Hoang-ti, third Emperor of China, became interested in the lowly silkworm, or more particularly In the cocoon that served as domicile during the period of its transformation into a moth At his behest his 14 year old empress, Sing LI Chi, over coming hei feminine aversion to crawling creatures, proceeded to cul tivate uhe worms and soon discovered that the tiny thread out of which they created their “retiring rooms” could be unwound and woven intc garments. It is gratifying to add that contrary to common custom, little Sing Li Chi received credit for her “laboratory research" and has com< down through the centuries as “The Goddess of the Silkworms.” The meet valuable and closely guarded secrets have away of travel ing, in spite of government decrees and dire penalties. The lowly silk worm, which was once an individualist with a “factory output” limited to its own needs, has become, willy nilly, a cog in many great collec tivist machines. No longer may it dissolve the valuable fibres of its cocoon and emerge to attain its natural destiny as a moth and a mother, unless it happens to be one of the few chosen by its human rulers to carry on its race. But its rulers have increased its productive capacity to the point where a single cocoon yields a quarter of a mile of fibre. They have learned to wind the slender fibres, five or six together, letting their natural gum cement them into a stronger fibre, to wind the fibres into threads and to weave the threads into beautiful arid luxurious fabrics. Sillt thread plays a part in every woman’s sewing. It is available in every shade you're likely to wish. Wt’en sowing silk fabrics on the machine use silk thread :n both needle and bobbin so there’ll be no puckering. Woo! ar.d silk fabrics that fray easily should have their ream edges bound with silk seam binding, sewed on by hand as in Sketch A. Silk threads come in twist size for buttonholes and in a still heavier size for tacks as in Sketch B. When you’re hemming ve«y fine silk material a silk thread can be split and a single strand used with a verv fine needle. | TEETOLEKS '| V > Much has been said and writ ten about the proper environ ment in the home being the rea son for children using or refrain ing from the use of strong drink. An interesting fact coming from Creswell may or may not be the attitude taken by other parents. William Barnes, living near Creswell, is the father of seven sons, and he has kept wine in the home during the rearing of his children. They could have tasted wine if they so desired, but strangely enough all seven of the boys have never tasted wine or any other intoxicating liquor. The brothers are William Mitchell Barnes, Harry Barnes, Charlie Barnes, Earl Barnes, Lloyd Barnes, Odell Barnes and Otis Barnes. Dates Set For Civil Service Examinations The United States Civil Service Commission has announced open com petitive examinations as follows: Automatic 3-A addressograph op erator, $1,440; F-l and F-2 addresso graph operator, $1,260; graphotype operator, $1,260 a year, departmental service. Closing date, November 23, 1934. Junior financial statistician, $2,000 a year, Securities and Exchange Com mission. Closing date, November 26, 1934. Steel plate engraver (picture and vignette), $19.20 a day and $3.60 an hour for overtime, Bureau of Engrav ing and Printing. Closing date, No vember 29, 1934. Assistant engineman, steam-elec tric, $1,680 a year, departmental ser vice. Some vacancies to be filled at $1,860 a year. Closing date, Novem ber 26, 1934. Junior parasitologist, $2,000 a year, Bureau of Animal Industry, Department of Agriculture. Closing date, November 26, 1934. Assistant foreman, brush factory (solid-back, staple-set brushes), $1,860 a year, Leavenworth peniten tiary. Closing date, November 30, 1934. The salaries named are subject to a deduction of not to exceed 5 per cent during the fiscal year ending June "30, 1935, as a measure of econ omy, and also to a deduction of 3 1-2 per cent toward a retirement annuity. All states except lowa, Vermont, Virginia, Maryland, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia have received lev than their quota of ap pointments in the apportioned de partmental service in Washington, D. C. Full information may be obtained from the secretary of the United States Civil Service Board of Ex aminers at the post office or custom house in any city which has a post office of the first or the second class, or from the United States Civil Ser vice Commission, Washington, D. C. GOOD MILK COWS DESERVE A REST __________ Q The fact that dairy cows appar- c ently live an easy life doesn’t mean > their bodies are not taxed heavily by Q the work of producing milk, says 2 John Arey, dairy extension special- S ist at State College, Milchers need at least six weeks | of rest between lactation periods, he s said, to give them opportunity to re- ( build their body tissues and bony | structures. 0 During the first few weeks after o calving, the cows usually give off in | milk more food nutrients than is con- ( tained in the feed she eats. Conse- ( quently, cows should have a reserve < stored up in their bodies during the ( rest period. A lack of it will restrict milk production and impair their . physical condition. ' Heavy producing cows, when on of- . ficial test, often draw on the mineral ’ matter of their skeletons to such an < 1 extent that the bones break easily. ] Such cows need a two-month rest so ; 1 they can rebuild their bony struc- ! ture. During the rest period the grain ; ration should contain a liberal supply . ‘ of minerals. The following i 3 sug- ; j gested by Arey: two parts of com ■ meal, two of wheat bran, one of cot- ] ’ ton seed meal, two per cent of steam bone meal, and one per cent of com- ' 1 mon salt. These parts should be de ■ termined by weight and not by dry > measure. A sufficient quantity of grain l should be fed during the rest period, i together with good pasturage in the - summer and legume hay in the win • ter, so the cow will be in good flesh at freshening time. Heavy milkers - need more grain than average good - milkers, which can get along with a t moderate amount of grain if plenty -of pasturage and legume hay is available. I i : ■ •" ~ ,M r v* sy . I Just Received Another Car Os 1 t ps I Galvanized Roofing 1 !OSee us for your 5-V CRIMP, GALVANIZED | ROLL AND FENCE WIRE. We also carry a full jg line of JOHNS MANVILLE ASBESTOS and PAPER ROOFING, HAY, GRAIN, SHINGLES, etc. g | BROWN BROS. » j FURNITURE INDUSTRY MOST NORMAL BASIS SINCE 1929 According to a survey just com pleted by Dun and Bradstreet, the furniture industry has gained enough ground in the past year to establish the most normal trading basis that has been achieved since 1929. Sales totals in August exceeded the 1933 figures, with small retailers making a better showing than the department stores and large establishments. In some sections of the Middle We3t, South, Southwest and Pacific coast, many retailers with an annual volume under $500,000 doubled their figures of August, 1933, while increases of 26 per cent to 60 per cent were gen eral. The widening of the* demand DRINK I Bottled Energy 1 ( L I MILK Ijj j NATURE’S OWN PICK-UP I