FEBRUARY FIRE LOSS SBOO.UOO RALEIGH HAS BEST RECORD AMONG LARGER CITIES OF STATE. 34 TOWNS ON HONOR ROLI Principal Class of Property Damaged or Destroyed Includes 144 Dwellings. . Raleigh. The aggregate of loss by fire in\ North Carolina during February was $864,251, according to official reports of each fire on file in the State Insur ance department, made public by Commissiner, Stacy W. Wade. This shows an increase of about $200,P00 over February last year. For the United States and Canda loss is estimated at $31,447,900, a de crease •of about $10,000,000 from last February. » The marked feature of the State’s loss is the small average loss of the 270 fires occurring as compared with the aggregate of 27 fires in which the loss was $5,000 and over. This totals $765,675, an average of $32,062 per tire, while for the remaining total of $98,576 for the other 243 fires, the average loss per fire Was but 405. The heaviest single losses were: a film exchange at Charlotte, $156,000; business building at Wilmington, $55,- 000; oil mill near Henderson, $106,000, fish fertilizer plant at Shallotte, $50,- 000; a store at Littleton, $30,000; dwelling at Pinehurst, $28,000. Charlote heads the cities with heavy losses, having had 28 fires with loss of $172,935, followed by Gastonia with 4 fires and loss erf $67,155; Wil mington with 11 fires, loss $58,915; and Winston-Salem with 37 fires, loss of $49,380. Raleigh has the premier record among the larger- cities, with 8 fires, and loss of $340. The major fire causes were defective flues and shing le roofs, 82; overshot stoves and fur naces, 15; oil stoves, adjoining build ing, smoking and over carelessness, 14; while spontaneous combustiton ac counted for 8 fires, incendiary, short circuit, child and match 6. There was not a single electric iron fire, but there was 3 due to explosion of lamps used under incubators. The principal classes of property damaged or destroyed includes 144 dwellings, 18 stores, 9 barns and stables and 7 werhouses, four schools and dormitories, 3 churches laundries and factories, and four hotels, movie theatres and cases. The statistical table also shows that while out of the 270 fires the losses of buildings was $390,695 and contents $473,556, or just about equal ly divided, in the 27 fires in which the big losses occurred, the contents loss exceeded the building loss by nearly four to one. The total value of property at risk is shown to be $4,938,029, insurance $3,033,924. The following towns and- counties reporting no fire or no damage from fire during February, are placed up on the department’s honor roll for the month. Plymouth, Thomasville, Mt. Olive.. Concord, Mt. Holly, Fairmont, Badin, Fuquay Springs, Spring Hope, Waynes ville, Roxboro, Wake Forest, Jackson ville, Stanley, Creedmoor, Tabor, Rockingham, Randleman, Albemarle, Elkin, Granite Falls, Lumberton, Hunt ersville, Marion, Tryon, Elm City, Forest City, Carthage, Hickory, Louis burg, Kings Mountain, Pilot Mountain, Murphy. Encampment Dates For Guard. Summer encampments for the North Carolina National Guard will commance this year on July 1, when the field Artillery regiment will go into training at Fort Bragg and will close on August 30, according to the April issue of the National Guard bulletin, which is issped monthly by Major Gordan Smith, Assistant Ad jutant General. According to the bul letin, there will be 3,000 guardsmen in camp, the largest number since 1916. The schedule of the training camps follows: Camp Glenn, N. C., July 20; 120th Infantry, StafT Corps and Departments, 30th Signal Company and 117th Mo tor Transport Company. Fort Bragg, N. C., July 1-15: 105th Engineers. Fort Bragg, N. C., April 2-16: 117th Field Artillery. Camp McCellan, Ala., August 4-18: 109th Calvary and 105th Medical Regi ment. Fort Monroe, Va., August 16-30: Coast Artillery. What Good Roads Have Done. Good roads saved each motorist 66 gallons of gasoline last year which at 25 cents the gallon, is a financial ad vantage of $16.50. The State Highway bulletin has figured out. The bulletin has found that the gasoline consumption per car during 1923 was 66 gallons less than 1922. Automobiles have increased and good roads have been conducive of greater use of them so that the estimate of saving is considered reasonably con servative. Governor to Visit Charlotte. Highway Chairman Frank Page has brought Charlotte into the Pan-Ameri can road show, and that city will be host Sunday, June 8, to the South American highway engineers and builders, ambassadors from ' South American countries, governors of seven states, Secretary of Commerae Herbert Hoover and other distingush ed officials and citizens of two contin ents, making up a party that will spend a week watching Tar Heel road builders at work. Receiving the news from Mr. Page Commissioner W. C. Wilkinson, of Charlotte, began devising ways and means of extending the visit at least another day. He will get the local folks behind him in plans for elabor ately entertaining the distinguished guests. And Mr. Page likely will be besought to give the city at least two days so that the visitors may have ample time to see the town and sur roundings. Approximatly 2,000 people are ex pected to be included in the list* ol invited guests to the' road show, which has been designated a “Shirt Sleeves” exhibition, because the visitors will come to see road construction in act ual progress in North Carolina. The state will give one grand show of its good roads, and it will be literally “showing the world” how to build them. • The South American highway engi neers and builders will number half a hundred. Seven ambassadors to the United States from South American countries will be in the party. Secre tary Hoover will represent the federal government. Governor Morrison and the governors of six South Atlantic states have accepted invitations. Sen ators Simmons and Overman, the North Carolina delegations in Con gress and senators and congressmen from other states will be present. In vitations have been extended to mem bers of road governing boards in every county in the South Atlantic states. The “Triangle Cities,” Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point will be the official hosts because of hotel fa cilities available in the three cities. Five hundred automobiles will be used in transporting them over the state. The official party, wihch will num ber about 75, will arrive in Raleigh on a special train June 4. Taking automobiles here it will go to Greens boro. Leaving Greensboro Saturday, the official party and visitors will go by automobile to Charlotte to spend Sunday; and Monday, if Mr. Wilkinson can carry out his plans. From Char lotte automobiles will take them to Asheville ,where they will board a special train for Tennessee June 10. Winston-Salem, Greensboro’ and High Point are raising a large sum to provide for the entertainment of the Visitors, and Commission Wilkin son proposes that Charlotte give them an elaborate reception. The show, with the distinguished visitors, will prove of tremendous ad vertising value to the state and to the cities to be visited. Staff representatives of New York newspapers will be here, and the press will give prominence to the event. Bulletin on 801 l Weevil. “Habits and Control of the Cotton 801 l Weevil” is the title of a new buL letin just issued by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture for the Agricultural Experiment Station. The bulletin is issued as the March 1924 Bulletin and is written by Dr. R. W. Leiby and J. A. Harris, assistant Ento mologists, of the Experiment Station staff. Tlys bulletin sets for the stud ies, experiments and results obtained from work done during 1923 from the field station of the division of Ento mology located at Aberdeen in the Sandhills. According to Professor Franklin Sherman, Chief in Entomology, the bulletin brings out several important facts. Some of the principal findings are stated by Prof. Sherman as fol lows: On April 17 the first weevil out of hibernation was found, but none were found on young cotton until last half of May. Earliest laying of eggs was about mid-June; and the generation ot weevils from these eggp appeared largely from July 10 to 18. It was foiftd that the time for starting the general dust-poisoning (i e. when 10 per cent of squares were being punc tured) averaged about July 25, which agreed with the observations made during 1922. Tests were made with several meth ods for control of the weevil. Fbur applications of home-made sweetened mixture gave a net profit of $1.50 per acre, while seven applications of the material known as Hill’s Mixture gave a net loss of $3.29 per acre. As early season applications of sweetened mix ture did kill many overwintered weev ils, and as later applications ha& but little effect, during the time before blooming, the recommendation for 1924 are to use the home-made mix ture. A test of the “Florida Method" gave net loss of $5.08 per acre; hence while this method may later be adapt ed to our use, it is not yet recom mended. New State Charters. Charters were issued by the secre tary of state’s office as follows: Citizens Insurance and Realty com pany, Fayetteville, authorized capital, $50,000; subscribed, $400; incorpora tors, G. E. Edgerton, L. M. Edgerton, Thomas D. Clark, and F. H. Thomp son, all of Fayetteville. Green Lumber company, Thomas ville, authorized capital, $25,000; sub-, scribed, $16,000; incorporators, W. E. Founts, Z. V. Crutchfield, E. W. E. Founts, Z. V. Crutchfield, E. M. Crutch field, all of Thomasville. CONDENSED NEWS FROM THE OLD NORTH STATE ; SHORT NOTES OF INTEREST TO I CAROLINIAN®. Southern Pines. —Many peach blos soms were killed by the frost, but it is thought the crop will not be dam aged. • Wilmington. —Contract for connec ting Whiteville and Lake Waccamaw with approximately 11 miles of hard surfaced road has been awarded by the North Carolina State Highway commission to the Coastal Construc tion company, of Augusta, Ga. Goldsboro. —The contest to elect a queen to act as “Miss Goldsboro” at the Eastern Carolina Exposition to be held at Kinston terminated here and Miss Eula Fields topped a list of 50 young ladies with 763,400 votes. Miss Catherine Massengill ran second with 673,000. Kinston. Local club women are proposing the planting of crepe mytrle trees in a memorial avenue for soldiers here. Under the plan the flowering trees will be interspersed with shade trees in two long rows, to present a colorful appearance in spring and summer. High Point.—A negro caught by the proprietor of the Kolmes Cash Gro cery, hiding in his store, put up the unusual plea that he had followed Mr. Holmes into the building because he thought the white man was intent upon burglary. Boone.—Miles Love, who was tried at the recent court for the murder of his own child, pleaded guilty of man slaughter and received from Judge Webb the sentence of not more than seven nor less than five years in the State prison at hard labor, which sen tence many think was light consider ing the crime and the circumstances. Gastonia. —‘Machinery is now being installed in the new Art Cloth Mill and manufacturing will begin in the near future. The product will be fancy dress goods with silk mixtures. The yarns, both silk and cotton, will be purchased and prepared for weav ing in the mill. Complete equipment is provided for dyeing and bleaching yams for both warp and filling. • Greensboro.—Contract was award ed here for the construction of a music building at the North Carolina College for Women. The contract went to J. A. Jones Construction Com pany, of Charlotte, the lowest of six bidder*. The price was one hundred eighty four thousand dollars. Lumberton.— Initiating its smart new gasoline motor car which it put i on duty with a regular schedule be tween St. Paul and Elizabethtown, the Virginia and Carolina Southern Rail way company, gave a delightful trip and outing and entertained at dinner three different parties of citizen's last week from towns on its line. Charlotte. —Thomas W. Dixon, na tive of Mecklenburg, and prominent citizen of Charlote, died from heart attack in a local drug store. Mr. Dix on organized and was president of the ■ Southern Hardware Company. For 15 years he had been secretary-tears urer of the Hardware Association of the Carolinas, also official of Hard ware Mutual Insurance Company. Wilmington—Joseph B. Stanley, former postmaster at Bolivia, Bruns wick county, has been indicted by the Government on a charge of stealing and embezzling from the United States mails $3,600. Stanley waived exami nation before the United States Com missioner, A. S. Williams, and gave I bond in the sum of SI,OOO for his ap pearance at the spring term of federal j court to be held here in May. ! Elizabeth City.—More than 500 I boxes of shad and herring caught by I fishermen in Croatan and Pamlico ' sounds were brought to Elizabeth City by boats of the Wanchese line and re ports reaching this city are to the es- I feet that the waters of these sounds are teeming with fish. ,4 j Lenoir.—A shipment of eighty-five head of beef cattle —more than $9,000 worth was made by Powell Bros, to A. Hellstern of Richmond. Mr. Hell stern was here several days ago, and bought the cattle. Dunn. —One of the latest additions to