Newspapers / The Alleghany News and … / Aug. 14, 1947, edition 1 / Page 2
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Veterans Boost Soil-Test Dr. I. E. Miles Reports Alleghany veterans on the form training program along with ethers throughout the State have ione much to expand the soil testing program according to Dr. Ivan E. Milles, head of the Soil Testing Division, of the State De partment of Agriculture who will be here tomorrow in connection with the observance of the sixth lirthday of the New River Soil Conservation District. In discussing this increase due largely to World War II veterans -following modern agricultural practices and testing the soil on every field of their farms, "This Is as it should be,” Dr. Miles com mented. “If a farmer is really to know the lime and fertilizer status on his place,” he said. More and more farmers are realizing that soil testing means dollars in their pockets, he ex plained, because of the savings when lime and fertilizer are not wasted on soils that don’t need Ihem or on soils that are harmed fcjr their application. For the last several years, Dr. Miles reported, soil-testing work las been increasing from 12 to 14 per cent each year over the preceeding year. This appeared io be a normal growth due to formers’ acceptance of the pro gram and' recognition of its im portance. Last year, however, the work jumped 64 per cent above the 1945-46 fiscal'year. The division tested 28,775 samples of soils, and made a total of 111,100 tests on fcose samples. Dr. Miles said the extra growth was brought about by more farm ers and agricultural workers real izing the' value of soil-testing, and by the cooperation given to the program by the Extension Service and-’thie Sbir Conservation Service. N. C. Farmers Soil Minded North Carolina, the first state in the nation to have a soil con servation district organized by far mers,' now has 21 districts that cover 25,911,000 acres, or 85 per cent of all Tar Heel state farms. Since the Brown Creek District was formed nine years ago, soil conservation work has moved rapidly, reported E. B. Garrett, state conservationist of the Soil Conservation Service, of Raleigh. The fastest rate of progress, however, has been made during the past twelve or fourteen months. In the fiscal year which ended July 1, almost 5,900 far mers were aided through districts to plan and begin conservation farming on more than 590,000 acres. Garrett reported that more than 27,600 North Carolina far mers are now receiving assis tance through their soil conser vation districts. Mary Gilliam Is Given Parly Little Mary Gilliam, of Roaring River and formerly of Strat ford, was given a party recently in honor of her eighth birthday, at the home of her parents, with Mrs. Rufus Gilliam as hostess. Games and contests were play ed by twenty-five guests under the direction of Mrs. J. P. Par due. A large birthday cake topped the center of the table and ice cream and lemonade were served. “Happy Birthday” was sung prior to the cake cutting. The honoree was presented with many nifce gifts. For Sale 80 acres of land with electricity on place. Located l between Piney Creek and South Fork River. Known as } the E. E. Wyatt estate. Will subdivide or sell together. It Used to Be ... By J. N. (Ding) Derttng ~3B Bennett Hopeful Of Farm Future In Spite Of Record Of Poor Practices In Past Must Intensify Effort To Con serve Natural Resources For Future By HUGH H. BENNETT Take a good look at Jay Dar ling’s cartoon before you read this; Ding is one of the world’s best cartoonists and his draw ings always are worth study. This one is no exception—in fact I think it’s one of his most ef fective. In this drawing, Ding com presses the history of North America’s soil and other natural resources during the last 350 years into four small panels. That’s why it’s so effective; when you condense thrfe and a half —ituries into four little drawings .have punch. And which he calls, ‘It ily has punch. Congratulations Farmers ^ - And All Others Who Have Cooperated In The Success Of The New River Soil Conservation District Since It Was Established 6 Years Ago This has meant much toward the improvement of farming practices in this county. We urge all farmers, who do not have pUu*s, to have them worked out. , ‘n- 1 The' above picture shows ladino clover, being grown on the Thompson . farm in Alleghany county. : WE TOO ABE IN BUSINESS TO SEBVE THE FARMERS OF THIS COUNTY - YOU WILL LIKE OUR QUALITY MERCHANDISE — SEE US FOR ALL OF YOUR NEEDS. . The history of our soil, water and forest resources, as Ding pictures it? is not very pleasant, but there's a lot of truth in it— too much truth, in fact. Of course, he’s had to exaggerate a little— cartoonists usually do, to get their points across—but in the rvnn he’s drawn the tru’fc in those four panels. When "the white men came they found a rich land, the richest in the world, everything considered. Well, most of Euvpoe had been pretty well worked over for sev eral centuries and this new con tinent was an El Dorado, and our ancestors proceeded to work it for all they could get out of it. They moved from the Atlantic coast settlements back into the Piedmont country; then they crossed the Appalachian Moun tains and swarmed dowh into the rich central valleys, cutting and burning the timber •— countless millions 01 dollars worth—as they went. And they plowed up land that shouldn’t have been plowed, and when it was worn out they fanned out first across the prai ries and then across Great Plains —natural grasslands—and plow ed and overgrazed that part of IJie country. And then they head ed for the Pacific Coast and con tinued their exploitation. We’re still continuing it today as a mat ter of grim and, tragic fact, and if the Pacific Ocean hadn’t stop ped us I suppose we’d still be working our way West. Well. Dina has drawn that story in these four panels and he’s done it well, but I wish he’d gone a head and drawn three or four more panels showing the next , 350 years—or even the next 50 years— because there still is hope if we continue and intensify the effort we’re making to spread our national soil and water con servation program across the i land. The future needn’t be quite i so gloomy as Ding might have you think, but we’ve got to work to prevent it—hope.like faith, has to be backed up with work. Now if I were going to draw four more panels to show the next 50 or 350 years, I think they’d be something like this: Panel No. 1 would show some tree plantings being made here and there across the barren pon tinent, and some contoured strip cropping would begin to appeal on some of the worst slopes— mavbe some dams in some of th< ; gullies. Panel No. X would show anoth er development: it would shov soil conservation districts be ini organized in various places ove G. L. Fletcher, of Idlewild, looks over his.growing pines that have proven that it. not only pays to conserve trees for their own value, but practice suitable for many hill sides. ••_ ._ _, Increasing Value Of Trees Is Cited By IdlewildFarmer Gr. L. Fletcher, Soil Conser vation Farmer Takes Pro per Care Of Trees ‘The man I bought this farm from said he. cut a good crop of , buckwheat on this field, 33 years igo. Now look at the size of the trees. Some of them are almost —! the United States — and more trees and shrubbery, and more "armers farming on the contour. l*anel No. 3 would show those bare, rocky mountain slopes once more covered with trees, and rivets once more clear normal streams, the woodlands of the North restored, and the great '•rasslands once again knee-high, ;n forage, and conservation farm !ng everywhere, and a glimnse of a nice farmstead here and there—because, after all, this ef-j fort is for the sake of people; we’ re not saving soil for the soil’s sake but for the generations to come. And the last panel, maybe, would not show just a bird’s-eye view of the whole continent like the others, but some contented neople. some happy people, giv ing thanks because their ances tors—meaning us—did safeguard the land for their use. And in the background, of course, there could be some lush pasture and some farm woodland. I think that would be all right. two feet through.” G. L. Fletch er of the Idlewild community was speaking of a fine field of white pines- on hist farm. "I have done some thinning and pruning but Mr. Beck (Roy R. Beck, formerly with the Soil Con servation Service in the New Riv er District) says I should do some more thinning and prune the other trees at least high- enough to get a. log, of. clear lumber 16 feet long when they are cut,” Mr. Fletcher continued. "The hardest job I have is getting rid of buy-! ers. I have been, offered $22.00 per thousand feet for the timber. I would be losing money if I sold them now for they wilt grow more board feet of lumber in the next 16 years than they have in the last 30 years.” i Mr. Fletcher is= equally as en thusiastic about his well treated pastures, his three year contour strip rotation on his hillsides and his fine crop? in his; bottom land, his wildlife'border of sericea and bicolor lespedeza, and other soil conservation practices on his ftaran. "I c much the ci I used to. Many of my neighbors up the creek are also following a good program of soil conservation and the creek does not flood as often as it once did.” Test Or Guess? What’s the use of guessing When you’re sore by testing; To find out your soil need So yon will not overfeed? When yofe’re hungry for meat i And suffering from heat Ton don’t call for apple pie And have Doc treat your eye. So see what your Mil lacks, 1 % Feed it this and you’ll get it . back, All you expect and more, For it has been tried before. * It’s as simple as can be Get a little sample and see What Dr. Miles has to say, Wfe assure you it's the only way. The average price received by farmers for eggs in mid-June was 41.5 cents per dozen, 8 cents above the previous June IF. • Wwlkb Mai «f O VcCa aasi fsa jroaaa UiM.caaMi faaii. 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The Alleghany News and Star-Times (Sparta, N.C.)
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Aug. 14, 1947, edition 1
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