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.
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