North Carolina Newspapers

Established 1899 T;i3 Edwards Construction Co. Organized Here Willi $25,000 Capital Stock I A STRONG PERSONNEL J. M. Edwards, President and E. W. Myers, Vice President and Engineer—To do Mu nicipal Work Another step forward in Hick ory's growth was taken Saturday when the Edwards-Construction Co. was organized in the office of Mr. E. B. Cline with a capital stock of $25,000: Its business will be municipal construction, such as streets and pavements, water, sewerage and the like. The officeVs elected are J. M. Edwards, president, E. W. Myers, vbe president, I. L. La nier, secretary and treasurer and E. B. Cline, aUorney. These with probably one other gentle rilan unable to be present, at the organization will constitute the board of directors. The principal office of the com pany wiil 'oe in Hickory, so well lilted in its position as the me tropolis of the Catawba valley for a business of this Kind. • Mr. Myers, who will be the engineer of the new company, is the only man who is not a Hick oryite. He claims Greensboro as his home. The personrel ot the company's directorate is a guar antee of a successful career. Mr. Edwards and Mr. Myers have been particularly successful in planning and construction, both being skilled men. Mr. Edwards has put in 7 water and sewerage systems at Maxton and Fayette ville, N. C. t Bennettsville, S. C., and other places, and was inter ested in installing the sewerage systems at Rockingham, Lexing ton and numerous other places. He was also interested in collect ing the local system. He has had 14 years successful experi ence. Mr. Myers, while a Tar Heel, has done a great deal of respon sible work in the vVest as a con structing engineer, more especi ally in irrigation. He was con nected with the Milk kiver and Marias projects and the Hondo and Carlsbad projects in New Mexico and the Belle Tourche project in South Dakota. For several years past he has been building a fine private practice as a hydraulic and mining engi neer. The office and warehouse of the company is on Tenth avenue. The Poultry Yard From February Farm Journal Keep the old fighters apart and so remove them from temptation. The laying hen develops a great appetite and an enormous thirst. Owner of the coop: "Who's in there'/" Rastus: "Aint nobody in here, 'ceppin' us chickens." Egg-shells are largely lime. The hens can't make good shells unless you furni.h plenty of lime. Lack of a constant supply of clean, pure, fresh water before the fowls means defeat in the end. A feed of finely-chopped on ions, once a week, is a tonic that helps to keep broilers lively and healthy. Keeping too many fowls in a pen with an insufficient amount of floor space is a pitfall to be avoided. Lice which sap the life blood and undermine the flock furnish a pitfall into which far too many stumble. Deal pretty sparingly with red pepper as a spice for poultry. It is sharo stuff. Better warrm your chicks up some other way than by feeding it. You can not feed hens that lay colored eggs so that they will lay white ones. If you want white eggs get Lhe kind of hens that lay them. The white-feathered broilers always have the more attractive appearance in market, as the pin leathers do not show as they do on dark-plumaged birds. A nest egg makes a nest m~»re attractive to hens, especial ly of the snaller breeds. Wo like the china eggs. An egg eater will pi;;k at them for a 'ittle bit and give it up as a b ±d job. Ice-cold water can not hep chilling the hens. It must be v»armed up somehow, and that takes vitality. Save the hen's strength ot body by warming the water on the kitchen stove. You c.n do it cheaper than the hen can. Here is a new plan for ki 1 ng mites on poultry roosts: lake two nieces to make a roost seven eighths inch thick and two inches wide; bevel the edges a little, and nail together, not too close, and set up on edce. The mites will all congregate in the seam be tween the two pieces. Pour kero sene in the groove formed by the I evel on top, and you have them lead. Many people who keep poultry overlook the importance of grit. L;ck of grit means poor digestion and few eggs. A load of giavel near the «'hic'.:ens' home would improve the health and increase r.hv yield on many a farm. Ikn it is claimed that the grit of commerce is the best, but the gravel j s good enough grinding material. If you have never rrieri it you will be surprised how fast it will when Dlaced in a box where the hens can help themselves. O X)OOCXAJWDOCX)OOOOOOOOOOOCQ § Should Our Farmers Keep g § Pure bred Poultry? g o ooon oooooooc 0000000000000 Written for The Democrat. No one can look into tha future with greater confidence than the farmer, and there is no area of equal extent in the world where the agricultural outloo* is bet ter than the Southern States. Poultry raising can be made one of the most profitable of farm occupations, and if the farmers of the South would begin to rea lize this fact, and give more time and study to this important branch of farm work, it would add millions to the income of this Piedmont section of the South. Prices for eggs and poultry, are higher than ever before. They have remained high th* whole year. The demand for good poul try and eggs is on the increase. All indications point to the fact that eggs and poultry will never drop to the low level of eight or ten years ago. We believe that poultry will do better on free range, yet pure-bred poultry will do better than common mongrels when confied in small areas. Hence, every resident in town and country should study the poultry question so as to give in telligent care to their flocks. Too much can not be said of the su perior advantantages offered by this section of the country for the production of good poultry and eggs, and it is to be hoped | chat tne present year will see even greater strides in poultry j work in the entire South. Pure-bred animals are those that reproduce their form, habits or other distinctive qualities with uniformity. In order that we may get offspring like the parent and like each other, we must have animals whose ancestors for many generations back have been of one type. The more genera tions of such uniformity, the more certain it will be that the young will possess similar quali ties. During many centuries, the chickens of different parts of the world have developed into differ ent types. When such different types brought together and crossed, we have produced young that are very different from the parents and from each other. Nor can these young be depended upon to reproduce offspring like themselves. They are said to be cross-bred, or if the mixture be for several generations, they are known as mongrels- Statistics tell us that such mon grels are found upon nearlj 90 per cent of our farms, and for that reason the egg ,production of our farms has reached such a low average. The mongrel chick is a produc tion of chance. Its ancestry rep resents everything available in the barnyards of the neighbor hood and its offspring will ,ba equally varied. In the purebreeds, however, there has been a rigid selection practised that gives uni form appearance The size and shape requirements ot the Stan dard breeds come much nearer producing an ideal carcass than does chance breeding. Every farmer understands why thoroughbred horses are bought in his neighborhood by wide awake men. And the same far mer even desi.es his co-v.* and swine mated with thoroughbred stock; yet when it comes to the relatively poultry stock, he cannot see the necessity for se curing a pure-bred male for his flock. - _ j Why not reason it out? Blood will tell in the case of the larger animals, why should it not in the HICKORY, N. C„ THURSDAY, FEBRUARY JO, 1910. case of poultry? With a Babcock tester you have perhaps seen which the Ron producing cows are that must bs-weeded out, and a thoroughbred mile secured to build up the herd.- Why not, then, accord ng to the same reas oning cull your hem clonly, weed out all the non-pn ductive birds, and secure a purebied male for your flock? In the case of the cow, you know it costs just a* much to fe?d an unprofitable cow as the one that returns a handsoaie profit. Exactly so in the case of poultry. The hign-priced feed you give the non productive, lazy hen you just as much as the feed consumed by the one which lays 180 to 200 and more eggs per year. In the former case, you probably see the necessity of having thoroughbred stock on ac count of the high-priced animal: in the latter case you fail too see the necessity on account of the large number of small and rela tively cheap fouls. So it is quite necessary, if you wish to mnks the most your j chickens, to hdve pure-bred poul-1 try. No one can successfully re fute fact. But how is the aver age farmer going to select a breed? "Every farmer must de cide for him..elf which of trie following lines of production i 3 best suited to his condition and location. First, sale of breeding j stock: Second, fattened young chickens; Third, eggs. The man who wishes to sell breeding stock and fori hatching must consider 'the op- j portunities of the neighborhood i and the competing breeders al-| ready in the field. The breed of which there is the greatest amount of stock sold, will necessity be the best stock for the beginner to select. The man who aims to sell fat-, tened young chickens should be| close to a good market, so as to save in shipping expenses and in order to secure the very best prices. The man who aims to sail eggs should find private customers in nearby towns who will gladly pay a good price for strictly fresh eggs. How can the average farmer keep his stock pure? Let us say that his choice is S. C. White Leghorns as the best laying fow*» He should keep nothing but S.C. j White Leghorns, and every sec-: ond year secure new males from | some recognized breeder of S C. j White Leghorns. In this manner j he can keep his flock pure-bred, and avoid inbreeding; he can sell eggs for notching, and he will se cure far more eggs a year per hen than from mongrels, such as are found upon 90 per cent of our farms. Indeed, every farmer should keep pure bred poultry.for it will pay him well. P. C. H. GOES WITH WANAMAKER Gordon H. Ciiley Be:omes As sistant Advertising Manager Mr. Gordon H. Ciiley. of the Philadelphia R-cord staff, has accepted a responsible .position as assistant advertising manager of John Wanamaker's mammoth department store in the Quaker City. This interesting: bit of news for Hickory people came in a letter to Mrs. A. A. Shuford, Sr., dated the 4th, ult. lhe place was made vacant by the resignation of the advertising manager of Mr. YVanamaker to accept a position in Chicago. The assistant was advanced to the vacancy and Mr.'Cilley takes the assistant's position, with .splen did'prospects of advancement if he makes good. That ho will do this none who know him can doubt. Brilliant, ambitious, quick to see and grasp thfe salient point, versatile, orig inal, Mr. Cillev is well fitted for such a position as this. Any man who can do the trustworthy work he has done on the Record, can do John Wanamaker's adver tising work. Mr. Ciiley is a splendid«judge of a story. He knows at a glance how to cut out the trash and "padding" of an article and get at the gist, the kernel. And he can do this at lightning speed. He always did the work of two average men. The friends of Mr. Ciiley in Hickory where he was reared will be glad to hear of this new opoortunity which has come his way. They have ever followed 1 his career with interest and have i never been di.y.ppvinted in their expectation of great things from him. Children Cry FOR FLETCHER'S CAST O R I A Examination Of A Grain of Corn 4; Maj. W. A. Graham Tells How To Select Good Ssei A PLENTIFUL HEART Good Advice in a Recent Bul letin of the Agricultural De partment—Corn Club Boys Take Notice A grain of corn! The Democrat is herewith pre senting a picture of and story about a kernel of India?* maize. It does so * with th c . idea of helping its farmer refers in the selection of their ses;i covn for planting this spring. If the | grown-up farmers do not get' _ I Crown J Starch / i_ J Horny j • I Starch ! v - and I _ J Horny ( Embryo Root I * . . A Grain of Corn. (By Courtesy of N. C. Department of Agriculture.) benefit out of this artie!" 3 , the boys in the boys corn clubs will do so. We are printing extracts from Commissioner of Agriculture W. A. Graham's special bulletin on "Winter and. Spring Work in Se lecting Seed Corn", which may be had free by writing to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture. In this bulletin it is said that the grain of corn selected should be sound. 44 After you have se lected the ear as a type which you desire," says the Bulletin, then take some grains from dif ferent parts and split them open to see that the grain is of the proper composition and condi tion." The picture shows the component paris of a grain of corn. Tne bulletin goes on to say: It consists of 9 parts as shown in the figure. 1. Tip Cap, which covers the tip or base of the kernel and com prises only about 1.5 per cent of the grain. 2. Embryo root. 3. Tip starch. 4. Germ. The germ occupies the central part of the kernel toward the tip end. It comprises about 11 per cent of the kernel (more in high-oil corn and less in low-oil corn). The germ con tains from 35 to 40 per cent of corn oil or from 80 to 85 per cent of the total oil content of the corn kernel. 5. Embryo stem or stalk. 6. Horny gluteal. The horny glutenous part (aleurone layer) lies underneath the hull surround ing the kernel. It comprises from 8 to 14 per cent of the grain (being more abundant in high protein corn), and. it con tains from 20 to 25 per cent of protein, being the richest in pro tein of all the parts of the corn kernel. 7. Horny starch. The horny starchy part is the chief sub stance in the sides and back of the kernel (the germ face being considered the front of the ker nel). This substance comprises about 45 per cent of ordinary corn, but is much more abundant in high protein corn and less abundant in low protein. Al though rich in starch, it contains about 10 per cent of protein (more in high protein corn and less in the low protein corn). It contains a greater tola! amount of protein than any other part of the kernel. | 8. Corn star h. The white starchy part occupies the center ( of the crown .end of the kernel 'and usually partially surrounds, the germ. It comprises about 25 per cent of the kernel (less in r high protein corn and more in low protein corn). It is poor in protein (5 to 8 per cent). 9. Hull. The hull is the very thin onter coat. It comprises about 6 per cent cf the kernel and contains a lower percentage of protein (about 4 per cent) than any other part of the ker nel. When the grain sprouts, No. 2, the embryo root, goes down into the ground. No. 5, embryo stem, goes upward out of the ground to make the stalk. For seed the grain should be carefullv examined to (1) shape, (2) uniformity or resem blance, (3) germ or viability, i. e., sprouting. In seed corn it is important that the germ be large, sound, and well developed. If a corn is desired which will produce a greater amount of starch or of gluten or of oil, regard must be had to these points in the se lection. By selecting grains with vory large hearts the oil and pro- tein content is increased. Those with a large amount of white material yield more starch. Grains can be selected to produce a corn for general feed purposes, for meal or for hominy or break fast food. It is well not only to have an ear of desired type, but also an ear which has grain of proper kind. By crossing the grain you desire on the chosen type of ear. you can produce corn of desired shape and composition of grain. The weight of the grain is an im portant item, for in all the mar kets corn is sold by weight. If you have corn which belongs to a variety that you have known for some time as a good sound corn, I would prefer this for seed to any striking ear which might appear as a new type. Give the new type a trial for another season, and do not rely upon it for vour general crop until ycu have learned whether it is a de sirable type or only a freak. A horse which is of a known breed of fine quality is preferable for a breeder to one that may appear finer, but has no pedigree behind him. One corn gtowers' association in Ohio reports that while a cy lindrical ear is the besfe individual specimen, the tapering ears yield the greatest amount of corn per acre. Perhaps in your lot of seed corn there are some ears different from the first. Take one of these ot' a distinct character and use it to select others, and plant this lot in a different plat from the first, and see which gives best results as to quantity and quality of«corn. On account of the variety of soil and climate in North Caro lina, no one variety of corn will be found that is for the en tire State. Experience alone will prove the best variety for each locality—the most desirable for bottom-land, and the differ ence between the upland and the bottom-land types. The lot which you deem best on account of shape, etc., may have a grain inferior in some re spects, Mix with this corn of desirable quality as to grain, soundness and other desirable characteristics. You have now selected your seed, as far as eye can aid you. You do not wish to spend time or pay hands in replanting corn. It will be best to take a grain from each side of,the ear at dif ferent places (numbering the ear), and try these in the sprout ing-box, if you think necessary, and discard the ears that do not germinate. But in-my expari- Democrat and Press, Consolidated 1905 ence I have never failed to get what seemed to be a satisfactory stand, where good seed was se lected. However, each one can de f ermine this for himself b\ sprouting «ome of his seed and comparing the stand when plant ed from the ears with that nol tested by sprouting. Nineteen hundred and nine was an "A. B. C." year with North Carolina farm 3 .rs in cor;) production, and especially in seed selection. In fact, most of them will do the first real selection this year (1910). -You cannot produce a reliable variety of new corn in one year. Do not be discouraged, but continue the work until you get what vou wish, and then be a careful to preserve your type by proper attention to the seed. Different soils and environment will require different varieties and types of corn. Seek for that which your farm proves to be most productive of good quality. Cocke's Prolific Corn is highly recommended as a fine seed corn, and a picture.of it may be seen in the catalogue of T. W. Wood & Sons, Richmond, Va. 000003000000000CX5300000000' Changes in Educational g 0 X OOGOOGOOOOOC/OOOOUT>OOCOOOOO To tlie Elitor of The Democrat: About fifteen or twentv years ago there began a change in edu cational«ideas and methods. It was proclaimed that the old views were all wrong, and the time had come to make a radical change. The methods of teach ing must be made up-to-date, and more subjects mast be put in the school course. For a time the advocates of these so-called reforms had their way, and the results were not satisfactory. The number of subjects to be taught was doubled; and so much was attempted that nothing was taught thoroughly. Good spell ing became the exception instead of the rule; reading and writing were sadly neglected; and the ability to solve a complicated arithmetical problem with rapid ity and accuracy almost became one of the lost arts. But within the last two or three years a decided reaction has set in. Parents are begin ning to realize that it is more im portant that their children shall learn thoroughly a few essential subjects than that they shall ac quire a mere smattering of many subjects. Business men are de manding that the schools shall teach their pupils to spell cor rectly, to write legibly, to know how to use the English language, and to be able to solve a problem in arithmetic without making a dozen mistakes in addition or multiplication. And the teachers have been making a vigorous protest against the multiplicity of subjects and text books to be taught. Recently there was held in | Durham a meeting of the city 1 school superintendents of the State to discuss plans for the im provement of the schools. About seventy-five of the leading towns in the State were represented at this meeting. The subject which received most discussion was the question of how to simplify the course of study so as to make it more practical and of more real value to the pupils. The senti ment among the superintendents was practically unanimous in | favor of getting back to some of the old time methods and text books. Many of the superin tendents reported that they had gone back to Webster's speller, Reed and Kellogg's grammar, and the slant system of writing. The schools of Durham, which are universally recognized as among the best, if not the best, in the State have gone back to the old time idea of putting most emphasis on a few essential sub jects, and of using those text books which give best results, re gardless of prevailing ideas of being modern and strictly uprto date. In this connection it is an interesting fact that the schools of Hickory have almost exactly the same course of study as the 1 Durham schools, and are using the same text books in many sub jects. It is a source of pride to know that in these important particulars the schools of Hickory can be classed with those of Dur ham as leaders in a reform which is much needed. It is never a safe thing to pre dict what the future will bring forth. It is very probable, how ever, that in a few years the ; course of study in all schools will be greatly simplified. In stead of running wild over some Children Cry FOR FLETCHER'S C ASTORIA Hickory Sprouts Transplanted DiHereace 'Twlxt a Leppa'a and a Leppod oi Sin AUNT SUSIE DEFINES Sprout No. 2 Relates to a Little Hickory Limb's Query asked of the Presiding Genius of the Kitchen Written for the Democrat. Not far from one of our trans planted Northern groves of Hick ory Trees and Sprouts, where a certain church has recently" been going through vicissitudes, but at last a sort of revival of KJl ship and interest has helped many a non-talker to "express his experience on his feet", they had been hearing a sermon on "Naaman, the Lener", a Sunday or two ago. All the changes that one preacher could readily think of had been rung on the proposi tion, "But Naaman was a leper", till finally the topic got into the after-prayer-meeting. The re, however, it was still susceptible of development. A young man, from much farther South than Hickory, arose at last and told how spotted a leper was; how his spots were like those of sin hard to get off—and finally, for a peroration, he -aid: — "And perhaps some poor soul here in this presence within the sound of my voice, may have a ravenous leopard of sin within his heart —and there's only one way to get it out!" It was an honest confusion of "leper" and "leopard";, but it got home to the Hickory Grove later that evening, and one of the Hickory Sprouts heard the echoes of it crackling in the big Hickory Roughs: — "The leper and the leopard; wasn't it funny?" So little Miss Sprout carried one of the echoes along a ste o farther, into the Grove kitchen, out to the Black Walnut Tree, whom the Hickories familiarly know as Susie. "Susie, YOU don't think a lep er and a leopard are 'xactly alike, just because both are spotted— do you?*' "Bress yo' haht, honey! No. YVhuffo' you ax me dat, chile?" And demurely the Sprout ex plained what she'd heard from the crackling Tree Tops concern ing the exhortation at meeting the previous night; whereat Su sie, the Black Walnut, rustled:— "For de good Lawd's sake, chile! You doesn't mean it! White QUALITY, wif his haid full o' books an' Bible, an' doan' know no diffunce 'tween a lepah an' a leppodk Ole cullud mamrpy 's I is —an' mos' as ignunt as pore white trash —I'sdone know ed DAT diffunce evah sense befo' I knowed yo' fadder an' mudder. Y-yes, deys bofe spotted, de lap pah an' de ieppod; but one ob 'em kain't get into yo' ha'ht, no how, but dess feeds hissef in circus cages, an' nevah comes nigh prayah-meetin's. Ye-es, dey's diffunt, chile; ob co'se dey is!" Ah, how many a Gospel mes sage travels a long way around ere it finds even finite lodgement! N. B. H. fad the schools will devote more time to a thorough drill in the subjects which are of most im portance in a practical, common sense system of education. More time will be devoted to spelling, to syllabication and pronuncia tion, to reading, to writing, to English grammar and composi tion, to North Carolina history, to civics, and to' arithmetic. It is very likely, too, that such old time text books as Webster's Blue Back speller, Sanford's arithmetics, and Reed and Kel logg's grammar will have a place again in all. the schools. At present the tendency is along these lines. It will be a great day for our educational system when we all recognize the fact that it is worth a great deal more to the child to have mastered a few essential subjects than to have hurried over a great many unimportant subjects without any clear understanding of what those subjects may mean. C. M. S. To Avoid Corporation Tax The Piedmont Grain & Provi sion Co. is publishing in the Democrat this week a notice of dissolution, its purpose being to avoid the interminable, unjust and discriminating corporation tax. The same business will be continued at the same stand un der the same name, only not as corporation.