Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / Dec. 17, 1908, edition 1 / Page 2
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TOTS PROGRESSIVE FARMER. Thursday, December 17, 1903 A WORICTHAT MEANS MUCH FOR S0UTHERN FARMING. S6e Work in North Carolina. What This Season's Work Accomplished and What is Planned '- for Next Year. The Farmers Co-operative Dem onstration, work was started last October in the eight Counties of Ca tawba, Lincoln, Gaston, Mecklen burg, Union, Cabarrus, Rowan, and Iredell. . - -' - - - - " . : A competent farmer has charge of the work- in each county. . In many cases these county agents are the most progressive farmers and lead ing men in their respective counties. There were established eight hun dred demonstration farms in the eight counties. Aside from this there were 2,000 other farmers in the work, j The work on the demon stration farms was supervised by the county agents who visited the farms regularly during cultivation period. The ' crops grown on ' the demon stration farms the past, season are convincing to the most skeptical. Farmers who would not enter the. work' last fall are now asking to come in for this season. The farm ers are becoming enthused with the work. The good farmer sees money in farming by using the best known methods. The poor farmer, without hope or courage, is beginning to have his confidence restored and his future brightened. This work is the lever of ambition that is causing him to want to do something farming. It is his teacher to show him how to do it. -When -a farmer is induced to use such methods as very often pro duce double the crop without in creasing the cost of production, he is beginning, to be a successful farmer. - Very few of the records of the work are in yet, but some' otthose received read as follows: "I have gathered my demonstration corn. I measured 4 5 bushels per acre. I have never made over 20 bushels per acre on this land1 before' ' : "My demonstration corn averaged 43 bushels per acre. . No manure or commercial fertilizer was used." "My demonstration corn land yielded 6 3 bushels per acre." "My neighbors are offering me 75 bushels per acre for my demonstra tion corn." - "My best acre of ! demonstration corn made 83 bushels per acre. I averaged 67 bushels per acre." Mr. A. U. Stroup, of Gaston Coun ty, reports 93 bushels per acre. The appropriation for carrying on the work in. North Carolina for the season of 1908-09 has been increas ed 50 per cent. With this increase in funds the territory covered will be doubled. The new counties to have the work are Wake, Johnston, Cum berland, Harnett, Beaufort, Pitt, Hertford, and Warren. These coun ties have been favored with the work because their public and, private citi zens have been asking for it. Any farmer foi these counties who desires to take up co-operative work may do fso by applying to his county agent in charge of the work. v C. R. HUDSON, State Agent. State Co-Operation With Dr. Knapp'o Hao Already Worked Miracles in Lia. Better - Crops Mean New Barns, Painted Honses, Improved Tools, Household Conveniences, and Better Educated Boys and Girls. , 1 The Department of Agriculture in North Carolina Quite Ready to Help in Every Possible Way. The splendid results obtained at the test farms from the use of im proved methods, implements "and seeds are so very marked that the members of the State Board of Ag riculture decided last year to induce the farmers of the State to give . them trials on their farms," and for that purpose added to the State De partment of Agriculture a division of co-operative experiments or demon stration work. The work was start ed last fall in a co-operative form, and from the reports so far received promises to be far reaching in its results. '. The scope of the work so far has included improved varieties of cot ton and corn and the growing of le gumes, chiefly vetch and crimson clover, in untried territory. Several hundred have enrolled themselves as co-operators in the work and those who so far have reported are grati fied with the results. Demonstration work is really an object lesson by which the farmer can make comparisons in his own fields and see . the results obtained - from the use of better seeds and im proved methods of farming. . It is : a well-known fact that in every county there are a few farm ers who make larger , yields and are considered much better farmers than the average. If all the farmers of the county could be induced to farm as those few better ones farm, the yield of the county would be very much increased. Just here Is the secret of demonstration work: to try 'armers by the use of better seeds, St . . . better methods of cultivation and the use of better implements. , I do not wish to be understood that . a" co-operator is required . to change his implements, for some times that is not practicable; but we want them to do so as fast as circum stances will justify. One of the promising features of the work is -the interest In growing legumes that is manifest from the correspondence coming into this of fice. This is true because of the value of the legumes as soil improv ers and also on account of their worth as crops of hay. Many of the finest crops of corn that I have seen this past summer on upland f olowed crimson clover. In fact it was so very marked in some neighborhoods that I could eas ily pick out the crops that followed clover on account of the fine growth. The State Department of Agricul ture has been co-operating with Dr. Knapp's forces in four counties this year in demonstration work and the several -visits I have made to those counties have proven that the farm ers are very much interested in the work. In fact, I know of no work at this time that has more promise of helpfulness ' to farmers than that of demonstration work. I confident ly expect to see within a few years the results of the work in every part of the State In increased crop yields of every description, better farms and better farm homes. The- one thing necessary is the co-operation of the farmers In the work which 1 feel sure we will get just as rapidly as we get ' in position to get to The Farmers' Demonstration work has already worked miracles with the Georgia farmer. The demonstration farms . are going as high in produc tion : of cotton -as 6,2 0 0 pounds on 2 acres, and corn 105 bushels on one acre, while neighboring farms are going 700 pounds of seed cotton and fifteen bushels of corn per acre. It it true that the v increased yield has been made with some extra expense above the ordinary preparation and cultivation, but the increased yield, or rather the increased earning of these demonstration acres has en abled the farmer to add, in some instances, a new barn, a painted house, painted fences and barn, more improved plow tools or better stock. In other Instances the farmer has bought more convenient kitchen utensils or used the extra money in sending his son or daughter to school. For the year 1908, j we had ap proximately four hundred farms in Georgia. Crops on these demonstra tion farms are from 2 5 to 150 per cent better than the general crops. One demonstrator, a young farmer, made fifteen hundred pounds of seed cotton on one acre while his neigh bor on the opposite side of the road, made five hundred pounds of seed cotton per acre. This difference of a thousand pounds of cotton was se cured with an extra expense V $3.00, leaving something like a net profit of $27.00. It is my opinion that if the Geor gia farmer is taught how to smooth down and fill in the places of the "old rut" he will of his own accord beautify his home and send his chil dren to school from the fact that he will have the money to defray these expenses. : The lack of money is the prime factor in the shiftless-looking conditions of our farms; and if through any agency the farmer can be taught how to make more money with less expense on fewer acres he readily appreciates good roads, good schools, and better ' homes. These good roads and good homes and good school houses can not be obtained without an outlay of money. I must say that through the counties in which we have worked for only one year there seems to be an awaken ing of the farmers to that extent that they have begun to build better roads and whitewash everything in sight. ; Some of the sub-agents write me. that in the counties they worked this year there has been more land broken and more grain sown this fall than ever before. E. GENTRY, - State Agent. What Has Been Accomplished in South Carolina. Better Yields, TWEore Profitable Crops, Diversified Agriculture, and a New Interest in Farm Work. them. T. B. PARKER. The demonstration work in South Carolina was begun in November, 1907. During the season fifteen men' were employed as district and local agents. ' - Two district agents and one local agent, J. P. Campbell, J. M. Jenkins, and W. R. Elliott, worked the entire year and traveled extensively, going into all parts of the State. Five lo-' cal agents worked ; seven months of the year, giving their "entire time, and working thoroughly their re spective counties. These were: J. B. Tinsley, J. W. Rothrock, L. C. Chap pell, H. H. Abrams, and T. J. Cun ningham. . At a meeting held in Columbia, October 26th and 27th, all the agents r gave a report of the demon stration work in their respective counties. ' " '' -':'' :': '::':' :r xP " : 'P.- The number of demonstration farms conducted this year ranged from 40 to 100 for each agent with quite a varied number of co-operators, the total v being about ? 600 demonstration farms and about 500 co-operating farms. K In the meeting each agent made a report of the farms he ; conducted. Almost without exception, better stands of corn and cotton were se cured on the demonstration farms for the' simple reason that a better preparation of the seed bed and bet ter seed were obtained. This, to gether .. with intensive cultivation, caused the demonstration - farms to better; withstand the summer drouth and gave from 10 per cent to 100 per cent larger yields than the farms where ordinary methods have been applied. t. - - One agent reported 46 bushels of corn per acre on the demonstration farm, while the average' on the rest of the field was 14 bushels per acre. of seed cotton per acre on the dem onstration farm, while on the same land with the same amount of fer- . ' ' . m ' m V A unzer, me iarmer maae oniy svu pounds under his own methods. An other agent reported the smallest yield of corn among his demonstra tions to be 23 bushels, while the or dinary methods produced not over 18 bushels in any instance. Fifty to one hundred bushels 'of corn was not un common among the demonstrators, and the average yield of cotton was from one to two bales per acre. Aside from the regular work on the demonstration farms, more than 100 Schools of .Instruction were held over- me oiaie mis year, m wmi the agents gathered together the farmrs of the counties and talked to them on the preparation of the soil, the uses of good seed, and Intensive cultivation. They have also been ealled upon to speak at different public meetings, Farmers uiuuu meetings, the Farmers' Institutes, and various associations. It is safe to ;say that the local agents have this fall succeeded in getting ten farmers to select seed for next spring's planting, make a fall preparation of the soil, and add a winter cover crop where only one farmer was- accustomed to this be fore. Some agents report that fifty times as many farmers have adopted this method. " . Mr. Elliott, of Fairfield County, estimates that at least one hundred of his men have this year seeded vetch and crimson clover for the first time.1 Equally as good reports (Continued on Page 12.)
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 17, 1908, edition 1
2
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