North Carolina Newspapers

Opt W MEWS C. WW? ruu" m Volume XXVII No. 38 OUR COUNTY AGENT'S DEPARTMENT Some i imcij v . w... jects, by County Agent, J. R. Sams. To Most Effectievly Meet The Boll Weevil Keep Down Acreage Ana Increase Yield Per Acre. By B. Williams. C. As was called attention to in a previous article, one of the great est needs of our cotton growers of their soils so they will be in a ., i 1 ' 1. it- 1- -11 strong position to meet ine doh weevil attack in the most ef fptive way when he arrives. " Of course, every larmei r.uuws umi growers with productive soils are usually, other things being equal, in a much stronger posi tion to meet adversity and attack of all kinds than the man whose soil is poor and crop yields are small. The writer was never more struck with the tremendous handicap' the southern farmer is laboring under of small yields per acre, largely due to soil pov erty, than last fall on a trip through the southern cotton growing states, I am fully per suaded that the greatest problem of most North Carolina farmers, as well as of most of the south ern states, generally, is and has been for many years before the coming of the boll weevil, that of building up, of the productiveness of their soils by economic means. One can hardly conceive of a", big ' acricul tural Nation like ours prospering in a permanent way upon its na'n rdsnnrpoci if io cnilc qva nnf beine kent ud to at least a modm" aroutustnat line its margin erately productive condition. It is hardly thought that history will show that a single- big Na tion of the past has fallen where its people were industrious, their rulers have kept close to God, they have handled their soils properly and have maintained them in a productive state. In a letter to me of October 25, 1921, J. W. Fox, General Manager of the Delta and Pine Land Com pany of Miss., the largest cot ton plantation in the world, said among other things: . "It is hardly necessary to add that rich land is the big factor in making cotton with or without boll weev il, and it is absolutely necessary with the boll weevil". It is only by high or moderate ly high yields that economic pro duction can be secured. Goodly prices and profits will then usual ly follow, the total production as a Nation is kept down to or be low the normal demand for con sumption and the crops are put - - . - i n the market in a proper way. f Other factors than soil fertil ity,, like suitable seed, proper crop rotation, good preparation the soil and cultivation of the croP, etc., of course, are neces sary to be looked after by all farmers in the growth of cotton any other crops, if 'most ec onomic production is to be secur d but all of these are more or less dependent upon, or con tributory to, a'productive soil for each of them to operate most ef fectively in aiding in profitable Production, Let us, therefore, who arecot ton growers in North . Carolina, Keep clearly in mind that our Dl2gest problem now since the coming pf the boll weevil is to Snt this pest and keep up good y and. economical acreage yields erewe arenow securing them, . J" increase them where our small by the use oi kS" Methods of soil fertility uin- in subsequent articles, The Only Carmaw" nl iL. uimci, aim uuiers, on iinieiy ouo we will expect to deal with some of the methods of growing cot ton and supplementary crops un der boll weevil conditions which have proven most efficacious in the experience of cotton growers to the south, of us, and who have met his attack courageously and with quite satisfactory results. What I Saw at Ed McDade's Before I state what I saw at Ed McDade's it might be well to tell where he lives and something about the general enviroument. Perhaps some of my readers have been in Spicer's Cove and perhaps many vhave heard of the place: who were never there. Spicer's Cove is the must remote section in Cooper Gap Township; which is the most remote part of Folk County. Now this is not speaking derogatory of this part of the ! county, as a section of country, or. people; but on the contrary taking the out of the wayness of the place and the an tiquated roads leading into it; the people deserve more credit for what they have done than any other section of Polk county. Well I have not said a word about what I saw at McDades; but I will. About the first thing I saw was a rapid, roaring moun tain stream, running and dashing over rocks and cliffs in many places dashing itself into foam as if finds ' its way " through the rhododendrons, honeysuckle. ferns and the humble and beau- r I ' x. l.Ll tu. - j. ne next imug is tiie greai is rock ribbed mountain rainbow shape rising to great heights. A mighty sentinal that stands perpetual guard against the north and northeast and northwest j winds that so efficiently protects j the fruit of this section. When I began to look around I saw something like 1400 to 1600 peach trees and perhaps 1000 apple trees. These trees are of almost all ages from old ones down to those fresh set. , I saw Mr. McDade with his pruning outfit slashing away, leaving great heaps behind him. Many of the cuts were right, and some were wrong. One good thing about Mr. McDade is the fact that he has plenty of nerve, and is ; very desirous to learn: And I predict that he will suc ceed with his orchard. Another thing I saw was a wife and about five girls, some of them grown and some not grown;; but all willing to do their bit toward making a living and a happy home. Another and very interesting thing I saw was two boys about 12 and 14 years old respectively; and these boys were not having any fool talk about trotting off to the city. They were the most apt scholars in orchard work T have ever met They want to know, and soon will learn how to grow an apple tree from the seed and transfornrit by the budding or grafting process into a tree of know quality. The mountains; brooks,! rhododendron, apple trees, peach trees, grapes vines etc. all looked well. The house on the hill top overlooking the flat country in the land of cotton all looked good; but th e f if nl stent of all was JVIr. and Mrs. M c D ad e a great open fire place with plen ty of oak and hicko'ry wood and the proverbial pine knot mak that bright yellow light and the children, father and mother Paper Published in Polk County ' Tryoh, N. C, enjoying the sweet fellowship and love of a happy and con tented home. This is my ideal of country life. Mountains, brooks, cattle, hogs, poultry, orchards, vineyard, garden, father, mother at least seven children. Happy home is what Lsaw at Ed McDades in Spicers Cove Cooper GapTownship Polk county, N. C. Just what can be done on every farm! in Polk county when we get our eyes open, and try. ! Y .' 4: The "Colored Brother or the Creator's , Masterpiece" as the writer regards him U We reproduce from the Com- mericial-Appeal of September 7th the following extracts from an article Written by S. F. Dav is, of Indianola, Miss., on the ne gro, who he regards f as "the Creator's masterpiece. ' That the writer is thoroughly familiar with his subject is shown by the interesting, amusing arid truth ful manner in which he handles it: 'J . "The negro can lie down be neath the scorching rays of a noonday sun and sleep .the sleep of the seven sleepers of old with out suffering any evil effects from it whatever; or he can weather the fiercest winter gale, clad Only in a pair of cotton over alls and a blue jumper. He can also wear an overcoat to a Fourth of July celebration, 1 orj a pair of linen pants and an alpaca coat to a Christmas tree and be perfectly comfortable. And, strange as it may seem, anybody's clothes will fit nim and look nice on him. There is nothing else like him under the sun. He; sees all thing, hears all things! believes all things and has implicit faith in everything he sees ! or hears land stands ready at all times to step aboard of- anything that comes along, from a young mule to a flying machine.? j "Wireless telegraphy is noth ing new to him; he has used it for ages; every negro's mouth is ... 1 !" - a transmitter ana every ear a receiver, it anytning oi im portance happens ona plantation tonight, every negro for forty miles around will know it by morning. 'Saturday is his special day by custom and common conse and if you have any business to attend to in k delta town on Sat urday, attend to it early and get off the streets before you get hurt. A negro cannot see you Saturday unless you owe him something, and if ybu get in his way he is liable to step on you, sit Qown on you, or oacK you up 1 T t - against a brick wall and smother you to death. He does not usu ally do these things, or any of them, through any evil design, as many sometimes suppose, but he simply cannot hejp J it if you get in his way, for he is busy and cannot look out for you. Saturday is his 'rashion' and news day, and in addition to having all those things on his mind, he has to shake hands with every other negro in town and hug every negro woman he meets. You had' better take out an ac cident policy or get off the streets Saturday. : : ' ; "The standard 'rashions' for a negro is a peck of cornmeal, two pounds of sugar, one pound of coffee, three pounds .j of salt meat and one gallon of black molasses a week, but he can con sume all of this at one sitting if necessary, or if he is working for you and boarding himself he can live a week on I three soda crackers, a box of sardines and five cents' worth of. cheese. In other words, his stomach in built on the same general plan of an , i - ...... - . ..,. i A Live Clean Paper for the Home -. --, - .fc April 14, 1922 old-fashioned accordion, and either contracts or expands ac cording to the pressure brought to bear upon itft; "He is also immune to nearlv all kinds of poisons, and can swallow the most deadly drugs with impunity! I remember of having a negro Jjworking for me one time who was Jiaving chills and' was suffering with severe hackaches. I got him a bottle of chill tonic to take and a bottle of liniment to rub! his back with. The-linment was labeled in box- cap:letters, 'Poison; For Ex ternal Use Onlvji' and I caution ed; him about itliwhen I gave it to4him, but for Jt . i. i e.-.k n .. . j i xnree aays ana nights, before I! found it out, he hacl been rubbing his back with the chill tonic and taking a table spoonful of liniipent three times a day before each meal, with ex cellent results. I On an otfcer oc casion I was sick and had a ne- j gro to wait upon me, and the doctor opened alcan of antiphlo- gistinetomakea plaster for my side, and left the can on the kitchen table, and when my ne gro went in to get his supper he mistook it for aj can of peanut butter and ate fhe whole of it without discovering his mistake. -r "He is likewise a great admirer of art, and in nearly every ne gro's home be it ever so humble, there hangs ail life-size crayon portrait of himself on the wall right opposite the door, where you will be sure! to .see it as you come in the dopr. . The rest of his surplus money he -usually 1 spends forentertainment, Jref er- aoiy an excursion, our any tnmg else in motion ill do. I have freauently stood on the street corner on a cold, cloudy winter day and watched as many as fifty negroes, who wpuia not average 50 cents each, and none of whom had on clothes enough to flag ' a flat car, clingfrig to a merry-go- round as it went round and round, grinding out that well known and much-beloved melody, 'Oh, Billy Bailey, Why Don't You Come Hom?' and their front teeth shining like the keys on i baby grand piano, . while hun dreds of others who did not have the price of a ride, were standing in half-frozen mud shoe-mouth deep, cheering1 them as they came round. !? All things fare pleasing to him. A circus, or a funeral is equally enjoyable, but a protract ed meeting followed by a big baptizing, or a term of circuit court followed by a public hang- ing, is his chief est delight. Whenever a negro tires of county life he rnoves to town, acquires a charcoal bucket and a tailor's goose, forms an alliance with some white man's cook, and with his living thus assured, opens a cleaning and pressing es tablishment. He then goes ;out Monday morning and gathers in the Sunday clothes of the white clerks of town, land after wear ing them himself-every night during the week, he gets up Sat urday morning -and treats them to a gasoline bath, flattens them put with a red-not iron and rush es them home to their owners, so that they may wear them Sun day; collect $1.50 for his services in their behalf and goes . on his way rejoicing. tBut should there be any special occasion in town on Saturday night which he wishes to atteni he holds back the best suit that he happens to have on hand and wears ; it to that, and carries it home Sunday morning if he wakes up in time; otherwise its owner can lay in bed over Sunday, and he will bring it back sometime the ,fol- Continued on page 4 FROM OUR FRIENDS INTHE COUNTRY terns of Interest Gathered From Various Sections of Polk County by Ou Corps of Faithful Correspondents. Fishtop So much rainy weather coming at this time of the year is very discouraging to the farmer. I. Henderson seems to get no better (nor any worse.) , We'will say to the friends and acquaintances of I. W. Kilpatrick that his niece Mrs. Luther Thompton has received a tele gram stating he died the 6th, cause not stated (perhaps a fall he received a few weeks back) also Mrs. Kilpatrick is very ill not expected to recover. Rev. Kilpatrick was a nephew of James Bly the good citizen kind hearted with a forgiving 'Chris tian spirit. He was over 80 years old- Spring seems to have come to stay, but we look for a snap about "Easter". The prospects are good for a fruit crop this season. Seems to be very bad at present, especia ly peaches and plums. T. W. Bradley sang for the Mountain Grove church Sunday. Clinton and Otto Case attend ed preaching and singing at Mt. Grove Sunday I. B. Bradley visi ted home folks Sunday. Posey Henderson and Newton Case went to5aluda Saturday. The fishing eagle is seen reguar- iy-passing back nd forth on the river these days. Mill Spring Elson Cochran is able to be up again after being ill for the past week. M. Dycus and wife of Top ton ar rived Sunday to visit Mrs. Dycus' mother, Mrs. Cornelius Gibbs. Mr. Dycus returned to Topton Tuesday but Mrs. Dycus will be in Mill Spring several weeks. mt Mis3 Annie .Lee uidds came home Saturday and will be here until some time in May. Silver Creek community show ed a fine public spirit last Satur day when about 12 or 15 men and with 16 mules and horses. A very good outfit of road repair ing implements, put into tiptop condition about 4 miles of the Mills Gap road from J. Hi Gibbs to E. A. Arledges' farm. They say they are are coming again. Beat that if you can. School closea t naay evening with a program by the children. Saturday evening the young people gave the "Dust of the Earth". The proceeds amounted to 19.45 which goes for school improvements. Monday afternoon and even- a party, consisting of W, P. Dill and wife, Misses Odessa Mills, Annie Lee Gibbs, Carrie Barber and Janet Stroud and Ed and Min- ter Barber and "Bob" Foster enjoyed a fishing trip to Green River. Greens Creek. Rev. Stafford filled his semi monthly appointment here Sun day. . ..- ' . Misses Pernie and Verinie Feagan entertained some of the young people last Wednesday and Saturday night. Instru mental music was the most en joyable, feature of the evenings. ; Miss Ethel Horn has returned home after a two months stay away, . f 'v':":;-' Miss Bess Jackson spent the. week-end with Mr.' Ziegler and wife. Price 5 Cents $2.00 a Year Some of the Green's Creek teachers attended Teacher's Meeting at Columbus Saturday. Misses Esther Gibbs and Bes sie Hamilton spent the week-end with home folks at Mill Spring. A large crowd attended the singing at the church Sunday night. V :: Sunday night. We must avail ourselves of the opportunity and these practices. A practice.was announced for next Sunday night. . As April the first came on Saturday, the boys and girls "of . Greens Creek High School and some from the lower grades play ed their April fool on the third instead, j They took an hour and a half stroll in the woods hunt ing for flowers. Ask them if they regret it. Sunset View Brownlow Holbert fell on a knife a few days ago and cut his leg bad, but is improving rapid-' ly. David S. Morrison and wife and son Austin spent the ' day with Lewis Pace Sunday. Grayson Jackson, Holbert and Curtis McCraw attended singing at Mt. Grove Sunday. Mrs. A. M. Jackson and daugh ter's attended preaching at Refuge Sunday. . ' - D. L. Morrison and wife had as their guest's Sunday W. H. Gibbs and family. - Nile Jones went to Dana on business Monday. Rev. McCarson spent the night with J. W. Bishop Saturday night. We are sorry to hear of the death of Perry Stepp, little son of John Stepp of Sacanon, N. C. McCloud and Jack Manning took dinner with D. S. Morrison Saturday. Abolene The farmers in this commun ity are becoming verv restless on acconnt of the continued rain. C. O. Ridings made a business trip to Chariot e last week. Miss Docia McCinny is spend ing a few days with Mrs. J. M. Davis. - J. C. Davis and wife entertain ed a number of young people at their home Tuesday evening. All report a nice. Mrs. Ann Green died sudden ly at her hom last Thursday at the age of 88. 1 Commencement exercises were held at Green River school Thursday evening closing anoth er successful school term. Our slogan for the past several years has been, 4 'Green River the best Elementary School in Polk Coun ty". We flatter ourselves that this ideal has been as nearly at-J tained as circumstances would permit. The program f urnished two hours and ten minutes of wholesome amusement which was appreciated by a large and atten tive audience. - . . Church of the Holy Crossi Holy Communion 11 A. M. the first Sundays - Morning Prayer.. 11 A. M . all other Sundays Sunday School... 10 A. M. V Friday ' ' Liteny . A :30 P. . M Intersessions for the sick - 4:50 P. M it t f i ' i : .i 9 if