The farmer and mechanic. [volume], June 15, 1915, Page 6, Image 6

About The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??

Image provided by: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, Chapel Hill, NC

                
THE FARMER AND MECHANIC
POSSIBILITIES
NORTH STATE
ONLY JUST BEING DISCOVERED
North Carolina As Yet Only Knocking at the Doorway
of Investigation, No One Mind Having Fathomed the
Measure of Its Prospect, Declares B. b. Kice.
and affords large yields
Columbus discovered America over
four hundred years ago, but the pos
sibilities of the Old North Suite are
only just being discovered, said Mr.
li. K. Uice. general industrial agent
of the Norfolk-Southern Railroad, in
an address recently at the semi-annual
convention of the National Asso
ciation of Railroad Industrial Agents,
held at St. Raul, Minn.
The subject of Mr. Rice's address
was, "Intensive Farming In the Drain
age Relt of North Carolina," and an
interesting fact was that as a com
panion piece to his address the con
vention heard an address from an
other industrial agent on irrigation
work in one of the Western States.
In the course of his address Mr
Itice gave some facts about the fertil
ity of North Carolina soil that
eye-opener
to the railroad men
other States. He said in part:
From the Carolina coast line,
were
from
the
noil area for an average of 50 miles
Inland represents an almost absolutely
level surface, as indicated by the loca
tion of the sounds and broad rivers
which intersect this entire east coast
territory at intervals so frequent that
they give to the country the appear
ance of a gigantic spider web.
In this costal region there exists a
queer condition, in the fact that the
dividing or water-shed areas, the
lands with the greatest elevation, rep
resents the richest type of soils, and
are locally known as "swamp lands,"
Of a truth it may be said that the
Hwamps of eastern North Carolina are
the hill tops, as such is the veritable
fact. The lands lying near to the
streams or water-ways, and which
are of a lower lever, are almost in
variably the light gray soils, and are
of a sandy clay type. These do not
contain more than the ordinary
amount of humus usually found in
soils of that type, but as the surface
level gradually increases, back from
the water line, there is a change in
the soil condition from gray to black,
and the surface humus and black
noil depth increases in proportion to
the elevation increase, until at the
dividing wattr-shed this black soil
accumulation will be found to meas
urf from six to ten feet in depth.
This accumulation represents cen
turies of decaying vegetation, grown
on the original silt and deposit soil
brought down from higher lands to
the west. The humus in this black
soil will vary from 40 to 40 per cent,
the greater portion of the areas rep-
standing timber supply, the greater
the amount of fuel, and consequently
the hotter and more intense the fire.
This fire also creates a rich ash de
posit, thereby "making an ideal sur
face condition for crop growing.
After this cut-down timber land has
been thoroughly swept by fire there is
no more labor or expenditure in the
way of land clearing or development
in the making ready foi planting.
Not a stump, stick, or log is removed,
not a cent spent for labor of any
kind on the entire plantation. The
land is ready for planting in first crop
corn. A gang of men, with sharpened
sticks as their only implements, go
over all the newly burned area, make
holes promiscuously among the
stumps and logs, drop the seed corn
in these holes, and cover with the
foot.
When the corn begins to come up
it looks as though it had in reality
been planted with a shot gun- About
two kernels are planted to the hole,
and by not being in rows, but scat
tered here and there, nearly double
the number of stacks can be grown
upon an acre, than as if the land was
handled by cultivation methods.
Strange as the story may seem, this
crude stone-a?e method of planting
is the only labor of any kind that is
expended on the crop until it is time
to gather the corn in the fall. There
is no cultivation of any kind, either
by hand, hoe or team work. The
method is known as growing "stuck
corn."
The crop is usually
contract at 8 cents per
standing corn to crib,
taken from the stalk in
known as "slip-shuck,"
bed with a considerable
gathered by
bushel, from
The ears are
the condition
and are crib-
portion of the
from f0 to
per cent
matter in various stages
of
of
resenting
vegetable
decay.
Swamp Iands In Demand.
Only within recent years has the
Ftate of North Carolina had practi
cal or effective drainage laws, hence
the rich soil areas of the costal plain
Frction have so long remained undis
covered and unappreciated. The law;
of supply and demand, the rush of
farm land settlement in the United
States, now brings this area into
prominence. This is due to the great
possibilties for ready drainage and
easy development. The quickness
with which these newly drained lands
come into production and the low
cost of development and operating,
averaged against the valuable crop
yield, show ready reuse for those lands
coming into good demand.
As a rule the greater portion of the
level r drainage areas are covered
with thick timber. Frequently large
ureas have been burned over by de
structive forest tires, the greater por
tion of the timber growth being
eliminated and easy development con
dition presented. With the installa
tion of main canal drainage in these
open land areas, development be
comes only a question of clearing the
land of reeds and brush and the re
moval of burned logs and stumps suf
ficient for rough plowing. This clear
ing usually requires a per acre cost
ranging from $4 to $10, after which
the land can be rough broken with a
grubbing plow at a cost of from $2
to J 4 per acre. The land becomes
immediately available
corn usually being the
successful first crop.
Black Soil lsily
The development wonder of the new
lands, however, is the subjugation of
the more thickly timbered portions of
the black soil areas. In the hard
wood districts of the Northern and
Western States the converting of tim
bered lands into cultivated fields re
quires several years, between the axe
and the plow, time sufficient for
stumps and logs to rot away. In con
trast we find that the black soil tim
ber lands of the Carolina drainage
districts are covered almost wholly
with gum and other soft wood varie
ties, quick to decay and nearly all of
surface root formation.
After the timber of milling grade
has been removed, contractors, at an
average cost of $8 per acre, will cut
down all the remaining trees of every
site and kind. Frequently as much
as a thousand acres are cut down for
a single development operation.
About the first of May the entire area
is set on fire and thoroughly burned
over; the thicVer and more dense the
husk still remaining on the ear.
fictting at "Wonder" Meaning.
ncn wTe stop to consider that an
acre of land that is in a thick timber
and jungle condition one year, will
present to the development or own
ing company a full crop of corn the
following year, and at a growing cost
of about ten cents per bushel for pro
duction, then the real meaning of the
word wonder becomes apparent. The
wonder becomes more emphatic, how
ever, when we realize that the ever
age selling price of this corn is at
least 90 cents at the farm.
Stuck corn can be planted at a cost
of from $1 to $2 per acre, and the
crop yield will average from 40 bush
els to 60 bushels per acre. There are
several instances where measured
acres have yielded from 75 to 100
bushels and other solid tracts of 200
to 300 acres of stuck corn, combining
all varying conditions, have yielded
land
its
One
for a
for
best
planting,
and most
Conquered.
an average crop exceeding 50 bushels
per acre.
In verification of results obtained
from land development by stuck corn
methods, we cite one instance where
ii yu-acre timber tract was fenced.
ditched, cut down, burned, planted to
corn, the crop gathered and cribbed,
all at a total cost of $2,748. The crop
yielded 3,964 bushels of shelled corn,
an average of nearly 50 bushels per
acre. The net cash returns from the
sale amounted to $3,250.00. exceeding
the entire cost of land develop
ment and operating by over $500.
After making this one crop of corn.
the owner then sold the
for more than double
original purchase price,
hundred per cent, plus $500,
one-year investment.
Banner Corn Country.
Western corn growers w ould be un
willing to concede to North Carolina
the honor of wearing the laurels for
greatest per acre production in the
United States, but facts are alreadv
against the west. In 1911, North
Carolina had an official record yield
of 226 bushels of shelled corn per
acre. In 1912 one county in the drain
age belt, overlooking Albemarle
Sound, made the record of 223 bushels
yield per acre. In 1913 one of the
North Carolina corn club boys made
the record of 192 bushels ner acre.
grown at a cost of only 19c. per
bushel, rank third in world's
record. Another boy's record was
187 bushels per acre, fourth in world
record production at minimum cost.
On my own farm, at Wenona, N. C,
we made a yield record of 174 bushels
of shelled corn per acre at a produc
tion cost of only 12c ner bushel. All
of these quoted records are in the
drainage district of eastern North
Carolina, and along the line of the
Norfolk Southern Railroad.
While the characteristic location
of the black soil in the coastal plain
region is on the elevated or water-shed
o-.ao, idnas lying nearer the wa
terways are usually of the lighter or
sandy loam type. These gray or sandy
soils are also found quite extensively
a little further inland, bordering the
drainage territory. Ir, some instances
the gray lands are equally as level of
surface as the dark soils, and are as
greatly in need of thorough drainage.
Wherever this dramas i intiw
the land proves especially valuable in
the production of bright tobacco,
yielding a crop that grades high in
the market,
per acre.
As evidence or these yieius, me an
nual crop record for a pan oi me
tobacco territory, based on a cemrai
point and within a radius of 30 miles,
hows that the tobacco crop oi ish
- i i -
for this territory alone yieiueu ovei
110,000.000 pounds, sold at an aver-
age oi I ;c per jjounu, ..ui
from this limited territory, amounting
to $16,500,000.
But tobacco is not the only farm
product sold from this territory.
Within this same radius the cotton
crop oi last year amounieu io oei
150.000 bales; 75,000,000 pounds.
which at 10c per pound would amount
to $7,500,000. The cotton seed pro
ducts from this district yielded an
additional $1,500,000, making a total
cotton crop farm return of $9,000,-
000.00, for the same territory tlmt
produced $16,500,000.00 worth of tobacco.
And still this is not all. The great
coastal plain peanut territory over
laps a portion of the tobacco belt to
an extent that at least another million
dollars farm returns can be credited
to this same area. Neither must we
forget that quite a portion of this
. . . i
area is in tne potato ana eariy iruc-K-
ing belt. Our farm figures must have
an additional upward doosi oi more
than $2,000,000 as actual record re
turns from trucking.
We must not overlook the live
stock and meat produced and sold
from this same tobacco territory.
Although live stock production is
somewhat limited, nevertheless al
most every farm sells its quota of
hogs and cattle. This is especially
true in the peanut producing territory'.
At low calculation the meat products
from the tobacco farms will add a half
million to our figures and just as we
begin to realize the astounding total
from this little tobacco belt in the
drainage district, an old hen joins in
the money music with a loud cackle,
reminding us that another half mil
lion in returns must be reckoned
with out of respect to the hen in
dustry. Crou and Value Immense.
Putting together our little column
of figures, we find that the crop out
put from the farms in this 30-mile
radius, surrounding one common cen
ter, farm sales of tobacco, cotton,
truck, peanuts, meat and poultry pro
ducts, will amount to over $30,000,
000, as actual cash returns received
by the farmers in a district not ex
ceeding sixty miles square.
The crop returns as quoted only
refer to a small portion of Eastern
Carolina drainage belt. ATtotner
county, a small area of about 800
square miles, produces more straw
berries than any other county in the
world. Another county in the drain
age district holds the world's record
for the largest output of tuberose
bulbs, one firm alone shipping more
than two million bulbs in a single sea
son. All this in territory that-but for
drainage would be of little value.
A peculiar characteristic of the
drainage lands of the Carolina Coastal
plain is their adaptability to varied
crop production. The drainage farm
er is not restricted to one or two
staple crops, but he can as successfully
grow all the products of the South,
and -he can outrival the Northern
farmer in the production of some of
his few favorite specialties. We have
already captured the national banner
for record corn production, both in
yield and cost, and other crop record
banners are in easy reach.
Out tobacco farmers are all getting
rich. Why not. We have records for
1914 showing where 20 acres of to-
oacco yielded an average of 1200
pounds per acre, with an entire crop
average selling price of 25c per
pound, an acreage cash value of $300.
just for one acre, but for a farm
f "I ..,;
J: i
t . 4 ,
I.,
erence by the animal,
and beans are grown
crop is exceptionally j
ing as high as $!.',( t
and yielding from 3 ft
per acre.
Grow Alfalfa
Western alfalfa s;r.
their crop that t can
rolling or upland wily. j.
North Carolina we tr v ,
growing alfalfa only four f. .
sealevel. six cuttings jr .,...
with an average total itl;
tons per acre.
A favorite green pastirai.. .
one well adapted to the crap
is winter oats. This crop
sown in September, used f u
age during the winter, and
coming of spring, will mak. a
lent crop of either hay r .-r
can still be followed with a
corn or hay crop of peas ( r
Staple farm products
stock are not the only crop t
the Carolina drainage belt
insn and sweet potato-.-,
strawberries and other 1 i k
crops do exceptionally weip
quickness with which thv,
can be moved to the Hast,
markets make trucking an a
1
it
i
'..I
. f
.1 ! t
'V
. 1 e
feature in drainage belt farn L
Drainage and People i. ,
In connection with the grea- :r
ing possibilities of Hasten
Carolina, a frequent inquh
there has remained such a-T
of undeveloped lands, ami vl
possibilities of the section ai
tie known elsewhere? The
logical, the explanation j . . ; ,
Inefficient drainage and intuit i
population. Only six year a-. v
Carolina adopted its tirs-i ,
law. Without adequate (Iran..-.,
development of the greater ,.
of the coastal plain country ,
impossibility.
Knocking At Doorvia.v
As a summary of result- at .! (
bilities in the way of intense t t
ing in the "Eastern Carolina !'..
belt, I might say that we .u. .
only knocking at the dnorwav
vestigation. no one minl i,
fathomed the measure of ar,ii
duction possibilities. North
was the only State in the l"i i. i
to fill every blank in the
port; the only State with ; i - i
auction so varied as io ne .,i
furnish statistics to cwift iin
every inquiry: the State wi, ;
aonle meets the orange. X
lina holds the grand prize
at the National Apple Show
competitors, and also hohl
medal award for the best
home grown oranges, in eo
with both Florida and Calilt
... w
nh
u r.y
! ;i
it
Milt
"h
I
1 u
. a
; i
n
.1
1 1 1
r i
BRING MERCHANTS AN
LANDLORDS TOGETHER
T .!
not
average of 20 acres. We can and do
produce tobacco for $50 per acre.
Cotton production in the drainage
territory will double the State aver
age yield per acre, and North Caro
lina ranks near the top in cotton
growing average.
Peanuts represent another profit
able crop and the producing territory
lies wholly in the eastern or drainage
v"1 "u me niaie. ine average
Ay den Man Shows Vlu?v Vi.cn
Need for These Two i la c- n.
to Solve Tenant Problem.
To the "FMitor: Lookirg
Progressive Farmer of May ;i
see these words at the h..;
article. "Run Your Farm A
a Well Defined Plan."
reading the article I eoagitao
ruminated and revolved in n
the strength brought out by t
ing and the article. Answcrw
of the thought I say how
Eastern farmers have any p!
system or do anything like w
be done with our present t
terns. What do most of our
know about the science of
and what do they cue ,.
They can't read, a great man
and therefore fail to tret in If
what others teach on the snt
farming, and worst of all. th
care one snau of their fing
they do their work or w he
done at all. iust so some one
them and let them work fo
!
.it
b r
w lb
1 t.
dermining neighbor who is !
give them a job, the money foi
they spend for whiskey. Tt.
there are merchants down h r
seems anxious to give their -away
and will feed your ;
whether it suits you or not,
has this worked till our tenant
f
t
t
.t
...1
yield for an acre
bushels, weighing
bushel, and 3c will
erage farm selling
Government
is
or peanuts
22 pounds per
represent the av
price per pound.
statistics quote the an
nual peanut crop yield for North Caro
lina as over six million bushels
valued at over four million dollars'
Peanuts are easy to grow, are not a
heavy drain on the soil, and the light
sandy lands bordering along the water
ways are readily adapted to erowinp-
this crop.
We have referred to growing pro
fitable crops of corn, cotton, tobacco
and peanuts. These only serve as a
good heading to the list. The live
stock man who desires heavy yields
of forage crops with which to fill his
silo, will find that the drainage dis
trict of Eastern North Carolina an
Eldorado land. Nowhere else can be
grown such large yields of cow peas
and soja beans, for either hay or
grain. Two crops of this forage can
be grown in a single season and on
the same acre, or a crop of Irivh po
tatoes can be grown first, to be fol
ios tru uj a. crop or peas or beans
either for hay or seed. A single crop
of this pea and bean hay will easily
yield two tons per acre, selling at the
farm for $20 or more per ton. In
quality this hay will rank with al-
xci.j, i !wi value r in pref-
want us, the
them.
I have been
article calling
torn tor more
didn't get at it.
the
landlords, to
intending wntn
attention to -
than a year b ;i
I wish the e.u.
Progressive
some impro
It is despraJ
other thing 1
Farmer
thunder that article so 1
strong as to cause the men-La-landlord
to get together and v
unison so that
might be had.
section.
There is one
thought exceedingly foolish ai
is the habit our people ha f
serting the farm every .!
morning and racing to town
they have no business whatevei
folks as well as negroes. It is n
short of foolish to throw
much valuable time.
If some of this time was '
to use at home we would u
to bnv so much and there woo
be so many unsettled account
the merchant's books.
W. A. DAliHK
Ayden, N. C.
i r
t f
v a
i
L.
Father's Kind.
From Puck.
Mnthfr What kind of a sb
papa take you to see while you
in the city?
Bobbie It was a dandy
mamma, with ladies dressed in
ings clean up to their neck4.
si., v.
to' -