The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-12-05
THr MOSS .IcHMoND. Va THURSDAY, DEOEMBFR

VA EHCJRSD AZ De
Just such q work that the Depattnent OF
EAgriculture does. The value OF tins work
to the farmer is inestina bic.
.fhe farmers of Virginia have only IN
the past few years come to q realiza-
ton Iof what the department means to
them. At present nearly twenty-five
thousand farmers throughout the State
are receiving the bulletins and reports
isg,ied by the COMMISSIONS
Fertilizer Tax. s..
81 4he massage ofsthex act fixing a tax of
IL cents per ton upon the sale of ferti-
zars In the State has proved "a great
Intestine. to the farmers of Virginia, ana
thew recognize It as such. This tax has
mot increased the price of fertilizers,
while it has been the means 5of Euaran-
teeing to the consumer the purity of his
goods. The inspection and analyses OF
+t,;afs brands Of fertilizers sold In this.
state. and thereafter the publication Of
the tfer.@ts the only safeguard the
farmer has TO protect him. Even If the
cents. came out Of the farmer s pocket,
which It does not, surely he would be
wiling to pay this small amount to In
sure protection in the purchase OF his
goods. AS It is, should the fertilizer pur-
chased show by the department. analy-
sis that It is 10 per cent. below the.
guarantee. the purchaser is not required
by law to pay for the goods. Moreover,
the Commissioner Of Agriculture Is au-
thprized to prohibit the manufacturer
from again placing upon the market
brand that has fallen more than 10 per.
cent. below the guaranteed ANALYSIS
The inspection OF fertilizers Ains this State
has been carefully. done, Of which fact
~ g. "a ISp
aware, as they have shown decided
tendency to make their brands run above
the guarantee rather than below it, so
that the farmer Is receiving the full
value for the money he spends IN the
purchase of fertilizers.
The Commissioners of Agriculture has
done a great work in holding farmers in
,stitutes throughout the State During
the last year institutes. have been held
in forty counties, and those IN which
they have not occurred will be 4Tlsited
by the Commissioner and his associate
lecturers. in the near future IN the
counties In. which the Institutes have
been held the farmers are enthusiastic
and have urged the Commissioner to
again visit them at the very p earliest
possible time. The men engaged to lee
t,ire at the institutes are practical as we'll.
as scientific. The talks are not on theo-
cal In their nature. and being such hold
the undivided attention Of the farmers.
who. frequently enter into the discus
sions themselves These institutes In
duce the farmer to study modern methods
of farming and to use the Information
obtained from experiments and tests
Other States have found after ten years
of institute work their great value to the
agricultural interests of the State. and
~ lot ar m II =,
continuance Of this work. ..s.,
The Test Farm. .aa
A test farm was established at SAKE,
Charlotte count, last July, where ex-
periments and tests will be made by
the use of the different kinds of plant
food in the fertilizers, and in growing
the different grasses and fora ge crops.
cereals, and fruits, showing to our farm
ers what Is the most profitable to them
in that section Of the State This farm
is located in the tobacco section of the
State. and experiments will be made IN
growing tobacco Of various types under
different conditions. so as to enable our
tobacco growers to secure the largest
profits in growing and handling this
crop The farm is in charge Of Prof.
b Hedges, ex-United States zaPomo-
logist, q, man in every way fitted for the
position. Prof. Hedges has the reputa-
ton of being one of. the bestslnst1tute
lecturers in this country and the de-
:partment has the benefit ofuhis services
in this work atcsucll seasons Swl1enahis
presence is not required at the farm. .
The Commissioner has Been most ac-'
tive in his efforts to induce immigration
to the State. and he has been most sue
cessfuI in his work in this direction
Many Of his western and northern cor
respondents have made special trips to
Virginia In order to call upon the Com
missioner and learn by a personal inter
view such information as they desire In
regard to this State. In many IN
stances these home-seekers have been
so favorahly impressed that they have
decided to permanently locate in Viz
giuia, and many of them have already
settled here.
The department can do very little to
develop the mineral resources. OF. the
State, as it is crippled. through lack OF
funds necessary to push forward this
most important work The State makes
no appropria ton towards the support OF
commend of the latter can be used only
the department. and the funds at the
for specific purposes. - '.t
Tho annual: report of the Commits
sio!1er has been received from the print
er, ana a. review of the book shows that
the work is replete with valuable 1nIor-
nation in which no FARMER can iait 10
be Interested
The Commissioner is now preparing
handbook Of Virginia. which Wild set
forth at length the advantages and re-
sources OF this State. Such a work ts
very much needed. there being a great
demand for a publication of this nature.
especially from those contemplating
making their home N Virginia.
Tn Border Line.
After numerous conferences between
Governor Benton Mcmillan, Of: Tonnes
see, and myself and the 5Attorney-Gene-
rails Of the two States, held first at-Bris-
toll. aid subsequently at Washington
D. c., It was agreed that decree should
be entered by. the Supreme Court of the
United States In "a friendly suit for the
purpose of establishing the line between
the two States. In accordance with this
agreement, the court entered decree
establishing the line between Virginia
and Tennessee as the one fixed by the
compact between the said States in 1903,
and which was actually run and located
under proceedings had by the two States
IN 1so1-1sOs. At our suggestion MessrH.