The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-04-17
THE FARMERS PROGRESSING.
Truck Farming an Important Indus
Seed Oil HIiII-,nterest-
ing Bit of History.
Red Springs. n. c.. April IS.

A~NAANOA VI lit
The recent cold did very little dam
age to vegetation in this county.
Notwithstanding excessive rains the
farmers are progressing finely with
planting. Truck farming is an i'm
pOrtant industry in Robson. One
farmer informed me that he had $50
acres in c~antaloupes and watermelons;
another that he had $50 acres planted.
Several small farms are reported and
our people are looking forward with in
tercst to the success of this new in
dustry. Large areas of land are being
cleane and the day is not distant
when agriculture will be the chief oc-
cuDation of our people.
In addition to the cotton seed oil
mill, which will be ready for work this
fall, several other enterprises are be-
ing undertaken. a large planning mill
has been erected at Pembroke by
| Messrs. Hall and Livermore. This firm
Will deal in lumber timber and timber
lands and will use several kinds OF
wood working machinery. The COM
pany will be incorporated and will
business with a paid up cap
ital of S1G,0 900. One might suppose that
the timber will soon be exhausted but
the estimate of 500 millions of feet of
m~erchantable pine timber in Robson
county is not too high. Your best
timber has been cut away remarked a
northern gentleman, but you have not
struck the timber yet. l can see a mil
lion dollars worth of lumber N tina
swamp yonder. Millions of tons of ex-
celsior can be mad here if you will
only get the machinery. You southern
people don't know what wealth you
have that needs development. Hun
4 6rp6S of little in6nNtrinC con no IaJpt
oped here, but you people hin of
nothing but a 800, 900 cotton mill. You
find it too easy TO live here without
these Industries and yOu do not pro-
gress.'
We know of one head of water in
Robson county, with power enough
to turn every wheel in Massachusetts
which sold a few years ago for $4,000.
An engineer who made the survey old
this writer that from Lumber River to
Shoe Heel creek near MaXtOn there is
u fall Of 80 feet and he considers that
a canal only two miles in length would
afford as much water power rs tina
afforded by a similar canal at Column
bia. s. c., where the S~pragues have
spent millions of dollars.
The early Scotch settlers. who ut the
invitation of Governor Gabriel john
stone settled in this region, found an
almost unbroken wilderness. Jonn
Fort and a man named Cole were at
that time, 1146-175O, engaged in raising
horses and cattle. Cole had a camp on
the swami now the boundary between
Cumberland and Robson and at GER
tainS seasons penned his horses and
cattle and drove them TO distant mar
kets. This region was then peopied
by a branch of Cherokee Indians who
had a large settlement on the Lambee.
as Lumber River was then called.
These Indians had great trails or roads
leading from the hill country of the
Carolinas and Georgia to points en- the
coast as at Roanoke Island and ut
LockwOod's Folly. These trails w-re
called "LOwrfe Roads from the names
OF chiefs of the Cherokees. One of the
highways in Robson IS still known as
the Lowrie Road. General Bernard.
one of the engineers Of the Great Ma
poleon was employed by the United
States government TO establish post
roads throughout this part of the state
in 1917 and in some instances the roads
were changed so as to StraighIen
them. Robeson had the best roads IN
the state till injured by the heavy
wagons Of the lumberman. but the
roads generally are again in fine order.
With fertility. health and fine climate
his section is certainly blest and the
attention of outsiders is being directed
here. Over $50, 900 was offered for a
large tract of and near Pembroke re-
Gently and the offer was efused. a
French chemist representing a syndi-
cate once visited Cumberland n after
several weeks in Analysing the soil
pronounced the poor sand hills tx
ceedingly rich in potash and predicted
that it would rival the south of France
in the cultivation of vines. The deveI-
opments along the line of the SeahoarC
in Richmond and Moore counties in the
poor sand hill country go to verify the
prediction. sc. 1000 peach trees at one
view in Moore is in evidence that this
region has yet a great future. The
hope of the country is in successful
agriculture. The millions of people
must be fed and When we produce
our own supplies there is no reason
why we may not accumulate capital
by keeping u money at home in
stead of sending it away to sections
less favored than ours. for the COM
mon necessaries of life. Some farmers
M