The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-09-11
A. 4 NJ. FARM
Tour Over the Grounds
Proves An interest
ing Study
Especial to The Messenger.l

cal College here affords at present a
very interesting study. 1t is based
upOn land certainly as poor as any in
this section of the state, and it is the
bringing out of this land, year by year.
which is giving SO valuable an object
lesson. The college has beer acquiring
land for several years and now has
200 acres in what is known as the coll
lege tract. There are 400 acres of state
lands, two or three miles distant which
lave been ~iven the college. These
state lands have been state property for
many years and are to the nOrthWard
Of what used to be known as Camp
Mangum. where the state troops were
drilled and modified during the civil
war. There are 400 acres of these state
lands, half of them being given to the
college, while the other 200 acres have
been given to the state school for the
blind and to the cOlOred school for
deaf mutes and blind. 1t Will be some
years befOr@ the colIe~e will fully uti-
1ize it's part Of these state lands, then
1t will use them for forage and as pas
ture land for cattle which it will buy
and fatten and use as objects of in
structiOn for students and also as food
for them.
In the college tract of 400 acres some
thing k 300 are now under improve
ment, that is in crops. There are 200
acres in COW peaS, which will be used
for forage. largely as ensilage. There
are in plats 100 different grasses. There
are also growing on the farm corn and
cotton, mixed herdcoraSS and peas, and
later there will be rye. Early in the
year there were wheat. oats and We.
Some 20 acres are in teOsinth.
There will be later a distinction be
tween the agricultural buildings of the
college as we'll as betN cen the agricul-
tural and the mechanical branches of
instruction. In the new part of the
farm there will be the agricultural
building, it's dOrmitories the home Of
the superintendent, the barns, etc, this
newly acquired land being now put in
shape. a very well built farmhouse
will be used as the home of the farm
superintendent. 1t may as we'll be said
now that all the work on the farm is
paid for out of the profits on the farm.
This is n of the keynOteS, Professor
Burkett told the writer in the cOurse Of
q tour all over the farm. which was
made a a or two ago, Mr.. J.. Y. JOY
ner, state superintendent of public i'm
%structiOn. being in the party. Prof.
Burkett is one of the men who knows
" ~ DAAAOAAAC A1NOAS oA1u III oONISOs "
combination which means very much to
the college n to the STATE. Fol- this
agricultural department of the college
is literally a factory for turning out
farmers, one of the states great needs
mot mere tinkererS with the soil and
with rOp but men VIII" really know
what they do. The farm lands are be-
ing brought uD to a high standard by
the planting of cow peas.
For more than a year. on Saturdays.
some 30 of the agricultural students
have been Mt work clearing lands which
were grown up with small pines and
scrub oaks. and so quite an area looks
like new ground. very rocky and full
of StumDS. When n gets further
along the stumps are seen to have dis
appeared and the rocks have been car
ried off the land. which IS covered with
rich peas. grasses. etc. Here and there
cows are seen in the pastures and from
Prof Burkett it is learned that the
dairy receipts last var were about
$4,000. The students drank the milk
and ate the butter. the farm making
the sales to these ]stuuents at a rate
of , cents under the usual prices. With
this reduction. which was of course of
much benefit to the students. the farm
made money.
The work of the students on the farm
is found to be very satisfactory. 1t is
pdlu IOT at the rate OF ~ cents an nOuI
and 10 or more hours work is put in on
Saturdays. the work Improving the
land, aiding in paying the tuition of
students n giving them thoroughly
practical instruction as to all the con-
ditiOns which a man will meet in be-
ginning to farm. These cattle which
were grazing in the field. which but
a little while ago was a thicket on
stony ground, represent a great deal
TOO The SrI6hntS 1r1 +a1rChr how RI
select these animals. what are the best
kinds for milk. and as beef cattle. the
best means of |udging them and the
proper way of butCherfne The stu
dents will do the same thing as to
hogs and Shee~. This week a carload
of cattle will arrive from Wilkes coun-
ty and be put n pasture.
There are now So cattle and later
there Will be $50. 1t will require 100
milk COWS to furnish all the milk and
butter needed by so large a school. The
college has in sight the putting of at
least 200 acres of its land in permanent
pasture. 1t will furnish all the beef.
pork and lambs for use by the students.
As Prof. Burkett very we'll puts it. his
Farm with its embarrassing and other
feature corresponds to a chemical
~labratory. but while the latter is al
ways costly. the farm is Self-sustaining
a look At the hogs shows that they
are OF the best breeds. with amOng
them here and there a native being fat
tened and brought UP. In the herd of
cattle Is 4 new bull directly from
George Eandarbilt'S BiltmOre herd.
which was bought last week. Mention
of this animal brings up the statement
that Mr.. Vanderbilt Will probably give
to star agricultural students two SchOI
arShjpS. which will eutitle Jnem 10 a
years stay and training at his superb
dairy farm AZ BiltmOre- this being like
q post graduate course.
As one goes along the agricultural
students are seen AZ wOrk Som are
cutting cOrn and stacking il. leaving
standing in the fields for seed cOrn
the finest stalks. none bearing less than
two we'll dsveIoDed ears. In some
cases these h~eavyIaien stalks. carefully
selected and judged by the students
themselves stand thick. The students
look after the farm. a+ra~d to the
grinding OF the meal for the cattle. cut
the ensllaSe. milk the cattle. feed
them. look after the hogs. do the work
in the dairy. and - of them are on an
average bus employed on SATURDAYS.