The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1904-01-12
WHAT THE TAT DEPARTMENT OF AGR1-
CULTURE IS DOING.
Col. Olds Reports an Interesting Interview with
Commissioners Patterson.

Patterson, who says ne begins the new Lear Will
plans for increased work along the various line
of effort. These embrace arrangements for a
marked development in Farmers Institutes and
of general missionary work among the farmers.
The holding of institutes begins this month, and
the schedules for about twenty, for eastern coun-
ties, is now in preparation. More speaking force
is needed at these Institutes; for example, it IS
important that the State Chemist should address
the farmers in the east, yet it is difficult for him
to leave his office work here, which is heavy. The
Agricultural Department has many problems to
work out. One of these, at present, for example,
is how to get the $4,000 needed for the agricul-
tural building at the Agricultural and Mechanical
College, the building of which the Legislature put
upon the Department. The money cannot be
borrowed, the Legislature last year having made
the borrowing of money by any State Department
an ~offense. The Legislature imposed other bur-
dens upon the board in aid of the college be-
sides requiring help to be given in other ways.
Speaking of the soil test farms, of which there
are now four in the State, the commissioners said
three of these, owned by the State, are in Edge
combe. Robson and IredeIl Counties. The fourth
is at the A.. & M. College here, and is a part of the
college farm, though the experiments are con-
Quoted by this farm is excellent. The results of
lIIc NOIh dI III I1cSc ldrI1S Ii very encouraging,
and they will be an extremely useful agency. The
farmers, however, do not as yet visit them to any
great extent, but Mr.. Patterson believes they read
with care the results of the soil tests as published
in the Bulletin of the Department. The elimina-
ton of cattle from danger from ticks, which
caused the dreaded Texas fever, is to be pressed
earnestly during the year. Seventeen counties
are now entirely free from ticks and out of the
u11araDtiDa district a1I # ic nropocoJ 70 oz+ooJ
this great benefit to several other counties. Com
missioner Patterson is pleased in the increase of
value of farm lands in the State during the last
year and at the increased interest in farming, and
expressed pleasure when told of what Mr.. W. E.
Grassland, one of the penitentiary directors, had
said to your correspondent regarding the marked
increase in the value of lands and the beginning
of an era of development of almost all abandoned
farms, and the return of people from the towns
to the country. The force of the Department will
be greatly strengthened by the addition of a hor-
tlculturlst, for which provision was recently made.
AS yet the man to fill this important position is
not chosen or the salary fixed, but he will be Sc
cured as soon as possible, correspondence being
now in progress. The need of such an expert has
long been felt, for the trucking interests in the
eastern counties as we'll as to the whole State.
The Commissioner expects a very heavy fertilizer
trade this year, all through the spring, both for
farming and trucking. The sales of fertilizers
last year showed an increase over those of the
year. Iuefe is a growing tendency to
use more fertilizer, and also a desire to use it in
the old haphazard and indiscriminate way. There
is much less Of this sort of use than formerly, yet
there is still a good deal. The chronological work
IS found extremely useful, and the Commissioner
says 1t ought to have begun ten years before it
did begin. This was in 1897, though really very
little was done until 1900. It is now recognized
as a very important factor, as but for the careful
and competent inspection of nurseries, and the
laws governing fruit tree traffic, orchards in
North Carolina would be in very bad condition.
Mr.. Patterson was asked if the number of fruit
tree pests had not greatly increased in recent
years, and he said yes; that formerly there were
get here % he was asked. He replied: "How did