The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-12-14
CORN THE FOUNDATION.

upon corn TOT 1dtCenlnS, anu
the chief staple for man as well DIS
beast. In the West, where farmers
have made big money on hogs anu
cattle, corn has been the basis OF thelr
wealth.. Since the war. the South
has paid too little attention to the
cultivation of corn. Our
have w%orshipped too much at the
shrine Of King Cotton and we have
seen North Carolina rme sendlng
their hard-earned money to western
markets to buy corn. as Well as 10
buy hogs and cattle. "Brethren,
these things ought not to be The
life Of Southern agriculture, as the
foundation stone, is hog and honiny,'
a North Carolina expression for corn
and meat.
The year now closing has been noted
for the wonderful interest taken in
corn growing in North Carolina, and
where seasons have been at all faVora-
BILE more corn has been raised per
acre in North Carolina this year than
in any previous year. Formerly it
was the idea that corn should be
chiefly grown III the bottoms near the
rivers and the creeks, but this year
it has been demonstrated that the best
corn has been grown on uplands that
were not particularly rich. The
demonstration Of that fact is, per-
haps, the most important result Of
the various contests of the year.
The North Carolina Department OF
Agriculture has given much attention
this year to corn growing and In its
bulletins and institutes the growing
Of corn has had first place. Liberal
citizens in various counties have Of
fered premiums for the best corn
grown on a single acre. The De-
partment offered the prizes to the
three BOYS in North Carolina VINO
would grow the most corn per acre
that offer stimulated hundreds
of farmers sons to reach a new stand
ard of production. The contest be-
tween these boys has interested the
whole state ana there are thousands
who will read eagerly the
report in today's paper 10
see w.o won the prize. "A
Randolph county boy, Charles f.
Phillips. won the first prize, the yield
being 135 bushels; Dudley Robbins, Of
Wake. won the secon prize, the
Weld being 1875 II bushels; and James
Musgrave, of Wayne, won the third
prize, the yield being 113 bushels.
The hundreds Of boys who did not
win the prize won an experience and
,o.o, -, ,o.ra,;nr tho viaJ1 nor
acre that will be Of value to them
all their lives. The boys in the old
story who dug their field deep, think
ing they would find q pot Of gold
buried there. found that they had won
something that in the long run would
make them richer than il they had
found the pot Of gold. The boys who
did not win the prize won knowledge
that will be of more lasting value to
them than if they had drawn the
prize without getting the experience.
The hope of better conditions in
town and country rests on the boys
and young men. DIR. Olser was wrong
about his theory of the value of a
mar over forty years of age, but he
doubtless had reference to the prin-
ciple of initiative and innovation.
Few men make radical changes in
their methods after they are forty, and
older men look to the young men
mainly to revolutioniZe agriculture n
to make experiments. That was why
the Board of Agriculture offered it's
corn prizes to boys and not to men.
Bows and young men are more enter
prising, more progressive, more ready
to try new methods than old men.
Mr.. j. +. Bats. of Wake, who won
the prize for the largest yield on an
acre Of land in Wake county, is a