The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-08-31
Thursday.

has an agricultural convention been
held that was Of such practical bene-
fit to the farmers as that now in
at A. and M. College. There
is a total attendance Of only 176,
representing As counties. Every
county in tie State should have a
delegate and thousands Of farmers
should be IN ~endan
The addresses yesterday were
timely. The epitomes reported barely
give an idea Of the talks every word
of which evolved from the experience
of the speakers. They had made life
studies Of the questions they dis
cussed, met the problems and solved
them. It is apparent from their OBJ
~servations that a new era in agrlcul-
ture is about to dawn in North Car
DINA, and the harvesters in the new
fields will be the enlightened, intelli-
gent and masterful armers.
Two addresses long to be ren1enl-
bered and that will bear beneficial
fruit were heard last night, the
speakers being DR.. S. A. Knapp, of
the United States Department of Ag-
riculture, a learned, eloquent and dis
tinguished speaker, a distinct force
in American agricultural uplift, and
+. S. White, Commissioner Of Agri-
culture, Rock Island and Frisco
Lines, ST. Louis, Mo.
Tomorrow the fourth annual meet
ing Of the North Carolina Live Stock
and Dairy Association will be held at
the college, many prominent live
stock and dairy men being on the pro-
gram.
Yesterday morning the attendance
on the convention by counties was an
nounced as follows:
Alamance, 9; BERTHE, L; Burke, 1;
~Buncombe, /; Bladen, 1; Catawba, 8;
Carteret, 2; Camden, I; Chatham, 3;
Cumberland, 3; Davidson, 2; Davie, 1;
Duplin, 1; E~dgecombe, 5; Franklin,
2: Forsyth, 5; Guilford, 5; CASTOR, 1;
Granville, 2; Greene, 6; Halifax, IL;
2; Lincoln, L: Moore, 2; Madison, /;
Martin, 1; Nash, 3; Northampton, 1;
Robson, 6; Pitt, Il; Rowan, 6; Rock
ingham, 1; Sampson, 4; Stanly, 2;
Union, I; Vance, 2; Wayne, 1; War
rem. 5; Wilson. 2; Wake, AZ; Wash
ington, 1; Virginia, /; Missouri, /. To-
tai. 176.
The session commenced yesterday
morning promptly at 10 o'clock.
How to max two bales of cotton
to the acre. was the subject of an
enthusing address by w. A. Simpkins,
Of Wake county. He said a farmer
could not make two bales OF cotton
to the acre on poor, worn out soil
the first, second or third year., but he
could the fourth year, and the speak
< a div "11iCH L &c
bales to the acre. h is his fourth
year on his farm, and when he bought
it three years ago it was said to be
the poorest land in ST. Matthews town
ship. hi farm can not De made rich
alone by stable manure vegetable
matter or commercial fertilizers: it
required all of them The first thing
he did was to plant Irish potatoes and
put or 1900 or 1000 pounds Of ferti-
1izer per acre. forcing a crop; then
he planted peas, and in the fall cover
ed the and with manure, letting it
lie on the stubble all winter, in March
breaking the land, and that year he
made two bales to the acre. He put
from 10 to 20 loads Of manur to the
acre, and every year he made some
land good, keeping that already
made good in fine condition.
The first thing a farmer should do
is to build a barn, plant all the clover,
rye and peas possible. The farmer
ought not to tend land that produces
less than a bale per acre; cotton can
not be produced prOftably if it is not
more than a bale to the acre. Mr..
Simpkins said hat on four acres Of
his farm he would this year produce
Is bales.
The farmer cannot make two bales
OF cotton to the acre on poor land,
with shallow p1OWing, with poor tools,
without brains. There is nc cri-
terion by which it can be determined
whether the and is fertile; the farm
er must know what is in the soil. 1t
is difficult to put too much nitrogen
in it. The farmer must plant as
much clover, rye and peas as possible.
North Carolina today makes more
bales per acre than any State except
Missouri, which produces only $4,000
bales. The farmers should plant less
acres and raise more bales to the
acre. For four years North Carolina
produced only half a bale to the acre.
He deplored the practice of renting
land and permitting the tenant to run
the soil. The tenant system
has ruined the land. It should not
be rented excep with restrictions SO
that the tenant will keep the land
rich.