The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-07-24

proper place. In the scheme of thingl | accompanying alfalfa. or rather fol | lowing 1t, have come stock growing crop rotation, diversihcation of crop and, best of all. intelligent and scien
 tific understanding of the soil. its cul | tivation and It's possibilities. Alfalfa Is the magic word. the tails man of enthusiasm in Uniontown. I | is honored here as cotton was nevel | honored.
 The story of the canebrake Alfalfs Club, which declared a dividend of g. per cent on one years operation or | rented land. went like wildfire over tht | State a few weeks ago. There Is no | farmer, a plantation about Unfontowr | but that has its patch of alfalfa. Int | moneyed men are going into 1t exten | sively. Within a few miles of Union | town there are no less than thou | sand acres devoted to alfalfa. It hal | wrought the magic transformation which causes the visitor, whoever ht | may be, to marvel and to wonder al | the richness of the plantations abou | Uniontown.
 The first spot in Alabama planted 1T agriculture was planted by Captair John c. Webb in Demopolis. Hon R R. Poole of this place, was Commis sioner of Agriculture. He paid $20t | for twenty bushels of the seed bought in St. Louis and distributed them 1T Alabama. It is said that the S200 ben. efted the State more than any S200 tht State government ever spent. Part of the alfalfa seed were planted at the fine little Canebrake Experiment | Station, now in charge of Prof. W. D. Stevens. It was a success from the
 start. Professor Spiilman came along
 with his generous proposition from ths Agricultural Department to operate q demonstration farm near UniontowI ] provided he could get fifty acres fol the purpose, and provided the owner would cultivate the demonstration farm exactly as he directed it. Professor Spillman's object was tc show this section first the value of al. falfa, second, the benefits of intelligen,
 rebuilding of the soil through the
 growing of leguminous plants; and
 third, the advantage of rotation oi
 The Best Plantation.
 The government has forty-nine oi
 these demonstration farms. It is con- ceded that the farm at Uniontown is the most successful of the entire forty
 nine. No little part of the success is
 attributed to the thorough, energetic and intelligent management of the farm by William Munford, son of Genera
 Munford, who Is in charge of the
 Munford plantation of this place, 1t fl
 said: "It is the best managed planta' ton in Alabama
 The barbecue today brought together a splendid crowd, most of whom were farmers and planters of education and intelligence, men who had been infiu- encsd in their work by the demonstra- tion and experiments here and who | CTS for 1t. They were men who had heard and benefited and who wanted more of 1t. This Canebrake barbecue is regarded as the most notable annual barbecue in Alabama. The reputation of the work here has gone far and wide. Uniontown Is the center of q movement. the circle of which widen' steadily with each year.
 It Is doubtful if such another gath
 ering of farmers could be assembled | outside of the Canebrake or away from Uniontown. They were distinct tC themselves and the visitor needs mus notice the distinction. They were
 well dressed, well groomed and the, | reflected a prosperity so pronounced
 that 1t had to be acknowledged. The horses were fat and well cared for and the shiny buggies and surreyi looked like the show vehicles of tht city. This is not t>surprislng in view of Uniontowns P6sition as the cente, of the historic Canebrake section of the antebellum South, where wealth and culture prevailed and which infiu- ences through its teachings and tradi. tions the prosperity of today.
 An OId-Time Barbecue.
 The crowd mingled and ate in a beautiful grove of ancient oaks. Vii. lie Munford and his brother Clair Mun- ford, had superintended the prepara- ton of an old-time Southern barbecue, which maintained the high standard Of other years.
 Judge W. H. Tayloe. famous in this section for his enterprise and public spirit. and a man who has loaned his purse and his hand to the various un- dertakings which have revolutionized agriculture in the Canebrake, presided and in addition to Dr. Hunter and Pro- lessor Spillman, pr. Curtis of the Washington Department of Agriculture spoke on tick eradication. Cattle growing would necessarily follow the splendid grass and alfalfa crops of the Canebrake, he said. but one great mem ace to the growing of stock in Alabama was the tick.
 He told of the banner counties in Alabama which had already eliminated the tick, Montgomery being in the list. He explained the plan of the govern
 
 by county. and asked cooperation of his hearers in the great work.
 Director w H. Seymour, of the Bu- renu of Cotton Statistics. talked upon the Williamson plan and its relation to corn growing. He presented MT. Williamson, the discoverer of the meth cd. as one of the great benefactors of the South. This year. largely because of the Williamson method, was to be the great corn year in Alabama. He gave his hearers the benefit of some exhilirating and encouraging informa- ton which had come to him from the Wiregrass and other sections of the State as to the benefits conferred by the Williamson method.
 Wilkinson Is Presented.
 Commissioner of Agriculture J A. Wilkinson was presented to the audi ence by former Commissioner R. R Poole as one who had achieved a fine reputation in the office and who had greatly benefited Alabama by his ser vice
 Commissioner Wilkinson delivered happy little address that was frequent ly interrupted by applause. He in- sisted strongly and argued the neces- sity of growing crops which would return to the soil He contended that in time alfalfa would run its course. and having taken so much from the soil would leave 1t poor unless some